For you see, they had made the Messiah over in their own image. They had their own selfish definition of what it meant to be their Savior-Messiah-King. There was no true trust or submission. They wanted Him to be something and to do things which would make their own lives easier, right now. They wanted the Romans kicked out of Palestine; in this, who could blame them? They wanted the independent national sovereignty of Israel returned to them. They wanted glory days like those of David and Solomon. They wanted a political Messiah, not a spiritual one.

Their most terrible mistake was this: they were not interested in submitting to the Lordship of Jesus; they did not really trust in His leadership, wisdom, and judgment. They did not want to listen and follow His teachings, they just wanted what they wanted. In essence, they preferred to tell Him what to do rather than to follow His lead.

Like the Jews on that first triumphal entry into Jerusalem, how many people today are still looking for a savior-messiah who will fit their own definition? How many people today are rejecting the actual King of Kings and Lord of Lords? Tragically, multitudes.

The Palm Sunday story presents us with a huge choice. We can either submit to the Lordship of Christ- trusting His Way (not the world's), seeking His Truth (not our 'truth'), and living His Life (not the self-life), or- we can find ourselves guilty of the same errors, seeking a false messiah or trying to define God according to our own selfish desires.

----Dr. Atkinson is a member of Trinity Anglican Church in Douglasville, GA, where he is a teacher and lector. His training includes an MA in theology and a PhD in clinical psychology, both from Fuller Theological Seminary. He is a licensed psychologist with a practice in the Atlanta area and is a clinical supervisor training Christian counselors with Richmont Graduate University