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Scripture reading: John 12:12-19
Scripture focus:
“They
took palm branches and went out to meet him, shouting,
‘Hosanna!’
‘Blessed
is he comes in the name of the Lord!’
‘Blessed
is the King of Israel!’”
“Now the
crowd that was with him when he called Lazarus from the tomb and raised him
from the dead continued to spread the word. Many people, because they had heard
that he had given this miraculous sign went out to meet him. So the Pharisees
said to one another, ‘See, this is getting us nowhere. Look how the whole world
has gone after him!’”
John
12:13, 19 (NIV)
The
people traveling to the Feast of the Passover received word that the Teacher
was coming to Jerusalem. (My research showed that there could have been close
to 2,700,000 people attending this feast.1)
There
were several groups of people in this massive crowd. Those who followed Jesus,
those who heard about Him and were curious, and those who were the governing
officials—the Pharisees and the Sadducees.
Those
who followed Jesus may have been caught up in the mood of the larger crowd.
Those who had heard of the Lord wanted to make Him an earthly king. (Verse 13.)
This was not Jesus’ plan. The Pharisees watched and witnessed the horde of
people going to where Jesus was and decided that they may have been fighting a
losing battle. This scene seemed to cement their resolve to remove Jesus from
this earth.
Jesus,
who came in peace and not war, did not have it in mind to be an earthly king.
He knew what lay ahead for Him. I wonder what He thought when he heard the
crowd say, “Blessed is the King of Israel.” Could it be He realized that the
people had not been listening to his teachings?
____________________
- Daily Study Bible: The
Book of John Vol. 2 by William Barclay. © Westminster Press. Philadelphia
1975, Page 115
Hi Cecelia! Two million people? Wow. I wonder where they all stayed? I just love history, don't you?
ReplyDeleteNo, Jesus wasn't an earthly king, and he told Pilate that. He said he was a king, but not of this world. I wonder if I was alive back then if I'd understand that?
Probably not. But I'd be in good company, I think the Apostles were hoping for an earthly king too.
Blessings,
Ceil
Thank you, Ceil, for your kind comments. I don't think I would have understood what Jesus meant, either. a book I am reading for Lent told me that Jesus told the disciples when they had followed Him for TWO yearsand He told them repeatedly.
DeleteLike Ceil, I wonder what I might have thought about things had I lived back then. Makes me examine my heart and commitment now too. Thanks for sharing this with us. Thanks also for visiting my guest post. Have a good weekend!
ReplyDeleteKaren: We all, if we were honest, would wonder about what we would do in certain situations. As we mature we realize that we can't do anything on our own. We need to rely on Jesus to help us through. Blessings on you and yours.
Delete