Today, on this Palm Sunday, I have been asking
myself this question: Why did Jesus plan and go through the triumphal entry experience
commemorated by this day? Was it because he wanted people to have an
opportunity in recognizing him for who he really was – the Messiah, the King, their
Lord? Or was it because he wanted to do something that would finally tip the
scales with the religious authorities and trigger the ultimate events of Holy
Week?
Perhaps these are both correct. But, might there be an even deeper
significance to this day that God wanted to use in order to contrast two very
different perspectives that resulted from Palm Sunday versus Easter Sunday?
Consider the following:
- · The people welcoming Jesus on Palm Sunday were doing so because they saw him as the Messiah—a savior and a solution to their political bondage and frustrations. They were ready to offer him a crown of a ruler in the way they understood the concept of kingdom. It was to be a kingdom where they (as common people, Jewish citizens, etc.) had everything to gain and nothing to lose. In a sense, they wanted to offer Jesus a crown while keeping the crowns of their own private, personal kingdoms. No wonder they were excited: It would have been all gain with no pain!
- · In contrast, God unfolds his Eternal plan of salvation through circumstances very different from those expectations. His Son is betrayed, maligned, rejected, and ultimately crucified. The sign nailed on the cross "King of the Jews" is put there not in honor, but in derision. Instead of the type of crown the people were ready to give Jesus on Palm Sunday, he now wears a crown of thorns--a symbol of the price paid for experiencing the horrific rejection of both mankind and also, for a time, of God the Father.
- · On Easter Sunday, however, exactly one week later, Jesus rises from dead as the true King, not only of the Jews, but King of Kings. In stark contrast to the hope and expectations people had a week before, now to acknowledge his Kingship, as well as his being Messiah and Savior, there is a cost involved. Another way to say it is in order to crown Jesus with the crown he deserves as King of Kings, one must first experience the costly acknowledgement of personal sin, repent of that sin, and humbly accept the forgiveness, redemption, and restitution he offers. In other words, one does indeed have much to gain, but only first by experiencing the pain of losing his or her own personal crown.
- · Therefore, a Palm Sunday "Messiah" seems to represent a two-kingdom solution to what was a temporary, local dilemma, whereas Easter Sunday’s "King of Kings" represents a one-kingdom solution to mankind's ultimate dilemma of sin and eternal salvation.
Relating this to the Coronavirus
Wikipedia offers this following definition: The
name coronavirus is derived
from the Latin corona, meaning
"crown" or "halo.” This is due to the crown-type appearance of the
virus when viewed under an electron microscope.
It is interesting that in the midst of this
current pandemic, the coronavirus has indeed taken on the symbolic crown of a
"king" that has totally dominated the world and ruthlessly exerted
its power of life and death over all mankind. As we witness how most people
view these events, it seems evident that most would simply like this situation
to go away quickly so that all can go back to normal again. It’s easy to see
how people don't like how the coronavirus has exerted a one-kingdom domination
forcing them to give up their own personal "crowns" and kingdoms of
comfort and self-reliance in order to be subservient to laws of isolation,
containment, and survival.
The displeasure of being de-throwned from their
personal kingdoms is further illustrated by the popular tendency to 1) try to find who to blame
(Chinese, Trump, federal government incompetence, etc.) and 2) wanting to get
back to "normal" as quickly as possible. All of this is evidence of
desperately wanting to maintain a two-kingdom world. In other words, God or the coronavirus can do
whatever they like, as long as it doesn't overly impact my own personal
kingdom.
In 2 Chronicles 7:13-14 God says to his people: When
I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or command locusts to devour
the land or send a plague among my people, IF my people, who are called by my
name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their
wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will
heal their land.
Is it possible God has sent this world-wide
plague in the context of 2 Chronicles 7? Is it possible He wants to get the
attention of people who are so caught up in their two-kingdom worlds that they
can't possibly conceive of the fact that God created the universe to run as a one-kingdom
system? Like C.S. Lewis says in his book, The Problem of Pain, is it
possible God is using the pain of this coronavirus pandemic as his “megaphone
to a deaf world?”
I have to admit that during most Palm Sundays, I
have focused primarily on the joyful image of Jesus riding on a donkey,
prophetically portrayed as our future King and highlighted by children marching
into church waving palm branches and singing “hosanna” songs. I have not ever thought about it as a possible
object lesson God might have planned to contrast my preferred gain-with-no-pain,
two-kingdom world with his gain-through-personal-repentance, one-kingdom world
of Easter Sunday.
And since this particular Palm Sunday occurs
smack in the middle of a worldwide pandemic, what additional lesson does God
want me to learn from the way He could be using the coronavirus as a personal call
back to a 2 Chronicles 7 response of humility, prayer, and confession?
No comments:
Post a Comment