Quick Note – Acts 25:23

I have decided to move the quick notes section here, in that, the post will be titled with quick note to let you know that it is a quick short thought.  The other page is getting long and is not linked to let others know through social media that a post has been placed so this is probably the best and most organized way.

Acts 25:23 – “So on the next day Agrippa and Bernice came with great pomp, and they entered the audience hall with the military tribunes and the prominent men of the city.  Then, at the command of Festus, Paul was brought in.”

In my reading today, I came upon this verse and was quite surprised to see how both King Agrippa and his wife Bernice entered into the audience hall.  The verse described the way they came as “with great pomp.”  According to the dictionary, the word pomp indicates a splendid ceremony or display of elegance.  The pomp with which the king and queen entered was not what surprised me but how their entrance contrasted to with the way Christ came to earth.  He did not come with great pomp or ceremony or even welcoming; instead, He was born inside a stable, wrapped in swaddling clothes, and laid in a manger (all things involved with animals not a king).  The God of gods, the Lord of lords, the King of kings was not acknowledged and worshiped and praised as He came but ridiculed, mocked, rejected and eventually killed by those He came to save.  There was no pomp for our Lord Jesus Christ.  But what does that mean for us today?  First, it reminds us of how much Christ loved us, for He was willing to give up all His glory to be born with nothing.  Second, it reminds us of the amount of respect and glory we need to give God.  If we treat kings and queens of this earth with such ceremony, should we not honor God even more?  Third, it reminds us of Christ’s second coming, where instead of coming as a baby, He will come on a white horse ready to judge the earth, especially those who refuse to believe – that Second Coming will be filled with “great pomp.”  Let us love and respect our Lord who gave up all for us.  Then, let us prepare for His Second Coming by bringing others to know Him, preparing and purifying our hearts for Him, and growing in His grace, mercy, and knowledge;  for we must be ready to worship Him right that moment in spirit and in truth – creating a ceremony in His honor unlike any other – so that His arrival will come with great pomp.