As Easter rapidly approaches, I find myself burried in God's word. I feel a special closeness to my Heavenly Father in discovering the lengths He was willing to go to so that He and I could be reunited for eternity one day. I felt, during my studies, the need to share some things that I learned about this time of year... I hope that you will find these things interesting and walk with me through history as we learn about Jesus' final days on Earth...
This Sunday marks the beginning of one of the holiest weeks in Christianity. It is called Palm Sunday (or Branch Sunday in some sects). It was on this day that Jesus made his triumphant entry into Jerusalem. All four Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John) mention this event.
According to scripture, Jesus rides into Jerusalem on a donkey. This particular detail is important. Traditionally, riding into a city on a horse is thought to be aggressive and may symbolize the intent of the rider of the horse (say, a king?) to wage war on that city. Donkeys, being more docile and less aggressive, symbolize peace.
As Jesus rode into Jerusalem, "many people spread their cloaks on the road, while others spread branches they had cut in the fields." (Mark 11:8) Something like the red carpet of today's elite, Jesus rode into town in style! Can you imagine it? In a time where riding an animal around meant dust kicked up and the click-clack of hooves on the stones, Jesus came into town and was greated by his fans laying down their coats and blankets and palm branches to ensure Jesus had a smooth, clean, quiet ride - like a king deserved to have. It was customary in that time and region of the world to lay down a path for someone worthy of high honor. Furthermore, the palm branch was a symbol of triumph and victory in Jewish tradition. As Jesus passed the people, riding on his "red carpet" he heard "Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!" (Mark 11:9) He was rock star! Well, kinda.
Now, this didn't go over well with the Pharisees. As the leaders of the day, they were, shall we say, a little bit "ticked off" that Jesus, a relative new-comer to spiritual matters, was being treated like royalty. In fact, the Pharisees had quite enough of Jesus stirring things up. As the crowd chanted "Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!" (Luke 19:38) the Pharisees were none too happy. "Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Jesus, "Teacher, rebuke your disciples!" (Luke 19:39) I want to take a pause for a moment. Did you catch that? The Pharisees called Jesus "teacher". Not prophet, not leader, not king... teacher. Why? Because they felt that Jesus wasn't worthy of the title of King of the Jews. In fact, if Jesus were "king", that would mean there really wouldn't be any power left over for the Pharisees. Hmm. So as they called him "teacher", it was out of disrespect. Let's continue. The Pharisees tell Jesus to shut his people up. But Jesus says, "if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out." (Luke 19:40) The stones WOULD cry out... but we'll get to that later in our discussion on Good Friday. In John 12:19, the Pharisees say, "See, this is getting us nowhere. Look how the whole world has gone after him!" Jealous much? Oh yeah, the Pharisees were on their final straw with this Jesus guy. This "teacher" was stealing all the thunder from the Pharisees, undermining their authority and showing no regard for all the many rules and regulations the Pharisees had painstakingly put together to ensure the purity and sanctity of their people. How dare Jesus come in and show these people a different way!
"As he approached Jerusalem and saw the city, he wept over it and said "if you, even you, had only known on this day what would bring you peace - but now it is hidden from your eyes. The days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment against you and encircle you and hem you in on every side. They will dash you to the ground, you and the children within your walls. They will not leave one stone on another, because you did not recognize the time of God's coming to you." (Luke 19:41-44) Jesus saw the city as he rode in, and his heart broke for them. He ached knowing that he would pay for this city so dearly, and these people had no idea at what price.
Palm Sunday was never made a big deal in my recollection. In fact, I think I was an adult before I even knew what Palm Sunday was. But it is very significant. It fulfills a prophecy given us in Zechariah 9:9: "See, your king comes to you, righteous and victorious, lowly and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey." In my humble opinion, any time a prophecy is fulfilled, I rejoice. God's faithfulness is amazing! But even as this prophecy was fulfilling, Jesus knew that his time was drawing near and sacrifice would be made. The people that greeted him shouting "Hosanna!" would soon be calling for his crucifiction.
This Palm Sunday, I encourage you, my brothers and sisters, to imagine how different your life would be had Jesus not rode into the city. He rode in a hero, but would march out under the burden of his own cross to die for the same faces that greeted him with palm fronds and cloaks, and would later spit on him and curse him. Palm Sunday marks the start of Holy Week - and the last week of Jesus' life on Earth. In the span of just one short week, Jesus turned the world inside out.
