“CHRIST’S GREATER TRIUMPHANT ENTRY”

        Psalm 118:19–29      

²¹I thank you that you have answered me and have become my salvation.  ²²The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone.  ²³This is the Lord’s doing; it is marvelous in our eyes.  ²⁴This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.  ²⁵Save us, we pray, O Lord! O Lord, we pray, give us success!

          We call it the triumphant entry.  We stand on the side of the road waiting in anticipation for a sight of magnificence and a promise to be spectacular.  As we stand there we feed off the excitement of the crowd around us as they too are looking on in expectation eagerly waiting to see the phenomenon of what we all hope to see.  The people around you are laying their cloaks and others palm branches on the road to create a carpeted entryway for the procession coming their way.  Cheers go out, “Hosanna, Hosanna, Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!”  And then, you see the one who they called “Even the King of Israel.”

          If it were not for need for sensationalism we might actually be able to see reality.  If we didn’t expect to see everything instantaneously we might appreciate the time between the prayer and the answer.  As we stand still on the side of the road the crowd continues to cheer as we look on to what is supposed to be an amazing sight, think about it, we’re about to see the very son of God.  You watch, you stare, and then you wonder because what you see is someone who looks like anyone on the streets of the community you live in, and He is riding not on a great steed of kings, but a simple unadorned donkey.  And you ask, is this our Savior.  He looks so plain and unembellished to be a great King and Savior.  He certainly does not look like someone who can answer prayers or save us from those who threaten us. 

          A day of celebration and everyone cheers for the Savior King, the next day everyone cheered to crucify the very one they laid their cloaks and palm branches down for.  The same crowd that surrounded us the day before shouting Hosanna now shouts crucify Him.  It’s like worshipping God on Sunday praising Him and thanking Him and Monday through Saturday we ignore Him and live contrary to having any kind of relationship with Him.

          We pray “give us success!” and wonder if and when that might happen, and will it happen according to our specifications. 

          Psalm 118:19–29

²⁶Blessèd is he who comes in the name of the Lord!  We bless you from the house of the Lord.  ²⁷The Lord is God, and he has made his light to shine upon us.  Bind the festal sacrifice with cords, up to the horns of the altar!  ²⁸You are my God, and I will give thanks to you; you are my God; I will extol you.  ²⁹Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; for his steadfast love endures forever!

          Wednesday evening Anita and I were privilege to listen to a young girl sing God’s grace is enough.  A sweet innocence in her voice accentuated those words and brought them to light.  Why do I thank the Lord for all that He has done when sometimes it seemed He did not answer my prayers the way I wanted Him to?  God has given us success through His grace and mercy.

          Our prayers are answered through His grace and mercy.  Why are God’s grace and mercy enough?  God’s grace and mercy is God’s love for us that we should have everything that is good in our eternity.  I might suffer the consequences of sin in this life, whether they are my sins or someone else’s.  However, in our eternal relationship with God all things have been made good through our Lord Jesus Christ who paid for the ultimate consequence of our sins.  We look on as what appears to be a simple man riding on a donkey.  Christ also processed in another day so that we may witness a greater triumphant entry.  We might have thought riding on a donkey and not wearing the crown of a king to simple.  Now we see this simple man who processed now carrying a cross adorned with a crown of thorns.  And this entry holds more than the last.  Christ’s greater triumphant entry opens a greater gateway for all of us to follow Jesus through.  For Christ’s suffering and death on the cross He carried in this last procession is the gateway to the Father, everlasting life, and eternal relationship with the God who loves us to life.  Amen.