BETHEL

REFLECTION

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As you reflect on Christ today, consider how you can fast in order to remember his sacrifice. Usually, we might skip a snack or a meal.

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"Behold, your king is coming to you, humble, and mounted on a donkey." — Matthew 21:5

 

The first Palm Sunday was the most joyful misunderstanding in human history. The crowd had the parade exactly right — and the King completely wrong. Four groups stood on the side of that road, and each one missed something. If we're honest, we see ourselves in all of them.

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The crowd wanted a warrior king to overthrow Rome. They got a king on a donkey — coming not to conquer, but to offer himself.

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The disciples had walked with Jesus for three years and still showed up expecting a throne room, not a cross.

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The Pharisees had God neatly contained in a religious system. When Jesus didn't fit the box, they rejected Jesus rather than rethinking the box.

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Jesus wept. While everyone else celebrated or schemed, He rode toward Jerusalem in tears — grieving over those who would soon cry "Crucify him."

 

He is the King who rides toward our rejection and pain instead of away from it. Who weeps over cities that will crucify him. Who, knowing full well what waited at the end of that road, kept riding anyway.

 

The crowd wanted a king to change their circumstances. Jesus came to change their hearts — and ours.

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REFLECTION QUESTIONS 

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1. Which of the four groups do you most identify with today? What does that reveal about where you are with Jesus right now?

2. What expectations have you been holding — a life you hoped He'd deliver, a prayer you wanted answered on your terms? What might it look like to lay those down?

3. Jesus wept over people who would reject him. Is there someone in your life you're being called to love with that same patient, unearned grace?

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PRAYER​

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Lord Jesus — I confess I often come to You with my own agenda, hoping You'll be the King who fixes things on my terms. Help me lay down my plans the way the crowd laid down their coats — but this time, knowing exactly who I'm making room for.

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Hosanna. Save me now. Not the king I imagined — but the King You are.  Amen.

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Spend a few minutes listening, allowing the Spirit to direct you to things he wants to bring up. Take a moment to write them down and prayerfully consider how you could respond to the things you are reminded of. ​

REFLECTION

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As you reflect on Christ today, consider how you can fast in order to remember his sacrifice. Usually, we might skip a snack or a meal.

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In light of the topic, perhaps your fast today will not refrain from something, but to do something. Consider how you might take action to be a blessing based on the questions below (Isaiah 58:6-10).

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Our Compassionate Lord possesses all power, yet chooses to express it through compassion. He invites believers not only to follow Him, but to participate in His work—bringing glimpses of His kingdom into the present, even as we await the fullness of the New Creation.

 

So where does this leave us?

 

If Jesus is our Compassionate Lord, then following Him means becoming people shaped by compassion—people who submit to His authority and reflect His heart in the world around us.

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REFLECTION QUESTIONS 

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1. Who in my life is overlooked or pushed aside?

2. Where do I see brokenness that I’ve been ignoring?

3. How can I reflect Jesus there—practically, not just theoretically?

4. Am I allowing Jesus to meet my brokenness?

5. Am I willing to live under His Lordship in every area of my life?

6. Am I open to being used by Him to bring life to others?

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PRAYER​

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Lord, thank you for your great power. And thank you for wrapping your power in compassion. We pray you will show your power in us, and through us. We want to partner with you and see your kingdom come on earth as it is in heaven. Guard and protect us with your compassion and fill us with your mercy for those around us. In Jesus name, amen. 

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Spend a few minutes listening, allowing the Spirit to direct you to things he wants to bring up. Take a moment to write them down and prayerfully consider how you could respond to the things you are reminded of. ​

REFLECTION

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As a way to make Jesus’ sacrifice real to you today, choose something (maybe a meal, a snack, a coffee, or time on social media) to fast.

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We have all had some amazing and some not so amazing teachers in our lives. There is something to be learned from all of them – even if it is what. Not to do, or how not to be. These can still be valuable lessons.

