Holy Week (Part 1 - "Somebody save me")

I wonder if you have ever felt misunderstood.  As if someone thinks they understood your motives, mission, what you are all about, but they actually had it completely wrong.  If so, you are in good company: Jesus Christ has often been misunderstood.  Consider this episode in Matthew 20, for example.  The mother of James and John comes to Jesus and asks, “Grant that these two sons of mine may sit on Your right hand and the other on the left, in Your kingdom” (verse 21).  Jesus flat-out says, “You do not know what you ask” (verse 22). 

Jesus’ mission was to give His life on a cross, or as He Himself stated a few verses later, “To give His life as a ransom, for many” (Matthew 20:28).  But, the majority misunderstood what Jesus had come to do.  Perhaps this was never more evident than when you contemplate the event commonly referred to as Palm Sunday.  In fulfillment of prophecy, Jesus rode in to Jerusalem on a donkey (Matthew 21:1-7).  Verse 8 describes it as “a very great multitude” who cried out “Hosanna to the Son of David” (verse 9)!  “Hosanna” is a Hebrew word that means “save us.”  They were expecting Jesus to throw off Roman oppression, but once again, they misunderstood Jesus.   Jefferson Bethke, in the foreword of Kristin Parrish’s book “No cape required” is helpful here. 

“There is this real peculiar moment toward the end of Jesus’ public ministry where he is talking to the gatekeepers of his day and he quotes a Hebrew psalm by saying, “Have you never read in the Scriptures: ‘The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; The Lord has done this, and it is marvelous in our eyes’” (Matthew 21:42) …But what Jesus was getting at was they might have been extremely studied in the Old Testament and its prophecies about this messiah figure God had promised – but they couldn’t even see the King himself living, breathing, and talking right in front of them.

But to some degree you can’t blame them.  Everyone in their particular context was looking for an earthly political or military rebel leader to rise up and take down the pagan empire of Rome and establish God’s reign and rule.  They expected a hero.  What they got did not meet their expectations…They wanted Superman, but it looked like they got Clark Kent instead.  In that last sentence, though, lies the beauty of Jesus of Nazareth.  The beauty of Clark Kent is he is Superman.  And while people might have called Clark names and thought he really didn’t do much, he was also the one truly saving the day and bringing salvation to Metropolis even though he didn’t get the credit as Clark.”

I began with asking if you knew what it’s like to be misunderstood.  Take heart: Jesus knows what that’s like.  I love this line from a song by the Christian singer Carman – who is enjoying his reward in Heaven now: “Jesus Christ was wounded too, with wounds much deeper than ours.  That’s why no child of God should be embarrassed by their scars.”  While I plan to develop this more next time, the same crowd that cried, “Hosanna” to Jesus on Sunday, later on that same week, cried “Crucify Him” (Luke 23:21-24).  Ultimately, Jesus was murdered on that cross.  But it was ordained all along.  In fact, right after sin entered the picture, God gave the first Messianic prediction (Genesis 3:15) that one day Someone was going to come and atone for man’s predicament.  

In conclusion, the TV show “Smallville” ran for an impressive 10 years.  It ended back in 2011, but it is still quite popular to this day.  It featured a young Clark Kent (Tom Welling) who heroically rescued others, with no thought of reward.  The theme song for that show was titled “Save me” by the group Remy Zero.  It has these haunting words: “Somebody save me.  Let your warm hands break right through.  Somebody save me.  I don’t care how you do it, just stay, stay.”  Like Clark did hundreds of times on “Smallville”, Jesus Christ is ready, willing, and waiting to save you; to provide you with salvation and forgiveness from sin.  The Bible says, “Whosoever calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”  If you’ve never asked Him to do so, I pray you would today.   

Kevin