DEVOTIONAL BY DR. BRENT

April 3, 2020

¹² On the next day the large crowd who had come to the feast, when they heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem, ¹³ took the branches of the palm trees and went out to meet Him, and began to shout, “Hosanna! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord, even the King of Israel.” ¹⁴ Jesus, finding a young donkey, sat on it; as it is written, ¹⁵ “Fear not, daughter of Zion; behold, your King is coming, seated on a donkey’s colt.”  John 12:12-15

On Palm Sunday about 2000 years ago Jesus entered into Jerusalem riding on a donkey being hailed with shouts of “hosanna” and being honored with the waving of palm branches.  The word “hosanna” comes from a Hebrew word meaning “save now.”  Palm branches were regarded as expressions of celebration and triumph. They were often used on festive occasions.  Kings and conquerors at times would be welcomed with palm branches being laid before them and waved in the air. The people praised Jesus as the “King who comes in the name of the Lord.”  Jesus rode into Jerusalem in fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy.  Zechariah 9:9 says, “Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion!  Shout in triumph, O daughter of Jerusalem!  Behold, your king is coming to you; He is just and endowed with salvation,  Humble, and mounted on a donkey,  Even on a colt, the foal of a donkey.” Jesus was openly declaring to the people that He was their King and the Messiah they had been longing for! Sadly, they only welcomed Him out of their desire for a Davidic like messianic deliverer who would perhaps lead the nation to overthrow Rome. These are the ones who hailed Him as King on Palm Sunday, but when Jesus did not meet their worldly expectations, by “Good Friday” the “hosannas” became cries of “Crucify Him!”  They truly missed the purpose in the Lord’s mission as Messiah! However, now that we are on this side of the history of the Cross, we truly know why Jesus rode into Jerusalem humble on a donkey. His mission and purpose was to be the suffering Messiah to pay the price for our sins on Calvary’s Cross.  We are going to be acknowledging Christ’s sacrifice for us this Sunday through our Live Stream Palm Sunday Service and our Live Stream Maundy Thursday Lord’s Supper on April 9. Even though we cannot physically be together right now, we can still worship Him and praise Him!  I look forward to having you join with us this Sunday through the Live Stream!  As always, call me if I can help you with anything at all.

Blessings!

Dr. Brent