I hope you'll join me during the rest of this holy week as we take a look at the final days of our savior's life...
This Sunday marks the beginning of one of the holiest weeks in Christianity. It is called Palm Sunday (or Branch Sunday in some sects). It was on this day that Jesus made his triumphant entry into Jerusalem. All four Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John) mention this event.
According to scripture, Jesus rides into Jerusalem on a donkey. This particular detail is important. Traditionally, riding into a city on a horse is thought to be aggressive and may symbolize the intent of the rider of the horse (say, a king?) to wage war on that city. Donkeys, being more docile and less aggressive, symbolize peace.
As Jesus rode into Jerusalem, "many people spread their cloaks on the road, while others spread branches they had cut in the fields." (Mark 11:8) Something like the red carpet of today's elite, Jesus rode into town in style! Can you imagine it? In a time where riding an animal around meant dust kicked up and the click-clack of hooves on the stones, Jesus came into town and was greated by his fans laying down their coats and blankets and palm branches to ensure Jesus had a smooth, clean, quiet ride - like a king deserved to have. It was customary in that time and region of the world to lay down a path for someone worthy of high honor. Furthermore, the palm branch was a symbol of triumph and victory in Jewish tradition. As Jesus passed the people, riding on his "red carpet" he heard "Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!" (Mark 11:9) He was rock star! Well, kinda.
Now, this didn't go over well with the Pharisees. As the leaders of the day, they were, shall we say, a little bit "ticked off" that Jesus, a relative new-comer to spiritual matters, was being treated like royalty. In fact, the Pharisees had quite enough of Jesus stirring things up. As the crowd chanted "Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!" (Luke 19:38) the Pharisees were none too happy. "Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Jesus, "Teacher, rebuke your disciples!" (Luke 19:39) I want to take a pause for a moment. Did you catch that? The Pharisees called Jesus "teacher". Not prophet, not leader, not king... teacher. Why? Because they felt that Jesus wasn't worthy of the title of King of the Jews. In fact, if Jesus were "king", that would mean there really wouldn't be any power left over for the Pharisees. Hmm. So as they called him "teacher", it was out of disrespect. Let's continue. The Pharisees tell Jesus to shut his people up. But Jesus says, "if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out." (Luke 19:40) The stones WOULD cry out... but we'll get to that later in our discussion on Good Friday. In John 12:19, the Pharisees say, "See, this is getting us nowhere. Look how the whole world has gone after him!" Jealous much? Oh yeah, the Pharisees were on their final straw with this Jesus guy. This "teacher" was stealing all the thunder from the Pharisees, undermining their authority and showing no regard for all the many rules and regulations the Pharisees had painstakingly put together to ensure the purity and sanctity of their people. How dare Jesus come in and show these people a different way!
"As he approached Jerusalem and saw the city, he wept over it and said "if you, even you, had only known on this day what would bring you peace - but now it is hidden from your eyes. The days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment against you and encircle you and hem you in on every side. They will dash you to the ground, you and the children within your walls. They will not leave one stone on another, because you did not recognize the time of God's coming to you." (Luke 19:41-44) Jesus saw the city as he rode in, and his heart broke for them. He ached knowing that he would pay for this city so dearly, and these people had no idea at what price.
Palm Sunday was never made a big deal in my recollection. In fact, I think I was an adult before I even knew what Palm Sunday was. But it is very significant. It fulfills a prophecy given us in Zechariah 9:9: "See, your king comes to you, righteous and victorious, lowly and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey." In my humble opinion, any time a prophecy is fulfilled, I rejoice. God's faithfulness is amazing! But even as this prophecy was fulfilling, Jesus knew that his time was drawing near and sacrifice would be made. The people that greeted him shouting "Hosanna!" would soon be calling for his crucifiction.
This Palm Sunday, I encourage you, my brothers and sisters, to imagine how different your life would be had Jesus not rode into the city. He rode in a hero, but would march out under the burden of his own cross to die for the same faces that greeted him with palm fronds and cloaks, and would later spit on him and curse him. Palm Sunday marks the start of Holy Week - and the last week of Jesus' life on Earth. In the span of just one short week, Jesus turned the world inside out.
I hope you'll join me during the rest of this holy week as we take a look at the final days of our savior's life...
No comments:
Post a Comment