By
Rick Blumenberg / @rickblumenberg
When Jesus rode into
Jerusalem astride a donkey that Sunday before his death and resurrection, he
entered a city filled with the Passover crowds. This was soon after he raised
Lazarus, and the story was known in the city because Jews from Jerusalem were present
when Lazarus came out of the tomb.
When you
put all the parts together, the huge Passover crowds, the lengthy Roman
oppression and the long-held faith in a coming deliverer—God's Messiah, and add
the raising of Lazarus you have all the ingredients for a mob.
Jesus knew
the mob would be there and he would have no opportunity to speak to the crowd
and tell them his real intentions, so he spoke to them with a sign. He Painted a
Picture with His Actions
Zechariah
prophesied of the Messiah, “See, your king comes to you, righteous and having
salvation, gentle and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.” (Zechariah
9:9)
When
Jesus rode into Jerusalem that first Palm Sunday, he deliberately gave a sign he
was the long-awaited Messiah. The donkey meant He would be a King of Peace. Some
wanted a Messianic Warrior to battle Rome. Were this Jesus’ intentions he would
ride into town on a stallion war horse, but Jesus rode a donkey and although
His voice could not be heard, this sign is recognizable yet today.
He did
not come to war against Rome, or to set up an earthly political kingdom. He
came to be the King of Peace and to establish a rule of love in the hearts of
His people!
There Are Times When Actions Speak Louder
Than Words!
Symbols are
forceful impressions. Jesus spoke of the “signs of the times”. This triumphant ride into Jerusalem was a
sign of the times. Never before had
Jesus claimed to be the Messiah in this unique way and never since. No one
before and no one since has had the right to ride into any city in the world
and through this symbolic action call himself the Messiah, the Christ, the
Anointed One of God.
Jesus knew
our need for signs of important life events. As on Palm Sunday, he gave symbols
to guide us. These symbols, or ordinances, are the Signs of the times in the Christian's life.
The first
Sign of the times in a Christian's life is a testimony that a radical change has
come. This change really makes a difference! It changes the outlook, the
ambitions, the habits, and the desires. It changes the person so dramatically it
is best described as being born all over again. The change is so great we
become new people.
This is
not turning over a new leaf. It happens
only when we confess our sin, repent, and accept Jesus Christ as Savior and
Lord. At his call, we die to selfishness and come alive to Christ—like a grain
of wheat that falls to the earth and dies, but gives birth to a head of many
grains. The first sign of the times in the Christian life is
Baptism—the Sign of a Radical Change
It says the
old selfishness is dead and gives evidence to a new kind of life in Christ. Going
into the baptism water represents death to sin and burial of the old life. Coming
out of the water shows we are raised to new life in Christ. The sin is left symbolically behind, because
it no longer has power over us because the old life of sin has already been left
behind in our salvation. But the change must be real for the symbol to be meaningful!
If Jesus
had ridden into Jerusalem that day without actually being the Messiah, he would
have faded from the pages of history as an obscure and unremembered fool. The
symbolic act during the triumphant ride into Jerusalem has meaning today,
because,
Jesus is
who He claimed to be, the King of Peace, the Christ, the Son of the Living God.
In the
same way, the symbolic act of Baptism is meaningless and empty unless it is
evidence of a real change from the selfishness of sin--to the righteousness of
Christ!
Another
sign in the Christian's Life is
Communion, or the
Lord's Supper— The Sign of Fellowship
The world
is no place to face alone. We need the
presence of a living God and we need the fellowship, love, and concern of a
caring family to lift us when we are discouraged, to share joy in our happiness,
and our sorrow in tragedy. We need to know we are loved by the Father and by
the family regardless of our worthiness or unworthiness.
In Communion,
we symbolize communion with God and fellowship with the Saints. Jesus said,
“as often as you do
it, do it in remembrance of me."
The bread
of Communion symbolizes the mutilated body of the Lord Jesus destroyed by our sin.
The cup represents the blood of the Lord Jesus shed because of our sin. We must
be careful, however, that the Lord's Supper does not become a memorial service for
a dead Jesus.
Remember not only his
persecution, bleeding, and dying— but especially remember his resurrection, and
eternal Presence in the world, in the lives of individual saints, and in the
Church.
Communion
however, like Baptism, is only symbolic, with meaning only if we actually are
in communion with God and in fellowship with our brothers and sisters in Christ
and in the world. Through the Lord's Supper, or Communion, we sit at the Lord's
Table—a sign of fellowship with Him and with Christians around the globe.
The third
sign in the Christian Life is
Foot-washing— The Sign of Christian Service
Jesus said
he came "not to be ministered to, but to minister". If we do the
Lord's work, we too, must serve. In washing the disciples’ feet Jesus broke
every law of custom and tradition. Foot-washing
was common with the dirt roads and daily walks, but it was done personally, or
by a servant, never by a free-man, and certainly not by a Rabbi or teacher. By
Jewish custom, Jesus could not ask his disciples to wash his feet—yet, He washed
theirs! And he said, "If I your
Lord and master have washed your feet, you then, ought to wash one another's
feet." (John 13:14)
In the
Church of God, where I am a minister, we practice foot-washing as an ordinance
because of what Jesus did and said. But in this too, the power of the symbol is
in what it represents. The foot-washing symbol is meaningless if we are not
willing in everyday life to do the most menial tasks for those in need.
When we
try to live the Christian life and not make Christ Lord of our lives, it doesn't
make sense. Christianity is Jesus Christ— alive, redeeming
His people, living in His people, working and serving through His people. In
the same way, if these three symbolic acts, baptism, communion, and foot-washing,
have meaning they must symbolize real life experiences of repentance to God and
forgiveness of sin, communion with God and with the saints, and service for God
by serving those in need.
These are
the signs of the times in the Christian Life. Just as Palm Sunday is the sign
of the true Messiah, Jesus! Just so baptism is the sign of a radical
change, communion is the sign of an inclusive fellowship, and foot-washing is the
sign of Servant Leadership.
I’m Rick Blumenberg and that’s My View from
Tanner Creek.
