You are receiving this on the morning of what has been traditionally called “Palm Sunday” in the Church. It is a time to remember the story in the gospels of the triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem on a donkey. I’m sure your pastors will be preaching on this story at your church this morning, so I won’t expound on all the details. But I do believe it offers something valuable in our pursuit of God.
Let me set the scene so everyone knows what I’m talking about. This story is found in all four of the Gospels. It happens the week of the Passover on the Jewish calendar so people are coming into Jerusalem from all over to celebrate. King Jesus comes riding on a donkey (a prophetic fulfillment of Zechariah 9) as a symbol of peace and humility. There are massive crowds around him and they take palm branches and spread them on the road. This was a typical way to welcome a king, kind of like rolling out the red carpet.
One of the gospels tells us Jesus wept over Jerusalem as He approached it and pronounced judgment over those who did not recognize the coming of God’s own Son. Then, several gospels tell us that Jesus went into the Temple and cleared out all who were buying and selling. He cried out against the corruption and proclaimed, “My Father’s house shall be a house of prayer.”
More to it
If you’ve attended church for most of your life you’ve probably heard more than one pastor make the point that all the people who went out to meet Jesus, the ones who cried, “Hosanna!”, were the same ones who one week later cried, “Crucify Him!” I’ve personally heard this so many times that I think I didn’t question it for many years. Usually, the sermon is about the fickleness of people who get inspired about Jesus but then don’t really want to follow Him into discipleship. There’s truth in what they are saying, but I’m not sure this is the point of God putting the triumphal entry story in the Bible—four times! There’s more to it.
The public ministry of Jesus lasted three full years, and He performed hundreds, probably thousands, of miracles. He taught daily in some form or another. His ministry was based in Jerusalem but extended out into many of the surrounding towns and villages. Tens of thousands of men, women, and children encountered Jesus personally. Scripture says Jesus “touched” many of them and healed them through that touch. He touched lepers who were considered untouchable. Even the kids came to Jesus.
I think it’s clear from Scripture that Jesus was quite famous by the time He entered Jerusalem to die on the cross. I’m sure there were enemies in the crowd and people just there for the excitement. But I believe the vast majority who surrounded Jesus with palm branches and praise, were people who had genuinely been touched by Jesus. They were His groupies, His followers, and His friends. I see the gathering as a beautiful uniting of people who had been captivated by the love of Jesus from all over.
A picture of the future
Jesus the King is surrounded by multitudes of people who love Him. Can you see it in your mind? Take a snapshot. It’s meant to be a picture of our future. The Bible says that ultimately the meek will inherit the earth. If I died today I’d be present with the Lord in paradise, which I’m sure is wonderful—but, the Bible doesn’t teach that our ultimate future will be out there in heaven, but rather, right here on earth. Don’t worry, there will be a serious extreme makeover. In fact, there will be a New Heavens and a New Earth. And King Jesus will be in the midst of it all as approachable as a humble man on a donkey. Hallelujah!
The Scriptures are filled with imagery to help us imagine what the future will be like in the kingdom of Jesus. I know theologians like to debate over the details of the timeline and what the symbolism means. That’s fine, but let’s not miss the point of all the prophetic imagery in Scripture. It’s meant to give us hope. It’s meant to ignite our imagination. And it’s meant to create longing in us.
The more our vision of eternal glory develops, the more we find ourselves burning with anticipation for Christ to return. This has a profound effect on our pursuit of God. Let me explain how this works with an illustration.
Sea fragrance
When I was a kid we lived a couple hours from the ocean, and it was a very exciting thing for us to go on vacation to the beach. My parents loved the ocean; much of the romance of the sea was instilled in me by them. I have memories of finally getting close to the ocean after the long drive (2 hours is long when you’re a kid) and my dad would say—every time—“Scott, can you smell the ocean air?” And, of course, I could! The salty sea fragrance stirred my anticipation because I knew we were almost there.
A similar thing happens in our pursuit of God. The glorious future kingdom at times is like a spiritual fragrance that creates anticipation. It creates thirst, longing and desire. It causes our heart to burn with eagerness to see His face. There are a lot of things that motivate us in our pursuit of God, but a vision of what the Lord has prepared for those who love Him can take us beyond motivation to being lovesick with longing.
What Scripture says
Hopefully, at this point, you are wondering how you can get a greater vision of what is coming. The good news is that the Scriptures give us a lot to feast on. A good starting point is Revelation 21-22. These are the last two chapters of the Bible, and it would be good to read them so frequently that the pages become like thin cloth. I’ll just give you the first four verses to spark your interest.
Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” (Revelation 21:1-4)
Beyond these chapters you’ll find imagery and descriptions of our future as in Isaiah, Ezekiel, Peter, the gospels, and many other books. Don’t be discouraged if you read something you don’t understand. Just keep reading and searching. It’s a little like a puzzle. Some verses that don’t make sense now will connect and fit later. To have a vision of future glory this is the starting place: the Word.
We live in a time when knowledge is easily accessible through the internet. You can search a particular verse or phrase or word, and so much will come up. Take advantage of the many online tools out there. Obviously, not everything is biblically accurate, so be careful. You could start with websites like Desiring God, Gospel Coalition, and Renewing Your Mind. I think I’ve mentioned The Bible Project videos in the past. So good! For example, search “Bible Project heaven and earth.”
Imagination
As we begin to collect all that the Bible says about our future with King Jesus, and we start piecing it all together, an understanding develops. Oh my friends, there’s something about devotion to this that causes it to become real (more on that in a moment). I encourage you to think of all the information as raw material for your imagination.
Some people get nervous about using their imagination because it feels dangerous. But God has given us an imagination, and I can’t think of any greater way to use it than to imagine our future with Him. Right? Let the Word guide your imagination, but it’s okay to just wonder. Like, I often wonder if we’ll be able to fly. I wonder what music will sound like. I wonder what it will be like to see the face of Jesus. I wonder what will happen when we see Him for the first time. Our wonderings are just wonderings, but when we let ourselves imagine what things might be like—it creates sweet anticipation.
But, as it is written, “What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him”—these things God has revealed to us through the Spirit. For the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God. (1 Corinthians 2:9-10)
Revelation
Both the study of the Bible and the use of imagination will not get us far without this third essential element: revelation. What I mean by revelation is the work of the Holy Spirit revealing something to us. Can I be honest for a moment and say that we shouldn’t neglect the study of the Word and the hard but delightful work of using our imagination, and just wait for some sort of vision from heaven to hit us in a vacuum of ignorance. It doesn’t work that way. The Holy Spirit uses what is in us already, in most cases. He takes what we know from Scripture, and what we’ve imagined—and He breathes life into it; He makes it real. So be sure you depend on Him.
I love you all and am so thankful that you decided to be on this 100 day pursuit with me. I’m so thankful for the thoughtful notes many of you have sent to encourage me. I’m a little sad that we are nearing the end! But I’m a little happy to take a break from writing so much—even though I do enjoy it. I just want you to know that I plan on pushing hard to the end. This is Holy Week and what better week to pursue hard after the Lord. There are more guests who don’t know Christ yet who attend (or watch) service on Easter Day than any other day. Let’s be praying for our Easter services and praying for our pastors and musicians. Let’s pray that many would not just hear about the resurrection but would experience resurrection life!