9Meanwhile a large crowd of Jews found out that Jesus was there and came, not only because of him but also to see Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead. 10So the chief priests made plans to kill Lazarus as well, 11for on account of him many of the Jews were going over to Jesus and believing in him.
12The next day the great crowd that had come for the festival heard that Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem.13They took palm branches and went out to meet him, shouting, “Hosanna!d ” “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!”e “Blessed is the king of Israel!” (John 12)
Thoughts: The context of Palm Sunday and Jesus' crucifixion began with what happened in Bethany. The secularists miss this. Without the miracles of Christ, and especially the two miracles that bookcased passion week (the resurrection of Lazarus and the resurrection of Jesus), Jesus would have been just a good teacher who died and the "movement" would have been snuffed out like the movement of Judas the Galilean in 6 AD or the rebellious movements of 70 and 120 AD that died out. The crowds gathered at the top of the Mount of Olives- at Bethany- because of Lazarus' resurrection. This happened just a few days before the Passover. The crowds at Jerusalem swelled to over a million (like the crowds at the beach in the summertime swell). The Romans and the Jewish authorities were nervous about another rebellion, and word that a king was proclaimed riding into Jerusalem no doubt made them more nervous. But Pilate rightly knew Jesus was changing the religion more than the government. The crowds that followed Jesus were children and the poorer folk who did not have places to stay in the city. They were not afraid that the soldiers would stop their parade. Jesus did not come on a war horse but on a baby donkey. We do not need to be afraid to praise God. Our purpose is not to change the government or to achieve or deny civil rights. Our purpose is the changing of the soul. Jesus always cared for the needy- the physically needy. But He was less concerned about laws than He was about individual treatment and fairness, and going the extra mile. The church should care about justice. Certainly Jesus kept the condemning from stoning the woman caught in adultery. But when the church gets involved in government too much on the left or the right we lose our purpose and our soul. The resurrection power of Christ changes and corrects all injustices. It is not all up to us.
Prayer: Lord, help to always look to help the helpless. But Lord, help me to keep my eyes fixed on you and that your kingdom is not of this world.
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