Zechariah 9:9 Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion: shout O daughter of Jerusalem: behold, thy King cometh unto thee: he is just, and having salvation; lowly. and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass.
Oh People, what a triumphal entrance Jesus made into Jerusalem on that first Palm Sunday two thousand years ago! An entrance prophesized by Zechariah and Isaiah (62:11) hundreds of years before. Note that when Jesus got to the outskirts of Jerusalem, He sent two disciples to a nearby village to fetch a donkey, telling them exactly where to find it and what to say if questioned. He knew the prophecy had to be fulfilled. Matthew says it best: ‘And they brought the ass, and the colt, and put on them their clothes, and they set him thereon. And a very great multitude spread their garments in the way; others cut down branches from the trees, and strawed them in the way. 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. And when he was come into Jerusalem, all the city was moved, saying, Who is this? And the multitude said, This is Jesus the prophet of Nazareth of Galilee.’ Matt. 21:7-11. Wow! Jesus activities afterwards are also interesting. He went into the temple and drove out the merchants and bankers; berating them for turning His house of prayer into a den of thieves. Then He healed the lame and blind. But when the priests and elders beheld the wonderful things He did, and bemoaned the fact that the children were in the temple crying and saying, ‘Hosanna to the Son of David!’ Jesus quietly shut them up with one of His barbed retorts. ‘Yea: have ye never read, Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings, thou hast perfected praise?’ Matt. 21:16. Then He left them, with their tongues hanging down (smile) and went out of the city to Bethany. Oh Friends, what a giant of a man was our Lord and Saviour Jesus! One minute He’s fulfilling prophecy, entering Jerusalem on His mighty steed, like the conquering Lion of Judah, then angrily clearing the bums out of the temple, then compassionately healing the sick, before putting the hypocrite priests and elders in their place and leaving the city. What a day’s work! It just shows His strength of purpose, His determination to do His Father’s work. I’m sure He would have loved to bask in the adulation, but there was work to be done. In any case, He knew that the adoration would soon change to hate and disgust when they realised that His Kingdom was a spiritual entity, He wasn’t a military conqueror, so there would be no physical respite from their oppression. I know we can never reach Jesus level of mental strength and stamina, yet there’s still a high human level we’re capable of achieving. But are we seriously aspiring to it? Please Friends, let’s endeavour to raise our level of consciousness nuh, and thereby raise our standards for Jesus. Much LOVE!…as Jesus diligently performed His Father’s work…so should we…
Oh People, what a triumphal entrance Jesus made into Jerusalem on that first Palm Sunday two thousand years ago! An entrance prophesized by Zechariah and Isaiah (62:11) hundreds of years before. Note that when Jesus got to the outskirts of Jerusalem, He sent two disciples to a nearby village to fetch a donkey, telling them exactly where to find it and what to say if questioned. He knew the prophecy had to be fulfilled. Matthew says it best: ‘And they brought the ass, and the colt, and put on them their clothes, and they set him thereon. And a very great multitude spread their garments in the way; others cut down branches from the trees, and strawed them in the way. 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. And when he was come into Jerusalem, all the city was moved, saying, Who is this? And the multitude said, This is Jesus the prophet of Nazareth of Galilee.’ Matt. 21:7-11. Wow! Jesus activities afterwards are also interesting. He went into the temple and drove out the merchants and bankers; berating them for turning His house of prayer into a den of thieves. Then He healed the lame and blind. But when the priests and elders beheld the wonderful things He did, and bemoaned the fact that the children were in the temple crying and saying, ‘Hosanna to the Son of David!’ Jesus quietly shut them up with one of His barbed retorts. ‘Yea: have ye never read, Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings, thou hast perfected praise?’ Matt. 21:16. Then He left them, with their tongues hanging down (smile) and went out of the city to Bethany. Oh Friends, what a giant of a man was our Lord and Saviour Jesus! One minute He’s fulfilling prophecy, entering Jerusalem on His mighty steed, like the conquering Lion of Judah, then angrily clearing the bums out of the temple, then compassionately healing the sick, before putting the hypocrite priests and elders in their place and leaving the city. What a day’s work! It just shows His strength of purpose, His determination to do His Father’s work. I’m sure He would have loved to bask in the adulation, but there was work to be done. In any case, He knew that the adoration would soon change to hate and disgust when they realised that His Kingdom was a spiritual entity, He wasn’t a military conqueror, so there would be no physical respite from their oppression. I know we can never reach Jesus level of mental strength and stamina, yet there’s still a high human level we’re capable of achieving. But are we seriously aspiring to it? Please Friends, let’s endeavour to raise our level of consciousness nuh, and thereby raise our standards for Jesus. Much LOVE!…as Jesus diligently performed His Father’s work…so should we…
SCRIP-BITS 