The Clashing of Kingdoms – Pt 1
“After this, Jesus, knowing that all things had already been accomplished, to fulfill the Scripture, said, ‘I am thirsty.’ A jar full of sour wine was standing there; so they put a sponge full of the sour wine upon a branch of hyssop and brought it up to His mouth. Therefore when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, ‘It is finished!’ And He bowed His head and gave up His spirit.“ (John 19:28-30)
Love and Lordship in Focus…Christ willingly paid it all because of His Love for you. Will you willingly give up all of this life in obedience to show your love for Him as Savior and Lord?
We pause in our “One Another” series for the next two weeks to focus on the most important time in all of history and eternity from our perspective…Palm Sunday, Passion Week, Good Friday and Resurrection Sunday.
Let’s look at the events that led to the Triumphal Entry and what follows leading up to Christ’s death and resurrection. In John 11 Jesus is called to Bethany to heal Lazarus and he delays until Lazarus has died…doesn’t seem like a very “Jesus thing” to do.
However, Jesus knows it is for God’s Glory and will stir the religious pot so to speak. He arrives and calls Lazarus forth from the tomb…and Lazarus walks out after being dead 4 days! Jesus literally raises Lazarus from the dead! This sounds more like it.
I would want to follow this guy at least as long as He’s doing miracles and raising the dead and feeding thousands with meager means (John 6). Of course the religious zealots and leaders knew what this meant. The masses would follow after Jesus so they conspired to kill Him.
The leaders worst nightmare came true on Palm Sunday and His Triumphal Entry, when the throngs exalted and worshiped Jesus as He rode through Jerusalem on a donkey, which was a prophetic proclamation of His royalty. (Zechariah 9:9)
Jesus’ Kingdom was revealed in the power of raising Lazarus from the dead and the people wanted to make that an earthly kingdom and just knew that He was The One that would make it happen…both the leaders who knew they would lose power and the common folks who just knew they would gain power. This is the clash of Kingdoms and both the leaders and the masses were wrong because they only saw an earthly, fleshly kingdom. And at that moment in time completely missed His true Kingdom.
As we contemplate Passion Week, we’re stepping away from the specific focus on the Love & Lordship message (although not really because all of His Word is about His Love & Lordship) to set our hearts and minds on Christ’s last days on this earth during His first visit.
You ever thought about the fact that nearly half of the Gospel of John (12-20) covers just one week (actually 8 days) of His 33 years on earth. Must be important…it begins with Palm Sunday and moves through Christ’s Resurrection.
Palm Sunday
What a seemingly glorious day when Jesus rode through Jerusalem to the throngs of “worshipers” who proclaimed him as “coming in the Name of the Lord, the King of Israel” (John 12:12-19, emphasis v. 13). Obviously they had finally accepted that He was the Son of God, the Savior of the world and the King of kings…or had they?
As was evident throughout the Gospels what the people, including His disciples, were looking for in The Messiah, a Savior and a King was one that would rule here and now and they would “rule” or at least receive the benefits of this Jewish Messiah King that would rule the world.
You see it? It wasn’t really about the King but about them. Palm Sunday seemed like a victory, as “the whole world was going after Him” (John 12:19) but it was really revealing the selfishness of hearts that wanted a king that would suit them… and that’s what we see as it began to go sideways the very next few days that followed…Passion Week.
Food for Thought…Jesus came to establish His Kingdom that would last forever. Which Kingdom/ kingdom are you seeking and a part of? Your answer matters for Eternity! I pray that you know Him for what He revealed about His Father and by His Spirit and not by what you think He ought to be and do to satisfy your fleshly longings.
Love in Action –
- Spend time with Him in His Word and prayer daily – read and study the Scriptures in this post as a way to start
- Ask The Holy Spirit to teach you
- How about you? Are you serving a savior and lord of your own making, a Messiah, that works for you, fits your agenda and makes things all good for you?
- Or are you serving Christ for His sake and glory? What difference would this make in your life?
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Love and Lordship Prayer Focus…Heavenly Father, the very ones who saw Jesus in the flesh, first hand, completely missed Your Kingdom. Now much more possible could it be that we have and/or are missing it. Help me during this Lent and Resurrection season to seek and find Christ and His Kingdom for Your Glory. In Jesus Name. Amen.