I had a Chaplain’s Corner devotional already prepared for today, but my experience at church this past Sunday has led me to change what’s on my mind. I’ll save that one for another time. So, back to last Sunday — Palm Sunday. I’m sure you know that is the day that Jesus made his triumphant entry into Jerusalem, marking the beginning of Holy Week.  Matthew, Mark, and John each record this event. John 12:12-13 reports:

¹² The next day the great crowd that had come for the festival heard that Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem. ¹³ They took palm branches and went out to meet him, shouting, ‘Hosanna. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Blessed is the king of Israel!’”

At my church, the little children paraded around waving their palm branches, and the expressions on their faces were full of excitement. As I watched these precious children while we sang “Hosanna”* (Hillsong), my thoughts turned from happy thoughts to sad thoughts as I realized how much these children resembled the people of that day, and indeed the people of today.

1. Most of these children likely were not thinking about what was about to happen in Jesus’ life. They were all caught up in the celebration of the moment. Even though they (the children as well as the people of that day), and we, should know teachings and prophecies from the Bible, including those about the crucifixion (Isaiah 53:7), most of them were just exulting in the current atmosphere of celebration. We do that sometimes, don’t we? We get caught up in the beauty of a worship service, or in the spectacle of nature, or in the miracle of a newborn child. We worship, and we recommit ourselves. And that’s not bad….

• But they quickly fall back into their old ways. Once the church service was over, the children went back home. Once Jesus passed on into Jerusalem and the celebration died down, John 12:37 reflects:  “Even after Jesus had performed so many signs in their presence, they still would not believe in him.” It’s very interesting that this same John writes in the book of Revelation about the church at Laodicea (and about so many of us today) being lukewarm in the attitudes of our hearts (Rev. 3:14-21). Maybe we aren’t so bad, but if you are anything like me, you are also not consistently following through on your commitments and rededications as fully as would be pleasing to God.

Despite all this, Jesus fulfilled His promise to satisfy the terrible curse for our sins so that we could have the hope of salvation from the death that we deserve and to the promise of Eternal Life. We know that Jesus, following his Resurrection and Ascension, is now sitting at the right hand of God, on His throne as the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. And we know that He will come again one day to defeat Satan and usher in the new heavens and the new earth (2 Peter 3:13).

*I love this song, “Hosanna”, by Hillsong. You can listen to it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hnMevXQutyE

These lyrics reference Jesus’ second coming. Of course his first coming was marked by being born in a humble manger; and for his triumphant entry into Jerusalem he fulfilled the prophecy in Zechariah 9:9 by riding into Jerusalem on a donkey, which was the symbol for kings coming in peace. However, for his second coming He will arrive riding on a white stallion. The website Got Questions states it this way:

“What a vivid contrast we see in Jesus’ return with all His angels (Matthew 25:31), as compared to His entry to Jerusalem upon a donkey (Matthew 21:7-9)! He is no longer riding a humble donkey. Jesus will return on a fiery white charger, bringing judgment, just as He had promised (Matthew 25:31-33).”

My prayer for myself and for all of us today is taken from the last verse of “Hosanna”:

Heal my heart and make it clean.
Open up my eyes to the things unseen.
Show me how to love
Like You have loved me.
Break my heart for what breaks Yours.
Everything I am
For Your kingdom’s cause
As I walk from earth into eternity.

Amen.

In Christ,

Judy