"They took branches of palm trees and went forth to meet him, and cried, Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!" John 12:13
"As He was drawing near already on the way down the Mount of Olives-the whole multitude of his disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works that they had seen. Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the LORD! Peace in Heaven and glory in the Highest." Luke 19:37, 38
Sunday, April 10 is Palm Sunday. It is one of my favorite Sundays of the year watching adorable little children walk up and down the aisle waving their palms. They remind us of that joyful moment in history when Jesus entered into Jerusalem on the back of a foal and all of his followers threw down their garments and palm branches to hail him as King. Unfortunately, many who followed him thought that he was going to overthrow the government and reign as a physical King, freeing the Jews from Roman rule. While we do believe that the Lord will one day return and we will forever reign with him as believers, we are still in the midst of the battle where the prince of darkness continues to steal, kill, and destroy. We can be so thankful that God's plan was much greater and includes all races and nations!
Palm Sunday is the beginning of what many Christians have labeled as Holy Week. It starts on a high note of our coming King, but as the week progresses the events in Jesus's life take a sharp downward turn. Though Jesus repeatedly taught his disciples that he would suffer and be delivered over to the Gentiles to be mocked, insulted, spit upon, flogged, and killed, they were completely overwhelmed and disillusioned. Of course, why not! This was not the plan for the Jewish people who wanted to catapult Jesus into a revolutionary war and overturn the government. Jesus predicts his suffering and death three times that are documented in the Gospels. Still, people often believe what they want to believe; and they could not understand how Jesus could raise Lazarus from the dead, heal the sick, feed the multitudes and yet not save himself.
Jesus's triumphant entry into Jerusalem - this moment in history- was free from the shadows would be sure to come in the next few days. As Christians we know the rest of the story as did his disciples did by the beginning of the next week! We are comforted to know that Jesus's suffering and death was and is not the end of his story- not the end of history! We can rejoice with full joy in anticipation that King Jesus will come again and take us home. I hope each of you reading this blog have accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior. If not, this is the perfect time to do it! You do not need to do anything fancy or so called "religious." Simply bow your head asking God for forgiveness and ask Jesus into your heart! He will send his Holy Spirit to comfort and guide you into truth and into a Spirit-filled life that brings the most incredible peace and joy! Be sure that you share your new found faith with other Christians and join a group/church of Bible believing Christians.
This Palm Sunday take time to thank the Lord and to honor him as King!
"Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!" Luke 19:38.