Good day! May God bless you as you worship Him! Today is typically celebrated as Palm Sunday. In preparation for our worship, let us pray….
Now, let us echo the voices of those who followed Jesus Christ about 2000 years ago and sing “Hosanna, Hosanna, Hosanna in the Highest!” …….
Let us quietly pause for a moment to truly set our minds on Jesus Christ, our loving God, Savior, Redeemer, Teacher, and our Only Blessed Hope….
“Jesus Name Above All Names”…..
Let us now worship our God by listening to His Word. If you don’t have a Bible in your hands yet, please grab one…..
Next week, we will celebrate Resurrection Sunday.
About 2000 years ago, Jesus Christ who is God who became man, resolved in one week the doom of human beings! The week before Resurrection Sunday is known as Palm Sunday.
Open your Bibles to the Gospel of Luke Chapter 19….
Read along with me v28-44……..
We read in v28 that Jesus said something before proceeding to the Holy City of Jerusalem. What did He say? If we go back to v11-27….
Jesus taught that He is indeed King but He has to leave earth for a while and allow His servants to work before He sets up God’s complete Kingdom!
Now, why did Jesus ride a donkey? First of all, In v29-31: Jesus gave specific instructions to His disciples.
And what did the disciples do? We read in v32-34: the disciples obeyed just as they were told without questions! It seems like a simple instruction to follow; but think about this, the disciples could have had all sorts of questions: are you sure Jesus we’ll find a colt? How do you know if a colt has ever been ridden or not? Have you been to that village before? We have no money to pay? Wouldn’t it be stealing if we just untie the colt and bring it you? We’re fishermen, we don’t know how to handle a colt! Do you really think that if we just say the Lord needs it, they will give us what we take?
God will give us instructions but there can always be all sorts of questions! We are to ask questions, but many times Jesus just wants us to listen, trust, and obey. We should always simply say to ourselves – Jesus said it, I will do it!
The 2 disciples obeyed Jesus; but did they actually just obey? I think we need to also note something else the disciples did as they were following Jesus’ instructions; what was it? The disciples observed as they were obeying! Can you picture the 2 disciples going ahead? They said to each other, “Is this the village Jesus was talking about? Look! There’s the colt just as Jesus said! Okay quick, let’s untie it and hopefully no one will see us! Oh man, here comes some people, do you think they are the owners and will ask us what we are doing?
We don’t read a long speech of explanation from the 2 disciples when they were caught untying the colt; they simple stated what Jesus told them to say; “the Lord needs it.”
The owners of the donkey could have refused but they didn’t; another sign for the disciples that they were doing God’s will! You see, God will confirm our actions of faith!
Following Jesus Christ involves belief, actions, and observing God’s confirmation!
We need to add another reason why Jesus rode that donkey into Jerusalem. Jesus had to accomplish what God said through the Prophets in the Old Testament. God always does what He promised!
Now, what do we read in v35-36? The disciples presented their cloaks (their coats) to Jesus Christ! We can note from the other Gospels that the people also cut palm branches to present to Jesus. Why did the people do that?
The symbolism of presenting cloaks to someone, especially to be sat on or stepped on, was that of submission. The disciples and the people believed that Jesus was King, ready to reclaim Judea for them as He enters the main city of Jerusalem. During that time, palm branches also had many meanings mainly in celebrations, especially for a victory over an enemy. The first Palm Sunday was actually people claiming Jesus Christ as the victorious King who would free them from bondage from the Romans!
And what happened in v37-38? The people praised Jesus for what Jesus did, not necessarily what He said. The people praised Jesus mainly for expected physical blessings.
In v39, The Pharisees called him teacher BUT they thought it was blasphemous to call Jesus King Messiah! But interestingly, Jesus said in v40…What does this mean, the stones will cry out? You see, what the people were saying about Jesus Christ as Messiah was true; but Jesus has been saying that there is man’s plans and timing and there is God’s plan and timing! Jesus was saying, “it is true I am the Messiah, but I must suffer first for man’s sins! Believe in God’s plan and timing, not man’s! And so we note in v41, God Jesus Christ wept for people and Jesus explained His broken heart for people in v42-44.
Jesus wept for those who did not believe in Him as the Only God and Only Savior from sins. God desires everyone to go to heaven by believing and trusting in Jesus Christ! God weeps when people ignore Jesus Christ!
What can we say about Jesus Christ from this passage?
Jesus Christ:
- is God from heaven who walked the earth for a purpose.
- gives specific instructions.
- knows past, present, and future (everything.
- provides both physical and spiritual blessing.
- knows God’s plans.
- is compassionate for people.
- is truth!
- had to leave earth for a while but will come back;
And today, Jesus at the moment, is seated at the right hand of God the Father in heaven, but will come back to earth very soon; signs are all around us, including this pandemic we are dealing with. Are you ready for Jesus?
How will we respond to this Jesus? Like the 2 Disciples and the Donkey owners; We must listen, observe, trust, and obey Jesus Christ!
Like the crowd who gave their cloaks and palm branches, we are to submit and worship Jesus Christ!
And if people asks us why we do what we do, especially during this time of pandemic, what should we say? We do what we do today because Jesus (God, Creator, and Savior) says so!!!
Take a moment to quietly ponder on these thing with Jesus Christ…..
“You never let go”…….
Our Lord Jesus Christ will never leave us or forsake us! This Covid19 Pandemic should not alarm us like the rest of the world. We do not have to fear, even to death, because we have Jesus Christ our Blessed Hope! Let me close with the passage from 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18….
Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ is coming very very soon, it could happen today, to take us to heaven in a blinking of an eye!
Be safe! Be encouraged! Stand on, walk in, and fight the good fight of, faith in Jesus Christ!
