Rev Loliro Kuotsu
Singapore
Today, I was reminded that Christ came riding on a donkey to enter Jerusalem on Palm Sunday. He did not choose the horse or chariots even though he was the King of kings. Pretty much like his birth, his entry to Jerusalem was also very humbling. It signified his very nature and character; righteous and humble. He came to fulfil all the prophecies and promises that were foretold and given to his people. Even though he knew that going to Jerusalem would mean his death, he went to Jerusalem for a purpose. It would be a week of intense agony and pain and yet he walked the way of suffering for us.
His arrival was met with celebration by the crowd who recognized that the one riding on the donkey was fulfilling the ancient prophecy. They welcomed him with their usual greeting “Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord.” Many in the crowd joined the chorus with their voices and palm leaves, some even used their cloaks. Unfortunately, five days later, the same crowd would shout a very different cry. They would cry, “Crucify Him!” They chose the criminal Barabbas over our Lord Jesus Christ. It is strange that the jubilation that happened just five days earlier would turn into a cry for crucifixion.
But I guess the crowd are pretty much like us, many believers. We have short-term memory. We quickly forget what we have prayed, said or promised to God and others. We forget that we have prayed and asked God to change us and that His will be done in our lives. We forget that we have asked God to be Lord or their lives.
Once we leave the comforts of our Sunday services or prayer meetings, we go out and do the very things that cries “Crucify him!” We plot to harm others, hurt others, and sow seeds of hatred and discord in the hope that we can ride on our high horses and trample on others. Or worse, we simply choose to do nothing because we fear men more than God.
This week, as we ponder and think about what Christ has done for us, may Christ come riding into our hearts and check the condition of our hearts today. May He not find us chanting with the crowd and following what the world is doing. May he find us, following his humble way, the way of suffering so that God’s kingdom might truly come on earth as it is in heaven. May he find us following him faithfully, standing for truth and justice. After all, the Greek word for humble translated is as being poor, lowly and suffering. Christ chose the donkey, the beast of burden to show the world his very nature.
For those who have been “humbled” during this Passion Week, may Christ bring comfort in your suffering, knowing that He is suffering with us too. God’s redemptive story did not end on Good Friday with the cries of the crowd, “Crucify Him!” It ended with “It is finished!” It ended with Christ rising from the dead; defeating sin and death so that we might live forever. One day, all our sufferings will end, and Christ will come once again to judge the living and the dead. Let us take comfort in knowing that He has heard our cries and prayers. Hepaid our debts and forgave us. Let us also forgive those who have wronged us, after all, we are all sinners in God’s sight.
May this message of Christ’ love touch the hearts of those who have chosen the horse over the donkey. May Christ’s sacrificial love bring them down from their high horses and meet the King of kings so that they might be freed from their sins too.
May we not be found shouting with the crowd, “Crucify him!.”
May Psalm 139:23-24 be our prayer for the Passion Week.
“Search me, God, and know my heart;
test me and know my anxious thoughts.
See if there is any offensive way in me,
and lead me in the way everlasting.”
