I cannot imagine what this scene must have been like to witness it in person. Here you have the very Son of God riding on a donkey. I love the response of the people. First, they put a cloak on the donkey, and then they place their cloaks on the road. This does not make much sense in our modern day experiences, but this was a sign of respect and humble adoration. I had to pause and ask myself, “Is this my heart’s attitude toward the Son of God? Do I lay things in my own life down out of respect and adoration of Him?”
The next thing we see the disciples do is truly beautiful. It says, “As he approached the road leading down from the Mount of Olives, the whole crowd of his disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works that they had seen” (Luke 19:37). They unashamedly worshiped Him. They were recalling to their minds all of the amazing things they had seen Jesus do. Their only response to that was to rejoice and praise Him.
They did not just praise silently to themselves or in muted tones. No, it says they called out with a loud voice. There are a couple of things that stand out to me about this. The first is that they were remembering individually what Jesus had done. There is so much that each of us has seen Jesus do in our own lives, in the lives of people around us, in our cities, in our country, and in the world. Do we stop and recognize the things that Jesus has done or is doing?
When I think about all He has done, what is my response? Is it worship? If I’m being honest, I do not often take time to pause and see the things that Jesus is doing in my life or the world around me. When I do see it, my response is often a quick thanks or, embarrassingly, no response. I often see myself remembering what He has done and just moving on in my life.
The second thing that stands out is that they worshiped what they had seen Jesus do together. They were all worshiping Him together. I have to ask myself the question, do I worship in community over the things I have seen Jesus do in my life? Do I share those things with other people and then worship Him with others over those things?
During this season, there is much focus on the ultimate work of Jesus, of Him dying on the cross for my sin, being buried, and then being raised again. Do I take time to reflect on that and really think about all that Jesus has done for me? Do I stop and worship by myself and also with a community of believers? During this season, may we stop, think about the mighty works we have seen, and rejoice.
