Dear Cornerstone Family,
Today is Palm Sunday, the official beginning of Holy Week. On this day, we remember the shouts of “Hosanna” as Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a humble donkey. We also remember that in the midst of this worshipful celebration, tears were streaming down Jesus’s face. The juxtaposition of joy and tears has led centuries of Christians to ask, “Why was Jesus crying?”
Were these tears of joy at the receptance he was receiving? As he saw men, women, and children rejoicing in God’s salvation, was he overcome with emotion? Or were these tears of fear? As joyous as this moment was, the hour of crucifixion was fast approaching. Maybe Jesus unable to enter into the festivity for fear of the soon-in- coming pain of the cross.
Upon reflection, it becomes clear. These were neither tears of joy nor fear. These were tears of grief. As Jesus entered the Kedron valley, he caught a glimpse of the Holy City in the distance. When he did, the Scripture tells us he broke down in tears, for the people did not know the time of visitation (Luke 19:41-44).
On the surface, it sure seems like people knew this was the time of visitation. They were singing and dancing in the streets. They were laying down their cloaks in the road and waving leafy branches in celebration. They were even quoting Scripture and applying it to Jesus Christ appropriately. What’s the problem?
Jesus saw behind the fanfare to the spiritual darkness. He knew they had ideas about who he was. He knew they had expectations about what he would do. He also knew they were wrong about it all.
For instance, he had not come, as they supposed, to reestablish the glories of David’s kingdom as an earthly political ruler. Rather, he came as a spiritual Savior, to establish a kingdom not of this world (John 18:36). He wasn’t coming to destroy Rome and free Jerusalem from Roman oppression as they surmised. Instead, he came to free his people from the oppression of sin and death, to establish a people for himself from every kindred, tribe, and nation (Romans 8:1-2; Revelation 7:9). His concern was not the earthly stones of Jerusalem or its temple as they assumed; his focus was on the living stones of a new Jerusalem, a city whose builder and maker is God (1 Peter 2:5; Hebrews 11:10). In short, Jesus was the deliverer they needed, but he wasn’t the deliverer they wanted.
As we enter Holy Week together, that haunts me a bit. I wonder how often I’m serving and worshipping a Jesus of my own personal hopes and imaginings rather than the Jesus revealed in the Scripture. I wonder how much of the world’s assumptions have filtered into and shaped my perceptions about Jesus and the Christian life. I wonder as Jesus Christ approaches us today by the Word and Spirit in worship, does he weep? Does he see us quoting Scripture, singing, and waving palm branches, and yet misunderstanding who he is and what it means to follow him?
As we walk through this week together, let’s pray for God to strip away false notions and prune earthly assumption about Jesus and his mission. And let’s even plead with God to restore a robustly biblical vision of Jesus Christ and his kingdom.
Your servant,
