Stress Test Devotional May 25
May 25, 2024
LUKE 19:36-40| 36 As he rode along, people kept spreading their cloaks on the road. 37 As he was now approaching the path down from the Mount of Olives, the whole multitude of the disciples began to praise God joyfully with a loud voice for all the deeds of power that they had seen, 38 saying, “Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven, and glory in the highest heaven!” 39 Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, order your disciples to stop.” 40 He answered, “I tell you, if these were silent, the stones would shout out.”
Holy Week begins with a colossal street party, bigger than the Mardi Gras. A city celebrating Passover, filled with longing for liberation and eager for the coming of the Messiah, turns its passions toward Jesus. At last, the King is here. Centuries of waiting and suffering and occupation are over. On the outside, the praises and excitement look like the highlight of Jesus’ career. But on the inside, Jesus knows the pain and rejection that await.
There are all sorts of courage evident in this passage. There is the courage to enter the city when His friends have discouraged it. There is the courage to accept the praise of the crowd when acceptance will stoke the opposition of the Israelite leaders. There is the emotional courage that can deal with the joy and rejection that would soon happen. There is the physical courage to come into a city of enemies without an army. But most of all there is the courage to follow through on your calling to the end, to be who you were called to be, to keep telling the truth and staying the course of love and sacrifice, even if nobody understood your actions and so many would be bitterly angry or disappointed at your decision to be a suffering sacrifice.
What forms of courage do you most admire?
What forms of courage have you had to exercise in the past?
What form of courage are you exercising right now, if any?
