Thoughts After Palm Sunday

It's Tuesday, but I made the above graphic on Sunday and wrote something for the caption on Instagram. I wanted to write more about it here, but I thought I would share what I wrote: 

On this Palm Sunday, I’ve been thinking of the passage from John 12. The crowds that praised Jesus as he entered Jerusalem triumphantly were the same crowds that would shout “Crucify him” a week later. The sad reality is that apart from God’s grace, we are just like that crowd. I’d like to think that I would be different, but I know in my heart that apart from God leading me to faith in Jesus, I would be like the crowds yelling “Crucify him” and that’s sadly the cry of our hearts when we rebel against God. But the amazing thing is that Jesus is the King - he came to save sinners. He came to save the crowd and as he hung on the cross he even said, “Father, forgive them. They know not what they do.” That’s just how gracious and compassionate Jesus is as our mediator. I’m dwelling on that today, and I want to invite you to join me in taking time to repent of the ways that we are like that crowd at times and thank and praise God for his grace and mercy despite our rebellion and sin.
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The funny thing about this post is that a few hours later my heart must have needed to be reminded of it again, because Matt Maher (a Christian musician) shared similar thoughts in a video. This is the video: Matt Maher - Palm Sunday, Breathing Through Lent. 

Something that he said struck a cord with me. He talked about how the crowd was expecting Jesus to be the Messiah they thought he would be and for God to do what they expected or thought he would do. And it many ways we are like that crowd, expecting God to work how we want him to work, and often we can get upset when he doesn't do what we want him to do. 

Oof. My soul needed to hear that. I often expect God to work how I want him to work. 

Anyway, I appreciated Matt Maher's thoughts in relation to how we are like the crowds that praise Jesus on Sunday, but then yell for him to be crucified on Friday. And just like the crowds, we need God's forgiveness for the ways that we rebel and sin. 

These are just some thoughts for your Tuesday. Take a listen to Matt Maher's video, and let me know what God is teaching you right now.