Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your king is coming to you; righteous and having salvation is he, humble and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey. Zechariah 9:9 ESV

And they brought the colt to Jesus and threw their cloaks on it, and he sat on it. And many spread their cloaks on the road, and others spread leafy branches that they had cut from the fields. And those who went before and those who followed were shouting, “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David! Hosanna in the highest! Mark 11:7-10 ESV

Happy Palm Sunday! The day we celebrate the triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem and the beginning of Holy Week.

The prophet Zechariah lived about 500 years before Jesus. But his prophecy that Zion’s “king” would come to the people mounted on a donkey, on a colt or foal of a donkey, was fulfilled in the coming of Jesus into Jerusalem. Jesus had sent His disciples to procure the colt of a donkey. The disciples drape their cloaks over the colt’s back, and Jesus rides down from the Mount of Olives into the city.

Jerusalem is crowded with people from all over Israel who have come to celebrate the Passover and the Festival of Unleavened Bread. The crowds begin following and singing, “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!” They cut palms and other leafy branches and lay them in the road ahead of Him. They believe that Jesus will take the throne of David and defeat the Romans. Hosanna is a cry for salvation, literally “save us now” and also a praise and welcome.

However, God’s plan is not for Jesus to become an earthly king, but for Jesus to become the ultimate sacrifice for all, to restore our relationship with God our Father. Jesus drives the money changers from the temple, He responds wisely to the questioning and testing by the Pharisees and Sadducees. Jesus continues teaching about the kingdom of heaven. He condemns the religious leaders as hypocrites. The chief priests and scribes begin seeking how they might have Him arrested and killed. 

At the Passover with His disciples, Jesus institutes communion, the broken bread as His broken body and the wine as His blood, poured out for us. Jesus spends the evening in prayer with His Father because He knows what is coming. But still, He endures the charges and the beatings, the abuse and the mocking, and a criminal’s death on a cross for us, for our sins. To become our redeemer and Savior. Thank You, Jesus!

This week as we celebrate Palm Sunday and Holy Week, let’s all take time to praise and worship the One who died so that we might live and live abundantly in Him!

I thank God for each of you! And I thank you for joining me today as we remember all that Jesus endured because of His great love for us, with unending thankfulness.

Blessings and praise, devotion and joy!