Palm Sunday
Love that starts with Celebration!
Matthew 21:1-11 The Triumphal Entry
1 When they had approached Jerusalem and had come to Bethphage, at the Mount of Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples, 2 saying to them, “Go into the village opposite you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied there and a colt with her; untie them and bring them to Me. 3 If anyone says anything to you, you shall say, ‘The Lord has need of them,’ and immediately he will send them.” 4 This took place to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet: 5 “Say to the daughter of Zion, ‘Behold your King is coming to you, Gentle, and mounted on A donkey, Even on A colt, the foal of A beast of burden.’”6 The disciples went and did just as Jesus had instructed them, 7 and brought the donkey and the colt, and laid their coats on them; and He sat on the coats. 8 Most of the crowd spread their coats in the road, and others were cutting branches from the trees and spreading them in the road. 9 The crowds going ahead of Him, and those who followed, were shouting,
“Hosanna to the Son of David; Blessed is HE who comes in the name of the Lord; Hosanna in the highest!”
10 When He had entered Jerusalem, all the city was stirred, saying, “Who is this?” 11 And the crowds were saying, “This is the prophet Jesus, from Nazareth in Galilee.”
Palm Sunday… is an amazing celebration of the triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem. As we read through the gospels we see Jesus battle to hold off the people, from making Him King. And, we saw Him battle the Pharisees and Sadducees from seizing Him and ultimately killing him before his time. It was an amazing Journey for sure. And now that journey is coming to an end, at least for Him on Earth. But its just the beginning for us, as Christians… followers of Christ!
Thats what we celebrate today, this week and especially Resurrection Sunday! This week...The final days of Jesus’s Earthly ministry. Jesus sent two disciples ahead to Bethpage to find a ride.Not just any ride, But a specific ride…an unbroken colt of a donkey. Meaning it was not trained to hold a rider or perform any tasks. And not only was it where Jesus said it would be, The people gave it to them as they said. They brought the donkey to Jesus, put their coats on it and then Jesus climbed aboard.
A couple things we se here.
1) The disciples are at a place in their relationship with Jesus that they do not question His instructions.
One example is; Luke 5:4-6 When He had finished speaking, He said to Simon, “Put out into the deep water and let down your nets for a catch.” Simon answered and said, “Master, we worked hard all night and caught nothing, but I will do as You say and let down the nets.” When they had done this, they enclosed a great quantity of fish, and their nets began to break;
Another example is found in; Matthew 17:27 However, so that we do not offend them, go to the sea and throw in a hook, and take the first fish that comes up; and when you open its mouth, you will find a shekel. Take that and give it to them for you and Me.”
SO, What would your response be if Jesus asked you to do something that extreme? How is your relationship with Jesus? When the Holy Spirit prompts you to act, do you obey? Or do you ignore it, maybe question it and make excuses?
Personally I have learned that God does speak to us, through His word, Through Godly counsel and through the prompting and leading of the Holy Spirit. But, Only if we are truly seeking to hear from Him, will we be able to respond to His instruction.
Next we see the Donkey...
2) A colt of donkey?
They are strange animals and not very smart, they live 40 -60 years, they like carrots and rolling around in the dirt. But remember, there is great significance in Jesus riding a colt of a Donkey. When we think of a King, and what He would ride in to town on, we visualize Greatness. Maybe a Large pure bread steed! Huge, majestic and powerful. Kings rode Majestic horses as they went war…Look at the example we have, when the president travels… he is on a huge plane, Helicopter, motorcade…thats what we can relate to with those in power.
Back in Jesus’ time a king would ride the colt of a Donkey in times of peace or when he was in the process of being anointed as king. The priest had Solomon ride King David’s mule….when he was being anointed. The donkey Jesus rode had never been ridden…but, it did not act up…it behaved. Anyone who has been around horses, or donkeys know that this is unusual… Jesus headed the direction of Jerusalem and the crowd gathered… and it grew larger and larger. This crowd understood that Jesus was the messiah, they believed, but they thought it was time to set up the kingdom now. Jesus tried to tell them that it was not time yet. But they did not hear him…
The same thing still happens today, God speaks through His word, and yet people still believe and do what they want…
Matthew 21:8 Most of the crowd spread their coats in the road, and others were cutting branches from the trees and spreading them in the road.
It was the action of the crowds that gave us the name “Palm Sunday”. They were responding as they would to royalty, spreading their coats out in front of the Colt, and John states in John 12:13 that they were Palm branches cut from the field. The crowds verbally acknowledged Him as well.
Look at: Matthew 21:9-10 The crowds going ahead of Him, and those who followed, were shouting, “Hosanna to the Son of David; Blessed is HE who comes in the name of the Lord; Hosanna in the highest!” When He had entered Jerusalem, all the city was stirred, saying, “Who is this?”
They were acknowledging the prophecy of Christ. Jesus offered relationship, not a continuation of the religious mandates and duties of the Pharisees. Jesus showed the people that it was not about works, yet any man should boast. This really threw off the Pharisees… they were getting angrier and angrier at Jesus.
Luke 19:37-40 As soon as He (Jesus) was approaching, near the descent of the Mount of Olives, the whole crowd of the disciples began to praise God joyfully with a loud voice for all the miracles which they had seen, shouting: “Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord; Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!” Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Him, “Teacher, rebuke Your disciples.” But Jesus answered, “I tell you, if these become silent, the stones will cry out!”
Jesus saw no reason to tell them to stop.
So, let me ask you this, are you willing to worship Jesus no matter what, no matter where you are? We have had the luxury of coming in to a building on Sunday morning and sing together as Jacob and the team lead us… Which is awesome and much needed ! We are so blessed….because of the freedom we have… now, we have the freedom, to get into His word and to worship from our homes or because of the technology, really any where we are, can be a place of learning and of worship. The reality is that we should be able to stand in the middle of a parking lot and worship GOD with the same intensity… as we would in the “sanctuary” if not even more...
You can worship at work… As I worked in construction, I can remember being on projects or job sites and just worshipping while I worked… Experiencing the power and presence of the Holy Spirit in someones garage while cutting material, Or in a kitchen setting cabinets… or in a bathroom while installing tile... Are you worshipping where ever you are?
Its not always through song… but its always through your heart and life style…
Look at; Romans 12:1-2 Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship.And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.
What we do on a daily basis…. Hourly basis…. Even min by min…. is worship to God…
So, hows your worship life ?
This week… put COVID-19 on the back burner… As we walk through this week heading towards the crucifixion and the Resurrection stay in Gods word read it… meditate on the story! Jesus did this all for you! Because He loves you that much! spend time in worship and prayer! that is where our hope and strength come from!
Prayed for you this morning!
Love you all!
Pastor Scott