Title: The triumphal entry / Mark 11:1-10
Contents
When was the greatest and greatest event in human history?
If you ask, most people will probably tell you the time when these people lived, such as iron men, heroes, scholars, artists, etc., who became famous all over the world. However, when Napoleon was sent to the island of St. Herna, he said, 'I can forget all my life, but the life of Jesus Christ cannot be forgotten.' There is no denying that his life was one of the greatest periods in human history.
The 33 years that Jesus lived were the center of history and a turning point. In particular, the most important period would have been three years and three months of public life, and the more important period in this period is the period of one week before he died on the cross.
Therefore, we have an attitude of repenting for the meaning of the Passion of Christ by keeping the week from Palm Sunday to Easter Day as a special Holy Week or Passion Week during this period. is to revisit it.
"Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord, peace in heaven and glory in the highest." Today is Palm Sunday, which is celebrated by all churches around the world.
Today's text is a scene from the most joyful and splendid day of Jesus' life. Jesus sent his disciples to Bethany to drive a donkey and ride it into Jerusalem. At this time, the disciples are in a good mood and do not know what to do. So I took off my clothes, made a saddle, and spread the rest on the side of the road to make a carpet. Then he rejoiced, saying, "Blessed be Hosanna! He who comes in the name of the Lord!"
When Jesus, who had suffered from tribulation and persecution from birth, entered Jerusalem, many crowds greeted him, saying, "Blessed is Hosanna, the King who comes in the name of the Lord. Jesus is going up while looking at the cross that he must bear, but people do not know the details of it and say that he did it “because of his mighty work”. The people who followed Jesus wanted to have him as king only for the happiness that would be given by the miracle performed through Jesus. It seems to be advocating.
When those people saw various miracles such as raising the dead, making many people eat with five barley loaves, and calming the sea, they accepted Jesus with the wrong idea that all problems would be solved if we had this Jesus as king. He was trying to make him king. However, in order to fulfill God's will, Jesus is riding a colt as prophesied in Zechariah 9:9 and is now entering the city.
The disciples and many others spread their cloaks by the roadside, broke branches of trees, waved their hands, and shouted Hosanna, the king who came from the son of David.
In Kim So-wol's poem 'Azalea Flower', 'Azaleas in Yongbyon are beautiful and will take root along the way. It reminds me of a scene from 'Please gently tread on the flower that has been placed in each step.'
We celebrate this day as Palm Sunday. This day must be The triumphal entry. "Rejoice greatly, daughter of Zion; shout, daughters of Jerusalem; for your king is coming, just and having salvation, humble and riding on a donkey, the foal of a donkey, the foal of a donkey." Christ is King. But his kingdom has been misunderstood by people during his mission on earth. All people saw a man who would reign as the king of the world. But he didn't want to be the kind of king everyone wanted.
Because the meaning of the symbol of Jesus as king was to respond to the deep needs of the human soul. We try to find this meaning in the relationship between the donkey, Jesus, and the tree branch.
Jesus rode an ass's colt. If you look up the meaning of the colt here in Zechariah 9:9, the colt is a 'symbol of humility' (Marksof his humiliation) and is the principle of Christian victorious life.
The basic attitude of our life is to become like this young donkey used by the Lord.
It is a life of living with the Lord on our backs with all our strength, even though we are struggling with lack of strength. The life of this young donkey is sometimes painful and burdensome to believe in Jesus, but rather, it is a life of living the joy of carrying Jesus (the cross) on your back. If you put down this cross on your back because you dislike it, your meaning as a Christian will be lost. That is why the Lord tells us that if you would come after me, take up your cross and follow me.
Only when you humbly fall on your face can the Lord be king over me. If I can't stand this and get up because I can't keep my face down, the Lord who sits on my back will fall. In other words, my life becomes what it is without Jesus.
Think about it. What good is a believer without Jesus? But today, we are not thinking of carrying the cross on our backs, but of carrying it in our pocket or thinking of it as an ornament. Are you not living a life of trampling on the cross?
On this Palm Sunday, let's think deeply about how we have lived up to this point. And I hope you can make the same resolution and confession about the cross as the lyrics of this hymn.
“I took up the cross and followed the Lord” (Chapter 367).
Human beings are truly deceitful, and those who used to say 'Hosanna' to Jesus turned into an act of clamoring, 'Crucify him,' within a few days. In John 1:11, it is the same action as the saying, 'When he came to his own land, his people did not receive him. It was a people who did not receive it like this, but the Lord decided to give himself to such a people.
When the Roman speculators stood in the arena to fight the beasts, as they greeted the large crowd in the amphitheater, 'The dying man greets you,' Jesus lived in anticipation of death, but there is no surprise that he must die. . He never took the death as a shock.
As John 10:17, 18 states, 'No one lays down my life, or takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord' is a declaration of arbitrary death. One important lesson we can learn from these verses is how far our loyalty to the Lord can go. The answer is 'loyalty to death'.
Many Christians today claim to be loyal to God, but aren't their allegiance limited insofar as they do not infringe on their comfort, popularity, comfort and pleasure? I think.
During this week we hope to reaffirm our loyalty to God as we meditate on this event of Jesus.
Finally, it is noted that the wood they used was a tree with two contrasting meanings. The palm tree is a symbol of joy (Leviticus 23:40) and is also used in weddings as a prospect of righteousness (Psalm 92:12). However, the willow tree is also used at funerals as a symbol of sorrow, captivity and death. But why would you use these two trees together? The reason is that this is 'The Mystery of Suffering'.
Linking the two shows that Christian joy comes from perseverance in the depths of this deep sorrow (Job 2:10, 13:15).
Here is the secret to a victorious life. So, what is the meaning of Jesus' triumphant entry? It shows humility through the colt, and shows loyalty through the decision to enter Jesus. It also shows perseverance in the sense of the branches. During the week after this Palm Sunday, that is, during Passion Sunday, I hope that the triumphant meaning of Jesus' suffering can be once again considered in these three dimensions and that we can make it our own principle of living.
When people said that they took off their cloaks and spread them, they were showing the highest respect and highest honor. We must live to glorify God. If it is something that pleases him or honors him, you should be prepared to make any sacrifices and know how to offer it. In Galatians 1:10, Paul confessed that 'I do not live to please men, but to please God'.
One theologian said that Jesus is going to Jerusalem to carry the cross today. I hope that you will be prepared to meet Jesus Christ, who has come again, who has become my Savior as King of Kings and Judge and Savior. So from now on, I hope that you will obey the will of the Lord and live only under the control of Jesus.
- Prayer after the proclamation Heavenly Father, the King of Peace and the King of Righteousness! Thank you, Father, for taking care of our life and death. You answer the deep needs of our human souls, so first help them know what they really need and find it. Have Jesus on the throne of our hearts, and let us live according to His will.
Lord ! We believe that victory in our lives comes through humility. Even if it is difficult and difficult to serve you, ask the Lord for strength and wisdom and let me live with the joy of carrying the cross on my back. I am afraid that they will trample on the cross by being foolish or arrogant, Lord! Let us reflect ourselves in front of the mirror of the Word every time and every day.
Lord ! You loved them even to the point of death, so now make them loyal to You even to the point of death. Let our lives be consistent, not just when they are prosperous.
Lord of Suffering! Help us to understand the mystery of your suffering so that we too can sweetly accept any suffering for your sake. They do not know when the Lord will come again, but please prepare well for the day of the Lord's coming and welcome me out.
I pray in the name of Jesus Christ. -Amen -