Which one do you choose, the fake god or the one true God? Psalm Sunday had a totally different meaning to me until I started to study it. There are so many things I didn't realize that were happening that day. Psalm Sunday is one week before Christ rises. On Palm Sunday, Jesus fulfilled a prophecy, but Jesus fulfilled all the prophecies in the Old Testament of his first coming. That's really good news for us that he will fulfill all of them for his second coming.
It says in Zechariah 9-9-10 Rejoice greatly, Daughter Zion! Shout,
Daughter Jerusalem! See, your King comes to you, righteous and victorious, lowly and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey. I will take away the chariots from Ephraim and the warhorses from Jerusalem, and the battle bow will be broken. He will proclaim peace to the nations. His rule will extend from sea to sea and from the River to the ends of the earth.
Jesus was riding on a Donkey. He did not come on a war horse, which was significantly done. Jesus was fighting a different battle than what people thought. When he entered the city, everyone yelled, "Hosanna in the highest." The word Hosanna means "Save us." So, they were crying out, "Jesus, save us." They thought Jesus would be this great warrior coming in to overthrow the Roman empire, and they thought he was coming to fight for them. Jesus was there to fight for them, alright, but not like they thought.
In the book "The Last Week," by Marcus J Borg and John Dominic Crossan. It tells us what is happening in the whole city at Passover, the largest Jewish holiday in Rome. This means about a million Jewish people from all over were in the city at this time. The Roman Empire didn't like this and wanted to set the tone so no one would get out of hand. On one side of the city, Pilot is striding into town on a mighty war horse with hundreds of army soldiers behind him. All shiny and regal looking, coming in power to show they are in control.
At the same time, on the other side of the city, there's this humble, angelic man riding on a donkey, coming in humility and peace. Weeping because he knows all these people that are yelling his name, "Jesus, Hosanna, in the highest," will be the ones shouting to crucify him in less than a week.
In this day and age, it was not uncommon for the term Son of god to be used for leaders. Caesar Augustus was considered a god and was worshiped as a god by the people. Therefore, people in positions like Pilot who worked for him and those working under him were called the sons of god.
If we think about this, on each end of the city were sons of god's coming into the city. One son of god looks shiny and new, and he has all the latest clothes and armor you could want. In today's world, he has the latest designer clothes, the best phone, and the most followers on social media. And on the other side of the city, you have a poor, humble, homeless man riding a borrowed donkey. He has no designer clothes, no phone, or any clue what Twitter even is.
One is a fake god, and the other is the true King. Pilot looked like the winning team but was not the Messiah. Jesus was the true Messiah, but he wasn't there to overthrow the government. He was there to save us. The expectation of who the Messiah would be was completely different than who it turned out to be. God made him half human, half God, for a reason. This was about saving us from our own world, not about politics or government. God is so much bigger than we can ever wrap our minds around.
Within 300 years later, this unknown Jew would capture and overturn the Roman government. Rome became a land of Christianity under the ruling of Constantine, not Pilot. Jesus did lead the revolution, but not like everyone had expected.
We forget that God is so much bigger than we can imagine. We can't follow fake gods. We must look to the real one and know he is bigger and more powerful than we can ever imagine. His ways are not our ways, and His understanding is above our understanding. Knowing this will help us get through our turbulent times in this world.
We need to do three things, learn about God by reading His Word, keep the Holy Spirit with us to stay aligned with Him, and be available to be used by God. We are His hands and feet, His people. He shapes us and forms us, and engages us to move for Him. We have to give grace and mercy to one another. That's why being with each other in a community is essential. Jesus took care of the rest on the cross. It's the least we could do to let Him die in vain.
Let us pray,
Dear Heavenly Father, thank you for bringing us along with you. Thank you for your ways that are so much higher than our way. You see and know the way before we know what will happen in this life. You are so much bigger than we could ever imagine. Thank you for guiding us and loving us so much to send your only son to die for our sins. You are the truth, the light, and the way. Thank you, Lord, for all your do on our behalf. In Jesus Holy name, we pray. Amen.

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