LESSONS FROM THE MAN ON THE OTHER CROSS

 CLICK HERE FOR THE LESS THAN 2-MINUTE YOU TUBE VIDEO ON WHAT THE THIEF ON THE OTHER CROSS  AT THE CRUCIFIXION OF JESUS CHRIST 

AND WHAT IT MEANS TODAY

TEXT: LUKE23:42-43

SCREENSHOT FROM YOUTUBE SHORT

THE SUFFERING ON THE CROSS....FROM PSALM 22

Psalm 22 is a stark prophetic message written about 1000 years before the actual Crucifixion of the Lord Jesus Christ, on what we now call Good Friday.

It describes in detail what the Messiah suffered in the Body, on the Cross, and what His thoughts were at that pivotal time in all History! 

As we read this, let us therefore keep in mind, not just the fact that it was prophesied 1000 years before it happened, but that Almighty God, the Great Father of Heaven, had this great plan for the Redemption of All Mankind,  way before the first man walked the face of planet Earth. Jesus, the One Son of God, fulfilled that plan and created the narrow path for our own Salvation, on that great and glorious day, called Good Friday. Amen

PSALM 22 (NKJV)

1   My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?

Why are You so far from helping Me,

And from the words of My groaning?

2   O My God, I cry in the daytime, but You do not hear;

And in the night season, and am not silent.

3   But You are holy,

Enthroned in the praises of Israel.

4   Our fathers trusted in You;

They trusted, and You delivered them.

5   They cried to You, and were delivered;

They trusted in You, and were not ashamed.

6   But I am a worm, and no man;

A reproach of men, and despised by the people.

7   All those who see Me ridicule Me;

They shoot out the lip, they shake the head, saying,

8  “ He trusted in the Lord, let Him rescue Him;

Let Him deliver Him, since He delights in Him!”

9    But You are He who took Me out of the womb;

You made Me trust while on My mother’s breasts.

10  I was cast upon You from birth.

From My mother’s womb

You have been My God.

11   Be not far from Me,

For trouble is near;

For there is none to help.

12   Many bulls have surrounded Me;

Strong bulls of Bashan have encircled Me.

13   They gape at Me with their mouths,

Like a raging and roaring lion.

14   I am poured out like water,

And all My bones are out of joint;

My heart is like wax;

It has melted within Me.

15   My strength is dried up like a potsherd,

And My tongue clings to My jaws;

You have brought Me to the dust of death.

16   For dogs have surrounded Me;

The congregation of the wicked has enclosed Me.

They pierced My hands and My feet;

17   I can count all My bones.

They look and stare at Me.

18   They divide My garments among them,

And for My clothing they cast lots.

19   But You, O Lord, do not be far from Me;

O My Strength, hasten to help Me!

20   Deliver Me from the sword,

My precious life from the power of the dog.

21   Save Me from the lion’s mouth

And from the horns of the wild oxen!

You have answered Me.

22   I will declare Your name to My brethren;

In the midst of the assembly I will praise You.

23   You who fear the Lord, praise Him!

All you descendants of Jacob, glorify Him,

And fear Him, all you offspring of Israel!

24   For He has not despised nor abhorred the affliction of the afflicted;

Nor has He hidden His face from Him;

But when He cried to Him, He heard.

25   My praise shall be of You in the great assembly;

I will pay My vows before those who fear Him.

26   The poor shall eat and be satisfied;

Those who seek Him will praise the Lord.

Let your heart live forever!

27   All the ends of the world

Shall remember and turn to the Lord,

And all the families of the nations

Shall worship before You.

28   For the kingdom is the Lord’s,

And He rules over the nations.

29   All the prosperous of the earth

Shall eat and worship;

All those who go down to the dust

Shall bow before Him,

Even he who cannot keep himself alive.

30   A posterity shall serve Him.

It will be recounted of the Lord to the next generation,

31   They will come and declare His righteousness to a people who will be born,

That He has done this.

