"Laugh, and the world laughs with you; Weep, and you weep alone." The Way of the World by Ella Wheeler
Church tradition depicts Jesus' initiation to the events of holy week as the king who rides triumphantly into Jerusalem on a donkey. He does this to fulfill what the prophet Zechariah wrote in the Old Testament: Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your King is coming to you; He is just and having salvation, lowly and riding on a donkey, a colt, the foal of a donkey. (Zechariah 9:9) Holy week starts and ends on a high note. But, there is more to the story.
Another prophet, Isaiah, declared there was more to this King's coming. Who would believe the report? To whom would the Lord reveal his plan? This king would be the suffering servant who would be despised and rejected. He would be a Man of Sorrows and acquainted with grief. This Suffering Servant is the Righteous Servant who would justify many. He would be divided and poured out. He would bear the sins of all. He would be wounded by our injustice and bruised for our crime. The punishment for our peace was laid upon him and by his stripes we would be healed. (Isaiah 53)
Jesus would be the king of a cross and not of an earthly throne. He is the Messiah - a promised king - who would put things right. But, only when he was broken and bruised. After, he was tempted and tried. He suffered and died. This King of the Cross was never more of a Savior than when he was all alone and conclusively cried out, "It is finished." Because, therein, we find the power of the One whose work was the cross. His utter trust in his father reminds us that just when everything appears to be finished, God is truly at the beginning.
"For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under the law but under grace." Romans 6:14 (NKJV)
-Pastor Jen