The Rev. Mouris Yousef ’07, Pastor, First Presbyterian Church of Blackwood, N.J.

Scripture

John 12:9-19

9 When the great crowd of the Jews learned that he was there, they came not only because of Jesus but also to see Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead. 10 So the chief priests planned to put Lazarus to death as well, 11 since it was on account of him that many of the Jews were deserting and were believing in Jesus. 12 The next day the great crowd that had come to the festival heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem. 13 So they took branches of palm trees and went out to meet him, shouting,
     “Hosanna!
     Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord —
          the King of Israel!”
14 Jesus found a young donkey and sat on it; as it is written:
15  “Do not be afraid, daughter of Zion.
     Look, your king is coming,
          sitting on a donkey’s colt!”
16 His disciples did not understand these things at first; but when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that these things had been written of him and had been done to him. 17 So the crowd that had been with him when he called Lazarus out of the tomb and raised him from the dead continued to testify. 18 It was also because they heard that he had performed this sign that the crowd went to meet him. 19 The Pharisees then said to one another, “You see, you can do nothing. Look, the world has gone after him!”

Devotional

Among the many great things we encounter in John 12:9-19, one of the most important ones deserves our attention: the reaction of the crowd that had come to celebrate the Passover on hearing that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem. What we see here is simply a bunch of followers who got amazingly excited about their leader. Of course, we know the crowd had different expectations of the Messiah, the Savior of Israel, from what Jesus’ true mission was. But the point remains: the people enthusiastically celebrated Jesus’ coming into Jerusalem, David’s City, in a very special way. They received Jesus as a conquering king. They spoke of his greatness and his miraculous power.

I keep thinking about our commitment to Jesus and our excitement about his message—are we excited about Jesus, too? If we’re not, what is wrong with us as believers in the United States? Have we become so comfortable? Have we lost sight of the greatness of Jesus? Have we forgotten our own mission field?

In this season of Lent, may we acknowledge our need to remember our first love. May we get excited once more about our mission—and about Jesus himself!

Prayer

Have mercy on us, O God, according to your steadfast love. Be with us as we renew our commitment to Jesus. Help us to get excited about his visitations as the crowd did when he came to Jerusalem. Amen!

The Rev. Mouris Yousef ’07, Pastor, First Presbyterian Church of Blackwood, N.J.

Scripture

John 12:9-19

9 When the great crowd of the Jews learned that he was there, they came not only because of Jesus but also to see Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead. 10 So the chief priests planned to put Lazarus to death as well, 11 since it was on account of him that many of the Jews were deserting and were believing in Jesus. 12 The next day the great crowd that had come to the festival heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem. 13 So they took branches of palm trees and went out to meet him, shouting,
     “Hosanna!
     Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord —
          the King of Israel!”
14 Jesus found a young donkey and sat on it; as it is written:
15  “Do not be afraid, daughter of Zion.
     Look, your king is coming,
          sitting on a donkey’s colt!”
16 His disciples did not understand these things at first; but when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that these things had been written of him and had been done to him. 17 So the crowd that had been with him when he called Lazarus out of the tomb and raised him from the dead continued to testify. 18 It was also because they heard that he had performed this sign that the crowd went to meet him. 19 The Pharisees then said to one another, “You see, you can do nothing. Look, the world has gone after him!”

Devotional

Among the many great things we encounter in John 12:9-19, one of the most important ones deserves our attention: the reaction of the crowd that had come to celebrate the Passover on hearing that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem. What we see here is simply a bunch of followers who got amazingly excited about their leader. Of course, we know the crowd had different expectations of the Messiah, the Savior of Israel, from what Jesus’ true mission was. But the point remains: the people enthusiastically celebrated Jesus’ coming into Jerusalem, David’s City, in a very special way. They received Jesus as a conquering king. They spoke of his greatness and his miraculous power.

I keep thinking about our commitment to Jesus and our excitement about his message—are we excited about Jesus, too? If we’re not, what is wrong with us as believers in the United States? Have we become so comfortable? Have we lost sight of the greatness of Jesus? Have we forgotten our own mission field?

In this season of Lent, may we acknowledge our need to remember our first love. May we get excited once more about our mission—and about Jesus himself!

Prayer

Have mercy on us, O God, according to your steadfast love. Be with us as we renew our commitment to Jesus. Help us to get excited about his visitations as the crowd did when he came to Jerusalem. Amen!