John 12:9 – Meanwhile a large crowd of Jews found out that Jesus was there and came, not only because of him but also to see Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead. 10 So the chief priests made plans to kill Lazarus as well, 11 for on account of him many of the Jews were going over to Jesus and believing in him. 12 The next day the great crowd that had come for the festival heard that Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem. 13 They took palm branches and went out to meet him, shouting,

“Hosanna!” “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!” “Blessed is the king of Israel!”

14 Jesus found a young donkey and sat on it, as it is written:

15 “Do not be afraid, Daughter Zion;
see, your king is coming,
seated on a donkey’s colt.”

16 At first his disciples did not understand all this. Only after Jesus was glorified did they realize that these things had been written about him and that these things had been done to him.

17 Now the crowd that was with him when he called Lazarus from the tomb and raised him from the dead continued to spread the word. 18 Many people, because they had heard that he had performed this sign, went out to meet him. 19 So the Pharisees said to one another, “See, this is getting us nowhere. Look how the whole world has gone after him!” (NIV) 

To better understand what is going on in today’s reading, let’s consider what took place in the previous chapter.  After Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead, some of the Jewish leaders viewed Jesus as a threat.  It was no secret that a number of the Jewish leaders were well connected with the Romans.  It was in the best interest of those leaders to keep the peace, so that their own titles would be secure, not to mention their incomes.  Following the raising of Lazarus, it became evident that many of the Jews wanted Jesus to be their Messiah.  The only problem was that the long held Jewish belief was that the Messiah would remove the Romans from their land.  This would certainly pose a problem to the well-connected Jewish leaders.  In John 11:47-48 we read: “Then the chief priests and the Pharisees called a meeting of the Sanhedrin. “What are we accomplishing?” they asked. “Here is this man performing many signs. If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him, and then the Romans will come and take away both our temple and our nation.”” 

This debate amongst the Jewish leaders begs this question from us: What kind of Messiah do we believe Jesus to be?  There are many Christians today who believe that Jesus is some sort of free pass for material possession and wealth.  Indeed, preaching such a Gospel has made more than a few preachers wealthy!  Other Christians view Jesus as nothing more than a ‘get out of hell free card.’  Such Christians don’t take seriously Jesus’ call to “Go now and leave your life of sin.” (John 8:11).

I think it is important for us to regularly check ourselves as to what we are expecting from Jesus.  If we really believe that Jesus is the way and the truth and the life (John 14:6), then what does that mean for our daily lives? What truth about Jesus do we believe, and how are we living out this belief?  This, my faithful readers, is why daily reading from God’s Word is so vital.  Without it, we may be led to believe things about Jesus that are not true.

Jesus is the way and the truth and the life.  The life that Jesus gives is a life of inner peace, not a peace that the world says we can gain through material possessions or status.  To gain this peace, Jesus calls for us to live radically different than the rest of the world.

Today, reflect upon the question that Jesus asked in Mark 8:29:  “But what about you? Who do you say I am?” 

Posted by Ramón Torres