Looking Unto the Cross..... A devotional for 6th Sunday of LENT Palm Sunday, April 16

Sorry, your browser doesn't support Java(tm). Celebration? If there ever was a day where everything seemed right and not much was, it had to be the Sunday of what has become known as the "Triumphal Entry." Moms and dads and boys and girls, to this day, dress up and celebrate what appeared to be a monumental occasion in the life of Messiah, Jesus Christ. The only problem is that, when you look at the story a bit more closely, it isn't very triumphant and there's really not much to celebrate. Take those cheering crowds, for instance. They were cheering for all the wrong reasons. In just a few days, the cheers would turn to jeers and all but a few of the folks would abandon their belief that Jesus was more than a carpenter from Nazareth. In a setting of fame and acclaim it seems mighty strange that Jesus didn't do a better job of capitalizing on their support. Fact of the matter is, instead of giving "thumbs up" and the "peace sign", Jesus reined his little donkey over to the side of the road and spent some time... weeping. Take those religious folks at the temple, for instance. You would think they would get credit for doing something better and different than most people. Nope. Jesus saw straight through them just like he did those who cheered and waved. It fits perfectly with what we know of his character that he slipped off the donkey and into the temple with fire in his eyes, keen passion in his voice and a dynamic "I mean what I say" in his actions. Within minutes, the temple was cleared of everyone but the lonely Messiah and the echo of his words about what "temple" really meant. Take that hypocritic fig tree, for instance. Mark tells us about another disappointing event on this "triumphal" Sunday. Jesus evidently was hungry and saw a fig tree that by all rights should have had fruit even, if at this time of the year the fruit would have been green and bitter. Somehow this just fits. What a day! Crowds were cheering for the wrong reasons. People gathered at the temple in an atmosphere of corruption and now we have a fig tree advertising what it does not possess. Well, you know what Jesus did. He cursed it and the next day it was dead as a doornail. Palm Sunday is an amazing reminder for Christians about what to avoid and what to seek. Don't cheer for Jesus because of what He is going to do for you or get you out of. Cheer for the fact that He wants into your heart and so that your life will never be the same. Don't cheer because church is a good thing and everybody ought to go to Sunday School. Cheer because people gather to pray, to talk to God and love him and serve him. Don't cheer because you look like a Christian. Cheer because when people push back that "foliage" of your life there's more than leaves. Cheer that the Spirit reigns in your life and when He came, He brought his fruit with him. I suppose there's nothing more heartbreaking than to give your life for a cause, actually in the case of Jesus... to be the cause, only to be surrounded mostly by people who are there for all the wrong reasons. Wes Smith Red Bluff, CA USA Father, Grant that I may live for You for all the right reasons. May My life glorify You as my Lord and Savior. Help me to be sensitive to Your direction for my life so that I may encourage others to seek Your will and surrender their lives to You. In the Savior's Name, Amen Suggested Daily Scripture Reading [Psalm 118:1-2, 19-29] [Isa 50:4-9a] [Phil 4:5-11] [Lk 19:28-40] Visit: 1999 Advent/Christmas Series Epiphany Series You may send e-mail comments or suggestions toYvonne Edwards. Page designed by: Yvonne Edwards Prayer by: Cecil Wallace Holy Land Pictures provided by Chuck Wilkes Copyright © 2000 NazNet All rights reserved. International copyright secured.