To be fully HUMAN — A Daily Reflection

As they approached Jerusalem and came to Bethphage on the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples, saying to them, “Go to the village ahead of you, and at once you will find a donkey tied there, with her colt by her. Untie them and bring them to me. If anyone says anything to you, tell him that the Lord needs them, and he will send them right away.”

   This took place to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet: “Say to the Daughter of Zion ,
      ‘See, your king comes to you, gentle and riding on a donkey,
      on a colt, the foal of a donkey.’ ”

   The disciples went and did as Jesus had instructed them. They brought the donkey and the colt, placed their cloaks on them, and Jesus sat on them. A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, while others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. The crowds that went ahead of him and those that followed shouted, “Hosanna to the Son of David!” “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!” “Hosanna in the highest!”

   When Jesus entered Jerusalem , the whole city was stirred and asked, “Who is this?”

   The crowds answered, “This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth in Galilee .”

On Palm Sunday, 33 A.D., a huge crowd of people filled the streets of Jerusalem in preparation for the celebration of the Passover Feast.  Nearing the end of His three year ministry, Jesus chose that time, that day, to enter Jerusalem .  And He did so on the back of a donkey colt, the most humble of all forms of transportation of the time.  Why did Jesus choose that day and that time?  The choice was not arbitrary.  Instead, He chose that day and time to fulfill prophesy (Zechariah 9:9 NIV, Daniel 9:24-27 NIV)  He also was able to avail Himself of a huge crowd of people before whom He could be proclaimed King.  The crowd accommodated Him, 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!"  By what they said and did, one would easily assume that the entire, huge crowd of people were dedicated believers in Jesus as the Son of God, the Messiah
who brought salvation to the world.  But that was that day.  What about the next day?  Did the exuberant faith displayed by that huge crowd of people stand fast?  How real was it?  It was only real for that moment.  Because in only a few days, that same crowd was shouting again, but that next time their words changed from hosannas to "Crucify Him!"

The faith of the crowd was superficial.  It was only a surface faith, a belief held only as long as it was convenient and easy, only as long as it was popular.  The moment it was a difficult thing to proclaim Jesus as Messiah… the moment it was unpopular… the moment it might put one of them in an uncomfortable or precarious position… the faith was swept away like the cobwebs from which it was made, and was replaced by conformity to the popular opinion that surrounded them.