Read John 12:12-16
Commentary | Dr. Karoline M. Lewis
All four of the gospels record Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem, with John’s version being the shortest. John leaves out Jesus’ instructions for his disciples to get a colt and bring it to him. Instead, Jesus finds his own donkey to fulfill the scriptures. Then the story reports, “His disciples did not understand these things at first” (John 12:16a). I imagine myself in the crowd feeling the same. I can picture the disciples in the crowd waving their palm branches, looking at each other and wondering, Is there something these people see that we don’t? What are we missing here?
Misunderstanding is a common theme in John, and rightly so. We are not supposed to comprehend that God, the great “I AM,” came to dwell with us in the flesh of a human body. And at this point in the story, it is not possible to grasp what Jesus’ kingship is all about. Yet to come will be his arrest, trial, crucifixion, resurrection, and the promise of his ascension. The fullness of grace upon grace will only be realized once Jesus returns to the Father to prepare a dwelling place for us (John 14:2). No wonder the disciples could not understand as they watched Jesus ride by. I am not sure we would either.
“Then they remembered” (John 12:16b). Isn’t that often how things work in life and in faith? As the saying goes, “hindsight is twenty-twenty.” But John is not exactly clear as to what the disciples actually remembered. There is a kind of suspension of normal time on this Palm/Passion Sunday. We are looking forward to the events of Holy Week, yet we also know how the story ends, viewing all that happened through a resurrection lens.
“Then they remembered” is the Palm/Passion Sunday invitation to us. Like Peter and the disciples in the crowd waving their branches, we are also witnesses to the meaning of Jesus’ ministry and his kingship. What will we remember about this day and about the week to come? Will our “hosannas” still ring out by Good Friday, or will the hard truths of the events we will witness silence our praise?
Reflect: When have you realized or remembered something in hindsight? What became clear in retrospect?
reprinted with permission from A Sanctified Art
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