New King James Version (NKJV)

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

HOLY WEEK: FROM HOLY MONDAY TO "SPY" WEDNESDAY

This entire Holy (or Passion) Week was filled with stunning events which have stood the test of time for almost 2000 years. For it is on this week, that Jesus first over turned the corrupt religious High Priest Annas' money tables in the Jerusalem Temple on Monday, to the teach of the Parables and more on Tuesday (see below).

On the day before the Passover of Holy Week, which the Lord Jesus celebrated with His disciples, the Gospel of Matthew records the betrayal of Jesus by Judas for 30 pieces of silver. This day of rest for Jesus in Bethany, also saw the woman anoint His feet with the expensive jar of Alabaster oil.

On Holy Monday: 

Cleansing of the Temple  (Matthew 21:12-13)

Then Jesus went into the temple [d]of God and drove out all those who bought and sold in the temple, and overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who sold doves. And He said to them, “It is written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer,’ but you have made it a ‘den of thieves.’ ”

On Holy Tuesday: 

The Parable of the Two Sons (Matt. 21:28-32)

Then on Holy Tuesday, some of these same priests tried to lay a trap for Him. 

Jesus dispatched them with ease and proceeded to teach on The Parable of the Two Sons, The Parable of the Two Tenants, and The Parable of the Wedding Feast:

 “But what do you think? A man had two sons, and he came to the first and said, ‘Son, go, work today in my vineyard.’ He answered and said, ‘I will not,’ but afterward he regretted it and went.  Then he came to the second and said likewise. And he answered and said, ‘I go, sir,’ but he did not go.  Which of the two did the will of his father?”  They said to Him, “The first.”

Jesus said to them, “Truly, I say to you, the tax collectors and the prostitutes go into the kingdom of God before you.  For John came to you in the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and the prostitutes believed him. And even when you saw it, you did not afterward change your minds and believe him.

The Parable of the Tenants (Matt. 21:33-41)

“Hear another parable. There was a master of a house who planted a vineyard and put a fence around it and dug a winepress in it and built a tower and leased it to tenants, and went into another country. When the season for fruit drew near, he sent his servants[c] to the tenants to get his fruit. And the tenants took his servants and beat one, killed another, and stoned another. Again he sent other servants, more than the first. And they did the same to them. 

Finally He sent His Son to them, saying, ‘They will respect My Son.’  But when the tenants saw the Son, they said to themselves, ‘This is the heir. Come, let us kill Him and have His inheritance.’ And they took Him and threw Him out of the vineyard and killed Him. When therefore the owner of the vineyard comes, what will He do to those tenants?” They said to him, “He will put those wretches to a miserable death and let out the vineyard to other tenants who will give Him the fruits in their seasons.”

The Parable of the Wedding Feast (Matt. 22:1-14)

And again Jesus spoke to them in parables, saying,  “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a wedding feast for His Son, and sent His servants  to call those who were invited to the wedding feast, but they would not come. Again He sent other servants, saying, ‘Tell those who are invited, “See, I have prepared My dinner, My oxen and My fat calves have been slaughtered, and everything is ready. Come to the wedding feast.”’  But they paid no attention and went off, one to His farm, another to his business, while the rest seized His servants, treated them shamefully, and killed them.  

The king was angry, and he sent his troops and destroyed those murderers and burned their city. Then He said to His servants, ‘The wedding feast is ready, but those invited were not worthy.  Go therefore to the main roads and invite to the wedding feast as many as you find.’  And those servants went out into the roads and gathered all whom they found, both bad and good. So the wedding hall was filled with guests.

“But when the king came in to look at the guests, He saw there a man who had no wedding garment.  And He said to him, ‘Friend, how did you get in here without a wedding garment?’ And he was speechless. Then the king said to the attendants, ‘Bind him hand and foot and cast him into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’  For many are called, but few are chosen.”

