Do you really know who Jesus is? Jesus tells us who he is through the miracles he did. People respond differently to the miracles that Jesus performed, and we can find these same responses in ourselves. Are you carried along in your faith like the paralytic through the roof, using Jesus like the nine lepers, or do you really and truly see Jesus as your Lord? It’s time to meet Jesus, because once you truly meet Jesus, He will change your life.
We are all made in the image of God and the world wants us to forget this. Instead, they offer a fallen image that we are tempted to pursue instead. The world also wants us to forget that others are also made in the image of God, because how we see others affects how we see ourselves. Instead, we should work to live up to the image of God by seeing ourselves and others as image bearers of God.
Everyone wants to be wanted. It’s how we understand our self worth. We can define our worth by what we can do for the world, which enslaves us to the fallen standard of the world. We can also define our worth by what others think, which forces us to abandon who we really are to please others. Instead our real worth comes from God who made us. God thinks we’re priceless, if only we can see ourselves as God sees us.
Jesus once asked his disciples who they thought he was, and it was Peter who spoke up and called him the Messiah. Because of this, Jesus revealed that he would have to suffer and die. Peter, ever zealous, spoke up and said that he won’t allow that to happen. That’s when Jesus utters the famous line, “Get behind me Satan.” Peter knew that Jesus was the messiah, but he didn’t really grasp what that meant. Jesus gave his life for us, but in return he also asks us to give our lives for him. That’s the scandal of what Jesus is saying here. If you want eternal life then you have to give your life all to Jesus.
One of the craziest things Jesus said was the beatitudes. It shows that the world works with one set of rules, but Jesus tells us that we are to live our lives in a different way. The way we live won’t be popular and won’t make us successful according to this world, but Jesus gives us a twist in this story. God’s kingdom is upside down. Those who are on the bottom here on Earth end up on top in the Kingdom of God.
The triumphal entry marks the start of the last week of Jesus’ life. To the disciples, it must have felt like things were finally looking up. People were finally recognizing Jesus as lord. Jesus knew though, that this wasn’t a triumphal entry. Instead, it was more like a funeral march. These same people who were shouting “Hosanna! Hosanna!” Would soon be shouting, “Crucify him!” It’s easy to judge the crowd, but they display something common to all of humanity, even to us today. We can call him lord in one breath and crucify him the next. How does this happen to us and how can we avoid it?
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