Brown's Daily Word 3/22/16

    Praise the Lord for this Holy Week - Passion Week.  We live in a world of terror , and violence.  Into this world Jesus comes again as the Prince of Peace and the King of Glory.  Some of our friends, who are vacationing in central America, posted some pictures of the Church that they attended on Palm Sunday.  The church is located by the beach, surrounded by palm trees and spring flowers.  They said that the church was full of children who were waving freshly cut palm branches. 

    I spoke to some of family members back in Orissa, India who are  part of the church where I grew up during my teen age years.  I received Christian nurture in this church.  My public school teachers were also my Sunday school teachers and were the preachers during Sunday morning worship.  It was where I preached one of my first sermons at the age of 16.  My family members were sharing with me that this past Palm Sunday early morning,  the Youth and some adults marched on the streets of the village waving fresh palm branches, singing Palm Sunday hymns and songs.  One of  my former Students (I was a teacher before entering full time ministry) preached during the Palm Sunday celebration.

    It is always refreshing to recall the event of the First Palm Sunday.  First was heard the noise of the crowd, the cheering and shouting.  Upon drawing closer all could hear what everyone was saying, "The King is coming!  The King is coming!  The King is coming!"

    More curious than ever, the crowd pressed forward to see what was happening. Some people were tearing off their coats and throwing them in the road.  Others were scrambling up trees to pull down branches.  Children lined the city streets, waving their victory branches and singing, "Hosanna!  Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord!  Hosanna in the highest!"  Then they saw the King Himself—a man on a donkey, the symbol of royal authority coming in peace. Here and there people demanded, "Who is this?"  The crowds answered, "This is Jesus" (Matthew 21:1-11). 

    It is important to remember what the crowds were affirming by their words and actions.  Placing palm branches on the road before Jesus is reminiscent of the welcome given Simon Maccabaeus in 141 B.C. on the eve of his triumphant conquest of the occupying Syrian forces.  The shout—"Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!"—comes from Psalm 118.  The psalm was written at a time when Israel was surrounded by warring nations, but God rescued her.  "Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!" is sung to the conquering hero who liberates the people.  The word hosanna means "save now."  It is equivalent to "God save the King!"

    That is what happened on the first Palm Sunday, the day Jesus entered Jerusalem "gentle and riding on a donkey", but something else happened that day as well.  While Jesus was making his triumphal entry, the priests were praising God at the Temple.  It was the first day of the week, and according to the habit of the ancient rabbis, the priests were reciting Psalm 24:

Lift up your heads, O you gates;
be lifted up, you ancient doors,
that the King of glory may come in.
Who is this King of glory?
The Lord strong and mighty,
the Lord mighty in battle.
Lift up your heads, O you gates;
lift them up, you ancient doors,
that the King of glory may come in.
Who is he, this King of glory?
The Lord Almighty—
he is the King of glory (Psalm 24:7-10).

    The people in the streets and the priests at the temple were asking the same question, "Who is this King?"  The people said it was Jesus.  The priests said it was the Lord ...

"And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever."...Revelation 11:15

In Christ,

 Brown

https://youtu.be/ThweuoEILfQ