ON "SPY WEDNESDAY"

JUDAS BETRAYS JESUS (MATTHEW 26:1-16)

When Jesus had finished all these sayings, He said to His disciples,  “You know that after two days the Passover is coming, and the Son of Man will be delivered up to be crucified.”

Then the chief priests and the elders of the people gathered in the palace of the high priest, whose name was Caiaphas,  and plotted together in order to arrest Jesus by stealth and kill Him.  But they said, “Not during the feast, lest there be an uproar among the people.”

Now when Jesus was at Bethany in the house of Simon the leper, a woman came up to Him with an alabaster flask of very expensive ointment, and she poured it on his head as he reclined at table. And when the disciples saw it, they were indignant, saying, “Why this waste?  For this could have been sold for a large sum and given to the poor.”  

But Jesus, aware of this, said to them, “Why do you trouble the woman? For she has done a beautiful thing to Me.  For you always have the poor with you, but you will not always have Me.  In pouring this ointment on my body, she has done it to prepare Me for burial.  Truly, I say to you, wherever this gospel is proclaimed in the whole world, what she has done will also be told in memory of her.”

Then one of the twelve, whose name was Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests  and said, “What will you give me if I deliver Him over to you?” And they paid him thirty pieces of silver. And from that moment he sought an opportunity to betray Him.

READ MORE ABOUT HOLY TUESDAY HERE FROM THE BOOK OF MATTHEW 

(CLICK) ON BIBLE GATEWAY

English Standard Version (ESV)

The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

A PRAYER AT THE START OF HOLY WEEK 2021

Most Gracious God in Heaven, at the start of Holy Week, we reflect with great gratitude and sadness at what our rebellion, sin and iniquity led to on that Friday, almost two thousand years ago. On a hill far way, as the old rugged Cross exacted brutality and pain from the Suffering Savior, You brought one Final Atonement for all the sin of all the world, past, present and future.

Lord, Your Great Son, Creator of Heaven and earth, bore our sin and shame and carried our pains.  He was afflicted for the terminal illness of the consequences of our sins.  He was persecuted, flogged and then pierced through for our rebellion. He was crushed for all our outrageous iniquities. But by His Wounds, we were healed. By His Stripes He brought us the roadmap to redemption. By His Sacrifice, we were exonerated from paying a massive debt, for which we had absolutely no hope of even paying the interest.

Father, as the Lord Jesus set His Mighty Eyes towards Jerusalem and never wavered, may WE never waver from our commitment to serve, honor and obey You, as the Bride of Christ we have been set apart to be. 

May we, as joint heirs with Christ in the Eternal Kingdom, resolve to set our hearts in motion to love You with all our mind, body and soul.

May our feet be planted on the solid ground of the Gospel of Jesus and the Word of God, which stands forever in the Heavens. 

May our hands reach out and serve the least of these and never grow weary from doing good, from our homes to the hopeless. 

May our ears listen to the clarion call from the Word of Truth to be ye Holy, as YOU are Holy, so we will not stray from the narrow paths of righteousness. 

May our eyes see You in all creation as we worship You in Spirit and in Truth, as one day, even the rocks will cry out.

May our mouths proclaim the Salvation of the Lord, wherever we see the lost, hurting and those who need a hand up or a hope whispered. 

May the Sacrifice, which comes at the end of the week which changed the entire course of human history, not be trivialized but studied to show ourselves approved.  

May it be honored so that we do not grieve the Heart of the Lord and the Holy Spirit. 

May this same Sacrifice by the Good Shepherd Who rescued His wayward sheep, be passed down not just to generations not yet born, but the living who grew up in homes where the Name of the Lord is not well known or revered.  

Father, so, as we remember the Savior's suffering and persecution, may we as Christians, even venture to call our current sufferings - our jewels!

May we regard suffering for Christ a significant honor.

May the griefs we endure be the fuel for a life symbolized by perseverance.

