Palm Sunday is just two Sundays away!
It’s nice to review the celebratory mood of the citizens as the LORD Jesus Christ proceeded into Jerusalem amidst shouts of Hosanna with His way garnished with garments & palm leaves. This was their Messiah, this was their King! What a wonderful day it was! But I believe John 2:24-25 (KJV) can be applied here “But Jesus did not commit himself unto them, because he knew all men, And needed not that any should testify of man: for he knew what was in man.” What a heartbreak to know that in less than a week, much the same crowd (we think) would cry out “Away with him, away with him, crucify him. We have no king but Caesar.” And I know Jesus knew.
Sir Robert Anderson concluded that Jesus entered Jerusalem on the exact day of Daniel’s timeclock for Israel, which wouldn’t be at all unlike Jesus, but the thing is that Daniel also told us that Messiah would be “cut off.” Jesus knew that too, and He entered anyway. He knew that He would have to give His life, be buried, and rise again, all according to the Scriptures, so that He could pay for our sins, and so that we could have eternal life. But he came anyway, and even because of! Hosanna! Hallelujah! What a Saviour!
But there is coming a day when the LORD Jesus Christ will enter Jerusalem again, this time with an even more regal entrance, and without me sounding too gleeful, this time He’ll do the “cutting off.” Palm Sunday was just a “dress rehearsal” as it turns out, as Jesus will return wearing many crowns and clothed with a vesture dipped in blood. Certainly, His original offer to be Israel’s king was a legitimate one, and had they accepted the offer, somehow all would have been well, but God is real smart, and He knew the beginning from the end before the beginning had ever begun. So the next time He comes it will be in total power and glory, and that’s my main take-away from Palm Sunday! We celebrate the crucifixion, not because we enjoy the price Jesus had to pay, but because we are so thankful that he could and did!
To say that the season has its emotional contradictions is one of the great understatements of all time, but because Jesus could make the payment for our sins, and because he did make that payment, we have the glorious opportunity of accepting Him as our Saviour-King. We must be extremely careful about pushing the margins of His grace, but thank God He has given us plenty of opportunity, and if you turned Him down yesterday, He still gives you a chance today!!
My prayer is that every Christian reading this is full of thanksgiving for our Resurrection Season, and that every Christian is also full of understanding regarding the ultimate plan for Christ’s Second Coming! Call it Palm Sunday Revisited! And one more thing. For those who may have stated that they have “no king but Caesar” let’s do our best to give them a second chance before the Second Coming eliminates any chance!
After all, Palm Sunday is just two Sundays away!
Love to all,
Pastor
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