Palm Sunday
And the disciples went, and did as Jesus commanded them,
And brought the donkey, and the colt, and put on them their clothes, and they set him thereon. And a very great multitude spread their garments in the way; others cut down branches from the trees, and strawed them in the way.
And the multitudes that went before, and that followed, cried, saying, Hosanna to the son of David: Blessed is he that comes in the name of the Lord; Hosanna in the highest.
And when he was come into Jerusalem, all the city was moved, saying, Who is this?
And the multitude said, This is Jesus the prophet of Nazareth of Galilee.–Matthew 21:6-11
The time had come. For three years, Jesus had ministered to the needs of the people – performing miracles, teaching Scripture, walking the walk, talking the talk. Now, He was going in to Jerusalem. His followers thought the time had come for the Messiah, Jesus the Christ, to set up His throne on earth and, finally, to conquer the Romans and their oppressive rule.
However, Jesus had a slightly different idea.
Jesus commanded His disciples to go into the village and, Matthew 21:2, “ye shall find a donkey tied, and a colt with her: loose them, and bring them unto me.”
The disciples did as Jesus commanded, went into the village and found the donkey that was tied. They unloosed the donkey, and colt, and brought them to Jesus. Jesus sat upon the donkey and rode into Jerusalem.
People were honored, blessed, excited, thrilled at the prospect of the coming of the Messiah.
Read that again, People were honored, blessed, excited, thrilled at the prospect of the coming of the Messiah. The first time.
The first time, He rode into Jerusalem on the back of a donkey.
The first time, people waved palm branches and put their clothing down on the ground out of respect for the arrival of the Lord.
There was happiness. Joy. Excitement.
They sang and cried, “Hosanna to the son of David: Blessed is he that comes in the name of the Lord; Hosanna in the highest“.
Those who had no idea asked, “Who is this?”.
And, the people said, “This is Jesus the prophet of Nazareth of Galilee“.
Oh to be there on that day – to see, to hear, to feel the excitement. And, the joy! Of the coming of the savior, the Messiah, Jesus the Christ. How awesome it must’ve been.
Soon, however, the events of that week would turn. What was joy and happiness at the beginning of the week would turn to shock, and disappointment, and tears by the end of the week.
But, even then, it wouldn’t stay that way.
I’m reminded of Revelation 21:4, “ And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.“
Stay tuned, the best is yet to come.
Blessings.