May our sorrows and troubles be seen in light of Who He is and What He did for us, for on that great and glorious Day, when we see Him - face to Face - all things which are now murky as in a mirror, we shall see Him as He is - the King of Heaven and the Lord of all.  

For it is in His Mighty, Strong, Delivering, Powerful, Liberating and Excellent Name we pray - Amen and amen.

CONSIDER THIS: PROPITIATION

 "In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins…." 1 John 4:10

CONSIDER THIS: Propitiation is one BIG word! Also, it is one of the biggest original words in the Bible which is found nowhere else except to refer to this – the satisfactory self-sacrifice of our Loving Lord and Savior Jesus Christ! In fact, the condition of man was so bad, God the Father had to send God the Son to be the only perfect and acceptable payment for our sins – past, present and future – because that was the only satisfactory way for mankind to reconcile with Him.

ACTION: What are we willing to sacrifice to fulfill our end of this amazing compact/covenant/contract with Holy God? Whatever it is today, it MUST cost us something….because it cost Him EVERYTHING! Our self-check today is to examine the strength of our commitment to walk in the manner worthy of our calling as Christians. If there is something lacking here, let us then resolve to move to repentance and recommitment.

Lord, we are sinners who do not deserve Your Grace. Nothing which we can do, in our vile nature, nothing we can sacrifice come close to being acceptable to redeem us before Your Holy and Majestic Throne. How can the imperfect approach the Perfect. It was only when the Lord Jesus, the Ancient of Days, Who did not consider equality with You a thing to be held on to, stepped of His eternal Throne in Heaven, and willingly gave His Life on the Cross of Calvary as the payment for all sin, past, present and future, that You were satisfied with a Sacrifice for Sin. In this respect, we are to not just honor Christ’s willingly giving the human side of His Life but Your, oh Most High God, willingness to accept it, according to Your pre-ordained plan in Heaven. Thank You, Almighty God. Because of this, we can spend eternity in Your Presence, if Jesus is our Lord and Savior and the One Who stands before You as our daily Advocate, in His Name, amen and amen.

CONSIDER THIS: BEHOLD

 “Behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age….Matthew 28:20

CONSIDER THIS: The word “BEHOLD” appears in the Bible (the universally accepted King James…and other versions) over 1320 times! The word means to fix your attention (eyes, mind etc) on something; to fix your eyes upon or to direct your fixed gaze to! The great John the Baptist said “BEHOLD, the Lamb of God Who takes away the sins of the world”. The brutal Pontius Pilate said “BEHOLD The Man!” Are you beholding the Man – Christ Jesus today? Is not just your Sunday gaze, but is your Monday-Saturday night gaze, mind, body, soul and every fiber of your being in the manifest presence of Jesus Christ and the Beauty and Majesty of Him Who sits on the Throne?

ACTION: Being in the manifest presence of the Lord – Jesus Christ – is only possible on this side of heaven, if one is filled with the Holy Spirit. Being filled with the Holy Spirit means only one thing – a person’s sins are forgiven and we are born again. Therefore, since we have the Spirit of Christ in us through being redeemed/saved/rescued by Him, our only way to being found in His image is through knowing Him more and more each day. It is a process, a marathon and something which will take us right up until our final breath. This requires an intentional walk closer and closer to Him through reading and learning the Scriptures – the Bible and through daily prayer and devotion to Him, in thought, word and deed. The task today, if we have completely not gotten in the swing of it, the previous 22 days of the 31 days of Prayer, is to firmly set this goal before us and start moving the very next minute towards it. It is as easy as backing out of the driveway unto the street in the morning. It will require the foot on the gas pedal of active faith, from here on out.

Father, in the Name of Jesus, we pray that You firm up our resolve in this way, that we may not only know that we are saved and a follower of Jesus Christ, but we will know, for certain, that we are walking in His Will, but seeking His Presence in EVERYTHING we do each and every day, no matter how small or large we think the thing is. Lord, help us to be more like Jesus. We love, adore and glorify His Precious and Holy Name, amen and amen.

