Sometimes they strew His way
and His sweet praises sing;
resounding all the way
hosannas to their King.
Then “Crucify!” is all their breath,
and for His death they thirst and cry.
Samuel Crossman (1623-1684)

The contrast is startling: a crowd shouting a festive welcome becomes a crowd demanding an execution in less than a week. How can people be so fickle?

I don’t think they were fickle at all. They were consistent, horribly consistent. They had an expectation of Jesus as Messiah. When they thought Jesus was their kind of Messiah, they were happy to see him. When he turned out to be something quite different, they didn’t want him anymore. Get rid of him. Send him to Calvary.

Who is this Jesus we greet with hosannas? The Lord, the Savior, the Son of God, and more. He is the Crucified One. That’s where the problem starts. Jesus gives his life for our sake. He embodies sacrifice. And then the problem gets worse. He asks us to join in his sacrifice. “Take up your cross and follow me.” That’s the real Jesus.

This is the test for all of us Christians. Do we want the real Jesus, or do we want an imitation that suits us? No, an imitation won’t do. Only the real Jesus can transform us. We have to follow the real Jesus into Jerusalem and then to the cross.

Never was love, dear King,
never was grief like thine.
This is my friend in whose sweet praise
I all my days could gladly spend.

Read Mark 11:1-10 and remember: God loves YOU unconditionally.

Wayne