Yeshua is more than just a good teacher. Many try to dismiss Him or explain Him away as just that. As He entered Jerusalem just a short while before He would be crucified, it was quite an event.
At least two aspects stand out to me in regards to demonstration that He was more than just a teacher. First, Yeshua prophetically anticipates great detail around the mission He sends His disciples on to get a colt on which He is to ride. The second is more subtle. As He enters Jerusalem, many people were gathered to watch Him. He was the center of attention. Not many days later, Jesus would suffer and die publicly by crucifixion. The crowds would certainly have recognized it if anyone other than Jesus, Himself, was crucified in His place. Further, on the third day after that, Jesus would rise from the dead and walk amongst the people again for 40 days. With so many witnesses, and such a public and recognizable figure, and so little time passed between His entry to Jerusalem and His death and resurrection… there is not way to deny that it was Jesus who was crucified and Jesus who rose from the dead afterwards to continue teaching and leading the people. There could have been no substitute made.
The Triumphal Entry
1As they approached Jerusalem, at Bethphage and Bethany, near the Mount of Olives, He sent two of His disciples, 2and said to them, “Go into the village opposite you, and immediately as you enter it, you will find a colt tied there, on which no one yet has ever sat; untie it and bring it here. 3“If anyone says to you, ‘Why are you doing this?’ you say, ‘The Lord has need of it’; and immediately he will send it back here.” 4They went away and found a colt tied at the door, outside in the street; and they untied it. 5Some of the bystanders were saying to them, “What are you doing, untying the colt?” 6They spoke to them just as Jesus had told them, and they gave them permission. 7They brought the colt to Jesus and put their coats on it; and He sat on it. 8And many spread their coats in the road, and others spread leafy branches which they had cut from the fields.
9Those who went in front and those who followed were shouting:
“Hosanna!
BLESSED IS HE WHO COMES IN THE NAME OF THE LORD;
10Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David;
Hosanna in the highest!”
11Jesus entered Jerusalem and came into the temple; and after looking around at everything, He left for Bethany with the twelve, since it was already late.
Even in this one short scripture, there is strong evidence that Jesus was God among us, not just a teacher. He performed miracles and overcame death before large public audiences. For those who claim He is something else, they neglect or dismiss the evidence routinely.
With that in mind, let us ask ourselves thoughtfully and prayerfully…
“Are we living like we believe Jesus is God? How do we spend our time, money, and talent? How do I treat others?”
If you were to keep track and make a chart of where you spend your time and money, what would it tell you objectively, based on data? If you could honestly characterize your interactions with others, how often would your attention be focused on selfish desires compared to selfless ones focused on others?
It is easy for each of us to say we follow Yeshua, but could you look at the data and actually prove it beyond a reasonable doubt?
14What use is it, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but he has no works? Can that faith save him? 15If a brother or sister is without clothing and in need of daily food, 16and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and be filled,” and yet you do not give them what is necessary for their body, what use is that? 17Even so faith, if it has no works, is dead, being by itself.
18But someone may well say, “You have faith and I have works; show me your faith without the works, and I will show you my faith by my works.” 19You believe that God is one. You do well; the demons also believe, and shudder. 20But are you willing to recognize, you foolish fellow, that faith without works is useless? 21Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up Isaac his son on the altar? 22You see that faith was working with his works, and as a result of the works, faith was perfected; 23and the Scripture was fulfilled which says, “AND ABRAHAM BELIEVED GOD, AND IT WAS RECKONED TO HIM AS RIGHTEOUSNESS,” and he was called the friend of God. 24You see that a man is justified by works and not by faith alone. 25In the same way, was not Rahab the harlot also justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out by another way? 26For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead.
I invite you to pray with me:
Father, please help me to fully embrace You as Messiah and live my life as an offering to You. Help my life be a witness to bring others to You and show them Your glory rather than just living for me. Amen.
Shalom
Devotion by John in service to Christ
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