Tuesday 6th August
Read John 12:12-13
“The next day the great crowd that had come for the festival heard that Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem. 13 They took palm branches and went out to meet him, shouting,
‘Hosanna!’
‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!’
‘Blessed is the king of Israel!’” (NIVUK)
Crowds coming with Jesus, crowds coming to meet Jesus. Imagine the scene! The festival was known to attract hundreds of thousands. Word of Jesus spreads like wildfire through the crowds. Collecting up palm branches was not uncommon in those days to mark leadership. Palm branches ended up on coins regularly through the first century, both Jewish and Roman. The actions of the crowd are significant indeed. Imagine what the Jewish leaders must have thought, seeing what the crowds were doing, hearing what they were saying. The signs of a populist political rally have ancient roots indeed… They are proclaiming Jesus as their king, something Jesus has deliberately avoided His entire ministry. They think He ushers in the time of salvation. He does, and He will, but not in any way they hoped for.
How often do our expectations of what God should do interfere with everything He is doing?
