The Stirring of the City

The donkey and the colt were brought to Jesus.  The disciples brought their cloaks and spread them out over them.  I wonder what the cloaks looked like.  I would imagine the donkey looked and smelled like a donkey.  But the cloaks, I wonder how many cloaks were put over that animal’s back.  The cloaks provided perhaps some sort of cushion for Jesus during the ride. 

A crowd gathered, the city was being stirred.  Think of the excitement, the stirring of the heart of the city as Jesus approaches.  “A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, while others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road.  The crowds that went ahead of him…,”(Matthew 21:8-9).  Imagine, the excitement as people ran and cut the branches off.  The road itself must have been a fragrant green sward of leaves.  Clopping along, the donkey’s ears swiveling in rhythm to the sound of the crowd, I wonder how often Jesus reached up to scratch that fuzzy creature on the neck.  The colt, tending to stick close to it’s mothers side, might have nuzzled his leg as they walked along. 

The cheer went up among those that were following –

“‘Hosanna to the Son of David!

Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!

Hosanna in the highest!’”

Matthew 21:9

The city was stirred, the hearts were stirred, it was a moment of jubilation.  It was a time of great celebration, of excitement that was contagious and the people asked, ‘Who is this?’

The answer came from the crowd, ‘This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth in Galilee.”

What great excitement!  I think of my own heart and how God stirs it.  Sometimes, I am so amazed and blessed by God that my heart is stirred to the point of being ready to fling right out of the bowl.  Those times are precious.  Yet, there are other times when the stirring is not so pleasant, it may be a stirring to quiet or to listen, to turn from something chaining me, or to turn away from something taking my focus off of God.  The stirring, it brings things up from the bottom and presents it at the top.  If things are going to be stirred, what will come up?  The city was being stirred, what was going to come up?