The crowds that went ahead of him and those that followed shouted, “Hosanna to the Son of David!” “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!” “Hosanna in the highest heaven!”
- Matthew 21:9
Over the
past several months, my wife Christine and I have really enjoyed watching L.A.
Lakers games. Christine has been a big Lakers fan since she was a kid, and she
got me hooked early in our marriage. Now, this year the Lakers have been having
a fantastic season. They acquired LeBron James two years ago and added Anthony
Davis to their starting lineup last summer. Together LeBron and A.D. have led
their team to first place in the Western Conference. The Lakers are having one
of their best seasons in 20 years.
But I have
a confession to make: I didn’t watch nearly as many Lakers games last season or
the season before that. And it wasn’t because I was busier than I’ve been this
year. It’s because over the past few seasons, the Lakers stunk. Yes, I am a
fair-weather Lakers fan. When they’re playing well, I jump on the bandwagon and
cheer them on. But when they’re stinking it up, I pretend I don’t know them. To
diehard Lakers fans, that makes me a bit of an embarrassment. I’m not a loyal
fan through good times and bad. But when all is said and done, I can live with
being a fair-weather fan. Because, after all, it’s just basketball. But when it
comes to the most important thing in life—following Jesus Christ—I never want
to be a fair-weather fan. And I hope you don’t either.
On the first
Palm Sunday, almost 2,000 years ago, Jesus was greeted by thousands of
fair-weather fans as he entered Jerusalem
riding a donkey colt. The enthusiastic crowd lined the streets of Jerusalem , placing cloaks
and palm branches on the ground in front of Jesus. And according to Matthew 21:9
they shouted: “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name
of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!”
Now, there
is a whole lot of meaning packed into this one word: “Hosanna.” Hosanna means
“Save us now.” Or to say it a different way, “God save us!” Some of the people in
the crowd that day were probably in terrible health and wanted Jesus to heal
them as he’d healed so many others. Some were probably out of work and in debt
up to their eyeballs, and they wanted Jesus to get them back on their feet. And
certainly many Jews in the crowd were sick and tired of Israel being under Roman
occupation. They longed for the coming king of the Jews to be a military leader
who would mobilize a Jewish army to drive Rome
out of Israel
once and for all.
There were
likely many reasons why people shouted “Hosanna!” on that first Palm Sunday.
But I think it’s safe to say that most of those reasons were selfish. People
were excited to see Jesus enter Jerusalem
because, on that day, he was wildly popular. They were getting to lay their
eyes on a celebrity. And they were hopeful that Jesus would do something for
them. Well, five days later Jesus would do something for every one of them. But
it wouldn’t be the thing that they most wanted. Instead, it would be the thing
that they most needed. You see, Jesus didn’t ride his little donkey into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday
to heal diseases or provide a financial bailout or kick out the Romans. Jesus
rode his little donkey into Jerusalem
on Palm Sunday because he had his eyes fixed on the cross. He had come that day
to save the world from sin and death.
Sadly, the
fair-weather fans of Jesus would end up saying, “Thanks, but no thanks! If
you’re not going to give me what I want, I’ll just pick up my palm branch and
go home.” By the time Friday rolled around, Jesus was arrested, flogged, had a
crown of thorns shoved on his head, and was nailed to a cross. It was just five
days after Palm Sunday, but the cheering crowds were nowhere in sight … just a
few dedicated women and one apostle a short distance from the cross.
I
wonder—had I been there in Jerusalem 2,000 years ago, would I have been one of
the few loyal followers of Jesus there at Calvary ?
Or would I have kept my distance and kept my mouth shut, along with all of
Jesus’ other fair-weather fans? How about you? Are you a fair-weather fan of
Jesus?
To be
honest, there are times when it’s easy to cheer for Jesus and stick by his
side. But at other times, it’s really, really hard. It’s hard to cheer for
Jesus when He doesn’t seem to answer your prayers and your life seems to be
falling apart. It’s hard to cheer for him when your health is failing, when you
lose your job, or when your bills are piling up. It’s easy to cheer for Jesus
and take selfies with him on Palm Sunday … but it’s not so easy to do the same the
rest of the week. Jesus isn’t looking for fans who wave the palm branches on
Sunday but take a hike on Monday. Jesus is seeking truly loyal followers who
trust him and love him and obey his commands every day.
So, here we
are, in the midst of one of the most challenging times in the life of our
nation. During this Covid pandemic, it’s not easy for some of us to trust
Jesus. Will you trust him anyway? It’s not easy for some of us to love Jesus
during this time. Will you love Him anyway? And it’s not easy for some of us to
obey His commands during this crazy season. Will you obey His commands anyway?
If your answer to each of these questions is “Yes,” I can guarantee you that
you won’t regret it. I hope you , can join me today in saying: “When it comes to
Jesus, I am not a fan! I choose to be a loyal follower. And nothing that goes
on in this world around me will change that.”
Dane Davis is the Pastor of Impact
Christian Church. Please join us for our online worship service Sunday at 10 a.m. at Live.GreaterImpact.cc or on our YouTube channel (Impact Christian Church) or on
Facebook.
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