A LESSON FROM JESUS:

There’s More to Your Story

“See, your king comes to you, righteous and victorious, lowly and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.” (Zechariah 9:9b)

Just days before Jesus would be crucified, He had a triumphant entry into Jerusalem, fulfilling an Old Testament prophecy from hundreds of years ago. Jesus rode in on a donkey and those who followed rejoiced, shouting, “Hosanna in the highest heaven!” (Mark 11:10b).

But Sunday to Friday turned from triumph to tragedy as the cry of the crowd went from “Hosanna!” to “Crucify Him!”

Jesus wore a crown of thorns on His head as His cross was carried to Calvary. He was crucified, and with His final breath, He said, “It is finished.” (John 19:30) The earth shook, the veil was torn, and mourning set in. Three days of silence and uncertainty followed.

After the signs, wonders, and miracles they witnessed, how could those closest to Jesus see that the end of His life was coming near. Jesus said it would happen, but they rejected it. Peter even said, “This shall never happen to you!” (Matthew 16:22b)

But like most endings we don’t want to see — endings we would avoid if we could — nothing anyone did was going to change the outcome.

No one who witnessed the cross would have believed there was more to that story. They took His body down, they wrapped it in linen, and they sealed it in a tomb. Jesus’ story was “over.”

We have all encountered endings: the dissipation of a dream, the end of a relationship, the loss of a loved one. Some we saw coming, and some we didn’t. When your story suddenly stops, when you feel like you’ve hit rock bottom, do you struggle to see that there’s more to your story?

When you find yourself in that place, remember this: Some things must end for God to do something new.

As the women approached the tomb and saw the stone rolled away, they quickly learned Jesus’ time walking the earth was indeed finished; but His victory, His Church, and His reign were just getting started.

Friday had to happen for Sunday to come. God had another chapter in store.

Putting your hope in Jesus means something you bury today could lead to something new tomorrow. God doesn’t leave us at a gravesite; He leads us with a purpose out of an empty tomb.

“He is not here; he has risen!” (Luke 24:6a)