The tale of Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem is listed in all four of the gospels. In this account, Jesus rides a donkey’s colt into the city as people— His people—threw their cloaks to the ground at His feet, shouting, “Hosanna!â€
But only one gospel, Luke, mentions a key factor that drastically changes the mood of the whole story: when He looked out over that great city of Jerusalem, Jesus wept (Luke 19:41).
The Greek word translated “wept” literally means “wailed.†Imagine the scene now: throngs of people cheering and welcoming their long-awaited Savior, celebrating His arrival. Suddenly, He begins weeping loudly as He views the city before Him.
Kind of puts a damper on what should be a wonderful, celebrated story, doesn’t it? You see, the people of Jerusalem wanted Jesus as a leader, but not in the eternal sense they truly needed. No, they wanted Him to be a military king who would rescue them from the clutches of the Romans—not the King of the universe, not the King who would conquer sin and death. They had no desire to open their minds to Jesus so He could save them as He had come to do.
Jesus knew the people would quickly turn on Him when they determined He was not the kind of ruler they wanted. After all, it’s possible some of the very same people present were in the crowd yelling for His crucifixion merely a few days later.
The same story happens repeatedly today. People refuse to put their trust in Jesus—the risen King of the universe and the only Savior from sin and death. Even Christians lapse into treating Him as someone to fix our problems when we ask, instead of living our lives in light of His kingdom. So, today, consider: What is Jesus to you? • Aleia Lenz
• Have you ever thought of Jesus in a different way than you do now? If so, what changed?
• We are all sinners in need of a Savior (Romans 3:23). To learn more about what this means and why Jesus is that Savior, check out our “Know Jesus” page.
Surely he [Jesus] took up our pain, and bore our suffering, yet we considered him punished by God, stricken by him, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed. Isaiah 53:4-5 (NIV)
Read Verses:
Psalm 27:1-3; Isaiah 25:4-5; Matthew 8:23-27
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