When he came near the place where the road goes down the Mount of Olives, the whole crowd of disciples began joyfully to praise God in loud voices for all the miracles they had seen: “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 Jesus, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples!” “I tell you,” he replied” “if they keep quiet the stones will cry out.” Luke 19:37-40
Dear Faithful Seed-Sowers,
It is my prayer this week as you prepare your heart and home for Easter that Jesus would triumphantly enter into your heart and home. May His powerful presence and perfect peace surround you and hold you in these tumultuous times.
The story of Jesus’ triumphant entry into Jerusalem is recorded by all four Gospel writers: Matthew 21:1-11, Mark 11:1-11, Luke 19:28-40. and John 12:12-19. John gives us eight verses to record this momentous event while Mark and Matthew use eleven. Luke, the Gentile Doctor, AKA…Dr. Detail, uses sixteen verses. Take some time this Holy Week and read and compare them all.
I wonder how God felt on that memorable day when His one and only Son went riding into Jerusalem.
Think about this for a moment. Where are you in this story? Where are you in your faith walk with Jesus? There were crowds of people in this story. Scholars believe that there were over 2 million people in Jerusalem during the time of the Passover. Jesus was riding into town on a donkey and the crowds went wild.
1. The people who knew their Scriptures and were waiting for God to send a KING to overthrow the Roman government—this crowd went wild with praise! Praising Jesus!
2. The crowd of the Pharisees, however, did not go wild with praise. They went wild with protest. Protesting Jesus!
3. The third kind of crowd was absolutely passive—to them, this parade was no big deal either way. Passive about Jesus!
Praising, protesting or passive!
What crowd will you find yourself in today?
Will we praise Jesus, protest Jesus or be passive about Jesus?
One day Mark Twain took his little daughter on his knee and told her all about the rulers and other prominent men whom he had met in his travels. She listened attentively. When he had finished, she said, “Daddy, you know everybody but God, don’t you?” Mark Twain was certainly an intelligent person. Yet he rejected God.[i]
Imagine for a moment 100,000 to 200,000 people moving, waving palms, and shouting! The Rose Bowl holds around 92,000 people, double that crowd, imagine the noise and hysteria of the crowd on that first Palm Sunday.
Can you enter into the picture? A few million people are milling around Jerusalem. There are people everywhere! The calendar day is Sunday, the Sunday before they celebrated Passover, the reason why all of these people were there in the first place. This Sunday is known as “Lamb Selection Sunday”—thousands of lambs are being led into town for Thursday’s annual Passover sacrifice event. Everyone is selecting their family’s sacrificial lamb.
Think of the tension in the air as the Roman centurions walk around — angry that the crowd is so large and unruly. Their swords and shields are ready at a moment’s notice to keep the peace. Jesus makes his way through the nearby town of Bethany, down the Mount of Olives and enters the city of Jerusalem.
Jesus has been in ministry for three years. The people have seen Him in action or they have heard about Him. The crowd is energized, and the excitement keeps building and building! Jesus is now riding on a donkey and the crowd goes absolutely wild. They have been waiting for this day! These people know their Scriptures. They don’t have the New Testament—only the old! They can easily equate Zechariah 9…with what they are seeing! Prophecy is coming to life before their eyes!
All of sudden, this is the biggest parade you have ever seen, everyone is breaking off palm branches from the palm trees and waving them. They are taking off their outer coats to throw them on the dirt road that Jesus is riding into town on! Are you with me?
Can you hear the excitement as the crowd begins to shout, “HOSANNA — HOSANNA — HOSANNA! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Blessed is the king of Israel.” (Makes me think of when we shout “USA” in the Olympic games.)
The Hebrew word “hosanna” literally means “save us, we pray, save us now, save us–we beseech you.” The crowd is shouting at the top of their lungs, “Hosanna, Hosanna, Hosanna!”
The day is Sunday. Their “church day” was yesterday—Saturday. Their Sabbath is over, it’s back to work day!
Today is the day Jewish families select their family’s unblemished lamb for the Passover sacrifice–held four days later. This is a really big day—think of four days before Christmas and you kind of get the idea! Everyone is out! Everyone has something to do! Everyone is super excited about the upcoming holiday celebrations! It is mayhem and this is the day that Jesus enters Jerusalem–lamb selection day.
The crowds are pumped, and they are shouting, “Hosanna, Hosanna, Hosanna — save us we beseech you — save us now!” The people are tired of the harsh Roman rulers. They see their King fulfilling the long-awaited Scripture and they are wild with excitement. At least this portion of the crowd is passionate and praising God with every ounce of their being.
What about you? Are you in this crowd?
This the “So what?” for us today: what crowd are YOU in?
· Are you in the “THINK-I-WILL-PRAISE-Jesus-TODAY” crowd?
· Are you in the “THINK-I-WILL-PROTEST-Jesus-TODAY” crowd?
· Are you in the “THINK-I-WILL take a-PASS-on-Jesus-TODAY” crowd?
Praise. Protest. Pass. Our choice. Today’s “So What?” comes down to a choice…made by me…made by you…to either PRAISE…PROTEST. …or PASS this JESUS OF NAZARETH. PRAISE…PROTEST…or PASS on the God who hung on a cross.
When Jac and I lived on 9th street in Rochelle, guess what? we were one of the few houses that was along the parade route. Yup. The parades went straight by our house and down to Cooper Park! Whatever parade there was, you could find us setting out our folding chairs, blankets, waters, and brownies for those who came to our house to watch the parade! (pause) WAIT!! GUESS WHAT? TODAY…I have a house (point to your heart) that is on the parade route! And all day long I’ll be serving snacks and punch to anyone who needs a good view. It doesn’t matter if you’re family, or if you’re a friend or if you’re a stranger–mi casa es su casa today!
Can you only imagine the day when we see this parade for real, in heaven?
Today is lamb selection for REAL! Jesus, the lamb of God, rode into Jerusalem on a donkey on lamb selection Sunday only THIS LAMB OF GOD is 100% totally unblemished.
May Jesus ride triumphantly into your heart and home today and every day!
PS: Get the parade ready–set up your chairs and blankets, coolers of life-giving water, and the bread of life–or brownies or cupcakes. You never know who’s going to stop by and see what the parade is all about!
See you Sunday!
God loves you and so do I,
Pastor Dave
www.theseedchristianfellowship.com
Recent Comments