In the sermon this past week we contrasted
the differences between Mary worshipping Jesus through the
anointing of perfume and the crowds worshipping Jesus through the
anointing of praise. Ultimately, the two stories boil down to a
simple question-Do I worship Jesus for who He is or for who I want
Him to be?
When I am worshipping Jesus for who He truly is, it will mean
that I am characterized as one that listens to Him. I will listen
to God speak to me through Scripture and through His Spirit. When I
am worshipping Jesus for who He truly is, it will mean that
although I might not fully understand everything that He says, that
I still believe what He says. Though Mary didn't fully understand
the implications of the crucifixion and resurrection, she still
believed it would happen because Jesus said it would. When I am
worshipping Jesus for who He truly is, it will mean that I am not
only willing-but actually WILL sacrifice that which is most
valuable to me for His glory. How much different the story would be
if all Mary did was say, "I am willing to give my perfume up for
Jesus if only He asks for it." When I am worshipping Jesus for who
He truly is, it will mean that I will humble myself - humble to the
point that I am willing to make nothing of myself in order to bring
him glory.
But in this post, I want to spend additional time seeing what
worshipping Jesus for who I want Him to be looks like. We noted
that the crowds wanted the triumph without the suffering. The
crowds loved the procession from the Mount of Olives. They loved
the excitement, the expectation, and the celebration that
surrounded it. We noticed how in some ways they were celebrating
the Feast of Tabernacles while Jesus was preparing to be the
Passover lamb. The contrast is striking. How often are we like the
crowds? How often is our Christian life worth little more than the
amount of excitement, expectation, and celebration that we can
squeeze out of it? When we are faced with the suffering servant
instead of the conquering King, do we turn away from Him? Paris
Reidhead once said that even if God were to send us all to hell, we
ought still to give Him glory because He deserves our glory. Do we
desire the triumph without the suffering?
Is He only our King for as long as He rules the way we want Him
to? When God in His sovereignty brings circumstances into our
lives-even circumstances that shake the very foundation of our
faith-do we continue to follow Him or do we look elsewhere to
remain comfortable? Where the crowds went wrong is that they wanted
this King to rule them in the way they wanted Him to. When it was
clear to them that He had no intention of doing this, then they
were quick to shout out, 'Crucify Him! Crucify Him!' Every sin in
our life is an echoing of that very statement-'Crucify Him!' Do we
desire His rule only so long as He does what we want?
In a sense, the crowds weren't doing anything wrong during the
triumphal entry. Jesus is the King and He does deserve our glorious
praise. What they were doing was neither sinful nor in any way
opposed to the truth. But since they had not listened to Jesus,
they did not understand His purpose for that time. Rather than
waving palm branches for the King, they should have been standing
in solemn silence contemplating the death of the Lamb. How often do
I understand clearly the statements of God and yet utterly ignore
them?
In the end, the crowds wanted a King, not a Savior. When we want
triumph without suffering, when we want the King to rule the way we
want Him to rule, when we don't listen to what He is saying to
us.this is the natural outcome. Rule us, but don't save us. But we
cannot worship Him as the triumphant King unless we first worship
Him as the Lamb of God. He is not our conquering Lord unless He is
our suffering servant.
Learn from Mary. Learn to listen to God. Learn to believe what
He says. Learn to sacrifice that which is most valuable to you.
Learn to do all this in humility so that He might receive all the
glory.
Weekly Devotional Schedule
Monday-Matthew 26:6-13
Tuesday-Matthew 21:1-11
Wednesday-Mark 14:3-9
Thursday-Mark 11:1-11
Friday-Luke 19:29-44
Saturday-John 12:1-16