Luke 19:38 We can’t overlook the joy of the crowd surrounding Jesus as He entered Jerusalem, “…the whole crowd of the disciples began to rejoice and to praise God, extolling Him exultantly and loudly for all the mighty miracles, and works of power that they had witnessed”. It may have been easy to get caught up in just the emotion without the heartfelt joy, just as it is today as we read and celebrate His triumphal entry. The knowledge this crowd had, on this day 2000 years ago, as witnesses of what they knew to be true about Jesus, caused many to lay palm branches at His feet, giving praise and glory to God. Imagine being there, realizing the Hope, once a promise, now fulfilled. We may feel as if we receive a watered down version of this remarkable event in history, but it’s only if we limit God… limiting the depth of our own understanding… so it’s ‘comfortable’ and manageable. What if we asked for more? What if we truly understood the ‘plan’? What it’s like to be free of the distresses we experience because of sin? All we know is what it’s like to live in a fallen world. Would we be bored if there were no problems to solve, nothing to protest against…? Where would we have been in the crowd as Jesus entered the Holy City? Would we have been hanging back, waiting to see what happens next? Or would our hearts already be surrendered as our own witness ‘fit’ into and filled the God-sized hole He’d created in us from the beginning? Or… Would we be excited because the crowd was excited and in three days shout ‘crucify him’? As we consider the layers of what He’s done, what He’s doing in those things He has yet to accomplish, we desire to go deeper, we want more of Him. We want to know the joy and the peace of eternal security. We have an advantage over the crowd that laid those palm branches on that day, they were filled with eager anticipation, we too experience that same anticipation, as we desire to go deeper than we could ever imagine. To Him belongs to the honor an
