Saturday, March 27, 2021

Palm Sunday - Hosanna In The Highest!


Bobservations Column

By Pastor Bob Lawrenz

John’s Gospel tells us that if all of what Jesus did were written in books, the world itself could not hold the volumes recording them (John 21:25).  And as we observe Palm Sunday with Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem, it is the culmination of His and His followers traveling south from the Galilee region where so many of Jesus’ works were done. But we dare not overlook the trip itself, and the mighty works that were done as they traveled. We cannot know the precise chronology of His teachings and miracles, but we do know that He walked and taught at the same time, ministering to those who had heard He was passing through. Crowds would gather because word of mouth would spread from town to town, and village to village that Jesus’ ministry of teaching and healing was coming. Their southbound trip was needful, for every able-bodied Jew was required to go the Jerusalem for Passover, and being an observant Jew, Jesus was faithful to follow the dictates of the Levitical Law.

Near Jericho, there were two blind men whose sight Jesus healed. (Matt. 20:29-43, Mark 10:46-52, Luke 18:35-43.) Each of the Gospel accounts of this event varies a bit one to the next, but the basics are shared by all three accounts. The blind heard a commotion and asked what was going on. Jesus was passing their way, they were told, and they cried out to Him...

Where ever He went, people would come to Him with their requests. Physical healings, sinful lifestyles, and even demons were cast out. Though He never wanted any notoriety, word of Him spread from person to person, and town to town. If there was one word that described Jesus’ ministry, it was Humility. People may have been drawn to him for a variety of reasons, but anyone who heard Him or was touched by His ministry was changed.

The Pharisees that were among the crowds monitored His movements, and often provoked him with questions, but as the crowds grew, there was no denying that Jesus was a very special Person, and He was becoming a threat to the status-quo of the Jews in Jerusalem. In the end, Jesus would triumph, and the Jews and Romans would be exposed for who they were, and what they worshiped. Jesus sits now at the right hand of the father.
“Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.” ~ 2 Corinthians 5:17


Today's Audio Message

Mark 11:1-4 - "Hosanna In The Highest"

Chapter Summary:

The story of Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem is found in all four Gospels. Jesus and his disciples are making their way from Bethphage and Bethany near the Mount of Olives to Jerusalem. It is here that Jesus commissions two of the disciples to head to the village and immediately after entering they will find a colt which had never been ridden. (The word colt is from the greek word, po’los - a young donkey.) He instructs them to untie it and bring it back. If anyone asked why they were doing this, they were to say, “The Lord has need of it…”

Why did the Lord need to ride a colt to enter Jerusalem at this time?  He did so in order to demonstrate to all who were in Jerusalem that He is the Messiah.  This is the fulfilling of the messianic prophecy of Zechariah 9:9.  This prophecy was about Him, and His entrance demonstrated to the Jews that He is their King.  

The triumphal entry is a significant event in Jerusalem.  There were multitudes and crowds who went before and those who followed. The whole city was stirred up.

The people understood that Jesus was claiming to be the coming King, their Messiah.  Their reaction speaks volumes as they shouted, “Hosanna (or, save us)! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord:  Blessed be the kingdom of our father David, that cometh in the name of the Lord:  Hosanna in the highest.”  Those that went before Him spread their cloaks and leafy branches on the dusty road before Him.  They understood the scriptures, the promise of the Messiah and what His entry meant.   

But little did they really know, and what that would actually mean.  Jesus was not going to Jerusalem to sit on a throne, but to the cross to make an atoning sacrifice for their sins. He had come to save them, but not in the way they imagined. Jesus knew He was entering the world to be the final and ultimate sacrifice for sin. “Without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness” (Hebrews 9:22). Their cries for salvation were answered with the cross. Our heavenly Father provided us a spiritual salvation from the bondage and penalty of sin, through the sacrifice of His precious Son. This is our eternal hope!  

When we reflect on the triumphal entry, we should ask ourselves where we would have been in that mass of people.  Would we have been laying our cloaks in the road?  Would we have eagerly followed Jesus? Do we really understand His coming and what He would do for anyone who would believe?   


 

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