Do you remember what happened today 60 years ago? It is the anniversary of the Great Palm Sunday Tornado!
I was only eight years old. On that day - a devastating tornado outbreak struck parts of six Midwestern states, including Indiana.
The tornado outbreak produced 55 confirmed tornadoes in one day! There was widespread destruction everywhere. The city of Berne, Indiana was totally destroyed. Parts of the city of Kokomo were also badly damaged!
I remember that the electricity went out just as we were starting to watch the Wizard of OZ! And the power was out for days!
But my parents had a gas stove. So my Mom was able to cook meals. That’s what I remember the most about that day! At night, my grandparents would come over for dinner and we would have dinner by candlelight.
At the time I thought that it was so wonderful. Having dinner by candlelight without knowing of the destruction just outside.
Today we remember Jesus’ ride into Jerusalem. On that day no one could imagine what would happen to Jesus by the end of the week. But what we will see is that Jesus was rightly praise for being the coming Savior. Our LORD. And our king. And as our King we know that He orders our days and directs our path.
Prayer: Almighty God our Father, who sent Your Son to take ou9r nature upon Him and to suffer death on the cross that all should follow the example of His great humility; mercifully grant that we may both follow the example of our Savior Jesus in His patience and also have our portion in His glorious resurrection; through Jesus Christ our LORD.
Hymn: Pg. Pg. 26 “Crown Him with Many Crowns” Vv. 1-3
Confession/Absolution:
LORD - we pray to you also for the forgiveness of our sins. Have mercy upon us, most merciful Father.
In Your compassion forgive us our sins. Known and unknown. Things done. And left undone.
And so uphold us by Your Spirit. That we may live and serve you in newness of life. To the honor and glory of Your Name. Through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Almighty God have mercy on you. Forgive you all your sins. Through our Lord Jesus Christ. And may He strengthen you in all goodness. And by the power of the Holy Spirit keep you in eternal life. Amen.
Matthew 21:1-11
21 Now when they drew near to Jerusalem and came to Bethphage, to the Mount of Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples, 2 saying to them, “Go into the village in front of you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her. Untie them and bring them to me. 3 If anyone says anything to you, you shall say, ‘The Lord needs them,’ and he will send them at once.” 4 This took place to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet, saying,
5 “Say to the daughter of Zion,
‘Behold, your king is coming to you,
humble, and mounted on a donkey,
on a colt,1 the foal of a beast of burden.’ ”
6 The disciples went and did as Jesus had directed them.
7 They brought the donkey and the colt and put on them their cloaks, and he sat on them. 8 Most of the crowd spread their cloaks on the road, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. 9 And the crowds that went before him and that followed him were shouting, “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!” 10 And when he entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred up, saying, “Who is this?” 11 And the crowds said, “This is the prophet Jesus, from Nazareth of Galilee.”
Palm Sunday celebrates the triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem, just a few days before His betrayal and execution.
On Palm Sunday, people celebrated Jesus’ coming. And cheered, calling for salvation. Jesus brought salvation, of course, but not quite as they had anticipated.
The waiting was over – The promised King was finally coming into Jerusalem.
And the people crowded the streets to cheer his arrival. Often called the Triumphant Entry, this wave of popularity would be short lived. Yet in that special moment we get a hint of the final return of Christ.
This was a big parade! – And Jesus deserved it. Remember how he had traveled all over Israel helping people. Doing miracles. And telling them about God’s love.
Now he was coming to the capitol. The most important city.
This was something the Bible had been promising for hundreds of years. It was all finally coming together. And the people were going crazy like they had just won the super bowl.
But there was a problem: Jesus wasn’t rich like a normal king. He didn’t have a big fancy horse. Or a big fancy army to go with him in this parade. Did you hear how Jesus fixed that problem:
Matthew 21:1-3
As they approached Jerusalem and came to Bethphage on the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples, 2 saying to them, “Go to the village ahead of you, and at once you will find a donkey tied there, with her colt by her. Untie them and bring them to me. 3 If anyone says anything to you, say that the Lord needs them, and he will send them right away.”
Jesus and His disciples were walking towards Jerusalem when Jesus stops them. He sends two disciples to get Him two donkeys. But He doesn’t say anything about paying for them.
They are to go to the village and get a donkey and her colt. If there are any problems…they are just supposed to say that “the Lord needs them” and it will all be fine.
But this wasn’t an accident. This was just what the Bible had promised for hundreds of years. The real king wasn’t going to be fancy, but ride into the city on a donkey … a donkey he had to borrow.
Matthew 21:4-5
4 This took place to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet:
5 “Say to Daughter Zion, ‘See, your king comes to you,
gentle and riding on a donkey, and on a colt, the foal of a donkey.’”
Jesus was fulfilling prophecy. He was supposed to ride on a donkey’s colt – that means a young donkey. Can you imagine a big important king riding on a simple little donkey?
What about the big army and the fancy horse? You see Jesus wasn’t a normal king trying to show he was important and force everyone to serve him. Jesus was the opposite: He came to show love and serve the people.
Matthew 21:6-9
6 The disciples went and did as Jesus had instructed them. 7 They brought the donkey and the colt and placed their cloaks on them for Jesus to sit on. 8 A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, while others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road.
9 The crowds that went ahead of him and those that followed shouted, “Hosanna to the Son of David!” “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!”
“Hosanna in the highest heaven!”
The disciples did what they were told to do. They went and got the donkey and the colt. A big crowd was already showing up and covering the street with their coats and branches from the trees.
Remember that they didn’t have paved roads back then – the roads were dirt. They were showing their respect to Jesus by covering the road so that He wouldn’t get dirty.
They cheered for Jesus with words from the Bible. This was a big victory celebration, and everyone was excited to see what would happen next.
That was a big commotion! I bet the people in the city were wondering what was happening.
Matthew 21:10-11
10 When Jesus entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred and asked, “Who is this?”
11 The crowds answered, “This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth in Galilee.”
Jesus made quite an entrance! People were trying to figure out who He was.
Remember, there was no television back then. People had heard about Him. But they had never seen Him before.
Notice – they didn’t say that He was the Son of God. They called Him a prophet. It was difficult for some of the people of Jesus’ time to realize that He was God and that He was going to save them. Even his disciples would be confused and abandon Jesus later that same week.
The Bible says that Jesus will come again. But not in a parade on a donkey but in the clouds in full glory.
When Jesus comes again it will be to take his place as King of the world. This means we need to be ready for his return.[1]
Prayer: Thank you, LORD for your love
and care. Thank you for sending Jesus our LORD and our King. We wait for His
second coming. When He will bring us home to be with Your forever.
Hymn: #27 “Crown Him with Many Crowns”
Vv.4-5
As the Lord has given us the beauty of
worship and the gift of fellowship with one another. We thank you Lord for
gathering us on this day.
As the Lord has given us neighbors,
friends, families, and coworkers to share the joys and burdens of this life. We
thank you Lord, for the privilege of loving others.
As the Lord has given us a promise that
where He goes, He will prepare a place for us.
[1] Palm Sunday - Kids Sunday School Lesson and Activities -
Ministry To Children
Palm Sunday image copyright Ed Riojas, Higher Things
No comments:
Post a Comment