Matthew 21:7-11

“They brought the donkey and the colt and placed their cloaks on them for Jesus to sit on. A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, while others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. 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!” When Jesus entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred and asked, “Who is this?” The crowds answered, “This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth in Galilee.”

That must have been quite a day. The stories of this man’s miracles and teachings had spread far and wide and now he was coming to Jerusalem to take over! Surely this is the Messiah! He’s going to get rid of those Roman scumbags and the land will be ours once again! All of us will get to have our best life, now!

These folks were in for a big shock.

I think a lot of us have come to Christ in a similar fashion. We’ve heard the stories of changed lives…mended relationships…deliverance from addictions. We see the fellowship of church folks and have hopes that if we choose Christ, our lives will take a dramatic turn for the better. The truth, of course, is a mixed bag. Although you become aware of all the spiritual blessings that you can experience, the realities of life lived in a sinful and fallen world remain. Perhaps that is why many come…but few stay.

Jesus Himself said that the road that leads to eternal life is narrow and the way is hard (Matthew 7). Narrow because Jesus really IS the only way to Heaven. Hard because once you become a follower of His, you are placed in total opposition to the ways of the world and it’s Prince (Satan)…assuming you are really in the family of faith and living out your salvation.

It’s easy to get excited about Jesus and His promises of eternal life, not to mention love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, gentleness, goodness, faithfulness and self-control. But please remember: less than a day later the same crowds were yelling, “Crucify him!” because Jesus wasn’t delivering what they wanted. Have you put conditions on your allegiance to Christ? Do you love Him when your life is going well, but get upset with Him when it isn’t? It seems that none of us are ever too far away from joining the angry crowds back in Jerusalem.