Palm Sunday

Palm Sunday

Today Palm Sunday, according to many church calendars. It is the last Sunday before the Passion of Jesus. It is the week to honor our LORD Jesus as Christ the our King. Here are some verses speaking of who He is as our King... yours and mine.

Today's readings of Christ the King are: Matthew 21:5, Zechariah 9:9,

"Tell the daughter of Zion,
'Behold, your King is coming to you, 
Lowly, and sitting on a donkey...'" Matt. 21:5 NKJ

When Jesus entered Jerusalem on Palm Sunday He rode on a foal of a donkey. The crowds were cheering and waving palm branches. Many of them were wondering if this was the coming of God's chosen one. On that day, He fulfilled this prophecy of the coming Messiah: 

 "Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion!

"Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem!
Behold, Your King is coming to you;
He is just and having salvation,
Lowly and riding on a donkey..."
Zechariah 9:9 NKJ

This is the Triumphal Entry of Jesus into Jerusalem!!!

It was such a time of great rejoicing! God's chosen one finally came in to the city of David, the city of the Great king. Look at Him in your heart, through the eyes of these people, imagine their joy. He was righteous, and just. In their eyes He was coming to make things right and end the injustice they lived every day under with the occupation of the Roman Empire. But that is not how it was to be. God's chosen One did not come high and mighty on a majestic horse, but He came in humility on a donkey, lowly and approachable to us. Let His words speak to your heart:

"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest... 

for I am gentle and lowly in heart and you will find rest for your souls."  

Matthew 11:28, 29 NIV/KJV

Are you weary and burdened? Come to Him. Come to His gentle and lowly heart. Rest your  heart in His. You will find rest for your soul.

Behold, Your King is coming to you!

 

The Fragrance of Sacrifice - Saturday

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Mary took  a pound of very costly oil of spikenard, anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped his feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the oil." John 12:3

What was Mary expressing to Jesus in these beautiful verses? What does this mean for us as followers of Jesus? Here are some impressions I had. I believe that Mary loved Jesus with her whole heart. She gave and did not withhold even such an expensive fragrance. It was an extension of her love and appreciation for bringing her brother back from the dead. But even more, someday Jesus would raise her up to eternal life with Him. Imagine being there in that moment. The fragrance filled the house and affected everyone there, especially Jesus; as He was watching her wipe His feet with her beautiful hair.  Mary's love was poured out through the oil. She held nothing back. She expressed her whole heart devotion to Jesus for all to see.  Perhaps there was a moment of silence, awe, as they experienced her passion in spirit and beauty in love,... until the silence was broken by Judas.

Passion Week

Passion Week Preparation: Get ready to prepare for the coming of Passion Week. In this week coming up is the week of all weeks... the week that changed the destiny of all mankind. It is the week of our Lords Passion. 

Read as He looks toward His final, most important purpose in coming to this earth. He came to suffer and die as an innocent man, at the hands of sinful men. In paying the penalty of the sin of every human being to ever live; He made a way for all who believe in Him, to once again come to God. God created people to be close to Him, to walk with Him every day and talk to Him, just as Adam and Eve did in the garden. But, when they sinned they were separated from God. Tragically, all their descendants were also separated from God. That is us humans here thousands of years later. You see that when Jesus came, He was like a second Adam, to give people a whole new fresh start. He came to restore our connection with God through faith in Him and the sacrifice He made for us. As sinners we all deserve to die and be punished for our sins. He paid the price so when we turn to Him, repent of our sins we are forgiven, our innocence is restored and we can walk with Him again, in through the Holy Spirit.

I am putting up these three posts together on Sunday April 6, 2025 in an abbreviated form to inspire you to really dive in to the more in depth posts continuing through following next week; you will be ready to continue.

You can share in His Passion, share His heart by reading in one or all of the gospels towards the end of each one. You will find the various perspectives of the gospel writers versions. I have a page on the relevant scriptures.

You can also follow along with the first three short posts below. Then you can engage in the in depth posts, Saturday through the following Sunday.

Palm Sunday

Sunday Readings: John 12: 12- 15,  Matthew 21:5, Zechariah 9:9, Luke 19:28-44, Revelation 19:11-16

James Tissot

Today is Palm Sunday, the day that Jesus made His Triumphant entry into Jerusalem. The whole city was buzzing with excitement. They were in a festive mood with the approach of Passover. In the excitement there was talk of the miracle man, Jesus of Nazareth. He had recently raised a man, His friend Lazarus from the dead!!! Lazarus was from Bethany, a village not far from Jerusalem. It is likely that many knew him and  his family. News of this miracle spread among the people in Jerusalem and those who came afar to attend the Feast. The crowds must have wondered... "will Jesus come into Jerusalem, that we may see Him who raised a man from the dead? Will we see Lazarus, who was once dead and now is alive? Then we can see for ourselves if this is really true. Perhaps He is Messiah, the One Israel has waited for so long. Perhaps He is to be revealed in our time." Lets join Matthew as he tells us about this day:

"Tell the daughter of Zion,
'Behold, your King is coming to you,
Lowly, and sitting on a donkey...'"
Matt. 21:5 NKJ

Jesus Clears the Temple 

Monday: Matthew 21:12-17, 

This occurred after His Triumphant Entry into Jerusalem on either Sunday or Monday:

Merchants Chased from the Temple- James Tissot

 "Jesus entered the Temple and began to drive out all the people buying and selling animals for sacrifice. he knocked over the tables of the money changers and the chairs of those selling doves. He said to them, "The Scriptures declare, 

"My Temple will be called a house of prayer, but you have turned it into a den of thieves!" Matthew 21:12, 13 NLT

By What Authority?

