When Jesus Christ rode down the Mount of Olives, he looked over Jerusalem and wept. People were not interested in coming to him, for shelter and protection. Being ignored and rejected brought tears of tremendous sadness to his eyes. Jesus realised the tragic consequences.

He viewed the Temple, which was full of dead religion and devoid of spiritual life. Here was the living God approaching the city and the city did not want him.

At the top of the hill crowds were shouting ‘Hosanna’, which means, ’save us now’, but these men thought Jesus was going to rescue them, politically, from their Roman masters.

Jesus comes to rescue and save people from sin. Replacing one government with a different government is never the answer, if sin continues to dominate.

Israel had been looking for this day for a thousand years and they missed its significance. People knew Jesus was special. Their prayer is specific and direct, with a note of urgency. Having seen the miracles, which he performed, the whole crowd praised God.

When you see God at work you do want to praise him.

Crowds are praising, but Jesus is weeping. If only the people had realised that they, and Jerusalem, could have received peace there and then. Rejection has resulted in so much suffering over these past 2,000 years.

Others resented every syllable of praise given to Jesus Christ, asking Jesus to rebuke these disciples and tell them to keep quiet. The critics would only call Jesus, teacher. They never used the word, Lord.

Jesus has to become more than a good teacher or concerned master. There comes that point where Jesus Christ must be recognised, acknowledged and confessed as Saviour, Lord and King.

Having ridden down the Mount of Olives, east of Jerusalem, on a donkey, to fulfil a 500-year-old prophecy, Jesus Christ entered the city. Was the Saviour of the world about to save his people politically, and deal with the rule of Rome? No.

To the right of that gate in the city wall lay the Antonio fortress, the headquarters of the Roman authorities. Jesus did not turn right. He turned left approaching the Temple, which resembled a market place. He overturned the tables of merchants and moneychangers.

The Temple was intended to be a place of prayer and worship for all nations and peoples. It had become a den of thieves. Travelling to Jerusalem was dangerous. You ran the risk of being attacked and robbed as gangs emerged from wilderness caves. When you reached the Temple, you should have been safe, but people were being financially mugged and done, in the place appointed for prayer.

Jesus Christ drove out everything that ought never to have been in the church of that day. Strong stuff! Strong man, this Jesus!

Here is righteous love, displaying sinless anger at the misuse of what God had given to help men be holy. When Jesus confronted sin he was not soft or compromising.

Who would dare approach Jesus Christ in this frame of mind? That was never a problem. The blind and the lame came to him and he healed them. The same hands that drove out what should never have been permitted, then touched eyes and limbs for healing.

Children continued to shout ‘Hosanna’ - ’save us now’ - as broken bodies were being repaired - and his critics were indignant at what he was doing.

This was a day of remarkable emotions. The Christian Life is full of emotion but we must every guard against emotionalism. These are two very different concepts.

Sandy Shaw

Sandy Shaw is Pastor of Nairn Christian Fellowship, Chaplain at Inverness Prison, and Nairn Academy, and serves on The Children’s Panel in Scotland, and has travelled extensively over these past years teaching, speaking, in America, Canada, South Africa, Australia, making 12 visits to Israel conducting Tours and Pilgrimages, and most recently in Uganda and Kenya, ministering at Pastors and Leaders Seminars, in the poor areas surrounding Kampala, Nairobi, Mombasa and Kisumu.

He broadcasts regularly on WSHO radio out of New Orleans, and writes a weekly commentary at http://www.studylight.org entitled “Word from Scotland” on various biblical themes, as well as a weekly newspaper column.

His M.A. and B.D. degrees are from The University of Edinburgh, and he continues to run and exercise regularly to maintain a level of physical fitness.

Sandy Shaw
sandyshaw63@yahoo.com

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