"Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David!" "Hosanna in the highest heaven!" – Mark 11:10

Today's Scripture Reading (January 28, 2024): Mark 11

I remember singing a song in church when I was young. Fanny Crosby wrote the song. The chorus of the song repeated the opening lines of the first verse.

            Tell me the story of Jesus.

            Write on my heart every word;

            Tell me the story most precious

            Sweetest that ever was heard.

But what was the story that the people wanted to hear before Jesus? An argument could be made that during the days of Jesus's ministry, people longed to listen to the story of David. When the Messiah came, he would change everything and restore the political landscape to that over which King David presided.

Nothing touches all of us like politics. That is why the Good News that we celebrate has to be political. Politics touches your finances, it touches your security, it touches your life expectancy, and it touches how healthy you are (or aren't).

For Israel, the top of the political desire was summed up by the story of David. David represented what the People of God could be like. In David's politics, the one true God, the Nameless One, was worshiped. David provided national stability, David's Army provided protection, there was a level of national prosperity, and David brought personal wealth. There was also a unity in the nations that had not been enjoyed since his reign.

As people sat around the campfires, talked in the houses with their friends, and dreamed about what tomorrow might hold, inevitably, their dreams were filled with the stories of David's Israel. And as Jesus began to teach, when he performed miracles and challenged the different political parties, the people began to dream and compare. The Apostle Paul called Jesus the second Adam, but the people were thinking something entirely different; the people hoped that Jesus would prove to be a second David. The hope was that here was the man who could fulfill everything they had dreamed of. They were waiting for the Messiah who would restore the political Kingdom of David.

David was more than a King, more than a warrior, more than the one who defeated Goliath, and more than even a man after God's heart. David was a lifestyle, one that the people coveted. And so, they cried, "Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David! Hosanna in the highest heaven!"

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Luke 19