“Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!” “Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!”
Luke 19: 38 (NIV)
Scripture: Luke 19: 28-48
Jesus entered Jerusalem as a King. He ended the week hung on the cross as a criminal. What changed? This devotion examines the attitude of the crowds.
Jesus had spend three years roaming the countryside. He had preached to huge crowds, doing miracles. Even though the Pharisees were against Him, the common man listened and pondered.
Then Jesus headed toward Jerusalem. It probably looked to the people that He — the Promised Messiah — was beginning to make His move. He was finally going to set up His earthly kingdom — so they thought.
The Beginning
When He arrived at Jerusalem, Jesus was greeted as King by those common people. People placed their cloaks on the road (the beginning of the red-carpet treatment?). Joyfully, they shouted praises, calling Him King.
That was Sunday. The week went downhill from there.
The End
What happened? How could the scene go from this joyful one to a mob shouting “…Crucify him! Crucify him!” (Lk. 23: 21 NIV)? In just one short week! That was really a 180 degree switch. What happened to make Jesus lose their devotion?
Did He tick them off when He cleansed the temple? (Lk. 19: 45-46). Maybe they didn’t like being told they still had to pay taxes to Caesar (Lk. 20: 25). Maybe they didn’t like it when Jesus said less was more when giving with the right attitude (Lk. 21: 1-4). Maybe they felt left out when they weren’t invited to the Last Supper because they liked the miracles that involved food.
What Changed?
The crowd could have thought that Jesus was going to be a military Messiah, as discussed in the last devotion. When He didn’t make the move to set up an army, they could have gone gotten discouraged and disillusioned.
To read What Were the Israelites Expecting in a Messiah?, click the button below.
It could possibly be that the crowd didn’t like it because Jesus no longer looked like a winner. The authorities had gotten Him. He looked down for the count. He was no longer meeting their Messianic expectations.
You know how we are. We shy away from those whose luck has failed them. Maybe they thought they would be “guilty by association” — whatever the charge was!
The people kind of had a point there. Weren’t the disciples hiding after the crucifixion (Jn. 20: 19)? They all thought their arrests were imminent.
It could have just been a crowd mentality. It is hard to go against what everyone else is thinking and doing. We so much do not want to stand out these days. We don’t want to be questioned or scorned because we think differently.
It may just have taken a couple of people — maybe even strategically placed by the Pharisees and other leaders — who started the chant to crucify Jesus. Matthew 27: 20 says, “Now the chief priests and the elders persuaded the crowd to ask for Barabbas and destroy Jesus” (ESV). It doesn’t say how they persuaded the crowd.
Get the crowd going, add in the ones who were disappointed that no military guy was showing up, kick in the easily swayed, and you have a crowd yelling “crucify Him, crucify Him.”
What Does This Mean?
The bottom line is Jesus didn’t change. He did exactly what He set out to do. Every step He took for 33 years pointed toward the cross. That was His destination all along.
The people changed. Their attitude toward Jesus changed. We don’t know the real reason for this change. We just know it happened.
But, you know. That was in the plan, too. God’s plan was for Jesus’ blood to cleanse us from our sins. Jesus accomplished His mission!
What Does This Mean to Us?
So, what about us? Jesus isn’t on trial anymore. He already has died, arose, and ascended. How does this apply to us?
How single-minded are we at times? We think we have everything figured out. We know how circumstances should turn out. We’ve got the plans in place — things just have to fall into place.
Then they don’t. God has a different plan for our lives. Then what happens?
Do we acknowledge God’s control in our lives? Or do we kick and scream because things aren’t happening as they are supposed to happen? What is our attitude?
It is a choice, you know. No, God doesn’t expect us to be doormats and just blindly do His Will. If that is what He wanted, He wouldn’t have given us free will.
God wants us to choose Him. Now that the crucifixion has completed the restoration plan, He doesn’t want us to shout our own version of “we choose Barabbas.” He wants us to joyfully shout at the top of our lungs “we choose Jesus.”
God doesn’t want us to follow the crowd mentality. This is especially true in today’s world, as the crowd mentality follows that of this world. He wants us to be in the world, but not if the world (Jn. 17: 14-16). He wants us to live for Him.
That can be hard. We are often called to make difficult decisions on whether we are going to follow God or Satan.
We have to make sure our focus remains on God and what He has called us to do. Are we walking on the path He has set for us? Are we choosing to follow His Word? Are we damaging our witness? Are we uplifting the body of believers?
Things can change in the blink of an eye. It can go from praise and palm leaves to anger and nails in .03 seconds. That is why we need to be rooted in God the Father.
Father. The words “crucify Him, crucify Him” echo through our hearts and minds. Even though we know the crucifixion completed Your plan for our restoration, we feel great sorrow that the joy of the Triumphal Entry so quickly turned to the ugliness of crucifixion. Yet, we hang our heads knowing how quickly our attitudes change for the worse. We go down hill. Lord, forgive us. You never change. We change. Change us to be like Christ. Amen.
What do you think? What are some triggers for you that turn praise and palm leaves to anger and nails in .03 second? Leave me a comment below (about this or anything else) or head over to my Facebook group for some interactive discussion.
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