Sometimes the scenes themselves do not have to be grand, to
offer what is truly magnificent. Imagine
that humble manger outside of Bethlehem all those years ago. That scene was not one of palatial glory, or
of a grand spectacle of nature. It was
dirty. It was smelly. It was small.
And yet in it, was born the Master of the entire Universe, come because
His vision was able to look down through time and space and lock eyes with you. That Baby knew how much you specifically
needed Him to be born. His love for you
was unique and His ability to lock eyes and hearts with you was undimmed even
though He must take human form and humble Himself to be born of a virgin, and
laid in our rags, in a manger where barn animals most often had dinner, and not
far from where dinner was then deposited (thus the smells). That sight was not one of a heavenly throne
our Lord had always earned and been worthy of.
It was instead a poo factory, with new parents who had no clue how to
raise the Son of God. And here was Jesus
locked in a totally dependent human form, because even then He knew what you
needed and was willing to pay any price to offer it to you.
But years would pass by.
The baby would grow into the Man, the Lamb of God. His ministry would mature and now be nearing
its interrupted close. And just before
that happened, the view would once again become spectacular. Luke tells us this story in his gospel letter
to his friend about what we believe and why.
It begins in the nineteenth chapter picking up in verse 28 saying … “And when he had thus
spoken, he went before, ascending up to Jerusalem. [verse 29] And it came to pass, when
he was come nigh to Bethphage and Bethany, at the mount called the mount of
Olives, he sent two of his disciples, [verse 30] Saying, Go ye into the village over against you; in the which at
your entering ye shall find a colt tied, whereon yet never man sat: loose him,
and bring him hither. [verse 31] And if any man
ask you, Why do ye loose him? thus shall ye say unto him, Because the Lord hath
need of him. [verse 32] And they that were sent went their way, and found even as he had
said unto them. [verse 33] And as they were loosing the colt, the owners thereof said unto
them, Why loose ye the colt? [verse 34] And they said, The Lord
hath need of him.”
Jesus was about to make His final triumphal entry into the
capital city of Jerusalem. The people
would see this as their new King finally coming to take His place upon the
throne of the nation and with a simple word drive out the Romans who had so
long oppressed them. Those pagan Romans
were about to “get theirs” so to speak.
Yet this was not what Jesus had in mind.
Even now our Savior chooses humility instead of grandeur. One simple colt is enough for Him. Jesus does not summon a team of white
Stallions and a chariot of fire to ride upon to make this journey. There is to be no army at His side. Ironically even Romans would be welcomed in
this processional. And all Jesus asks
for is a baby donkey, a colt, that has never been ridden by any man. An animal unbroken by bridal or whip, perhaps
still too young for it. Perhaps a
descendant of the same donkey family who witnessed His birth only 30 years
earlier in that dirty stable transformed at His mere presence within it.
Every sign of Jesus was one of peace. But His own disciples refused to see it. They just could not help themselves. At last, the final national unveiling of the
new King was about to happen. They could
just sense it. Above all else they sought
position in the earthly kingdom they imagined Jesus was about to setup. So Luke continues in verse 35 saying … “And they brought him
to Jesus: and they cast their garments upon the colt, and they set Jesus
thereon. [verse 36] And as he went, they spread their clothes in the way. [verse
37] And when he was come nigh, even now at the descent of the mount of
Olives, the whole multitude of the disciples began to rejoice and praise God
with a loud voice for all the mighty works that they had seen; [verse 38] Saying, Blessed be
the King that cometh in the name of the Lord: peace in heaven, and glory in the
highest.” The people are
overwhelmed with joy. Their faith in
Jesus is on full display. And in ironies
of ironies, they all with one accord sing anthems of praise, steeped in the
lyrics of peace itself. Even though
peace is not in their hearts, justice is.
They are looking for long overdue relief from the suffering under a pagan
foot. Surely it is time for the God of
Israel to re-establish His power over the pagan gods that have so long wrecked
His kingdom and His people.
This processional is one built for a King, and for the first
time Jesus seems to be allowing it, instead of just disappearing into the crowd
unable to put that crown upon His head.
The chorus of songs however too closely associate Jesus with having come
from God, and so the Sanhedrin is not amused.
