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37 When he came near the place where the road goes down the Mount of Olives, the whole crowd of disciples began joyfully to praise God in loud voices for all the miracles they had seen: 38 “Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!” “Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!” (Luke 19:37-38)

Jesus knew it was time to go to Jerusalem to fulfil the most important step in the plan of salvation — His death and resurrection.

The scene depicted in today's scripture is Jesus Christ riding a donkey "gloriously" entered the city of Jerusalem (where He was killed). It was "glorious" because of the people’s display of welcome. They “spread their cloaks on the road, while others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road” (Matt. 21:8) to let Jesus pass by on a donkey. It was as if they were welcoming a king entering on a red carpet. Not only that, “crowds that went ahead of Him and those that followed shouted, “Hosanna to the Son of David!” “Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!” “Hosanna in the highest heaven!” (Matt. 21:9) The crowd’s enthusiastic reaction to seeing the Lord Jesus can be compared to when star-crazed fans see their idol.

However, while the roars of welcome still lingered in one’s mind, in five days, these same people led Jesus to Pilate, urging him to try and crucify Jesus (Luke 23:1-4, 23:18-25). What caused this extreme change in their attitude towards Jesus? Are they stupid or "schizophrenic"?

Scripture tells us that “the whole crowd of disciples began joyfully to praise God in loud voices for all the miracles they had seen” (v. 37). They were amazed at Jesus’ power, and they longed for the grace of Jesus' miracles to be upon them, so they embraced Jesus. For them, Jesus was their "superstar", they were Jesus's "super fans". But when Jesus met with misfortunes, these "super fans" changed sides, and supported those in power (the priests) to put Jesus to death. Their sudden change of personas deemed their previous warm welcome of Jesus in the city of Jerusalem hypocritical, their praises of the Lord Jesus Christ empty, and their love for Jesus, while real at the time, superficial, they “go with the tide”. They are just a bunch of ignorant "super fans", unwilling to follow Jesus as His disciples with commitment even to the death.

Let’s reflect: Are we the disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ? Or are we just His "super fans"? When we are in trouble, do we change our personas towards Him? What have we done to put Jesus on the cross?

Good Friday arrives in 11 days. Let us repent before Him and the cross, and ask for His mercy and forgiveness.