Soul Restored Ministries, Inc.

Tomorrow is Palm Sunday and those who have grown up in the church may remember acting out Jesus' entry into Jerusalem riding a young donkey while the people laid down palm branches and praised Him. The kids would all get a palm branch to wave around…

In the book of Matthew 21:1-11 (NIV) we see the event take place:

21 As they approached Jerusalem and came to Bethphage on the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples, ² saying to them, “Go to the village ahead of you, and at once you will find a donkey tied there, with her colt by her. Untie them and bring them to me. ³ If anyone says anything to you, say that the Lord needs them, and he will send them right away.”

⁴ This took place to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet:

⁵ “Say to Daughter Zion,
    ‘See, your king comes to you,
gentle and riding on a donkey,
    and on a colt, the foal of a donkey.’”

⁶ The disciples went and did as Jesus had instructed them. ⁷ They brought the donkey and the colt and placed their cloaks on them for Jesus to sit on. ⁸ A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, while others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. ⁹ The crowds that went ahead of him and those that followed shouted,

“Hosanna to the Son of David!”

                        “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!”^[c]
                        “Hosanna in the highest heaven!”

          ¹⁰ When Jesus entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred and asked, “Who is this?”
          ¹¹ The crowds answered, “This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth in Galilee.”

But do we really understand the whole point to Palm Sunday?  The many followers in Jerusalem were praising Jesus, though not all, because they saw Him as the promised Messiah.  A few days later many of those same people would be cursing Him and demanding He be crucified.  So why?  What could He do in a few days’ time that would cause them to transition from love and hope to hate and disgust?

To be continued…

Pastor Steve