April 6th
This is the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah the son of David, the son of Abraham…
—Matthew 1:1 NIV
Jesus replied, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.
—John 12:23 NIV
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.”
—John 12:12-15 NIV
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!”
—John 12:17-19 NIV
The Confronting King
12 Jesus entered the temple courts and drove out all who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves. 13 “It is written,” he said to them, “‘My house will be called a house of prayer,’ but you are making it ‘a den of robbers.’”
—Matthew 21:12-13 NIV
So he made a whip out of cords, and drove all from the temple courts, both sheep and cattle; he scattered the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables.
—John 2:15 NIV
37 Even after Jesus had performed so many signs in their presence, they still would not believe in him. 42 Yet at the same time many even among the leaders believed in him.
—John 12:37, 42a NIV
34 “Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. 35 For I have come to turn “‘a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law— 36 a man’s enemies will be the members of his own household.’ “
—Matthew 10:34-36 NIV
“If 2000 years of pious handling had not dimmed both this story and its demand his gospel would still be seen as the burning outrage it continues to be. It is either a work of madness or a blinding (life changing) revelation.
The acts it portrays, the claims it advances, from the very first paragraph demands that we make a hard choice. If we take the gospel writers seriously we must finally ask the question he thrusts so flagrantly toward us. Does he bring us a life transforming truth or is this one gifted lunatic’s tale of another lunatic wilder than he.” —Reynolds Price
The Coming King
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!”
—John 12:13 NIV
Now is the time for judgment on this world; now the prince of this world will be driven out.
—John 12:31 NIV
11 I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True. With justice he judges and wages war. 12 His eyes are like blazing fire, and on his head are many crowns. He has a name written on him that no one knows but he himself. 13 He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and his name is the Word of God. 14 The armies of heaven were following him, riding on white horses and dressed in fine linen, white and clean. 15 Coming out of his mouth is a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations. “He will rule them with an iron scepter.” He treads the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God Almighty. 16 On his robe and on his thigh he has this name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.
—Revelation 19:11-16 NIV
47 “If anyone hears my words but does not keep them, I do not judge that person. For I did not come to judge the world, but to save the world. 48 There is a judge for the one who rejects me and does not accept my words; the very words I have spoken will condemn them at the last day.
—John 12:47-48 NIV
36 Jesus said, “My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jewish leaders. But now my kingdom is from another place.” 37 “You are a king, then!” said Pilate. Jesus answered, “You say that I am a king. In fact, the reason I was born and came into the world is to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me.”
—John 18:36-37 NIV
10 When Jesus entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred and asked, “Who is this?”
11 The crowds answered, “This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth in Galilee.”
—Matthew 21:10-11 NIV
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Next Steps:
1. Today, I invite Jesus into my life for the first time.
2. In my devotions this week: I am going to specifically ask for a heart that weeps for lost people.
3. I will read one of the following: ”Are we Living in the End Times?” by Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins or “Our Destiny” by Stanley Horton.
4. I would like to serve in one of our NextGen environments during our Easter Gatherings.