Welcome to Eastertide! Over the next several weeks we will walk with Jesus and his followers from Palm Sunday to Pentecost, exploring what it means to know Christ as our resurrected Savior-King. I pray that these devotionals fill your heart with hope and strength – resurrection power so that your faith might turn into love and your love into service for our King.
Mark 11:1-11. 1Now when they drew near to Jerusalem, to Bethphage and Bethany, at the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two of his disciples 2and said to them, “Go into the village in front of you, and immediately as you enter it you will find a colt tied, on which no one has ever sat. Untie it and bring it. 3If anyone says to you, ‘Why are you doing this?’ say, ‘The Lord has need of it and will send it back here immediately.’” 4And they went away and found a colt tied at a door outside in the street, and they untied it. 5And some of those standing there said to them, “What are you doing, untying the colt?” 6And they told them what Jesus had said, and they let them go. 7And they brought the colt to Jesus and threw their cloaks on it, and he sat on it. 8And many spread their cloaks on the road, and others spread leafy branches that they had cut from the fields. 9And those who went before and those who followed were shouting, “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! 10Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David! Hosanna in the highest!” 11And he entered Jerusalem and went into the temple. And when he had looked around at everything, as it was already late, he went out to Bethany with the twelve.
This trip of Jesus into Jerusalem has been three years in the making. It’s not his first time travelling to Jerusalem, but it is by far his most important. For Jews it is the week of Passover, the Feast of Unleavened Bread. Now Christians call it Holy Week. The week of Jesus’ death and resurrection. But first it is the day of Christ’s triumphal entry. Palm Sunday.
Jesus pulls a page straight out of history. The ancient kings would be crowned and then paraded through the streets of Jerusalem on a donkey, a symbol of peace. Jesus will enter Jerusalem on a donkey just like Solomon did when he claimed the throne of Israel a thousand years earlier. Jesus gives it a twist though; he goes lower still on a colt, the humble foal of a donkey as the prophet Zechariah predicted. Still, it’s a clear message – “I am your king.” The “messianic secret” he’s been keeping for three years is now way out there for all to see.
But what kind of king will Jesus be? Will he restore Israel to power? Will he overthrow Rome? Everyone believes he can. He raised the dead for goodness sake. He fed thousands on a hillside with a boy’s lunch. Think about how unstoppable his army would be. Never running out of food and no dying.
“Hosanna” they cry. “Save us.”
But Jesus didn’t come to conquer Rome. He came to conquer sin and its consequence, death. He came to conquer our hearts with his own life. He came to change us from the inside out, not the outside in.
We see it in verse 11. It’s almost anti-climactic. Jesus rides triumphantly into Jerusalem. Goes straight to the Temple. Looks around. Can you feel the suspense? Can you feel the tension building? But then Jesus looks at his watch, realizes it’s getting late and says, “OK boys let’s get to Bethany, we don’t want to be late for dinner.”
Bethany.
The home of the Simons: Simon, Martha, Mary, and Lazarus. Jesus’ home away from home. Jesus never slept in Jerusalem. Not until the night he died there. He always went to Bethany and stayed with his adopted family. The one family who understood what Jesus was really up to. The family that always welcomed him. The family that gave him a place to rest and pray. The family that served him and sat at his feet to be served by him. The family that will anoint him for burial and while he still lived.
Bethany is where Jesus laughed, cried, healed, loved, and felt loved. Bethany is where Jesus will go every night of Holy Week, until his battle with sin and death on Friday and his own resurrection on Sunday.
We are Bethany.
Through our union with Christ, Jesus now resides in us, the church. His Bethany. Our hearts are the home for our servant king. Together we are the place where Jesus finds refuge and strength with his loving family.
Our king has made us his home. He has ridden into our hearts triumphantly when we cried hosanna. Save us! And save us he has. Jesus lives in us as God’s resurrection power. Together we sit at his feet receiving from him our daily bread of life.
Jesus has saved us to the uttermost, making our hearts his dwelling. His home. May we dwell in him today, letting Christ take center stage in our hearts each and every day.
You: Is Christ your triumphant yet humble king? Does he dwell in your heart? How do you know?
You in Christ: Union with Christ makes Christ your Savior-King. In what ways do you need to acknowledge Jesus as both your savior and your king?
Christ in you: How can you sit at Jesus’ feet today and every day, receiving rom him his love and life?
Prayer: Jesus you found a place in Bethany. Today find a place in us. No need for us to wave palm branches. No cries of hosanna. No expectations of political upheaval. Just capture our hearts once again. Let us sit at your feet Jesus, until God makes your enemies your footstool. Let us anoint you with our love. Let us find our life in your sacrifice. And may you find a refuge in our hearts. Amen.
To Live is Christ 