Tuesday, April 1, 2025

　　The King Arrives

　　“‘Go into the village over there,’ he said. ‘As soon as you enter it, you will see a donkey tied there, with its colt beside it. Untie them and bring them to me.If anyone asks what you are doing, just say, “The Lord needs them,” and he will immediately let you take them.’” (Matthew 21:2-3 NLT)

　　A Sunday school teacher asked her class, “Does anybody know what next Sunday is?”

　　A little six-year-old girl raised her hand and said, “Next Sunday is Palm Sunday.”

　　The teacher said, “Very good. Do you know what the meaning of Palm Sunday is?”

　　The little girl replied, “That is the day Jesus rode into Jerusalem on the back of a donkey and the people laid palm branches at His feet.”

　　The teacher said, “That is exactly right. Does anybody know what the following Sunday is?”

　　The same little girl raised her hand and said, “That is the day that Jesus rose again from the dead. It is Easter Sunday.”

　　“Very good,” the teacher said.

　　The little girl continued, “But if He sees His shadow, He will have to go back into the ground for six weeks.”

　　For the next two and a half weeks leading up to Easter, we’re going to look at the meaning and significance of several different events that took place during the Passion Week—the days from Palm Sunday to Easter Sunday. And we’re going to start with the arrangements Jesus made for His arrival in Jerusalem for the Passover celebration.

　　Jesus had made the trip to Jerusalem countless times for various festivals and occasions. But His arrival on Palm Sunday was unique. Look at His instructions to His disciples in the passage above.

　　Hundreds of years earlier, the Old Testament prophet Zechariah had written these words: “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).

　　Jesus was certainly aware of the prophecy—and so were many people in the crowd that awaited Him in Jerusalem. Prophecies about the Messiah—the King, the Chosen One—loomed large in Jewish life. But always with a political slant. The Jewish people of Jesus’ day were waiting for a Messiah who would lead them in revolt against the Roman Empire.

　　Their baseless expectations often distracted them and kept them from embracing Jesus’ teachings about the kingdom of Heaven. So Jesus rarely announced Himself as the Messiah during His public ministry.

　　But that changed on Palm Sunday. When Jesus chose a donkey colt as His means of transportation, He was sending an unmistakable message. He was saying to everyone, “I am the king Zechariah prophesied about. I am the Chosen One, the Son of God. The Messiah has come!”

　　In the culture of the first century AD, a king who entered a city on a donkey came in peace; a king who entered a city on horseback came to conquer. So Jesus was also making it clear that He was not a political threat to Rome.

　　He was, however, a threat to the Jewish religious leaders. He knew they were plotting to kill Him. He knew that in a matter of days, His disciple Judas Iscariot would help them by agreeing to betray Him. So Jesus’ decision to enter Jerusalem on a donkey was also intended to provoke His enemies. He wanted them to follow through on their plans to execute Him so that He could fulfill God’s plan of salvation.

　　Jesus made it clear that He is the Messiah, God’s chosen One to save the world. Everyone who believes in Him will reap the rewards of His saving work—that is, eternal life.

　　Reflection question: How do you know that Jesus is the Messiah, the Savior of the world?

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　　Photo Credit: ©GettyImages/SidneydeAlmeida

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