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In Christ, Mark
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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.
As they approached Jerusalem and came to Bethphage on the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples, saying to them, “Go to the village ahead of you, and at once you will find a donkey tied there, with her colt by her. Untie them and bring them to Me. If anyone says anything to you, say that the Lord needs them, and he will send them right away.”
This took place to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet:
“Say to Daughter Zion, ‘See, your king comes to you, gentle and riding on a donkey, and on a colt, the foal of a donkey.’”
The disciples went and did as Jesus had instructed them. They brought the donkey and the colt and placed their cloaks on them for Jesus to sit on. 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 and those that followed shouted:
“Hosanna to the Son of David!”
“Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!”
“Hosanna in the highest heaven!”
When Jesus entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred and asked, “Who is this?”
The crowds answered, “This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth in Galilee.”
Matthew 21:1-11
This ends today’s reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.
Today marks the start of what is referred to as Passion week as Jesus makes His entry into Jerusalem where He will meet His earthly end before being resurrected to life in power and into authority, defeating death and the grave.
So let’s go to where it started and an event that has been called Palm Sunday and/or the Triumphal Entry, whichever you prefer. Let’s look at Matthew’s account of this event:
As they approached Jerusalem and came to Bethphage on the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples, saying to them, “Go to the village ahead of you, and at once you will find a donkey tied there, with her colt by her. Untie them and bring them to Me. If anyone says anything to you, say that the Lord needs them, and he will send them right away.”
This took place to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet:
“Say to Daughter Zion, ‘See, your king comes to you, gentle and riding on a donkey, and on a colt, the foal of a donkey.’”
The disciples went and did as Jesus had instructed them. They brought the donkey and the colt and placed their cloaks on them for Jesus to sit on. 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 and those that followed shouted:
“Hosanna to the Son of David!”
“Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!”
“Hosanna in the highest heaven!”
When Jesus entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred and asked, “Who is this?”
The crowds answered, “This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth in Galilee.” Matthew 21:1-11
I think the first thing we need to note here is that this wasn’t a random, impulsive, happenstance kind of event.
Like so many other aspects of Jesus’ life, prophecy had predicted what was to come and in this instance, the prophecy had come from the prophet Zechariah who foretold of a future king who was coming, righteous and victorious, a king who was worthy of their shouting and rejoicing.
Rejoice greatly, Daughter Zion! Shout, Daughter Jerusalem!
See, your King comes to you, righteous and victorious, lowly and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey. Zechariah 9:9
As we look at the scene painted in our scripture from the Gospel of Matthew, we see that Jesus, the prophesied king, had now come to Jerusalem but I wonder:
Did the people really know who He was?
Zechariah had said that a King was coming, and not just any king (small "k") but rather the King of kings and Lord of lords, a King that deserved all the pomp and circumstance of any other king who had come to Jerusalem and more.
And so the people followed all the customary traditions when royalty would come to the city. Some spread their cloaks out on the road while others cut branches from trees and placed them on the path Jesus would travel on. There weren’t just a few people. God’s word tells us there were crowds there who went ahead of Jesus shouting and proclaiming praise to Him. And we aren’t left to wonder what they were saying because the scriptures tell us:
“Hosanna to the Son of David!”
“Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!”
“Hosanna in the highest heaven!”
The people who came to welcome Jesus to Jerusalem knew something about the man who was riding across the cloaks and branches on a donkey. They acknowledged Him as David’s son, a man in the lineage of their beloved former king who had a reputation for being someone who was after God’s own heart. They declared Jesus as being blessed because they saw Him as coming in the name of the Lord. They called for adoration in the highest heavens because of this special King's coming.
But did they really know who He was?
We read that the clamor of Jesus’ arrival moved from the road leading to Jerusalem into the city itself. His coming caused quite a stir and the commotion led people within the city to ask:
“Who is this?”
They truly didn’t recognize this Man who had come with great fanfare, this Man who had been predicted through prophecies of old. And in answer to the question of the people who had just seen Jesus, the crowds who had given Him a royal welcome replied:
“This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth in Galilee.”
That’s how they saw Jesus and it showed that even they didn't really know who Jesus was. They didn't view Him as the Son of God who had been sent to save them and all mankind but rather as a mere messenger who had been sent from God to speak to them.
When Jesus entered Jerusalem triumphantly, the people didn't know who He was and so it’s little wonder that in just five days, they would be shouting different words toward Him:
“Crucify!”
Need another hint that the people of Jerusalem were clueless about Jesus' real identity?
Go to the cross and hear the crucified Christ say this to His Father God:
“Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing." Luke 23:34
If the people had really known who Jesus was, they wouldn't have falsely accused and convicted Him, brutally beat Him, and then execute Him through crucifixion.
Today, we have so many people in our world who either don't know Jesus at all or think they know Him but they really don’t for if they did, they would be respecting and revering Him. They would be bowing down and worshiping Him. They would be striving with every ounce of their being to live like Him in all that they do. And they would realize that without Him, they have no hope in this life.
Friends, as we enter this final week of Jesus’ life, let our prayer be that all would come to really know Jesus for who He is:
The Good Shepherd who was willing to lay down His life for us, His sheep (John 10:11).
The Lamb of God who gave Himself up freely as a living sacrifice to take away the sins of the world (John 1:29).
The Resurrection and the Life (John 11:25), the Savior of all who would come to save all who would place their trust and believe in Him as the only way to God the Father (John 3:16, John 14:6).
Amen.
In Christ,
Mark
PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to Gods4all@aol.com
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