At the beginning of Holy Week, I was thinking about what is commonly referred to as “the triumphal entry” of Jesus into Jerusalem. Kudos to children’s ministry workers everywhere who help kids engage with this story - green paper palm branches make a great craft. One Palm Sunday, someone even brought in a live donkey who quickly became the center of attention. My kids could talk of nothing else after church.
Somehow my perceptions of this event have stayed on a two-dimensional cutout level. In Matt 21:2-3, Jesus instructed his disciples to go find a donkey and her colt which would be tied exactly where he said. His intentionality to fulfill Zechariah’s prophecy cannot be missed. And he wanted the children of Israel to not only see that he came to them, but how he came ~ “gentle and riding on a donkey.”
Did they see it this way? I don’t think so. The cheers quickly faded and palm branches were trodden to dust as Jesus went on to become quite the opposite of what they expected or wanted. After all, what can be accomplished through gentleness and lowliness? What good is service and sacrifice in a world where political power is everything?
Jesus possessed all rightful power and authority, yet chose a posture of humility. One does not exclude the other. True humility is neither pride nor insecurity. It is seeing with accurate perception. Jesus was never distracted from his mission by people’s embrace or rejection, celebration or hatred. He walked humbly in his true identity. May God give us grace to enter into people's lives that way, too.
~ Jen Hanson
Somehow my perceptions of this event have stayed on a two-dimensional cutout level. In Matt 21:2-3, Jesus instructed his disciples to go find a donkey and her colt which would be tied exactly where he said. His intentionality to fulfill Zechariah’s prophecy cannot be missed. And he wanted the children of Israel to not only see that he came to them, but how he came ~ “gentle and riding on a donkey.”
Did they see it this way? I don’t think so. The cheers quickly faded and palm branches were trodden to dust as Jesus went on to become quite the opposite of what they expected or wanted. After all, what can be accomplished through gentleness and lowliness? What good is service and sacrifice in a world where political power is everything?
Jesus possessed all rightful power and authority, yet chose a posture of humility. One does not exclude the other. True humility is neither pride nor insecurity. It is seeing with accurate perception. Jesus was never distracted from his mission by people’s embrace or rejection, celebration or hatred. He walked humbly in his true identity. May God give us grace to enter into people's lives that way, too.
~ Jen Hanson