Palm Sunday

Let Hosannas ring and joy abound,
For the Lord our God rode a donkey to town!

Matthew 21:8-9 NKJV

" And a very great multitude spread their clothes on the road; others cut down branches from the trees and spread them on the road. Then the multitudes who went before and those who followed cried out, saying:

“Hosanna to the Son of David!
‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!’
Hosanna in the highest!”

April 2014 Holidays

 

April 13: Palm Sunday -

 

April 14: Fast of the Firstborn -

 

April 15: Passover Begins -

 

April 18: Good Friday -

 

April 20: Easter Sunday -

 

April 22: Earth Day

~ Palm Sunday ~ 2013

~ Palm Sunday ~


During Jesus's earthly ministry, He often told people not to tell anyone who He was. Even when his brothers encouraged Him to go public. He said it was not yet the right time. But the day He rode into Jerusalem on a donkey was the appointed time, the only public announcement that He was God's promised Messiah, fulfilling the prophecy of Zechariah 9.9. His announcement was rejected by many, yet God's plan for mankind was still yet fulfilled. Praise Him!

~ The Waving of the Palms ~


They waved palm branches as He passed
And hailed Him as their King;
Yet, they knew not of the sorrow
The coming week would bring.


The glad acclaim would soon give way
To jeers and mockery;
In Pilate's court He'd be condemned
To a cross on Calvary.


But Jesus knew He was the price
In God's redemptive plan,
The Sacrificial Lamb come down
To die for sins of man.


The centuries have passed and still
He seeks those lost in sin,
Pleading with unyielding hearts
To repent and follow Him.


On this day we shout our praise,
O, let us not delay;
The palm-strewn path of long ago
Still leads to Him today.


Jesus rides a donkey,
Through the city gate,
He is the gentle ruler,
Of every nation state.


Christ enters the city,
Named the place of peace,
Foretells our heaven homeland,
Where joy will never cease.


The people sing hosannas,
Christ is king and lord,
Messiah who redeems us,
By all will be adored.


The people welcome Jesus,
They raise a shout of cheer,
But there are those who hate him,
They laugh and mock and jeer.


The enemies of Jesus,
Protest this grand procession,
Jesus says the very rocks,
Would cry out their confession.


Christ has come to die for us,
In a few short days,
Then the third day after,
From the dead he'll raise.


Christ over the city looks,
It causes him to weep,
So many will reject him,
Despite his sufferings deep.


Christ is coming once again,
Comes with greatest might,
Putting all things back to new,
He shines with glory bright,


The devils are all vanquished,
By Christ's gentle power,
He will crush them underfoot,
In that final hour.


Christ alone has conquered,
Sin and death and hell,
Freeing us from bondage,
Let us thank him well.


Good people, come now, greet him,
Welcome with your praise,
Children, come now, meet him,
Your joyful songs now raise.


Let hosannas ring
and joy abound,
For the Lord our God
rode a donkey to town!

For More Easter Week Teachings - Please See ... 


~ It Was A Week Of ~

http://intothekingsgarden.blogspot.com/2012/04/it-was-week.html



~ The Lost Art of Foot Washing ~

http://intothekingsgarden.blogspot.com/2012/04/lost-art-of-foot-washing.html



~ Jesus' Prayer at Gethsemane ~

http://intothekingsgarden.blogspot.com/2012/04/jesus-prayer-of-submission-at.html



~ History of Passover ~

http://intothekingsgarden.blogspot.com/2012/04/history-of-passover.html



~ HE HAS RISEN! ~

http://intothekingsgarden.blogspot.com/2012/04/he-has-risen.html



~ Dawn With Fresh Eyes ~

http://intothekingsgarden.blogspot.com/2012/04/dawn-with-fresh-eyes.html



~ A Medical Perspective of the Cross ~

http://intothekingsgarden.blogspot.com/2012/04/medical-perspective-of-cross.html

It Was A Week ...

And It Was Night ...

"It was night" (John 13:30)


It was a week of ...

* Jubilation - Jesus is coming to the feast!

* Amazement - Lazarus is alive again. Some had seen him raised and the word spread like wildfire.

* Anticipation - Many were expecting the Kingdom of God to dawn in power and Rome to be overthrown.

* Popularity - Crowds came from everywhere as hope spilled into the streets like a river out of its banks, pulling people in its wake.

* Praise - Hosanna's sound in the streets, coats line way and palm branches wave and fall.

Then the mood changed and the world became very different. The air became heavy and everywhere they looked, the environment of hell sunk into every nook and cranny of their world.


It was a time of ...

* Speculation - "If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him, and then the Romans will come and take away both our temple and our nation" (John 11:48)

* Jealousy - So the Pharisees said to one another, "See, this is getting us nowhere. Look how the whole world has gone after him!" (John 12:19)

* Treachery - Now the Passover and the Festival of Unleavened Bread were only two days away, and the chief priests and the teachers of the law were looking for some sly way to arrest Jesus and kill him (Mark 14:1)

* Betrayal - Then one of the Twelve -- the one called Judas Iscariot -- went to the chief priests and asked, "What are you willing to give me if I deliver him over to you?" So they counted out for him thirty pieces of silver. From then on Judas watched for an opportunity to hand him over (Matthew 26:14-16)

* Desertion - Then everyone deserted him and fled (Mark 14:50)

* Cursing - Then Peter began to call down curses, and he swore to them, "I don't know the man!" Immediately a rooster crowed (Matthew 26:74)

* Blasphemy - The crowd shouted, "Take him away! Take him away! Crucify him!" "Shall I crucify your king?" Pilate asked. "We have no king but Caesar," the chief priests answered (John 19:15)

* Mockery - The people stood watching, and the rulers even sneered at him. They said, "He saved others; let him save himself if he is God's Messiah, the Chosen One." (Mark 15:31)

* Terror - At noon, darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon (Mark 15:33). At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook and the rocks split (Matthew 27:51)

* Hell - "But this is your hour - when darkness reigns" (Luke 22:53)


And we know this night's darkness! It has engulfed us at times. And in these times, life feels as if darkness rules and despair grips us by the throat. Chaos reigns our every decision. God feels gone and desperation holds us in its clutches.


This week seems to be so contradictory - the Triumphal Entry at one end, and the road to Golgotha on the other! But if we listen, we can hear the prophets of old tell us that they are actually part of the same path. The road the Messiah, the Son of God, must walk.


Jesus entered our darkness. He entered, not just for us, but with us, to bear the full weight of Satan's power - the sin, evil, wickedness, and unfairness of us all fall like blows on his thorn crowned brow. Jesus stares this evil in the face and shoulders the full weight of our darkness.

And He does it ...

* Honestly - "I thirst ..." "My God my God ..."

* Tenderly - "Woman, behold your son, son behold your mother."

* Faithfully - "Father, into your hands do I commit my spirit."

* Graciously - "Today you will be with me in paradise." "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing."

* Completely - "It is finished."


"The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it" (John 1:5).


When Jesus mounted a donkey and headed into Jerusalem, He chose God's path for Him: a path that lead Him into the heart of darkness and led Him in triumph over that darkness and rescued us.

And having disarmed the powers and authorities, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the Cross (Col 2:15). For He has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son He loves, in whom we have  redemption, the forgiveness of our sins (Col 1:13-14).


Let Hosannas ring and Joy abound,
For the Lord our God rode a donkey into town!