Rejoice, O people of Zion! Shout in triumph, O people of Jerusalem! Look, your king is coming to you. He is righteous and victorious, yet he is humble, riding on a donkey- riding on a donkey’s colt. Zechariah 9:9 NLT

Then they brought the colt to Jesus and threw their garments over it, and he sat on it. Many in the crowd spread their garments on the road ahead of him, and others spread leafy branches they had cut in the fields. Jesus was in the center of the procession, and the people all around him were shouting, “Praise God! Blessings on the one who comes in the name of the LORD! Mark 11:7-9 NLT

The huge crowds in Jerusalem for the Passover observance had seen or heard of the miracles of Jesus, including the raising of Lazarus from the dead. As Jesus rode into town on a lowly donkey colt (fulfilling the prophecy in Zechariah 9:9) the people threw down their clothes and palm branches on the road, a welcome for a king. They were shouting praise to God and welcoming the “King of Israel” who, they believed, would save them from Roman rule.

But God had a different plan. He was orchestrating His gracious, amazing plan to save all people!

Palm Sunday and its events are so familiar to most of us. I want to share a memory of our family to a trip to Israel in 2010. It was a wonderful trip for all of us! Our guide was a Messianic Jew who had emigrated from the US to Israel when her children were young. At each place we went we were asked to take out our Bibles and read aloud scriptures that pertained to that location. What happened there, who had been there and what significance it had? I believe it brought all of us, even our two teenagers, closer to God and strengthened our faith.

To walk the Jerusalem streets that Jesus had walked was unique and awe inspiring. To visit the churches built on what are thought to be the actual places Jesus performed miracles or gave a sermon was a blessing. We were able to walk the Palm Sunday path that Jesus and His disciples may have taken into Jerusalem, it was both humbling and exhilarating! The history of Israel is vast and for modern day Christians, truly amazing!

So as I remembered our “Palm Sunday walk, I imagined the “parade” for Jesus as He rode humbly into Jerusalem for Passover with His disciples. He was God and He was man. He had an unbelievable task ahead of Him. Did He have to hold His human emotions in check? Did He praise God with the people and the disciples, or did he quietly contemplate the love He had for everyone and His part in saving them? We don’t and can’t know, but we can appreciate the humanity of Jesus and His great sacrifice, choosing to die for all of us.

So, this coming Sunday as we begin to celebrate one of our greatest Christian holidays, Easter, let us be thankful for God’s saving plan for all humankind and for Jesus’ sacrifice that made it possible for all people.

I thank God for each of you! And I thank you for joining me today as we explore and celebrate Palm Sunday.

Blessings of joy and praise!