SCRIP-BITS

 PALM  SUNDAY!

All hail the triumphal entry of Jesus into His city of Jerusalem! Oh Friends, it was a bright and sunny day like today, two thousand years ago, when Jesus triumphantly entered the sacred city of Jerusalem on a lowly donkey, using people’s clothing as a saddle, riding over palms and clothes on the cobbled stone streets, while the crowds enthusiastically greeted Him. The next time though my brethren, it will be an entirely different story! That time He came humbly, on the next occasion though, Jesus will enter Jerusalem with much pomp, power and glory, as a conquering hero, having already crushed His enemies underfoot. And to show how the Good Book is a cohesive work of God from beginning to end, and not simply man’s imagination, the shouts of our Bit: ‘Hosanna to the (Save, we pray, thou) Son of David: Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord; Hosanna in the highest,’ echo the words of Psalm 118: 24-25. ‘Save now (Hosanna) I beseech thee, O Lord: O Lord, I beseech thee, send now prosperity. Blessed be he that cometh in the name of the Lord: we have blessed you out of the house of the Lord.’ The triumphant entry of Jesus also recalls and fulfills the prophecy of Zechariah: ‘Rejoice greatly, O Daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold, thy King cometh unto thee: he is just (righteous), and having salvation; lowly (humble), and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass.’ (Zech.9:9) The donkey was a symbol of peace, which was what Jesus, Israel’s King came to bring, so He wasn’t coming on any snorting, prancing charger which the kings of the earth rode when they came to wreak havoc and destruction. Thus the rabbi’s of Zechariah’s time and thereafter could not understand how their Messiah, their victorious warrior-king, could ride up triumphantly on such a meek and lowly animal. But their vision was grossly distorted, for instead of the Messiah being a warmonger, as they envisioned Him, He came then as an angel of Peace. Now that doesn’t mean He isn’t also a most formidable general, in fact the best ever, but back then that was His Father’s plan, so that the many prophecies about Him could be fulfilled. Note too Jesus’ words when He sent the two disciples to get the donkey: ‘Go your way into the village over against you (opposite), and as soon as ye be entered into it, ye shall find a colt tied, whereon never man sat; loose him, and bring him. And if any man say unto you, Why do ye this? Say ye that the Lord hath need of him; and straightway he will send him hither.’ (Mark 11:2-3) And it happened just as Jesus predicted. They found the colt and untied it, but were accosted about their intentions. However when they said that Jesus needed it, there were no further problems. An important point here are the words; ‘whereon never man sat’ Per the scholars, ‘An animal devoted to a sacred purpose must not have been put to common use.’ (Num.19:2, Deut.21:3) Those scriptures talk about the unblemished animals that were to be used as sacrifices; similarly, this donkey could not have been ridden by anyone else before Jesus. Ah Friends, that first Palm Sunday was such a great occasion, with the great outpouring of peace and LOVE that the celebration engendered. But such was the fickle and selfish nature of mankind back then, that after welcoming Jesus into Jerusalem with such joy on Palm Sunday, five days later, on Good Friday, many of those same ones were crying out for Him to be crucified. And unfortunately, we are still as fickle and selfish – no, even more so than two thousand years ago. One day we climb on one bandwagon, say Jesus’, then when it no longer suits our selfish needs, we jump on another one, most likely Beelzebub’s. But my people, our lives will never improve if we retain that finicky, fickle, jump from one side to the other. Only when we stay constant and steadfast on one track, preferably Jesus’ will improvement ever be possible. There’s much truth in the saying that when we don’t stand strong for something, we’ll fall easily for anything. That’s exactly what happened to those people back then: they didn’t stand true and steadfast for Jesus; He was merely treated as the flavour of the day. And so, because of their wishy-washy attitude, they eventually lost out on salvation and eternal life. Please my brethren, let’s not be like them nuh. We’re much luckier, and I surely hope smarter, having the good news of the gospel and two thousand years of history to draw from. Sadly though, too many of us are still drawing the wrong conclusions. If we consider ourselves believers in Jesus, then let’s be willing to stand up proudly and be counted, come what may. Let’s stop jumping from pillar to post whenever we think the grass looks greener on the other side, because invariably it’s not, which only leads to more disappointment. Oh my people, Jesus was the only man who walked this earth claiming Godly status, and actually proved it by His extraordinary actions. Therefore we know that His word is true, that He’s faithful and trustworthy, so let’s be wise and stand strong in His Name nuh! This Palm Sunday let’s imagine ourselves back there on the streets of ole Jerusalem, waving palms, throwing clothes, crying out Hosanna’s to the Son of David, our hearts bursting with LOVE and joy as the Prince of Peace triumphantly enters on His lowly steed, fulfilling the Bible prophecies. It’s the only sensible response for a believer. Much LOVE!…true believers stay true…even in the most difficult of times…