When I was a young junior officer, it was a big deal when an Admiral or General came to visit. Ships would get fresh paint, lawns would be immaculately manicured, and anything looking broken or in disarray would be repaired or replaced. Anything and everything to give the impression that every square inch of the base and ships were professionally maintained. On one such occasion, one of my sailors observing a working party repainting the red fire zone paint on a curb quipped, “I wonder if admirals know curb paint doesn’t always look like it was just painted?”

When we are expecting company, we want to give a good impression. And the more importance we credit to our guest the more extravagantly we prepare for their arrival. I think most of us would stay up all night cleaning if we were told our favorite celebrity was coming to our house for a visit tomorrow. Or how much care would you take planning dinner if you knew the CEO of your company was joining you? What do you think you would do if a king were coming to your town? And not just any king, but the long-anticipated savior that would free you and your people from a brutal occupation?

Jesus had just finished his seventh sign according to John - raising Lazarus from the dead after his spirit had departed. Word of this unprecedented miracle had reached the massive crowd gathering for the Passover Festival in Jerusalem. Soon Jesus would be making his way to the city to join the festival and the crowd heard he was coming. What was the crowd going to do? How would the Jewish leaders respond? Join us this Sunday as Pastor Vaughn leads us through John 12:12-19, Jesus’ triumphant entry.

In Christ,

Chappy