Tuesday: Matt. 21:14-16, 23-46
The next day, after Jesus cleansed the temple He returned:

"Now when He came into the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people confronted Him as He was teaching, and said, 

"By what authority are You doing these things? And who gave you this authority?" 

Matthew 21:23 NKJ

He insulted them the day before by turning over far more than just their tables. What gave Him the right to interfere with their temple business like that? Who is this man, that He should insult them and their religion? Going deeper, look back to immediately after He cleansed the temple. "Then the blind and the lame came to Him in the temple, and He healed them." Right there in front of them He healed many people. When was the last time one of them had miraculously healed someone? Jesus demonstrated an authority and authenticity they did not have.

The Parable of the Two Sons

Tuesday: Matthew 21:28-46

When Jesus came into the temple the day after He drove out the money changers, the chief priest and elders question Him, "By what authority are You doing these things? And who gave you this authority?" 21:23 Jesus answered them with a question that ultimately would cut to the heart of their own salvation. Let's see how this plays out:

"I will tell you by what authority I do these things if you answer one question. 

Did John's authority to baptize come from heaven, or was it merely human?"

They discussed his question and reasoned that "'If we say it was from heaven, he will ask us why we didn't believe John. But if we say it was merely human, we'll be mobbed because the people believe John was a prophet.' So they finally replied, 'We don't know.' And Jesus responded, 'Then I won't tell you by what authority I do these things.'" 21: 24-26

Then Jesus tells them the Parable of the Two Sons. Would they see themselves in this word picture?
What is a parable? Why does Jesus tell them? We will answer these questions.

 

The True Vine
 

Wednesday Reading: John 15:1- 13

Tomorrow, Thursday night of Passion Week, the disciples celebrated the Feast of the Passover Meal. This was the last night that Jesus would spend with His disciples before His death on the cross. All of His words in the New Testament are truth and powerful for us as believers. But I do believe there is a special significance in what he said to them that night. "Jesus knew that His hour had come to leave this world." He told His disciples "'Dear children, I will be with you only a little longer.'" John 13:1, 33 NLT

The book of John records this Last Supper that Jesus spent with His disciples in chapters 13-17. The following is a portion that particularly speaks to my heart. I hope you will enjoy it. 

More to come soon.

Passion Week Readings

Friday

This week is the week of all weeks... the week that changed the destiny of all mankind. 

It is the week of our Lords Passion as He looks toward His final, most important purpose in coming to this earth. He came to suffer and die as an innocent man, at the hands of sinful men. In paying the penalty of the sin of every human being to ever live; He made a way for all who believe in Him, to once again come to God. God created people to be close to Him, to walk with Him every day and talk to Him, just as Adam and Eve did in the garden. But, when they sinned they were separated from God. Tragically, all their descendants were also separated from God. Now here we are thousands of years later. When Jesus came, He was like a second Adam, to give humanity a whole new fresh start. He came to restore our connection with God through faith in Him and the sacrifice He made for us. As sinners we all deserve to die and be punished for our sins. He paid the price so that when we turn to Him and repent of our sins we are forgiven. Our innocence is restored and we can walk with Him again, in His Spirit.

You can share in His Passion, share His heart by reading in one or all of the gospels. In this last week of His life, He knew that He would soon leave this earth. In this remaining time He told His disciples the things that were most important to Him. Below I have listed His last week in each of the four gospel books.  All of these readings begin with the Triumphal Entry. Then they continue through the end of each book. I pray God will bless you each day as you look into Jesus' last week on this earth.

During this Passion Week, there will one or more posts everyday. They will post on the likely day of the week that they occurred. You will find that day at the top of each post.

Matthew chapters 21- 28: 

You will find in each gospel that the week begins with the Triumphant Entry. And then continues with the following: Parables of the Two Sons, the Wicked Vine Dressers and the Wedding Feast, the Greatest Commandment, Warnings about false religion, End Times, the Parables of the Wise and Foolish Virgins, The Talents, and the Sheep and the Goats. Then you will find the plot to kill Jesus, His betrayal, Passover, the Last Supper, Gethsemane, Betrayal, the Trials and His death on the cross, Jesus is buried, He is Risen and the Great Commission.

Mark 11-16: 

Beginning again with the Triumphant Entry, Parable of the Wicked Vine Dressers, Greatest Commandment, Warnings about false religion, End Times, the plot to kill Jesus, the anointing at Bethany, His betrayal, Passover, the Last Supper, Gethsemane, Betrayal, the Trials and the death on the cross, Jesus is buried, He is Risen and the Great Commission.

Luke 19- 24:  

The Triumphant Entry, Jesus Weeps over Jerusalem, Parable the Wicked Vine Dressers, the destruction of Jerusalem, End Times, Then you will find the plot to kill Jesus, Disciples argue over greatness, Passover, the Last Supper, Gethsemane,  Betrayal, the Trials and the death on the cross, Jesus is buried, He is Risen, Jesus appears to His disciples, Ascension.

John Chapters 12- 21:

The Triumphant Entry, the Grain of Wheat, Walk in the Light, Jesus washes His disciples feet, Jesus is the Way, The Father is revealed, Answered Prayer, Another Helper, the Spirit of Truth, Gift of His Peace, The True Vine, Love and Joy, the coming rejection, the Work of the Holy Spirit, Jesus prays for Himself, His disciples, and all other believers, His betrayal and arrest in Gethsemane,  the Trials and the King on a cross, Jesus is buried, the empty tomb, the apostles commissioned, and breakfast by the Sea.

Crucifixion