“Jesus found an ass and sat upon it…”
— John 12:10—
It is dangerous to make Christ in our own image. Whether it’s the blasphemy of a pastor claiming Jesus asked for forgiveness, Anti-Semitic trolls using “Christ is King” as an attack on Jews, the “Politically Pragmatic Christians” who “live as if God exists,” leveraging the Christian ethos for their vision of brighter future, people have a bad habit of trying to get Jesus off the Cross and into a throne room of their own making.
From the very beginning of Christ’s ministry, the disciples, the world, the flesh, and the Devil are trying to get Him to conform to their expectations. Peter is the first that comes to mind. Peter famously confesses that Jesus is the Messiah. To which Jesus responds with a commendation: Peter is the rock upon which the Church will be built, the gates of Hell will not prevail against it, and Jesus promises to give Peter, not you and me, the keys to the Kingdom of Heaven. “Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven” (Mt. 16:18-19). Regardless of your theology, Peter is given great power and responsibility in this passage.
If the proximity of the verse is any indication, immediately after Peter’s promotion, Jesus rebukes Peter. Jesus has just prophesied his own death, and Peter, for reasons unknown to us, lay readers, rebukes Jesus! To which Jesus responds,
“Get behind me, Satan! You are an obstacle to me. You are thinking not as God does, but as human beings do.”
Matthew 16:23
If Peter is the head of the disciples, Judas is seen as the last of them. As the one who betrayed Jesus, he is a tragic figure who gives Christians pause about what evil their future selves are capable of committing. In the Gospel of John, Jesus’ feet are being bathed in expensive perfume (12:1-11). In this description, we see that Judas was a “thief.” Judas attempts to trick Jesus into stopping the woman from “anointing Christ” before his death. Jesus rebukes Judas as well: “Leave her alone. Let her keep this for the day of my burial” (12:7-8).
Finally, Jesus challenges our own expectations. The King of the Universe is not supposed to ride an “ass”. He’s supposed to ride a mighty horse! He’s not supposed to be mocked, whipped, beaten, and humiliated. If that’s happening to Him, imagine what they will do to those who were stupid enough to believe Him? Is it too improbable to think that these thoughts and questions may have been the motivation for the disciples’ abandonment of Christ? How many times have we had these same thoughts when we hear someone mock our Lord, and we think, “If you think that about Jesus, then what are you going to think of me for following Him?”
There is only one King, and our citizenry is not predicated on “beliefism” or the idea that saying we believe in God is enough. Obedience is the prerequisite to be a citizen of His Kingdom, but the Cross is what keeps us within it. Christ is the King, but do not be fooled by cultural Christians who desire to manipulate that idea for their own ends, the way a puppeteer manipulates a marionette. Nor should we believe that governmental endorsements of Christianity will lighten the cross that Christ has asked us to bear.
Christ is eternal, the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow. We are the ones who are fickle, who constantly try to reinvent Him and His Church, either because we are concerned about the optics of the King riding a donkey, or because we are thieves who desire a cut from the King of Glory’s anointing but without the sacrifice necessary to receive it. We want Christianity to be whatever we want it to be, and a King who behaves the way we want Him to. Is it any wonder that those who have rejected Christianity and adopted atheistic and materialistic worldviews are attempting to create God in their own image through AI?
The only path to Heaven involves faith, obedience, and sacrifice. Without faith, you have no obedience; without obedience, you have no sacrifice; without sacrifice, you have no hope.
As we enter into Holy Week, and the darkness of Good Friday descends, may we remember that Christ is not your King or my King, but he is The King, and we are his subjects.
— DR
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