What Kind of Jesus Do You See?
This past Sunday was Palm Sunday. This is the day whereby Christians remember the triumphal entry of our Lord Jesus Christ into Jerusalem. If you are familiar with the texts found in the Gospels, you may remember that the Scriptures speak of palm branches being placed down and crowds crying "Hosanna." If you also remember, there came a point in the journey that the Lord, when He saw Jerusalem, He wept (Luke 19:41-44). Why did He weep? He wept because the people who were crying "Hosanna" (Matthew 21:9; Mark 11:10; John 12:13) and the Pharisees (Luke 19:39) didn't recognize and understand His purpose for coming to Jerusalem that day. Why you ask? Because these groups of people had their view of Jesus blocked by something else that caused them to interpret Jesus as being someone else than what He really was.
What about you? What kind of Jesus do you see? Is your view of Him totally clear? Only one view of Christ is able to save you from your sin and give you peace with God--the view that sees Jesus as presented as the Bible presents Him--the Lord and Savior who through His work on the cross of shedding His blood, provides eternal life for all who believe (1 Corinthians 15:1-4; Ephesians 2:2-22). The people that Palm Sunday all had a view about Jesus, but only the ones with the correct view received eternal life because they believed by faith (Romans 5:1). You too can receive eternal life and escape the judgment for sin if you view Christ correctly. There is only One correct view (the view of the Bible) of Christ that provides eternal life--all other views of Him create a Christ that is not reality.
Let's consider the crowds' view of Jesus. Many in the crowds were looking for a king to overthrow the harsh rule of Rome. They were looking for a political leader in Jesus Christ. But we learn from Scripture, that was not the reason why Christ came that day (Luke 24: 25-27). Christ came to suffer for the sin of humanity, as spoken by the Old Testament Prophets. Sure the people recognized Jesus as being their Messiah on Palm Sunday (this is why they said "Hosanna."), but they were not looking for a Messiah who would die for their sins, but one who would over throw the rule of Rome. This is why I believe the Lord wept because He knew that they had missed their day of visitation (Luke 19:42).
Let's also consider briefly the Pharisees. Some from this group mocked the Lord for accepting the cries of Hosanna from the crowd. When they told the Lord Jesus to rebuke His disciples (Luke 19: 39), they were basically saying that there was no way the Lord could fulfill the cries of the crowd. Why? Because the crowd was stating that Christ was coming that day to restore the throne of David (Mark 11:10; Luke 19:38). I believe the Lord also wept that day because the Pharisees should have known who Christ was because they knew Moses and the Prophets (Luke 24:27). Unfortunately, for many of the Pharisees, their religion kept them from seeing Jesus as being who He really was--the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world (John 1:29).
The Lord Jesus states in Luke 19:42 that the people that day could have know the things which make for peace, but now, due to their view of Christ being blocked, they missed out on the opportunity to accept Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. Sure, thousands of individuals saw and were converted after Christ's resurrection (Acts 2:14-41), but the nation as a whole missed the opportunity that Palm Sunday to accept Jesus as their Messiah (John 1:10-13).
What about you? What kind of Jesus do you see? Is your view of Him totally clear? Only one view of Christ is able to save you from your sin and give you peace with God--the view that sees Jesus as presented as the Bible presents Him--the Lord and Savior who through His work on the cross of shedding His blood, provides eternal life for all who believe (1 Corinthians 15:1-4; Ephesians 2:2-22). The people that Palm Sunday all had a view about Jesus, but only the ones with the correct view received eternal life because they believed by faith (Romans 5:1). You too can receive eternal life and escape the judgment for sin if you view Christ correctly. There is only One correct view (the view of the Bible) of Christ that provides eternal life--all other views of Him create a Christ that is not reality.
Just like the people that Palm Sunday, there is a day of judgment coming for you (Hebrews 9:27). What you do with Jesus Christ depends on where you will spend eternity (John 3:36). If you realize that your view of Christ is not clear and you see Christ as being someone else other than the Bible presents Him, then I encourage you this moment to not miss your day of visitation like the people did on Palm Sunday and believe on the Lord Jesus Christ so you can be saved from your sin.
Pastor Steve
Psalm 119:89
