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Final Days and Final Words 3/13/2008 7:06:01 AM
Then the multitudes who went before and those who followed cried out, saying:
“Hosanna to the Son of David! ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!’ Hosanna in the highest!” (Matt. 21:9)
What a glorious entrance it must have been for Jesus to ride into Jerusalem, with the people crowding around Him, throwing their cloaks on the ground and hailing Him as royalty! But Jesus knew their hearts—and He knew that within a matter of days, many in that same crowd would be crying for His blood.
Have we changed? Not much, really. For the most part, we are a fickle, frail, finite bunch, whose emotions ride the roller coaster of circumstances and personal agendas. Jesus, though one minute hailed as conquering King, is deposed from the throne of their heart the moment He fails to fulfill the people’s agendas or remedy their circumstances.
The most important thing to see here is not so much the fickleness of Christ’s followers as the faithfulness of His final days. Jesus was focused; He knew why He had come and He never deviated from His message or His mission. He was fully aware that His days here on earth were numbered and that they would end in unimaginable pain and agony. But that didn’t stop Him. He continued to confront sin and call sinners to repentance and forgiveness, even as He prepared to offer the Sacrifice that would enable that forgiveness to flow.
How different are we? A current movie titled “The Bucket List” paints a clear picture of the “it’s all about me” human heart that selfishly proclaims, “If I have a limited time here on earth, then I will spend it all on me!” That is the exact opposite of what our dear Savior did, as He willingly spent every last moment and shed every last drop of blood to open the door to heaven for us.
As we prepare to enter the “holy week” celebration preceding that great Resurrection Day, may God by His Spirit instill in us that same selfless drive to spend our last moments on this earth—however many there may be—in service to God and others. For that greatest welcome of all time awaits us just around the corner: “Well done, good and faithful servant.” And perhaps we will even hear that great cloud of witnesses crying out as we enter, “Blessed is he/she who comes in the name of the Lord!”