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Jesus was on another level. He was more than a teacher—He is the ultimate Kingdom Teacher. Unlike the Rabbis of His day, He chose ordinary people to follow Him. Not only that he chose people no one else would have chosen. He showed that God’s call is for everyone, regardless of who they are or what they’ve done. 

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Jesus spoke with authority. He did not rely on tradition or others’ opinions, or approval. Actually, he challenged many of the traditions of the day. He revealed truth and embodied it through His life.

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Jesus turned expectations upside down, challenging cultural norms, valuing humility, and serving others even to the point of giving His life. He calls us to follow Him not just with our minds, but with our hearts, trusting His guidance, imitating His humility, and embracing His Kingdom values.

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REFLECTION QUESTIONS 

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1. The Beatitudes and servant leadership overturn worldly expectations. Read Matthew chapter 5. How can we practice these Kingdom values in our daily lives?

2. Reflect on Mark 10:42–45. How does the idea that “the way up is down” challenge you the most?

3. In what areas of your life do you struggle to accept Jesus’ authority or teaching?

4. Where in your life do you need the Holy Spirit to change your heart, rather than just your behaviour? 

5. How can you practically “walk in the dust” of Jesus this week—imitating His humility, service, and love?

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PRAYER​

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Jesus, thank you for being such a good Teacher, for leading and guiding me. Thank you for showing me how to live in light of your coming kingdom. Thank you that you invite everyone to come to you – especially when we are weary. Please remind me today of your sacrifice, and your love for me. Help me to align my heart to yours. Amen. 

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As you conclude, read Isaiah 58 prayerfully and pay attention to ideas that may come to you about how you and Jesus might address lack, or brokenness in your world.​

REFLECTION

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From the beginning of human history, God was painting a portrait of our Saviour. Stories and systems in the Old Testament are thoughtful brushstrokes revealing the Messiah. Even in humanity’s darkest moment, it’s fall and separation from God, He had already begun revealing His plan of redemption.

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As the centuries passed, the picture got clearer. The prophets spoke of a Suffering Servant, a just and righteous King, and a new covenant that would transform hearts so God’s law would no longer be written on stone but written on human hearts.

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But God did not reveal His plan only through words but through patterns and lived stories. The sacrificial system taught that sin has a high cost and that forgiveness requires sacrifice. And the Types showed many examples of what Christ would do. 

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When Jesus came, His life and death were not a tragic incident history. They were the fulfillment of a plan God had been revealing for centuries. Christ is the Promised One—the Lamb who takes away sin, the King who brings justice and peace, and the mediator of the new covenant. Through His sacrifice, God gives us new hearts and His Spirit within us, transforming obedience from a burden into a response of love.

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This great portrait of the Promised One reminds us that God keeps His promises. The same God who faithfully prepared the world for Christ is still at work today. He is at work in us and in our broken world. He desires a relationship with us, to transform us, and to shape our lives into something beautiful as we become more like Jesus.

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REFLECTION QUESTIONS 

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1. Why might God choose to reveal Christ gradually over centuries instead of all at once?

2. What does the idea of a long term, intentional plan of redemption reveal about God’s character?

3. How does knowing that God planned redemption from the beginning change how you see your own life and struggles?

4. In what ways have you experienced God transforming your heart, moving obedience from a burden into a response of love?

5. Is there some element of this reflection that reminds you of someone you know?

6. How might you be able to use this to help them? Share an idea or story, pray for them?

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PRAYER​

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God, we thank you for your patience, and your providence. We thank you that your ways are higher than our ways. Teach us to be patient and to trust that you are making something beautiful out of our lives, and the lives of those we love. When we are discouraged by circumstances, Lord, help us to remember your commitment to continue to work out your plan of redemption in Christ and believe that you are still working in us by your Spirit.    

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Spend a few minutes listening, allowing the Spirit to direct you to things he wants to bring up. Take a moment to write them down and prayerfully consider how you could respond to the things you are reminded of. ​