‘From Eden … to the Cross!’

Palm Sunday hardly seems like a time to talk about God’s judgment. After all, the crowd of people who welcomed Jesus into Jerusalem for what has been called His “triumphal entry” were crying out to Jesus to save them.  “Hosanna!” is a plea or cry for help. The crowd was calling out to Jesus to rescue them, to deliver them, to save them from their oppression. Few understood what He had come to do by going to the cross to deliver those who would believe in Him from God’s coming judgment. Palm Sunday, as it turns out, is the perfect time to talk about judgment and how to avoid the just judgment of God that we all deserve. Several hundred years earlier God sent a reluctant prophet to an unsuspecting city to bring salvation to those who heard a message of judgment. No crowds welcomed Jonah, yet the result of his mission remains as a powerful testimony to the power of God to save whomever He desires from His coming judgment. As we head into what many call “holy week,” looking forward to the remembrance of Jesus’ suffering and death on the cross, and to the celebration of His glorious resurrection, it is essential that we who believe, who have by grace experienced God’s compassion, mercy and love in Christ Jesus, understand the mission our Father in heaven has given to US, and the message He has entrusted to us. God’s judgment can be seen in the world around us in so many ways, yet the WORST is yet to come!! Hope is found only in hearing of the judgment to come, and then repenting and trusting in the One who is Savior and Lord … Jesus, the King!!