the triumphal entry of Christ riding into the city of Jerusalem on a donkey where the crowd paraded a path, laying down their cloaks and waving palm branches and shouting,
Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD! Hosanna in the highest! (Matthew 21:9 NKJV)
In broad open daylight, Jesus was being hailed as King, all the while, quietly in dark corners, His fate was being plotted.
The crowd, already in the city for the Passover Celebration, but not participating in the hailing of Hosannas, was all stirred up and asking, "Who is this?"(See Matt. 21:10)
What was causing all the ruckus in the first place? Who was stirring up the crowd?
Jesus entered Jerusalem by way of which no earthly king would enter. He rode into the city on a lowly donkey fulfilling the prophecy of Zachariah 9:9, and not in a royal chariot drawn by strong horses.
His faithful followers were stirring up the city by honoring Jesus and making His presence known among the people.
Jesus, many times previously, told His disciples to be silent about who He was, but on this day the gag order was lifted. The time had come where they could publicly proclaim Him as the Messiah, the One they had been looking for.
Palm Sunday's stirring up led me to ask myself, "Am I stirring up the city in which I live? Am I living like I'm under a gag order?"
People with whom I come in contact every day should be asking, "Who is this that you keep hailing as King?" "Who is this that you claim to be so great?" "Who is this that you talk about, write about, sing about, and teach about all. of. the. time?"
If you've paid any attention to the news of recent, you have seen what it looks like when cities are stirred up for evil.
In America, I think about Ferguson, Missouri. If the agitators had not stirred up the people with false accusations, the evil would not have escalated into the senseless destruction of property and of lives.
I also think of the brutal massacres and total chaos in the Middle East as Isis, Hamas, Al Qaeda etc...
are stirring things up, promoting lies, hate, destruction, darkness, producing fear in the hearts of people, as they continue to aggressively gain ground for a very dangerous cause.
Christians need to stir things up for a much different cause - the cause of Jesus Christ. When we stir things up, truth, hope, and peace will begin to take root and reign in the hearts of people.
We cannot continue to be complacent and satisfied with the status quo. Christ died for all people, for goodness sake.
We must stand up for Him.
We must proclaim His goodness, greatness, love and power in our cities.
Jesus is the Truth filled with love, hope, joy, forgiveness, peace, freedom from the shackles of sin, plus so much more. If He was willing to step down from glory into this dark world to bridge the gap between us and the Father, then we must be willing to bring His story and His light into our cities!
Let's stir it up, people! Hearts are waiting!
My Pleasure,
Melanie
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