In preparation of Palm Sunday, I decided to share an essay I wrote several years ago for a writing class. I hope that it encourages you in the faith as you ponder, "Can This Be The King?"
Can This Be The King?
Excitement is in the air, and the city is buzzing like bees. The season is one of celebration and worship. It is time for Passover in Jerusalem, so the Jewish people have made the pilgrimage into the city to prepare and celebrate during this particular season. Many are out on the streets purchasing everything they need to celebrate, including their special lamb to offer as a sacrifice.
                 There begins to be a rumbling in the crowd. The word spreads that Jesus is coming into the city. He is on His way, and the people are beside themselves. He was the one that they had heard about. Some were there when He fed the hungry men, women, and children. Some were there when He preached from the mountain. Some of them had seen Him heal the sick, open the eyes of the blind, and the ears of the deaf. Some heard Him rebuke the leaders of the temple. The anticipation is building, as is the noise level of the crowd. The people will get to see Jesus make His triumphant entry into the city. Many of them ask, "Can this be the King?"
                 Jesus sent His disciples ahead to secure the noble steed on which He would make His triumphant entry. This steed is not just any steed, but one hand selected and foretold about. The disciples find the magnificent animal and bring it back for their master to mount and ride into Jerusalem. This animal is different, though. It is not normal for a king to ride on this animal. Instead of a big, beautiful stallion, the animal that was hand-selected was nothing more than the colt of a donkey. Can you imagine how the people on the streets feel as Jesus rides in on a donkey's colt? They wonder, "Can this be the King?"
                 Jesus makes His way into the city. Click-clop click-clop is the sound that the colt makes as it marches bravely into the city with the most special passenger in the world on its back. For the first and only time in His life, Jesus is about to receive the worship that He was worthy of. The people are ecstatic just to lay eyes on Jesus. They are shouting and cheering. Many chants, "Hosanna to the son of David; Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord; Hosanna in the highest!" (Matt. 21:9). Some people put their coats down before Him. Tree limbs are snapping as some people take the branches off to wave them in an act of worship. As He makes His way down the street, the whole city is in an uproar. People question, "Who is this? Can this be the King?".
                 As Jesus makes His way through Jerusalem, He knows this is the beginning of the end. Over the next few days, everything will change as the people turn their cheers of worship into cheers of hatred. They will go from shouting, "Hosanna in the highest!" to standing in front of Pilate shouting, "Crucify Him!" (Matt. 27:22). These people who adored Him Sunday will choose another over Him by Friday. These people, excited about seeing Him, began to mock Him and spit on Him. Why would they do this? Could He be the one that can turn their nation around? Many begin to doubt, "Can this be the King?"
                 The Jewish people are looking for a king that will restore their nation. They are looking for a leader that can make Israel great again. There are many prophecies concerning this King, and it appears to the Jewish people that Jesus could be that King. The problem that the Jewish people have is that they are looking for a king to fix their earthly problems. The answer to their problems cannot be found in worldly solutions because their issues are spiritual, not physical. God has a spiritual answer for the spiritual problems of the Jewish people. God has a spiritual king named Jesus.
                 The Jewish people are looking for an earthly king. They are looking for a mighty king with all the servants, fame, and glory that comes with it. They look up high to see where a physical king might be found while Jesus, the spiritual King, becomes a servant. He is lowly and humble. They are looking for a baby messiah to be born in a palace with the softest linens to cover his body, but Jesus was born in a dirty stable, wrapped in swaddling clothes, and laid in a manger. The Jewish people are looking for a mighty king to come riding into the city on this day on a great white stallion, but Jesus comes riding into the city on a donkey's colt. The Jewish people go from worshipping their King to crucifying their King because they are busy looking through carnal lenses. They should have been looking through spiritual lenses. They knew that He was coming and how He would be. God gave them plenty of information about His coming, and they missed Him. The King that they had been waiting on walked with them. He talked to them, taught them, and touched many of them in different ways, but they still missed it. Jesus is the King!
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Hosanna in the highest!
Pastor Josh May
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