itsawonderfilledlife

When Jesus raised Lazarus from his lifeless state, he became the talk of the town.

Bethany, only about two miles from Jerusalem, where Jesus entered to crowds shouting,

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

It didn’t take long for the human game of telephone to get the message out that this Jesus guy … he did the impossible, the miraculous … he raised a man (a local man, a known man) from his death in a tomb, four days (John 11:39).

If only Jesus was here …

That is what we humans often cry out.

He could fix our health, our finances, our relationships, our marriages, our jobs, our struggles, our dying loved ones … all of them.

But, we are all so sorrowfully aware, he does not always make it all better.

When I think of the phrase,

if only Jesus was here …

I do not think of things like health, finances, relationships, marriages, jobs, struggles, dying loved ones. For I know that we live in a fallen, sin-filled life. But that pleading thought does come to mind when I think of those who do not know him, those who have not experienced the peace of His Spirit in their lives, those who have not chosen to walk through life with Him.

I embrace those in my life wishing that Jesus himself would come and show his love for them himself. That He would physically be present to show the miracles available to them, through Him.

I can imagine something like this triumphal entry even today. I imagine him walking the streets of my city, people pointing and waving to him, whispering,

“that is the man who went to that funeral home,
walked up to the coffin (where the embalmed body lay),
said, “come out”
and the corpse sat up.”

You bet people would be stopping to say hi, chatting, pointing … a crowd gathering excitedly to see him, take a pic and post it on social media. It would be as if people got to have an encounter with a celebrity!

And so, today, on this Palm Sunday in Lent, this is the day of celebrations, joy and excitement for this miracle man called Jesus.

But …

What a paradox! For,

today Jesus is celebrated
as the miracle-working king
and only a few days later,
they chose to put him to death.

Only days after this triumphal entry, Pilate gave them the opportunity to spare the life of this king of them (of the Jews … but don’t think that we would do differently).

“Here is your king,” Pilate said to the Jews.
But they shouted, “Take him away! Take him away! Crucify him!”
(John 19:14-15)

So, if He were here today, in our presence, right in front of our faces, would the miracles matter? Would the love in His eyes change our hearts? Would His physical presence draw everyone to Him? Would we wave palm branches today and turn our backs on him just days later?

If only Jesus was here …

He is, my dears. He is here through the Spirit who lives in us. The Spirit whose triumphal entry began when Jesus accepted God’s will for Him … for us.