We Have Seen the LordSample

Responding to the Coming of the King

Christianity is more than a set of philosophical commitments, moral ideals, or aspirations for a perfect life. Biblical faith is rooted in the historical and factual events of the birth, life, suffering, death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus of Nazareth.

The apostle and evangelist, John the Beloved, who is also the author of the Gospel of John, proclaims in his first letter: "… that which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ" (1 John 1:3, ESV). To believe in Christ is to be confronted by the historic, present, and future reality of His eternal existence and presence.

As we prepare to commemorate and celebrate the suffering, death, and resurrection of Christ during Holy Week, we journey with the Scriptures so that we might also "see and hear" and, in doing so, have eternal fellowship with God, our Father, and His Son. In our reading for today, the Gospel narrative recalls that Jesus visited Bethany six days before the Passover (John 12:1) to visit Mary, Martha, and their brother Lazarus, whom He had raised from the dead.

The next day, Jesus entered Jerusalem, and John reports that a large crowd of Jews came to see Jesus and Lazarus. John also tells us that the chief priests not only planned to kill Jesus but also Lazarus because many of the Jews believed in Jesus on account of Lazarus being raised from the dead. In this section of John's Gospel, the crowd who heard about the coming of Jesus for Passover came to meet Him and welcomed him by singing a Psalm and waving palm branches. John recalls that Jesus entered Jerusalem sitting on a young donkey to fulfill a prophecy from the Book of Zechariah that the King of Zion would enter the city in such a way.

Today's reading asks an essential question: How do we respond to the reality of Jesus in our world and lives? Do we welcome our Savior, the One who resurrected us from a life of sin and death, as our King? Or do we, like the chief priests, seek ways to dismiss His presence and the coming of His kingdom? The crowd welcomed Jesus by singing Hosanna, a Hebrew word that means "save us." How do we respond to the coming of Jesus, the King, today?

Prayer

Our Heavenly Father, we come to You in the Name of Jesus, Your eternal Son. Open our eyes to see His coming into our world. Open our ears so we might hear His voice calling us to You. Open our hearts to receive Him as King! Open our mouths so that we might cry as the crowd that welcomed Him into Jerusalem—Hosanna! Save us! Come, King Jesus, and rule in our midst!

Corné J. Bekker, D. Litt. et Phil., serves as the dean for the Regent University School of Divinity.