TIRED OF WAITING

Jesus is coming into Jerusalem surrounded by other pilgrims.  He rides on a donkey which would have raised eyebrows.  The prophet Zechariah in 9:9 had predicted that a victorious king would come riding on such an animal.

The crowd spreads their garments on the ground before him which the people had done for king Jehu much earlier.  The crowd is looking to Jesus to be a powerful king who will fix everything that is wrong with the world.

When they shout “Hosanna!” it isn’t necessarily a song of praise to Jesus, but a cry for God to act.  The word means “Save now!”

The people are tired of waiting for God to put things right.  I get that.  You understand it too, don’t you?  We can’t log onto the internet, or open a newspaper, or turn on a news broadcast without seeing one more reminder of how violent and unjust the world too often is.

What we want from God is a Savior who will step in and fix the things around us that are broken and wrong.  What Jesus does, though, is go to work on a deeper level.  Jesus doesn’t want to simply address the broken things in the world around us, but Jesus addresses the brokenness in us.

Usually when a parade goes by we can stand safely on the sidewalk.  Watch the floats.  Grade the bands.  Laugh at the clowns.  Jesus brings a different kind of parade to town: he calls us to step off the sidewalk and become a part of the thing God is doing.  Will you watch from a safe place, or will you step out and follow the Shepherd King?

To step off the curb is to get mixed up in Jesus’ work to fix a broken world.  To step off the sidewalk and join the parade is to let him go to work on you.  What will you do?

In Christ and for Christ,

Mark