CHRIST AND THE CROSS

The account of Good Friday is more than the Redemption of Mankind. It contrasts the fallen depraved nature of humankind with beauty, stark accuracy and the Promise of God’s Word - The Bible.

TEXTS USED: VARIOUS....(INCLUDING):

Isaiah 53 New American Standard Bible (NASB)

53 Who has believed our message?
And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?
2 For He grew up before Him like a tender [a]shoot,
And like a root out of parched ground;
He has no stately form or majesty
That we should look upon Him,
Nor appearance that we should [b]be attracted to Him.
3 He was despised and forsaken of men,
A man of [c]sorrows and acquainted with [d]grief;
And like one from whom men hide their face
He was despised, and we did not esteem Him.

4 Surely our [e]griefs He Himself bore,
And our [f]sorrows He carried;
Yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken,
[g]Smitten of God, and afflicted.
5 But He was [h]pierced through for our transgressions,
He was crushed for our iniquities;
The chastening for our [i]well-being fell upon Him,
And by His scourging we are healed.
6 All of us like sheep have gone astray,
Each of us has turned to his own way;
But the Lord has caused the iniquity of us allTo [j]fall on Him.

CLICK HERE FOR REST OF THIS PASSAGE

New American Standard Bible (NASB)Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman FoundationCLICK HERE FOR REST OF THE PASSAGE

GOOD FRIDAY: PSALM 22 (PROPHESIED)...MATTHEW 27 (FULFILLED)

The Cross is the most popular jewelry item in the world. In the west, even secular people use them, for some reason or another.  Even bad biker gangs have insignia in the form of a cross celebrating- God knows what. To those living in the Roman Empire, 2000 years ago, the Cross was NO ‘fasthion statement”. It was a brutal instrument of torture, mayhem, and death which the Romans inflicted on their enemies, far and wide.

The most famous Person to be executed on the Cross was, of course, the Lord Jesus Christ.  Were it not for Him, no one would know what crucifixion was, outside of a history class. Also, no one would know that it was the Sin of ALL mankind there – Jewish and Roman (or Gentile) which precipitated the Sacrifice of the God’s Son as the Propitiation (Satisfactory) payment for our sins

Almost 1000 years before Christ (BC) was nailed to the Cross by evil men on Good Friday, the very same words He would utter on there were prophesied and written down by King David, the poet/prophet/king of Israel.  It was not just the immortal statements uttered by Christ which came from Psalm 22,  but what actually took place from the point of view of God Who became a man – the Lord Jesus! It is a vantage point which believers, who are indwelled by the Holy Spirit of God Who moved the pen of David to write this, will immediately recognize. Jesus is literally describing what He physically experiences in this psalm, in graphic detail! it should make us cringe. It was our vile sin which caused this to occur.

Therefore, the vivid, heartbreaking, painful and incredibly horrific events are now presented, as remembrance – without comment – from prophetic Messianic Psalm 22 (written around 940 BC) in BLUE along with the actual fulfillment of these prophesies, from Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke in RED (of events from 33 AD).

PSALM 22:

My God, my God, why have You forsaken me? - verse 1a

MATTHEW 27

About the ninth hour, Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, "ELI, ELI, LAMA SABACHTHANI?" that is, "MY GOD, MY GOD, WHY HAVE YOU FORSAKEN ME? - verse 46

PSALM 22:

6 But I am a worm and not a man,  a reproach of men and despised by the people.

7 All who see me sneer at me;  they separate with the lip, they wag the head, saying,

8 “Commit yourself to the Lord; let Him deliver him; let Him rescue him because He delights in him.”

MATTHEW 27:

41 So also the chief priests, with the scribes and elders, mocked him, saying, 42 “He saved others; he cannot save himself. He is the King of Israel; let him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in him. 43 He trusts in God; let God deliver him now if he desires him. For he said, ‘I am the Son of God.’”

