And when he entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred up, saying, “Who is this?” And the crowds said, “This is the prophet Jesus, from Nazareth of Galilee.” (Matthew 21:10-11 ESV)
Have you ever experienced a truly incredible moment in-person? An event that captured your attention so powerfully that you can recall the sights, smells, and sounds with precision even years later? Maybe you’ve been to a championship basketball game and your team won the title on a buzzer-beater or perhaps you saw your favorite band play ‘your’ song on that perfect summer night. You can close your eyes and picture it, and in a moment, you’re transported through time back to that moment.
I imagine years after Jesus Christ rode into Jerusalem on the back of a donkey people were recalling every detail of what they saw that very first Palm Sunday. I can picture them sitting around dinner tables years later giving their first-hand accounts of that day: the day the Son of God was revealed for all the world to see.
Do you remember the moment you first saw Jesus as more than a good teacher or wise prophet? The moment this mysterious historical figure came into focus in your mind as God’s Son? I do. I was ten years old sitting in the back of a church listening to a Gospel message from a travelling preacher. I had been raised in church well before then, but that night as he spoke, something stirred in my spirit. It was as if the person I had always heard about from others introduced himself to me personally. I felt the same thing the Palm Sunday crowd felt: I was stirred.
Maybe your ‘moment’ of discovering Jesus as your Savior was a similar experience. Or maybe you’ve never paused to wonder exactly who Jesus is. As Easter Sunday approaches, I would urge you to consider asking what the crowds of Jerusalem asked: “Who is this?”