Today is truly a day that the Lord has made. For the first time in history it is Palm Sunday, the Sunday before Resurrection Sunday/Easter Sunday and majority of our churches are physically closed. Focus on the keyword “physically” closed because there are several churches that are still having virtual services right now.
Well what is Palm Sunday and why is it so important?
Matthew 21:1-11 states,
“As they approached Jerusalem and came to Bethphage on the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples, 2 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. 3 If anyone says anything to you, say that the Lord needs them, and he will send them right away.”
4 This took place to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet:
5 “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.’”[a]
6 The disciples went and did as Jesus had instructed them. 7 They brought the donkey and the colt and placed their cloaks on them for Jesus to sit on. 8 A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, while others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. 9 The crowds that went ahead of him and those that followed shouted,
“Hosanna[b] to the Son of David!”
“Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!”[c]
“Hosanna[d] in the highest heaven!”
10 When Jesus entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred and asked, “Who is this?”
11 The crowds answered, “This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth in Galilee.”
On this day about 2,000 years ago, Jeaus arrived in Jerusalem on a donkey. The crowd of people created a path for Him as He arrived with their cloaks and palm leaves on the ground for Him hence the name, “Palm Sunday.” They were shouting and cheering for Him. They were saying, “Hosanna, to the son of David!”
Jesus was truly getting the praise, glory, and honor for who He was and still is. He was not only the high priest, prophet, and King!!! It was causing such a disturbance in the city that people that did not know Him was asking about Him. Of course they were informed that the biggest and most praised person to ever to walk this earth was arriving. He deserved all the praise, honor, and glory.
The part that makes this story so interesting is what will happen by the end of the week. The same man who deserved the honor, glory, and praise will be beaten, spat on, and screamed by the crowd to be crucified. This was an innocent man. The only man to ever walk the earth without sin and without blemish. This man was the only man to walk the earth without a mean or sinful thought in His mind, without an ounce of maliciousness in His spirit, and without a lie in His mouth. This was the man worthy of every praise from every soul on earth. This same man will be tried, accounted as guilty, and crucified on a cross between two thieves.
Although Jesus did not deserve this, this was part of His purpose to come down to this earth. He knew that this was part of His mission. He was the son of God. Although he was nervous and I could imagine His heart was beating so fast, and probably felt a lump in His throat, He faced it. After three days, His story became History!! Let me stop while I’m getting ahead of myself and save that for the next blog.
No, I’m sorry I can’t wait that long!!! Three days later, He rose from the tomb, walked this earth, broke bread with the disciples, and overcame the guilt and heaviness of death. He did this for you and me. See Jesus knew from the beginning of time that we are humans and that we mess up. We fail. We break promises and most importantly, we fall short of the kingdom every single day. He knew all of those things and took it upon His shoulders. Out of every person, celebrity, and world changer, Jesus was the one who changed history forever. Jesus knew we would fail and caught us before we hit the ground. Before we were even born or existed, he caught us ahead of time. All we need to do is accept Him into our hearts as our Lord and Savior and ask Him to forgive us of all of our sins, we get the opportunity to make it into Heaven. Along with that to have a close relationship, we are to be baptized so we can have the experience of dying to ourselves and taking on a new version of ourselves. A version that is deeply rooted and in love with Christ. One day He will return for all of His believers and we want to be ready. We want to be ready to go and explore all of the wonderful things that He has been preparing for us every since He gave His life on the cross.
What an awesome God we serve!!!
He is simply amazing!!!
Spreading God's Love One Heart at a Time 