JESUS DESCRIBES WHAT IT FEELS LIKE FROM THE CROSS HERE:

PSALM 22:

14 I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint; My heart is like wax; it is melted within me.

15 My strength is dried up like a potsherd, and my tongue cleaves to my jaws;

And You lay me in the dust of death.

16 For dogs have surrounded me; a band of evildoers has encompassed me; they pierced my hands and my feet.***

17 I can count all my bones. they look, they stare at me; 

18 They divide my garments among them, and for my clothing they cast lots.

MATTHEW 27:

35 When they had crucified him,*** they divided up his clothes by casting lots.

MARK 15

24  And they crucified him. Dividing up his clothes, they cast lots to see what each would get.

LUKE 24:

34  Jesus said, "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing." And they divided up his clothes by casting lots.

Jesus then completed the Work which the Father had given Him to do: It is finished!" And He bowed His head and gave up His spirit (John 19:30b)

(Image Credits Here)

HOLY WEEK: - THURSDAY ....."PROPHESY REVEALED, REALITY UNVEILED"

The Ultimate Sacrificial Death on the Cross, of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, was both predicted in the Old Testament and confirmed in the New Testament, sometimes almost word for word!  About 740 years before Jesus gave His Life as a ransom for many, that all the world could be saved, the Prophet Isaiah wrote and prophesied in one of the greatest Chapters of the entire bible – Isaiah 53.

Jesus was the propitiation – the acceptable to God the Father sacrifice for the sins of all mankind, for all time.  Jesus, the Perfect Lamb of God, came meek and humble, yet knew what He taught and the reason for it. While He spoke a few words in front of His corrupt religious accusers and Pilate, He said not a word to the heathen King Herod.  As for Herod, Jesus will have a lot to say to Him on Judgment Day.

Here, we present the Word of God, from selected verses from Isaiah 53 (blue),Matthew Chapter 27 (red),Matthew 28 and 1 Corinthians 15:3, without comment:

ISAIAH 53:

4 Surely our griefs He Himself bore, and our sorrows He carried; yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. 5 But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the chastening for our well-being fell upon Him, and by His scourging we are healed. 6 All of us like sheep have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; but the Lord has caused the iniquity of us all to fall on Him. 7 He was oppressed and He was afflicted, yet He did not open His mouth; like a lamb that is led to slaughter, and like a sheep that is silent before its shearers, so He did not open His mouth.

Matthew 27:
11 Now Jesus stood before the governor, and the governor questioned Him, saying, “Are You the King of the Jews?” And Jesus said to him, “It is as you say.” 12 And while He was being accused by the chief priests and elders, He did not answer.  13 Then Pilate *said to Him, “Do You not hear how many things they testify against You?” 14 And He did not answer him with regard to even a single charge, so the governor was quite amazed.

ISAIAH 53:
8 By oppression and judgment He was taken away; and as for His generation, who considered that He was cut off out of the land of the living. For the transgression of my people, to whom the stroke was due? For the transgression of my people, to whom the stroke was due? 9 His grave was assigned with wicked men, yet He was with a rich man in His death, because He had done no violence, nor was there any deceit in His mouth.

1 CORINTHIANS 15:3
"Christ died for our sins".

ISAIAH 53:.
10 But the Lord was pleased to crush Him, putting Him to grief; if He would render Himself as a guilt offering, He will see His offspring, He will prolong His days, and the good pleasure of the Lord will prosper in His hand.

Matthew 28:
5 The angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid; for I know that you are looking for Jesus who has been crucified. 6 He is not here, for He has risen, just as He said. Come, see the place where He was lying. 7 Go quickly and tell His disciples that He has risen from the dead; and behold, He is going ahead of you into Galilee, there you will see Him; behold, I have told you.”

