The King is Coming -- Order Up a 21-Gun Salute

It’s Palm Sunday – just one week before Easter – oh the joy of our Risen Lord! But, hold on! Without this week, there would be no Resurrection Sunday! On this day, the disciples and the crowds were fanatical praisers and worshippers – waving palm branches and shouting “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.” Matthew 21:9. The crowds rejoiced in His powers of healing, in the miracles He’d performed; His popularity reigned supreme. He was SOMEBODY! While kings today ride in streamlined jets, King Jesus rode in on a donkey, a symbol of meekness and peace. How different His entry was – not a 21-gun salute, but the swishing of palm branches.

But those finding-fault Pharisees complained about all the raucous: "Teacher, reprove Your disciples!” Notice that they didn't call Jesus “King.” They called Him "teacher." To them, Jesus was no greater than any other teacher. He had become a threat to their "authority." This, SOMEBODY, was getting in their way! But our “rock-solid” Lord replied, “I tell you, if they keep silent, the stones will cry out!” And we took Christ’s words so seriously, that today we join those crowds of praising and worshipping our King of Kings and Lord of Lords! We will NOT allow the rocks and stones to outdo us!

Those of us who know Him as Savior and Lord cannot be silenced by a few who would “reprove” us. We know what this week represents. We stand in allegiance to Him as in this week, He was our humble, suffering, sacrificial servant. He suffered rejection, lies, beatings, floggings, being nailed to the cross and dying for us. We are doing our best to follow His lead because we've learned not to run away or cower in the face of difficulty. We want the world to know that Jesus Christ is King and it is worth the price of ridicule and rejection to proclaim Him as our Lord and Savior. This Holy Week, we continue to journey on with our precious Lord. What a gift it is to know the promise that awaits us if we stay with Him on the road. If we are faithful servants, we will also know the empty tomb, and best of all, we will abide with Him forever in eternity.

Not only did our King know precisely who He was when He entered Jerusalem, He knows who He is as He enters the Jerusalem of our lives. He touches ALL people – those with rank, and those who are broken, rejected, and unloved. He never refuses anyone who comes to Him for help. He helps those with shattered dreams and bruised spirits. That's the kind of Lord He is! That's the kind of KING He is! Today, He desires to transform us, touch our lives and make us new. He loves us so much that He was thinking about us then....and He is still thinking about us today. “Hosanna! Our King has come!

The Donkey -- Jesus' Limo

Happy Palm Sunday! Today, we celebrate our Lord's triumphant entrance into Jerusalem where He was welcomed by crowds praising and worshipping Him and laying down palm leaves to honor Him. The palms, the "hosanas", the worship and praise is typically our focus today.

But, I'd like to add some focus to the donkey -- he was Jesus' special "ride" into Jerusalem. That little donkey did what he could do. His greatest calling in life was to answer the invitation of the Master when He called, “I have need of him!” He was a “limo” for the King. He was only a donkey, but he did what he could do!

Isn’t that the way our “love” service should be for Him. When He says, “I have need of you”, our greatest response should be, “Here I am Lord, send me! I will do what I can do!” So I'll start with what I can do today -- praising, worshipping and declaring "Hosanna in the Highest -- all praise, honor and glory be to You, Lord Jesus Christ!"