Palm Sunday
Read Matthew 21:1-11 & Zechariah 9:9
-
Matthew 21:1-11 (NASB)
When they had approached Jerusalem and had come to Bethphage, at the Mount of Olives, Jesus then sent two disciples, saying to them, “Go into the village opposite you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied there and a colt with it. Untie them and bring them to Me. And if anyone says anything to you, you shall say, ‘The Lord needs them,’ and he will send them on immediately.” Now this took place so that what was spoken through the prophet would be fulfilled: “S ay to the daughter of Z ion , ‘B ehold your K ing is coming to you , H umble , and mounted on a donkey , E ven on a colt , the foal of a donkey .’ ” The disciples went and did just as Jesus had instructed them, and brought the donkey and the colt, and laid their cloaks on them; and He sat on the cloaks. Most of the crowd spread their cloaks on the road, and others were cutting branches from the trees and spreading them on the road. Now the crowds going ahead of Him, and those who followed, were shouting, “ Hosanna to the Son of David; B lessed is the O ne who comes in the name of the L ord ; Hosanna in the highest!” When He had entered Jerusalem, all the city was stirred, saying, “Who is this?” And the crowds were saying, “This is Jesus the prophet, from Nazareth in Galilee.”
Matthew 21:1-11 (NASB)
-
Rejoice greatly, daughter of Zion! Shout in triumph, daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your king is coming to you; He is righteous and endowed with salvation, Humble, and mounted on a donkey, Even on a colt, the foal of a donkey.
Zechariah 9:9 (NASB)
“Hosanna! Hosanna!”
Picture it. A crowded street. People pressing in on every side. Excitement and joy. A sense of longed for expectation. Long awaited hope. With palm branches laid out like that of a red carpet, they laid them out for the beast of burden that carried the Prince of Peace to walk on. This was an honor that even King David had done for him in coming home from many victorious campaigns. Some even laid their outer coats down for the donkey to walk on; their own protection and often livelihood.
“Hosanna! Hosanna!”
It’s getting louder. This word that may have struck you as common. A word you hear once a year. Hosanna is transliterated to mean “Oh, save us!”
“Save us! Save us!”
Can you hear the desperation in their voices? The hope and expectation that maybe this is the One. They had heard all about Jesus. They heard all He had done and all He had said. They knew that if anyone could save them, it would be Him. But save them from what? In their finite minds, they believed their greatest need was to be saved from the Roman opposition that they found themselves in, like so many of their ancestors before them had.
There was only one problem. Their view of what they needed to be saved from was off.
Jesus came riding an untrained and unbroken donkey that He told His disciples to go and find. This should have jolted most people’s memories of the prophecy that Zechariah had made hundreds of years before. All that they had seen and heard about Jesus up until this point and then seeing Him walk out another prophecy should have been continuing to carry them to the belief that He was the long awaited Messiah.
Donkeys were seen as humble, peaceful and a symbol of service. Horses, on the other hand, were instruments of war. They were an integral part of gaining and holding power. They were often mounted by Kings, princes and conquerors.
They needed saving from the wrong thing.
Jesus did not come to make war, but to bring peace.
He came riding the wrong animal.
And because of this, they were able to change their mind, what seems like, easily. When it looked like Jesus wasn’t serving their definition of “saving” in the way that they thought was best, they were left unimpressed and uninspired. They forgot what they had seen and heard. They forgot about the prophecies. They just relied on what they were experiencing and feeling.
He rode the wrong animal for them.
And they missed Him.
Prayer
“Jesus, how did you do it? How did you hear your people crying out in desperation for help knowing they were asking for the wrong thing? Help me not to miss you. Help me, Holy Spirit, to not rush through this week. Help me to sit with you and remember you and your desire for a relationship with me. Renew in my heart an insatiable desire for you. We can have as much of you as we want.”