{"id":37473,"date":"2020-10-27T16:49:06","date_gmt":"2020-10-27T08:49:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/scaccmm.sarawakmethodist.org\/?p=37473"},"modified":"2020-10-27T16:49:06","modified_gmt":"2020-10-27T08:49:06","slug":"corona-jesus","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/scaccmm.sarawakmethodist.org\/new\/?p=37473","title":{"rendered":"\u201cCorona Jesus\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"

COVID-19matters<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Today is Palm Sunday, the Sunday designated to remember Jesus\u2019 entry into Jerusalem. Rev Peter Yong preached to us a sermon entitled, \u201cCorona Jesus\u201d from John\u2019s Gospel 12:12-19.<\/p>\n

\u201cCorona\u201d is a sensitive word in the world now particularly in view of the pandemic. However, the problem is not with the word \u201cCorona\u201d per se. The word \u201cCorona\u201d means \u201cCrown\u201d in Latin.<\/p>\n

The Corona virus has kept the world at her knees but we will rise again. It is a call for us to crown Jesus as our Lord. The Name, \u201cJesus\u201d is the Name above all Names. One day, every knee will bow and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus is Lord.<\/p>\n

Today is the 5th Sunday in Lent. Lent is a season for us to humbly contemplate Jesus\u2019 suffering and death on the Cross. The other side of Lent is Jesus\u2019 victory over sin and death.<\/p>\n

When Jesus entered Jerusalem, the people were so excited to crown Him King, crying out, \u201cHosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Blessed is the king of Israel!\u201d
\nInstead of mounting a horse, Jesus mounted a young donkey as He entered Jerusalem. Though Jesus deserved a higher honour, Jesus rode on a donkey, symbolising that He came in peace. Jesus\u2019 rule was not about conquering territory but He came to rule in our hearts.<\/p>\n

2 Sam 15 recorded that King David\u2019s son, Absalom was going against him. Therefore, David fled the city of Jerusalem in haste. However, Jesus, descendant of King David, entered Jerusalem triumphantly. Perhaps this was to show that where human kings had failed, the Divine human king would fulfil what God wanted to accomplish.<\/p>\n

Today, despite technological advancement, we are busier than ever. It took something as small as a Corona virus to make us realise how vulnerable and small we really are.<\/p>\n

God doesn\u2019t waste a crisis. Perhaps God is giving us a chance to get to know him.<\/p>\n

The next part of the text gives us 3 responses from the crowd:<\/p>\n

1. Confusion (verse 16)<\/span><\/strong>
\nJesus had performed many miracles yet the disciples seemed confused of His identity. If we think our monetary offerings to God every Sunday will please His heart, then we are confused. The message of the Bible is not about us trying to acquire favour from God. All we can do is receive Jesus Christ, who reconciled us to God by His death on the Cross. The offerings we present to God are the result of our relationship with God, not to get His approval.<\/p>\n

Some people are taking advantage of the Pandemic, and will make online worship their new way of worship. On the other hand, there are those who will treasure our corporate worship time together in the church after this pandemic. Are we a confused or convicted people?<\/p>\n

2. Curiosity (verse 17-18)<\/span> <\/strong>
\nCorona Virus may fill us with curiosity. The pandemic may have given us more free time to ponder upon life\u2019s meaning. Rev Peter urged us to be curious about Jesus.<\/p>\n

Jesus promised us, \u201cCome to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest\u201d (Matt 11:28). In Jesus, we will have real rest.<\/p>\n

3. Callousness (verse 19)<\/span><\/strong>
\nThe crowd could see with their own eyes but their eyes were blinded. Their hearts were calloused, hardened by their own agenda. The good news was that God offers us His saving grace. No matter how calloused our heart may be, or how confused we are, we can call upon God to break our hardness down and take our callousness away. The Bible promises us, \u201cAsk and it will be given, seek and you will find, knock and the door will be opened to you\u201d (Matthew 7:7-8). Go to a quiet place, close your eyes and spend time with God alone. You will find Him when you seek Him.<\/p>\n

\nSummarized by Rev Candy Liong<\/span> <\/strong><\/h6>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

COVID-19matters Today is Palm Sunday, the Sunday designated to remember Jesus\u2019 entry into Jerusalem. Rev Peter Yong preached to us a sermon entitled, \u201cCorona Jesus\u201d from John\u2019s Gospel 12:12-19. \u201cCorona\u201d is a sensitive word in the world now particularly in view of the pandemic. However, the problem is not with the word \u201cCorona\u201d per se. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":48980,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[238,10,272],"tags":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/scaccmm.sarawakmethodist.org\/new\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37473"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/scaccmm.sarawakmethodist.org\/new\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/scaccmm.sarawakmethodist.org\/new\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scaccmm.sarawakmethodist.org\/new\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scaccmm.sarawakmethodist.org\/new\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=37473"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/scaccmm.sarawakmethodist.org\/new\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37473\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scaccmm.sarawakmethodist.org\/new\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/48980"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/scaccmm.sarawakmethodist.org\/new\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=37473"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scaccmm.sarawakmethodist.org\/new\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=37473"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scaccmm.sarawakmethodist.org\/new\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=37473"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}