A Word about Fickleness

Today I want to share a word about fickleness, as I comment on Luke 19:28-40.This passage reads: 

After he had said this, he went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem. When he had come near Bethphage and Bethany, at the place called the Mount of Olives, he sent two of the disciples, "Go into the village ahead of you, and as you enter it you will find tied there a colt that has never been ridden. Untie it and bring it here. If anyone asks you, 'Why are you untying it?' just say this, 'The Lord needs it.'" So those who were sent departed and found it as he had told them. As they were untying the colt, its owners asked them, "Why are you untying the colt?" They said, "The Lord needs it." Then they brought it to Jesus; and after throwing their cloaks on the colt, they set Jesus on it. As he rode along, people kept spreading their cloaks on the road. As he was now approaching the path down from the Mount of Olives, the whole multitude of the disciples began to praise God joyfully with a loud voice for all the deeds of power that they had seen, saying, "Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven, and glory in the highest heaven!" Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to him, "Teacher, order your disciples to stop." He answered, "I tell you, if these were silent, the stones would shout out."

Holy Week is an amazing time in church worship. We know, from the Scriptures, a day-by-day account of the week that ended with Jesus being crucified on Good Friday, and then rising again on Easter Sunday. The interesting thing to me is that this week, in many ways, is bracketed by two mob scenes. In each of these scenes we see people shouting and gesturing because of Jesus. The amazing and sad thing is, these two scenes are 180 degrees out of phase which one another.

Acclamation then Condemnation:

On Palm Sunday, the crowds acclaimed Jesus. They effusively welcomed Him to Jerusalem, and they worshipped Him. What a wonderful experience it must have been for all concerned! Just six days later, however, the crowds were just as animated, but with animus instead of acclaim. Luke 23:13-25 records their cries on Good Friday:

Pilate called together the chief priests, the leaders, and the people, and said to them, “You have brought me this man as one who misleads the people. But in fact, after examining him in your presence, I have found no grounds to charge this man with those things you accuse him of. Neither has Herod, because he sent him back to us. Clearly, he has done nothing to deserve death. Therefore, I will have him whipped and then release him.” Then they all cried out together, “Take this man away! Release Barabbas to us!” (He had been thrown into prison for a rebellion that had taken place in the city, and for murder.) Wanting to release Jesus, Pilate addressed them again, but they kept shouting, “Crucify! Crucify him!” A third time he said to them, “Why? What has this man done wrong? I have found in him no grounds for the death penalty. Therefore, I will have him whipped and then release him.” But they kept up the pressure, demanding with loud voices that he be crucified, and their voices won out. So Pilate decided to grant their demand and released the one they were asking for, who had been thrown into prison for rebellion and murder. But he handed Jesus over to their will.

In less than a week, the crowds in Jerusalem went from saying "Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!” To shouting “Crucify! Crucify Him!” What a remarkable flip-flop! And yet, when we thing about the record of humanity in the Bible, we should not be surprised at all. In fact, we don’t know it to be the case, but it would not surprise me at all if some of the same people acclaiming Jesus on Palm Sunday were also there, condemning Him on Good Friday.

Fickleness:

From the beginning of time, people have proved to be fickle: 

• Adam and Eve walked with God is the cool of the day, until they chose to follow the serpent.

• Abraham trusted God until it came to his wife, Sarah. Then he decided to lie to Pharaoh and say she was his sister.

• Pharaoh decided to allow the Jews to leave, and then he changed his mind.

• The Children of Israel followed Moses to the Promised Land, until they found out that the tribes there were tough to defeat.

• Once in the Land of Canaan, the Israelites served God until they didn’t. Then when they cried out to God to save them and He did, they served Him, until they didn’t.

• God was ruler in Israel until they decided that, like everyone else, they wanted a kind.

• In the New Testament we can see the pattern continue. Peter was a stout defender of Jesus, until he betrayed him.

• Ananias and Saphira were honest with God, until they weren’t.

• Even today, many church pastors have found that their congregation honors them and follows them as a man of God . . . until they don’t. 

And so it went, and so it goes.

Fear and Distrust:

Fickleness is a trait that causes much fear and distrust:

• One reason that people distrust politicians is that they often flip-flop on issues. They see which way the wind is blowing before they say a word.

• One of the most discouraging and soul-crushing experiences is when a friend we thought we trust betrays us.

• One of the biggest problems with the COVID-19 epidemic is that, to the average person, it seemed very fickle. As my son told me, “COVID-19 is very infectious, except when it isn’t.” I can’t help be agree with his summary.

Good News:

The Good News for us is that while we may be fickle, and we are, God isn’t. The Scriptures tell us that God is unchanging, and Hebrews 13:8 tells us, 

“Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.” 

If there is one, rock solid fact in our lives it is this: unlike us, God isn’t fickle, and He will always stand by His Word, His Way, His Will, and His eternal love for us. This means we can trust God, we can trust His Word, and we can rest in His love. He will never flip-flop, and He will never stop redeeming humanity from our own fickleness.

We can trust God, but the question that come to me is this: can God trust us?

Every blessing,

Dr. Otis Corbitt