From “Hosanna!” to “Crucify him!”

Today was Palm Sunday, and as I read the text from the Gospels I was struck by a thought.  The same people who were shouting, “Hosanna!” on Sunday were shouting, “Crucify him!” five days later.  How fickle can a person be right?  But the thought that came to me next was even more frightening than the first.

The parade for Jesus was shortly after He had prayed for Lazarus.  Everyone now heard of the man from Galilee Who healed the sick and now recently raised the dead.  How easily these same peoples’ opinion were changed when a different opinion of Christ had been circulated!

My Pastor taught an excellent sermon recently.  He said that it matters not at all who other people say that Jesus is, instead it matters most who you say that Jesus is.  The Pharisees and priests decided that Jesus was a heretic, and at that point everyone else had to decide who Jesus was.

¹³When Jesus came into the coasts of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, Whom do men say that I the Son of man am?

 ¹⁴And they said, Some say that thou art John the Baptist: some, Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets.

 ¹⁵He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am?

 ¹⁶And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.

 ¹⁷And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.

 ¹⁸And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

As you can see what was important to Jesus was who His disciples thought that He was.

There is danger and trap for many of us, for we shout, “Hosanna!”  when things are going well.  We see Jesus as the King of kings and the Savior of all our circumstances.  But then, when circumstances change, we start to doubt who He is in our lives.  We turn our back on Him, ashamed of the cross, and the man on it.  Maybe difficult times have come, or disappointments in life; or perhaps a “new” doctrine is going around changing the very definition of who Jesus is.  We must not change how we identify with Christ based on circumstances or trendy “doctrine” or we are no better than the fickle Palm Sunday parade crowd.

As long as Jesus was healer and provider it was “Hosanna!”, but as soon as He asked to become “Lord” it was “Crucify Him!”

As long as it was about what He could do for them to make their life better, it was “Hosanna!”, but as soon as it became about what they could do for Him, it was either silence or “Crucify Him!”

The silence continues as people discredit our Lord and we stand by, not saying a word.  And our silence allows the One who paid the ultimate price for us to have His character and reputation questioned and “crucified” making Him nothing more than a Sugar Daddy and when the sugar is gone, we are not willing to identify with Him any longer.

Who do you say that He is?

Celebrating Who He is with dear Ann today:

218. The best Bible Study so far! Changed Lives.

219. My wonderful group of students.

220. An unexpected day out with a friend.

221. Homemade Chicago Hot Dogs…except I forgot the relish…:(

222. My oldest son home from college.

223. An amazingly beautiful bride.

224. Lacey Day continues….

225. Scholarship to Write To Publish!!

226. e-mail from Cecil Murphey!

227. Request for interview for my dream job!!

228. Heart-to-heart with college son.

229. Bringing a guest family to church!

230. Guest goes forward to give her life to Christ!!!!!!!Yay!

231. Finished Hunger Games trilogy so I can return to normal life.

…sharing a playdate with Laura:

…hanging out with L.L.:

and a new face, Rebecca…