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Jesus is greater than any kingdom

Devotional

You are familiar with the expectation of victory. It may come in the form of your favorite football team storming down the tunnel into the stadium for the championship game. It may be the final tally of votes of an election promising to be the most important of your lifetime. It may be as cherished as the birth of a child. Trivial or not, you know the passion associated with hope. Bragging rights to birthrights, there is a wide spectrum of people, places and events in which we place our hope.

In John 12:12-50 Jesus enters Jerusalem. At this time of year Jerusalem is packed with people ready to celebrate the Passover Festival. The hundreds gather and wave palm branches, as we would hoist flags, signs and foam fingers. The Jewish people that line the entryway to Jerusalem were a people living under a promise, desperately awaiting a savior from the tyranny of Roman rule. The prevailing sentiment must have been along the line of, “This is it! This is our guy! Our time has come!”

Emotions were running high in the dusty streets leading to the city walls of Jerusalem. The people were right to shout with joy for the coming of Jesus. But, their emotion was entangled with confusion. Indeed, Jesus was entering Jerusalem to crush the opposition and defeat the opponent. But the crowds quickly realized no army would form, nor swords be drawn. The mounting revolution would not spill any Roman blood.

Like our team, candidate or even child, we eventually realize our need for perfect salvation is a crushing weight when mounted on any person or group. The Kingdom ushered in by Jesus does not promise worldly success, impressive titles or legacies of greatness. The triumphal entry of Jesus declares the defeat of one thing, the only real problem: sin.

The Kingdom is in hearts. The opponent is evil. The battlefield is heaven and earth, and the only blood spilled was from the King Himself. Jesus comes to rescue His people and conquer the power of sin. Jesus did not enter Jerusalem to start a war but declare victory. Jesus is the hope that never fails, the only promise that sustains, and the only king that can flawlessly dominate the power of our sin, completely absorb the punishment of our sin and still stand as the Glory of God. When we see our King Jesus rightly, we see that His Kingdom is not about a better life. The Kingdom of Jesus is better than life.

Pray

Thank you Jesus for being Lord of heaven and earth. Please remind us all that the promises of Your Kingdom are not a greater life, but that You are greater than life.