Who is this?

"And when he was come into Jerusalem, all the city was moved, saying, Who is this? And the multitude said, This is Jesus the prophet of Nazareth of Galilee" (Matt 21:10-11).

"Who is this...the [mere] prophet"! What a sad incident! Oh the effects of a far-off stance from Jesus! Here we have the triumphal entry, the grand and awaited fulfillment of Messianic prophecy.. Jesus riding into Jerusalem, presenting Himself as THE paschal lamb to be slain, as was the custom with the annual Jewish Passover. And what do we see occurring? Crowds of "multitudes" questioning His very identity! "All the city was moved, saying, Who is this? And the multitude said, This is Jesus the prophet of Nazareth of Galilee".

As we are well aware of, Jesus had several ranks of followers, each with their own level of devotion and adoration. He had the multitudes, and within that He had the 70, and within that He had the 12 disciples. Even within His disciples, however, He had 3 significantly closer friends, Peter, James, and John. These 3 seemed to have been especially close to Him, concerned for Him, and with Him during those intimate times, such as His transfiguration (Mk 9:2). But even within the 3, there was 1 disciple, John, whom the Bible says was "the disciple whom Jesus loved" (Jn 13:23). He was the disciple who laid his head upon Jesus' chest, signifying the great intimacy that was shared between the two; a great intimacy that was, for whatever reason, abandoned and neglected by the many other followers.

Being part of the mere multitude means that we are not intimate with Jesus. Being part of the mere multitude will most always cause us to question God's name, His power, and His desires. A far position from Him will most always cause us to belittle Him.. We will call Him a mere prophet, robbing Him the Messianic honor due His name. Do we want to know Jesus? Then we must be with Him where He is... and where was He? Humbly accepting His cross - obediently securing the will of His Father! We cannot be a part of the multitude, only showing up at mealtime, and expect to have any real relationship with Him, knowing Him for who He really is - the Son of God. Only true disciples will have this great glimpse:

"When Jesus came into the coasts of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, Whom do men say that I the Son of man am? And they said, Some say that thou art John the Baptist: some, Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets. He saith unto them, But whom say YE that I am? And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God" (Matt 16:13-16).

Oh what a dramatic difference! True disciples call Him Messiah, and treat Him as such!