They brought the colt to Jesus and put their cloaks on it; and He sat on it. And many people spread their cloaks on the road, and others spread leafy branches which they had cut from the fields. And those who went in front and those who followed were shouting: “Hosanna! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord.”

What do you admire most about Jesus? What are some of the reasons you praise Him? When Jesus came into Jerusalem, the place He would be crucified, He was celebrated. As He rode in on the donkey, people waved leaves and shouted praises. The people cried out in blessing mere days before they would raise their voices for Him to be killed. This is a strange paradox. How could the same crowd exalt Jesus before turning their backs on Him?

John 1:10-13 says “He was in the world, and the world came into being through Him, and yet the world did not know Him. He came to His own, and His own people did not accept Him. But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name, who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of a man, but of God.”

In the triumphal entry, the people celebrated because of who they wanted Jesus to be. When who the people wanted Jesus to be and who He really was no longer lined up, they turned their backs on Him. Many times, we praise God’s name in worship when things go right but we struggle to accept Him for who He is when He calls us to sacrifice or live differently than the world. In this way, we are like the crowd. We celebrate Jesus for who we want Him to be, but we do not know Him. We are to humbly approach God, not coming with our own ideas of who He should be but seeking who He really is.

• What were the first things that attracted you to Jesus? What are some things that you have learned about Him that are different than what you thought in the early days of your faith?
• What does it look like to humbly approach God? What does it look like to approach God with pride or arrogance?
• Pray with humility and ask God to show you if there are any areas of your life where you are seeking who you want Him to be instead of who He is.