Monday, August 2, 2021
Today’s Scripture
Today’s Author
Rebekah LeMon
In what would be the last week of Jesus’s earthly life, he went to Jerusalem for the festival of the Passover. A lot is woven into this scene that we usually read on Palm Sunday:
Old Testament prophecy (Zechariah 9:9) is being fulfilled - “Do not be afraid… Look, your king is coming, sitting on a donkey’s colt!”
Jesus is turning expectations on their heads—he is the King of Israel, but arrives not in a splendid royal procession, but riding on a donkey.
Jesus is still ministering to people—a crowd has run out to him to wave palms and call “Hosanna,” which in Hebrew means “Save us, we pray!”
Jesus is moving (literally) toward his own death, faithful to his purpose even as his own disciples don’t understand what is to come.
Each time I read this text, I resonate with a different character or group in the moment. Sometimes I wonder about Jesus’s thoughts and feelings as he fulfilled prophecy and carried the salvation of the world. Sometimes I am drawn to that roadside crowd and their mix of joy and hope and desperation. Today, I most notice the disciples, those early followers who didn’t know what was to come, but nonetheless walked with Jesus, there beside that colt, testifying about his saving power. Most of the time, we don’t know what is to come, either. And this text reminds us that we are called to walk alongside our king-on-a-donkey anyway, witnessing to Jesus’s saving grace as we go.
Summer Devotional
God Goes With Us
This summer’s devotional is a walk through the Bible. Join our pastors and staff for daily reflections on scripture passages from Genesis to Revelation. In the beginning, God said, “I will be your God and you will be my people.” Come and see how this covenant promise changes through time yet remains steadfast from generation to generation.
Each Sunday, Chris Holmes will share a short message on the texts for the week, and written reflections will go out every Monday through Thursday morning.
We wish you blessings and deeper faith this summer!
