A Palm Sunday reflection...
“Behold your King is coming to you…”
Matthew 21:5
Matthew 21:5
Oh my soul. This day thy Savior came into Jerusalem upon a colt. One day He shall return to this world upon a cloud. This lowly entrance to the holy city was prophesied of old (Zech. 9:9). His glorious return in holy splendor is promised to come (Rev. 22:20). On that first Palm Sunday opinions about Jesus were divided. The disciples cried “Hosanna.” The Pharisees cried “hush!” “Teacher, rebuke your disciples” (Luke 19:39) they said. But one day neither your opinion nor mine will matter because every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that He is Lord. And so now, oh my soul, there is a far more important “coming” to consider. Yes, “Blessed is the King who comes” Luke 19:38. But the question on my mind today today is this: “Have I come - have you come - to the King?” What is the response of your soul to this coming King? “Behold your King is coming to you…”
The King is coming. But have you come to Him? Have you come to Him tired and wearied by your own wicked heart and wicked ways? Have you come to Him burdened by a law you cannot keep? Have you come to Him casting off all hope of saving yourself? “Come unto Me” He said, “all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest (Matthew 11:28)"
The King is coming. But have you come to Him? Have you come upon His terms? Have you, oh my soul, cast the cloak of your self-confidence upon the ground? Have you abandoned all hope of salvation by your own good works, your own religious exercises, your own sacrifices, sufferings and sorrows? By nature we are all too proud to come. Hence it is only by His grace we can draw near. “No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him (John 6:44).”
The King is coming. But have you come to Him? Have you come as a child, accepting and receiving Him at His word? Have you come trusting His promises, embracing His commands, and honoring His authority? Jesus said “Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them, for of such is the kingdom of heaven (Matthew 19:14).”
The King is coming. Have you come to Him? Are His commands your delight? What place does His Word have in the home of your heart? Do you merely like the “thought” of Christ, while at the same time ignoring the “commands” of Christ? Oh my soul…be not deceived here. You cannot come to Christ while rejecting His right to rule your life. To love Christ is to obey Him. To come to Him and follow Him is to submit to His ways and His will. “Whoever comes to Me AND hears my sayings and does them...” (Luke 6:47) is the rule of the kingdom of Christ.
The King is coming. Have you come to Him? Does He have the first place in your life? Have you put your reputation behind Him? Have you put your family behind Him? Have you put your financial success, your friends, your popularity, your comforts and hobbies and habits all behind this Savior who must be FIRST if you will have Him at all? “If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes and even his own life also, he cannot be My disciple (Luke 14:26).”
The King is coming….and now Oh my soul…have you come to Him? What? Are you still waiting? If you have not come to Him, then He is not your King today. You do not belong to His kingdom. Oh dreadful day to not belong to the kingdom of this King when He comes! Won’t you come to Him today? Such coming is nothing short of life ordeath. It is heaven or hell. It is light or darkness. Oh may it not be said of thee, my soul, as it is of so many others, that “you are not willing to come to Me that you may have life (John 5:40).”
"Behold your King is coming to you..."