PALM SUNDAY - A STUDY IN TWO SIGNIFICANT CONTRASTS

6 The disciples went and did just as Jesus had instructed them, 7 and brought the donkey and the colt, and laid their coats on them; and He sat on the coats. 8 Most of the crowd spread their coats in the road, and others were cutting branches from the trees and spreading them in the road. 9 The crowds going ahead of Him, and those who followed, were shouting, "Hosanna to the Son of David; Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord; Hosanna in the highest!” (Matthew 21:6-9)
The Events of the Final Week of the Lord Jesus Christ, in earthly form, during Passover week of 33 AD is a huge comparison in contrasts. There could not be a bigger display of the thinking of man versus the Incredible Mind of God.

CONTRAST 1:
The people were looking for freedom from the brutal Romans and a king, or strongman leader, who would free them from this evil oppression from the Caesars; his criminal governors and their soldiers.

Jesus WAS that leader and King, however, His Kingdom was not one of flesh and blood run by sinful men. He came with the message of personal deliverance and freedom from bondage, but they would not listen. His "Freedom Agenda" was freedom from sin, death, and hell. Many saw His miracles of healing and even ate His loaves and fishes. BUT even though they followed Him and believe in WHAT He was doing, they ignored their own Scriptures and turned from Him.

66 As a result of this many of His disciples withdrew and were not walking with Him anymore. 67 So Jesus said to the twelve, “You do not want to go away also, do you?” 68 Simon Peter answered Him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have words of eternal life. 
These words of John 6:66-68 tells the story many then and especially today. Jesus had just finished laying down the "rules of the road" in John 6 and the crowds, realizing that a personal decision had to be made, turned away like many have and will, today and in the future. 

Every Easter, more so than Christmas, many like those who turned away when the rubber hit the road, will pack our churches; dressed to the nines and tens with spectacular Easter clothing.....only to go back to their lifestyles and lives, the Monday after Resurrection (Easter) Sunday. Nothing has really changed.

CONTRAST 2:
Unlike those whose contrasting shouts of joy went from "Hosanna, blessed is He Who cometh in the Name of the Lord" (which actually means "please save and deliver us"....in the Name of the Lord) to "CRUCIFY HIM" four days later, Jesus had the long view of His Purpose and time briefly on the Earth.  Like our Heavenly Father, Jesus sees the end from the beginning. The adoring crowds with palms waving as Jesus rode the fresh colt into Jerusalem, (in fulfillment of Zechariah's prophesy) had no idea He was heading to His Death on the Cross, for that same deliverance and salvation they were chanting about. 

The main difference is that Jesus' purpose was divinely ordained by God, while the temporal needs of the flesh called out for something else. This is so significant, as witnessed by so many in the "Christian world" not living in victory or even sure of their position in Christ. 

We are called, in these critical times, to highlight the contrast between those who profess with their mouths and lifestyles to be of the Lord and those whose hearts are actually changed by Him, to the point of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. We are called to highlight this NOT to criticize and tell people they are going to hell, but to show them the REAL way - the Way of Truth. Love without Truth is deception. The Genuine Love of the Christian towards a lost and dying world is contrasting fake belief with the knowledge of our sinful condition and God's transforming power in Christ. This Genuine Love should then spur us to love like never before, by asking the misguided to search their hearts, acknowledge their sins and turned to the Savior Who will still respond, with your palms upraised to Hosanna!! 

On Palm Sunday, Jesus came gently and peaceful riding on a young donkey to show the humble, loving Savior He still is, 2000 years later. One day, Jesus, Who has always existed from Eternity Past, and will always exist as God, will return as He truly is - fearsome and majestic - riding as the Warrior Commander in Chief of Heaven's Armies on a white horse. There will be no palms or joyful chanting welcoming the Fury and Fire of the Lord Jesus. There will just be the Final Battle.  Let us do our best to make sure that we reach many with the saving Gospel of the Christ, so that many will come to repentance and Faith in Him. It is to their eternal benefit to make this right now, rather than being in line for destruction by the Armies of Heaven. This is something we should run with, this and every Palm Sunday. Amen.

(Image Credit Here)