Luke continues in verse 39 saying … “And some of the Pharisees
from among the multitude said unto him, Master, rebuke thy disciples. [verse
40] And he answered and said unto them, I tell you that, if these should hold their peace, the stones would
immediately cry out.” The
prophets of long ago had predicted this very scene, and so that prophecy was to
be fulfilled. If the disciples of Jesus kept
silent the stones would begin to praise God and sing out. The Pharisees knew what they were facing. And they knew Jesus did not lie, or exaggerate,
so they backed off their demands. They
would simply endure this and later find another way to claim it did not exactly
fulfill what Isaiah had predicted.
The processional moved on.
The view eventually came upon a local ridge that offered a scene to
behold the city of Jerusalem from.
Imagine the rebuilt Solomon’s temple in all its glory. Coated with gold upon the rooftop making it
reflect the sun’s light in almost blinding detail. The city was arrayed like a bride waiting for
her bridegroom. And here was Jesus coming
to it. The view was grand and spectacular. The sounds were of anthems sung for the Son of
God, eagerly awaiting Him to take His place as our earthly King, even if that
was not to be His destiny. This was a
scene that filled the eyes and hearts of men.
But Jesus could see something else.
His eyes could see past the fickle praise, and self-motivated joy. It was more than just a welcoming of Romans
to the fountain of salvation that moved Him.
It was a look backwards through time at all the events that had defined
this city in pain that comes from the embrace of sin, and more to the point,
the refusal to acknowledge it. But Jesus
does not just look backwards, He looks forwards across more than a century. He looks across millenia and spans time and
space, and He sees in this moment, not just the citizens of Jerusalem, but straight
into your house, your home, and right into your heart.
Luke continues to record His words in verse 41 saying … “And when he was come
near, he beheld the city, and wept over it, [verse 42] Saying, If thou hadst known, even thou, at least in this thy day, the
things which belong unto thy peace! but now they are hid from thine eyes. [verse
43] For the days shall come upon thee, that thine
enemies shall cast a trench about thee, and compass thee round, and keep thee
in on every side, [verse 44] And shall lay thee
even with the ground, and thy children within thee; and they shall not leave in
thee one stone upon another; because thou knewest not the time of thy
visitation.” We read these words
and think backwards to the time when the Romans (who were never thrown out by
Jesus despite their pagan gods and torture of God’s beloved people and His own
Son) would come and totally surround Jerusalem until they completely destroyed
it in anger and rage. Their siege of it
would last so long it bring the people to the point of starvation, even to
consider eating their own children to survive.
We look back and heed the warning of Jesus.
But what if that warning was not just meant for them? What if Jesus was talking to you. What if your enemy was not a Roman soldier
but a demon of addiction binding your heart to a cherished sin you will not
acknowledge or allow Jesus to free you from.
What if you without even realizing it, are encompassed by fallen angels
bent on your destruction, having dug a trench around you, to lock you into what
you like, what you enjoy, what you want.
Have you considered your destruction might entangle your children with
you, pulling your whole family down with your sin. All because you refuse to see the time of
your visitation by Jesus to free you from your choices and desires. Your prayers become corrupted by what you
want, wanting what you should not. And
while you see a processional for a King you hope will grant you even more of
your desires. The heart of Jesus breaks
at your refusal to see anything else, including His so great love for you. Jesus is so distraught by this, He
weeps. Weeping is not a gentle cry, it
is anguish that cannot be hid. It is
loud. It is full of tears. It would be embarrassing to most of us, but
not so with Jesus. He weeps openly for
you. Oh that His tears would blend with
your own. Oh that your heart would
finally break and find His so open to you.
Of that you would at last release your mind and heart to Him to be
finally and fully remade in His image and not your own.
The words of the Christmas tune include “Do you see what I
see?”. Jesus saw past the spectacle that
might otherwise fill our eyes, to what is truly important to Him. He locks eyes with you, and begs you to see
more than what is right in front of you.
And His heart breaks into weeping at what He finds. Can we change that outcome? Can we take the tears of our savior and turn
them into joy, to restore happiness to His heart, by the release of our
own? Can you finally see what Jesus sees? Or are we to be locked into looking only for
more of what we want, when what we want, is the problem we face. Let us look up, away from everything else, and
find magnificence in becoming someone new, remade as clay in the hands of the
Lord, with a new heart, that finds it must have, new things, things we could
not imagined before. Let us not refuse
to see the time of our visitation, but instead embrace it and do not let it
pass.
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