Hosanna are the shouts we hear, palm branches are waving in the air, and people are celebrating as Jesus enters Jerusalem riding on a donkey. It is a great day! The people feel that the day has finally come when Rome will be ousted out of power and their people will finally be released from the oppression they have been under for so many years. Palm Sunday.
But what they expected and what they got were two very different things. Jesus came to release everyone from oppression, but not with the sword and fighting. He taught the way of love, servanthood, and sacrificial giving. This did not sit well with those expecting a warrior savior who would lead them into battle against the Romans, and they killed him for it.
We have traveled so far this Lent season as we have focused on the last 24 hours of Jesus life on earth. From the celebration of the Seder meal and the last supper, through betrayal, condemnation, sentencing, and even torture and humiliation. We have finally reached the worst thing, crucifixion, death on a Roman cross.
Scripture tells us of a man who happened to be in town that day to witness the event. His name was Simon of Cyrene. His role as a bystander quickly came to an end when Jesus struggled and fell under the weight of the cross. He just couldn’t carry it any longer. That’s when Simon was pressed into service. He was told to carry the cross for Jesus the rest of the way to Golgotha.
Once at that place, they crucified Jesus between two thieves. There were seven different phrases spoken by Jesus from the cross, but one of the most profound things that happened, occurred upon his breathing his last. At this moment the earth shook, the sky grew dark, and the curtain in the temple was torn in two.
You may ask yourself, what’s so important about someone’s curtains tearing, about needing to do a little interior decorating at the temple, but there was a significant meaning behind this. This curtain was the one that blocked off the ‘holy of holies.’ This was the place that only the high priests were allowed to go. They would approach the altar in this place to offer sacrifices to redeem the people.
Any ordinary person could not enter, they needed the priest to mediate for them. But with Jesus’ death on the cross, the curtain that divided the temple and closed off the special place for the priests was torn, from top to bottom. This was significant because it meant that through the death of Christ on the cross, we are given direct access to God. We no longer need someone to mediate for us.
This should make it so easy for us to approach God, but there are always things that get in the way of our relationship with him. This past Sunday, we identified with those things that get in the way and in a symbol of repentance, we nailed them to a cross.
I wonder what those obstacles are in your life? What is getting in the way of you having a reconciled relationship with God? Is it idolatry, pride, or maybe not being able to forgive someone? Maybe you have a hard time forgiving yourself? The good news for us today is that we can leave it at the cross of Christ and he will take it from us and redeem us, allowing us to reconcile our relationship with God.
What are you waiting for? Stop what you’re doing and reach out for God. Ask for forgiveness and for the removal of those obstacles in your life. Then live the life God so desires for your life.