11 As they approached Jerusalem and came to Bethphage and Bethany at the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two of his disciples, 2 saying to them, “Go to the village ahead of you, and just as you enter it, you will find a colt tied there, which no one has ever ridden. Untie it and bring it here. 3 If anyone asks you, ‘Why are you doing this?’ say, ‘The Lord needs it and will send it back here shortly.’”
4 They went and found a colt outside in the street, tied at a doorway. As they untied it, 5 some people standing there asked, “What are you doing, untying that colt?” 6 They answered as Jesus had told them to, and the people let them go. 7 When they brought the colt to Jesus and threw their cloaks over it, he sat on it. 8 Many people spread their cloaks on the road, while others spread branches they had cut in the fields. 9 Those who went ahead and those who followed shouted,
“Hosanna!”
“Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!”
10 “Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David!”
“Hosanna in the highest heaven!”
11 Jesus entered Jerusalem and went into the temple courts. He looked around at everything, but since it was already late, he went out to Bethany with the Twelve.
Kevin placed great emphasis on the discrepancy between the people's expectations of Jesus as he rode into Jerusalem on a donkey and those of Jesus himself: they expected an Earthly king to free them from the heavy Roman yoke on Judea, while Jesus was instead doing the work of his heavenly father, work that had much more far-reaching consequences. It is this contrast between what we sometimes expect from God and what Kevin terms his "perfect will" that can often get us into trouble, not only in how we interpret our experiences, but also in how we act upon them. On the other hand, as a Christian I do have expectations of God based on his love for me, and I believe that as long as I understand that although his ways and will are at times beyond my comprehension, he listens to me and wants my greater interests realized and protected. The conflict is when what I think are my greater interests diverge from God's perspective...
A couple of points I'd like to bring up regarding this message. First, on the surface it may seem like riding the colt of a donkey, instead of a more prestigious horse, might be a signal of humility on the part of Jesus...but this was done specifically to fulfill the prophecy of the messiah's coming laid out in the Old Testament book of Zechariah, which would have been widely known at that time among the Jewish population there. Second, there is no indication that the "crowd" was disillusioned with Jesus when, after seeing that it was already late at the temple, he left to be with his disciples...this seems to be reading something into the text that isn't there. Furthermore, there's no evidence from what I can see that the "crowd" that greeted Jesus on his triumphal entry was the same "crowd" that later angrily shouted "crucify him!". To take a more modern example, there were crowds at Trump campaign rallies and then, after he was elected, crowds protesting him...would anyone automatically argue that these "crowds" were composed of the same people? Nevertheless, I understand and appreciate this message, for it is crucial that we temper our expectations of God with the wisdom that he already knows what is best for us according to his perfect will...
You can watch this and other sermons on the Family Church YouTube video website, available through this link: [link]. The Family Church will be holding its Easter services this Sunday morning at 7 (outdoors sunrise service), 9:30, and 11. It is located at 2022 SW 122nd Street...
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