Editor’s Note: The following piece is part of the Holy Week Series from our Young Writers cohort. Carissa Samuel reflects upon Luke 19:29-44 and the Triumphal Entry.
Do you feel like you are in a season of waiting this Passion Week? I sure do. In fact, I believe that we are all always in the “waiting season” as we anticipate more and more of God’s glory to be revealed to us. While we wait, we are forced to face uncertainty and discouragement. Whether it be unfulfilled expectations or anxiety in not knowing what the future holds for you, the fears we face are the same ones those around Jesus felt as well.
The people in Luke 19 had been looking for the appearance of “the man on a donkey” for centuries. They had faced captivity, exile, and silence for 400 years while waiting for their promised savior—one who would be “righteous and having salvation.” One who would enter Jerusalem “humble and mounted on a donkey” (Zechariah 9:9). The incredible glory of this moment is that there’s nothing extraordinary about a man riding a donkey, but the fact that God Himself was riding a donkey to communicate His covenant faithfulness is far beyond ordinary. They finally had a tangible reason to hope; the future “when” that they had been praying for was now.
This beautiful picture in Luke 19 is a small vignette of Heaven. Jesus is being praised and a multitude are praising God for all of His work that they finally behold with their eyes. Their praise was especially significant as the picture of their Savior and their hope was progressively coming into clarity with Christ’s entry. This entry was the fulfillment of the prophecies of the promised King of Judah in the book of Genesis (Genesis 49:10-11) and even the strikingly similar anointing of King Solomon (1 Kings 1:33-35).
But Jesus, their promised King, was not how they expected Him to be. He didn’t immediately save them from their captors or give in to the false religious pressures of the time. God’s work was so much bigger than they expected. They soon felt discouraged as His work did not fit into their plans. This becomes clear a few days after this glorious ride into Jerusalem when these same people fight to crucify Jesus. Where did their praise go?
The book of Zechariah which most clearly reveals the coming savior on a donkey calls the people to “rejoice greatly”. The people in that context were still in the beginning of their waiting. And yet, even when God hasn’t fixed everything and the people do not know the whole story, Zechariah says that there is cause to praise, knowing the coming hope. This prophecy calls people to pursue worship both when salvation is clear and when it isn’t.
Wherever you may be this Passion Week, what does your worship look like? Are you rejoicing in the ways that God has revealed His beautiful purposes for you or have you forgotten His goodness? Moreover, how about the challenges you face where God’s work is not complete yet? Are you still pursuing worship with the hope of heaven?
All of us have this temptation to not worship and to forget God’s work. However, 2000 years ago, the climax of the story was completed by the man on a donkey who was crucified and resurrected. We are still waiting for the final ending but we know more and more about our God. So, join me this Passion Week in cultivating a heart that is reminded to worship in the waiting.