 |
And when he
had thus spoken, he went before, ascending up to Jerusalem. 29 And it came to
pass, when he was come nigh to Bethphage and Bethany, at the mount called the mount of Olives, he sent two of his
disciples, 30 Saying, Go ye into the village over against you; in the which at your
entering ye shall find a colt tied, whereon yet never man sat: loose him, and
bring him hither. 31 And if any man ask you, Why do ye loose him? thus shall ye say
unto him, Because the Lord hath need of him. 32 And they that were sent went their way,
and found even as he had said unto them. 33 And as they were loosing the colt, the
owners thereof said unto them, Why loose ye the colt? 34 And they said, The
Lord hath need of him. 35 And they brought him to Jesus: and they cast
their garments upon the colt, and they set Jesus thereon. 36 And as he went, they spread their clothes
in the way. 37 And when he was
come nigh, even now at the descent of the mount of Olives, the whole multitude
of the disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the
mighty works that they had seen;
38
Saying, Blessed be the King that
cometh in the name of the Lord: peace in heaven, and glory in the highest. 39
And some of the Pharisees from among the multitude said unto him,
Master, rebuke thy disciples. 40 And he answered and
said unto them, I tell you that, if these should hold
their peace, the stones would immediately cry out. 41
And when he was come near, he beheld the city, and wept over it, Luke
19:28-41
Palm Sunday is the start of Holy (Passion) Week. This is
the last week of Jesus’ walk on earth. This week lead up to the death, burial
and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. Each day, I will do a devotion on
one of the events of the day.
Tradition teaches that the first day of that week,
Sunday, Jesus road into Jerusalem on a donkey’s colt. Jesus sent two of his
disciples into the village to get a donkey and her colt. Jesus knew where the
animals were and he also knew the owner would ask who was taking his animals.
This was prophesied in Zechariah 9:9 many years before.
The disciples obeyed Jesus and traveled into the city.
Did they know the impact of what was happening? The gospel of John (John 12:16)
tells us they didn’t understand at the time, but after the death of Jesus they
reflected on the week and knew, this was the Lord’s Christ.
As Jesus was traveling through the city, people came out
from all over to praise him. They threw down their garments and branches from
trees so the colt could walk on them. As I was thinking about this I realized
it was a sacrifice for people to put their clothes on the ground for a donkey
to walk on. People in Bible times did not live like we do.
I live in New England, our winters are very cold.I own a few winter coats, it would not be a great
sacrifice for me to give up one of them. Think of the people in Jesus’ time,
most had only one coat or one set of clothes. They didn’t have a few hanging in
the closet. This was a sacrifice for them. They were worshiping and praising
God and were willing to give all, even the coat off their back.
A multitude of disciples were rejoicing and praising God
too. Not only the twelve but a large group of followers were praising God.
Where would these followers be in one week?
On the sidelines stood the Pharisees, seething in anger,
as they asked Jesus to rebuke his disciples. One of the things the Pharisees
despise was for anyone, other than themselves, getting any praise.
They always remind me of the verse in Romans which says, “Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools.” Jesus
calmly answered, “if they held their peace the stones would call out.”
As
Jesus came near the city, He wept. He is so compassionate. He loved the people
so much but it was not reciprocated. The people witnessed the healings, water
turned into wine, food being multiplied, and miracle after miracle, but they
did not believe this was the Savior. They chose not to follow the Lord.
People
today also have a choice to follow Jesus or not to follow Jesus. Life is made
of choices. The outcome of our life will be a reflection of the choices we made
during our life. What choice will you
make in regards to the Lord Jesus? Will you follow Him? Will you turn and go in
the opposite direction? I pray you will follow Him.
Donna
No comments:
Post a Comment