This Sunday known as Palm Sunday; we recognize the moment when Jesus entered the city of Jerusalem in preparation for the Passover celebration. The Passover was a defining moment in the story of God’s people in the Old Testament. The place for that celebration was Jerusalem, the place of God’s temple. Jesus and his disciples, observant to the covenant laws, arrived in Jerusalem ahead of the Passover festival.
The passage we are invited to dwell with is…
Mark 11:1-11 New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
11 When they were approaching Jerusalem, at Bethphage and Bethany, near the Mount of Olives, he sent two of his disciples 2 and said to them, “Go into the village ahead of you, and immediately as you enter it you will find tied there a colt that has never been ridden; untie it and bring it. 3 If anyone says to you, ‘Why are you doing this?’ just say this: ‘The Lord needs it and will send it back here immediately.’ ” 4 They went away and found a colt tied near a door, outside in the street. As they were untying it, 5 some of the bystanders said to them, “What are you doing, untying the colt?” 6 They told them what Jesus had said, and they allowed them to take it. 7 Then they brought the colt to Jesus and threw their cloaks on it, and he sat on it. 8 Many people spread their cloaks on the road, and others spread leafy branches that they had cut in the fields. 9 Then those who went ahead and those who followed were shouting,
“Hosanna!
Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord!
10 Blessed is the coming kingdom of our ancestor David!
Hosanna in the highest heaven!”
11 Then he entered Jerusalem and went into the temple, and when he had looked around at everything, as it was already late, he went out to Bethany with the twelve.
By entering the city on a donkey, Jesus was announcing his identity as the king for whom they had waited so long. In the context of the ancient world, if you rode into the city on a horse, you were usually at the head of an army. A donkey? That was a sign of peace.
We recognize Jesus as a King of peace, but is that what the folks in Jerusalem were expecting?
The folks in Jerusalem wanted Jesus to be different.
What is it about Jesus that you can easily relate to?
What are the things about Jesus that you struggle with?
Are we all in on the teachings of Jesus or are there things we are not in agreement with?
Let’s talk about it on Sunday…
One last thing, below are the MCC links about the water project. I encourage you to watch them with your children, grandchildren, and neighborhood children. I think these videos are powerful to show children that life is not the same for all children across the world. We have two more weeks to collect for MCC’s water project.
