The Return of Glory (Ezekiel 10, Ezekiel 11:22-25, John 12:12-19) [Jay Thomas]

Palm Sunday begins Holy Week often with a refresh on Jesus riding into Jerusalem during Passover week on his way to the cross. This is referred to as the Triumphal Entry. This year, I want to journey with Jesus, but from a bigger perspective. What does this journey to Jerusalem mean in the bigger context of the Biblical story line? I want us to pull up a bit and look at the story of God's glory in Ezekiel, a weird but profound book, where we encounter the glory of God leaving the temple due to the unrepentant and gross sin of His people. This is a crushing scene. It is a bad news scene that prepares us for the good news. The glory will one day return. As we catch up with the scene in John 12, with Jesus riding into Jerusalem, suddenly we have an "Aha!" moment. This is the glory of God returning to the temple, to Jerusalem, to His people... wow! My prayer is that we are re-fascinated with and in awe of Jesus this Palm Sunday.