Are We Hated for His Name's Sake?
For the Christians I was reading Matthew 21 in God’s Word this morning and I made a connection between the treatment of Jesus and the treatment of His saints today. This chapter starts with Jesus’ triumphal entry. He and his disciples were approaching Jerusalem and had come to a town named Bethphage; while there Jesus sent for the donkey that He would ride into Jerusalem. This fulfilled the prophecy written 500 years earlier in Zechariah 9:9. My thoughts lead me to Jesus entering the town and how the people were yelling and screaming “Hosanna!” Palm leaves that were at least six feet long had been cut down and thrown onto the streets for Jesus to cross over. People were ripping off their garments and throwing them into the street. I can picture them now smiling, laughing, crying, jumping up and down and being filled with hope and joy. I remember going to a New Kids on the Block concert as a child and I remember that moment when they took the stage and I burst into tears.