God Is Coming to You
Opening Prayer
Lord God, You are my light and my salvation. Let the child in me come alive so that I may strew my well-pressed garments in the pathway of the King!
Read LUKE 19:28-40
[28]
Scripture taken from the THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION, NIV Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Reflect
Is there a physical location that has spiritual significance in your life? Reflect on the ways you’ve experienced God in that place.
The Mount of Olives, a high ridge just east of Jerusalem with a view of the Temple across the Kidron Valley, was a significant place for Jesus to begin his final days on earth. The Old Testament associated this location with a day of the Lord’s coming, one that would combine both defeat and victory for God’s people (Zech. 14:4). And because its limestone soil was perfect for growing olive trees, it was a quiet spot which Jesus used for teaching (Matt. 24:3-35) and prayer (Luke 22:39-46) and which Judas used to stage his ambush (John 18:1-11).
What’s ironic is that for all its significance, everyone seems to have missed the point of what Jesus was doing as he descended the Mount of Olives. The crowds were thrilled to get a close-up look at this miracle-working sensation (37). No doubt the disciples were hoping to leverage Jesus’ popularity for political advantage (Acts 1:6), and the religious leaders were indignant, harboring darker motivations inside (39,47). Jesus, on the other hand, knew exactly what he was up to. He directs the action both for his entry into the city (28-34) and for disrupting the commercialism of the Temple (45-46). In spite of the way he’s sometimes portrayed in popular media today, Jesus was no helpless victim.
He was no Rambo either. Jesus wept over Jerusalem (41), not just because of the trauma its inhabitants would experience, but more tragically because in this significant spiritual location they missed the most important point of all: God was coming to them (44). Imagine how Jesus felt, knowing he would be crucified for those who didn’t understand. And yet someday they would; the Mount of Olives was the place from which Jesus ascended into heaven, giving us a picture of the way he will eventually return (Acts 1:9-12).
Apply
Think about the most significant challenges in your life today. How could you invite God to come into them with you?
Closing prayer
Lord Jesus, Your toughness and tenderness are both on display today; rebuking and weeping. I ask for this balance of these qualities in my life. Thank You.
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