Luke, Chapter 19 part 2

In today’s lesson we see a side of Jesus that He had not previously had in His earthly ministry. One of his defining characteristics was always humility. Though He was the greatest being that ever lived, He never enjoyed having praise heeped on Himself. He was always the model of being a servant throughout His ministry. To Him, it was the message that was important. Though others tried to exalt Him into a higher earthly position he never took it. As we know, His ultimate triumph on earth is still to come.

Today’s lesson is different, however. In today’s lesson He allows just a small amount of praise and status to be placed upon Him during the triumphal entry into the city of Jerusalem. These events occurred a week before His death in a time when the crowds quickly turned on Him.

37When he came near the place where the road goes down the Mount of Olives, the whole crowd of disciples began joyfully to praise God in loud voices for all the miracles they had seen:
38"Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!"
"Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!"
39Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Jesus, "Teacher, rebuke your disciples!"
40"I tell you," he replied, "if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out." – Luke 19:37-40

Jesus knew what was coming for Him. He knew that He would face His own death on the cross, yet I think He went through with this spectacle just to give us a taste of His coming kingdom. As great as this entry was for Him, it pales in comparison to the entry He will make upon his return to earth.

Which brings us to the verse about praise. Praising God is something that I do not do enough of. Lately I have been too focused on what I am doing wrong. I am missing what I can do right, and one of those things is to constantly praise God for what Christ has done. If I don’t, the stones themselves will cry out because He is simply worthy of praise. I do praise God today simply because I am alive.