Behold your King!

 

  “The next day a great multitude that had come to the feast, when they heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem, took branches of palm trees and went out to greet Him, and cried out: ‘Hosanna! Blessed is He who come in the name of the LORD!’ The King of Israel!’ Then Jesus, when He found a young donkey, sat on it; as it is written; ‘Fear not, daughter of Zion; Behold, your King is coming, Sitting on a donkey’s colt.’’ (John 12:12-15)

   Verse 15 is a quote from the prophet Zechariah, writing over 500 years before that first Palm Sunday. This fulfillment of prophecy is one of over 300 prophecies that Jesus fulfilled in his life making it clear that He was, in fact, the Messiah and He had come to save His people.

 

   The problem with the Jewish people and their leaders at this time in history is that they were not looking forward to the type of Messiah that had come. They were looking forward to a King who would set up his kingdom on earth, but that is the kingdom that He will set up the next time He comes! The prophet Isaiah lays out just what kind of Messiah will come first. He says:

 

    “He is despised and rejected by men, A man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him; He was despised, and we did not esteem Him.”  (Isaiah 53:3) 

 

   Although there was great celebration that day in Jerusalem, they were a fickle crowd and when they found out that He would not be setting up a new kingdom for the Jews and getting rid of Roman domination, they turned on Him and asked Pilate to crucify Him the following Friday. I have to confess when I was a younger man it always pained me to read of how the people could sing Hosanna on Sunday and then cry for his death the following Friday. But as we look at the whole picture, we can see clearly that it was God’s plan all along. Isaiah continues in his book to explain to us almost 700 years earlier just why the Messiah must suffer and die.

 

    “But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And by His stripes we are healed, All we like sheep have gone astray; We have turned everyone to his own way; And the LORD has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.” (Isaiah 53:5-6)

 

  So we can be excited today, not as we think about His joyous entry into Jerusalem and the fulfillment of prophecy, but in the fact that Jesus is who He claimed to be; The Messiah, the Son of God, Our Savior, and Redeemer! He entered Jerusalem on that exciting day but has He entered your heart and life? He went to the cross to take away our sins and to allow us to have fellowship with Him though the shedding of His blood on the cross. Have you accepted this free gift and surrendered your life to Him or are you still living in rebellion and disobedience? 

 

   Today is the day you can change your life for now and eternity. Accept the sacrifice that Jesus, the Son of God, made for you and for me. If you are already a born again believer, are you living for Him everyday? Now is a good time to evaluate and make a decision to serve Him daily. 

 

“For He says: ‘In an acceptable time I have heard you, And in the day of salvation I have helped you.’ Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.” (II Corinthians 6:2)

 

 

PRAY:

 

1.    Lord, thank you for coming to this earth to live among us, to teach us what a loving and faithful God you are, and to die on an old rugged cross to bear our sins.

2.    Help me today Lord, to spend more time with you in prayer and in the reading of your Word so that I may know You better and be obedient to your precepts and commands.

3.    Lord, help me to be faithful to pray for others to come to church next Sunday and surrender their lives to You. We need You desperately, and our nation needs You desperately!