The Lord blessed us with a brilliant day
yesterday. The sunrise was stunning and heartwarming. It
became warm and dazzling with Palm Sunday sun, one of the ten best days.
The Lord blessed us in His House in worship, in witness, and in celebration. It
was festive and joyful. The children sang and danced and waved the palm
branches. There was a festive reception after the worship for which our
people baked and shared an assortment of pies and special cakes. The
fellowship was sweet in every way. Many of my friends posted about their
Palm Sunday celebrations around the corner and around the globe. Praise
the Lord for the way He is worshipped and adored all over the world.
We
were stunned and saddened about the bombing of Christians during their Palm
Sunday worship services in Egypt by the Moslem Terrorists. We pray for
His grace and comfort for the families, who are grieving the sudden death
of their loved ones. In the midst of sorrow and grief we lift up the Name
of Jesus, the Man of sorrows who is acquainted with our grief. Alice and
I walked in the early evening yesterday. The Sun was warm and
inviting. The children and young people were out in the park playing
enjoying the beautiful Palm Sunday afternoon, indeed the gift of the
Lord. Sunita posted that they spent part of the day at the Arboretum in
our Nation's Capital. I woke up really early this morning. The moon
was beaming through the windows of the kitchen, flooding the kitchen with
gentle moonlight, pure and therapeutic. Thank you Jesus.
Praise
the Lord for Palm Sunday, the Passion Sunday on which Jesus entered the the
City of Jerusalem in triumph and victory with pomp and ceremony of a different
order. As Jesus and His disciples approached Jerusalem and came to
Bethphage on the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples, saying to them, 'Go
to the village ahead of you, and at once you will find a donkey tied there,
with her colt by her. Untie them and bring them to me. If anyone
says anything to you, tell him that the Lord needs them, and he will send them
right away.' (Matthew
21:1-3)
By
this point in Jesus' ministry, most of the disciples had learned to do as they
were told, so the two men "went and did as Jesus had instructed
them. They brought the donkey and the colt, placed their cloaks on them, and
Jesus sat on them" (Matthew
21:6-7). However trivial this errand may have seemed, it was
full of biblical and theological significance. It demonstrated that
Christ had come to be the King. As Matthew explained, "This took
place to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet, 'Say to the Daughter of
Zion, "See, your king comes to you, gentle and riding on a donkey, on a
colt, the foal of a donkey" ' " (Matthew
21:4-5).
I love to listen to Handel's Messiah in all seasons. It is powerful and
anointed. The best music is that which centers in Christ the Redeemer.
The best art is that which depicts the beauty and splendor of the creator and
the redeemer. When Charles Jennens wrote the libretto (the text) for
Handel's Messiah, he recognized the significance of this prophecy, and of its
fulfillment. One of the unusual features of the oratorio is how little it
says about the life and teaching of Jesus Christ. Messiah focuses on the
incarnation, the crucifixion, and the resurrection, with only the briefest
mention of Jesus' earthly ministry. The text passes quickly from
Christmas to Good Friday. In one moment the angels announce the Messiah's
birth, singing, "Glory to God in the highest, and peace on earth, good
will towards men", and shortly thereafter the choir sings,
"Behold the Lamb of God, that taketh away the sin of the
world."
Of
all the things that Jesus said and did between his birth and his passion, the
one that Charles Jennens chose to include was the triumphal entry. He
alluded to it by quoting from the prophet Zechariah: "Rejoice greatly, O
daughter of Zion, shout O daughter of Jerusalem, behold thy king cometh unto
thee. He is the righteous Saviour and he shall speak peace unto the
heathen." Jennens made a good choice: It was by getting on a donkey
and riding into Jerusalem that Jesus announced that he was coming as Israel's
messianic king.
The people of Israel had always understood Zechariah's prophecy to refer to the Messiah, God's anointed king. The prophet said, "Rejoice greatly, O Daughter of Zion! Shout, Daughter of Jerusalem! See, your king comes to you, righteous and having salvation, gentle and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey" (Zechariah 9:9). When Jesus mounted the donkey—not just any donkey, but specifically a pure-bred colt, as Zechariah promised—he was presenting himself as Israel's promised king. By his actions, he was saying, "Behold, thy king cometh unto thee."
Many
generations earlier, when Solomon became Israel's king, he was presented on the
donkey of his father David (1 Kings
1:38-39). One clue that the people of Jerusalem recognized this
connection is that, when they saw Jesus riding on the foal of a donkey, they
said, "Hosanna to the Son of David!" (Matthew
21:9). By using that title, they were acclaiming Jesus to
be their rightful king. They recognized that he had come "in the
name of the Lord!" (Matthew 21:9; cf. Psalm
118:26).
There
is an even older prophecy, often overlooked, that explains why Jesus rode
a donkey. Long before Zechariah, Jacob pronounced this blessing on his
son Judah, "The scepter will not depart from Judah, nor the ruler's staff
from between his feet, until he comes to whom it belongs and the obedience of
the nations is his. He will tether his donkey to a vine, his colt to the
choicest branch" (Gen.
49:10-11a).
Jacob's
prophecy meant that Israel's true king would come from the tribe of Judah, and
that in some way he would be associated with the colt of a donkey. Although
this was only hinted at in Genesis, it was made plain in the Gospel
that Jesus, the Son of David, from the tribe of Judah, rode into Jerusalem
as Israel's rightful king.
If
Jesus is the king, then all his loyal subjects must recognize his
kingship. The Jews did this by calling him the Son of David, and
spreading their cloaks before him. This was the ancient custom.
People threw down their garments to make a carpet for a royal procession.
We recognize Jesus' sovereignty by laying our hearts before him, throwing
down our wills in absolute surrender, and asking Jesus to govern everything we
think and say and do. Then we praise him as our rightful king. In
the words of the ancient hymn by Theodulph of Orleans:
All glory, laud, and honor
to thee, Redeemer, King,
to whom the lips of children made sweet hosannas ring!
Thou art the King of Israel, thou David's royal Son,
who in the Lord's name comest, the King and blessed One!
to whom the lips of children made sweet hosannas ring!
Thou art the King of Israel, thou David's royal Son,
who in the Lord's name comest, the King and blessed One!
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