Quote for the Day
“At first his disciples did not understand all this.”
Today's Prayer
Father, close my mouth and open my ears to hear your will today. I pray that your Holy Spirit work in, through, and with me. I pray your will be accomplished, not mine.
John 12:12-19
John 12:12-19 (NIV)12 The next day the great crowd that had come for the Feast 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 upon it, as it is written,15 “Do not be afraid, O Daughter of 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 they had done these things 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 given this miraculous 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!”
Message
The frustration of the religious rulers grows and their plot to kill Jesus continues as the masses now are enraptured with Jesus and want to make Him their king. In these few verses the plot unfolds which will lead to the trial and then ultimately the murder of Jesus. During this time many things are happening that do not always seem to connect. The crowd wants to lift Jesus up to a political position in hopes that He will save them from their Roman captors and heal them from their infirmities.Through all this the disciples seemed a bit confused and not fully aware of the ultimate plan. A plan that Jesus had spent the past three years working to explain to them. I believe this shows us a great deal about how God works with us on a daily and lifelong basis. While we all expect to be totally changed (and we are) upon salvation, frustration sets in when we do not understand God’s will on a specific day or topic. This is where maturity matters. God has certainly saved us by His grace, but daily He is maturing us by His sanctification. The interesting part about the Christian life is that this maturing process comes in many different speeds, times, and places. This seems to be a major frustration for humankind, especially in today’s fast-paced world. Just as the disciples needed to remember, we also have to realize that God alone is responsible for this process. Our responsibility? We are to rest in His power and allow His will to be accomplished in our life. The best way to do that is to open ourselves to Him on a daily (moment by moment) basis and ask Him for HIS will to be done in our life. His desire is to be the functional life source delivering His will though our lives.