Palm Sunday

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. 

Have a blessed day,
Donna

Palm Sunday

And when they drew nigh unto Jerusalem, and were come to Bethphage, unto the mount of Olives, then sent Jesus two disciples, 2 Saying unto them, Go into the village over against you, and straightway ye shall find an ass tied, and a colt with her: loose them, and bring them unto me. 3 And if any man say ought unto you, ye shall say, The Lord hath need of them; and straightway he will send them. 4 All this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying, 5 Tell ye the daughter of Sion, Behold, thy King cometh unto thee, meek, and sitting upon an ass, and a colt the foal of an ass. 6 And the disciples went, and did as Jesus commanded them, 7 And brought the ass, and the colt, and put on them their clothes, and they set him thereon. 8 And a very great multitude spread their garments in the way; others cut down branches from the trees, and strawed them in the way. 9 And the multitudes that went before, and that followed, cried, saying, Hosanna to the Son of David: Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord; Hosanna in the highest. 10 And when he was come into Jerusalem, all the city was moved, saying, Who is this? 11 And the multitude said, This is Jesus the prophet of Nazareth of Galilee. Matthew 21:1-11

One week, only one short week and your entire life can change. In the life of Jesus, it was not only his life that changed but the lives of the entire world. Today is the start of Passion Week or Holy week. It is the week leading up to Jesus’ death, burial and resurrection.

Jesus and his disciples had been walking for a long time, having left Jericho they were now coming to Jerusalem a journey of about 19 miles. Remember in Bible times there were no “superhighways” no express ways, no fast cars, or trains. They traveled on foot or rode on animals. The roads were not smooth but rough and dangerous.

As they entered the village Jesus told two of his men to go to a certain place and get a donkey with her colt. They obeyed and accomplished the job. The disciples started to prepare the animals, by putting clothes on them like a covering so Jesus would not have to sit on the bare back. By doing this they were “acknowledging him to be their king, for this was a custom observed by the people when they found that God had appointed a man to the kingdom.”-Adam Clarke

The disciples started the walk toward the city of Jerusalem. There were great numbers of people all around, some probably had followed from Jericho. The people threw branches of trees down for Jesus’ donkey to walk on. Albert Barnes says, “The palm was an emblem of “joy and victory.” It was used by the Roman soldiers, as well as the Jews, as a symbol of peace.”

As the garments and branches were thrown down the people began to praise Jesus. They didn’t just praise Jesus, but PRAISED HIM!!. They cried with loud voices, so loud that the whole city was saying, who is this?? The people were interested in what was going on. They wanted to know who was worthy to receive all this praise. All the people were more than willing to give the answer, Jesus the prophet of Nazareth.

Jesus is more than worthy to receive our praise. As you mediate on what this day represents praise Him for all He has done for you.


Psalm 150

Praise ye the Lord. Praise God in his sanctuary: praise him in the firmament of his power.
Praise him for his mighty acts: praise him according to his excellent greatness.
Praise him with the sound of the trumpet: praise him with the psaltery and harp.
Praise him with the timbrel and dance: praise him with stringed instruments and organs.
Praise him upon the loud cymbals: praise him upon the high sounding cymbals.
Let every thing that hath breath praise the Lord. Praise ye the Lord.

Have a blessed day,
Donna

Palm Sunday

Luke 19:28 -41
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,

Palm Sunday is the start of Holy Week. This is the last week of Jesus’ walk on earth, before His resurrection. This week lead up to the death, burial and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. Each day, I will try to do a short 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 so I have 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 turning 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.

Have a great day.
Donna