applause

I confess: I love applause.  I find comfort in the approval of others.

Applause can be a good thing if that which is being approved or cheered is true. 

But applause can be also be deceitful, it can woo us into doing not what is right or true, but only what the crowd will cheer for, only what others will find acceptable – whether true or not.

There's a lot of cheering going on in the final days of Jesus' life on earth.  Some are cheering for the truth.  Some are cheering for a lie.  Thing is, you can't tell by the cheering alone.  The cheering sounds the same either way.

But Jesus isn't swayed by the cheering.  Or the jeering.  It's like he doesn't hear it. 

Instead his ear is tuned to just one voice.  Jesus knows whose he is.  Therefore Jesus knows who he is.  And others' approval (or lack thereof) fades...

It's possible to meet a lot of expectations but totally miss the truth.