Don’t Miss the Obvious!
We miss the obvious all the time, don't we? For whatever reason, something can be staring us in the face as plain as day, yet we miss it. Almost 2,000 years ago, an unusual celebration took place involving the arrival of a king on the back of a donkey. He was surrounded by a selfish people looking forward to being victors over Rome, caring little about the spiritual life of this king. As they shouted, Hosanna (save us now), they wanted their stomachs filled, their diseases healed, and those Romans kicked out of Israel! Even the religious Pharisees were in the crowd that day. They didn’t appreciate the praise and adoration given to this man. They, too, missed the obvious, not because they were ignorant, but because they were willfully resistant. They only saw in Him what they wanted to see, much like so many today.
Most of the people in the crowd that day missed the obvious: Jesus didn’t come to live. He came to die.
One of my favorite statements that Christ made was in response to the Pharisees’ request to silence the crowds. Jesus responded, “I tell you, if these become silent, the stones will cry out” (Luke 19:40). Don’t you love that? That’s such a small accomplishment for Him. He’s the one who calmed the sea, prompting the disciples to ask, “Who is this man that even the winds obey Him?” Seriously, what small feat is it for Him to command the rocks to speak!? I believe we have been so secularized, so filled with humanism in our education, that we have distanced God from the impossible. We have created a false image of Him as a doting grandfather with a long beard. But never forget that He’s in charge. If the people are silent, His rocks will speak.
It’s still easy for us to miss the obvious. It’s easy to think that the week ahead is just like any other week, but it’s not. It’s easy to imagine that Jesus is just like any other man, but He’s not. It’s easy to believe that His life and death related only to the Jews, but it doesn’t. It’s easy to put off responding to His free offer of salvation, but that’s the worst possible decision you could ever make.
Vile Roman soldiers, blind Jewish Pharisees, fickle crowds, and preoccupied people thinking that Easter is about a rabbit or being “religious.” What a mistake. No, Easter has nothing to do with religion. But it has everything to do with a relationship with the risen Christ, who died that you might live.
Don’t miss it. This was a rescue mission for YOU!