Palm Sunday
[ Matthew 21:1–11, Mark 11:1–11, Luke 19:28–44, John 12:9–19 ]
Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem!
Behold, your king is coming to you; righteous and having salvation is he, humble and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey. (Zechariah 9:9)
It is Passover week. Thousands of Jewish pilgrims are flooding into Jerusalem to celebrate the annual feast for another year. But this Passover will be unlike any other. As Jesus rides into Jerusalem on a donkey surrounded by the crowds, he is marching towards his ultimate fulfillment of Passover. The crowds cheer Jesus’ arrival with shouts of “Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David!” without realizing the full significance of what is happening. This is ‘the’ Passover. The one that all Passover celebrations pointed forward to ever since the very first one, celebrated by Israel on the eve of their deliverance from bondage in Egypt. On this ultimate Passover, Jesus will bring a far greater deliverance — a deliverance not from any human power, but from the damning enslavement to sin and the righteous wrath of God.
About 500 years prior to Jesus’ arrival in Jerusalem on a donkey, the prophet Zechariah foretold the event. He calls Israel to “Behold your king.” Behold Jesus, Zechariah writes — he is righteous. Jesus is the long-awaited king of righteousness. Unlike every king that has preceded him, he has no trace of wickedness and is perfectly just. Behold Jesus — he is humble and mounted on a donkey. Jesus rides in to save the day, not with overwhelming power and might, but with humility and saving grace. Why does he come? That we may behold him and rejoice greatly! The king has come to restore God’s rule in our lives.
Prayer: God of glory and God of grace - you would have been completely just to come in judgment to us, your continuously rebellious creation. But instead you pursue us in grace. Help us see and behold the glorious grace of King Jesus. Help us joyfully submit to his good and righteous rule in all of our lives. And help us live lives in praise of his glorious grace. We pray in the name of King Jesus, Amen.