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Christ Enters Jerusalem

by Duane Huffstutler  
4/08/2012 / Christian Living

Matt 21:1-11 1 And when they drew nigh unto Jerusalem, and were come to Bethphage, unto the mount of Olives, then sent Jesus two disciples, 2 Saying unto them, Go into the village over against you, and straightway ye shall find an ass tied, and a colt with her: loose them, and bring them unto me. 3 And if any man say ought unto you, ye shall say, The Lord hath need of them; and straightway he will send them. 4 All this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying, 5 Tell ye the daughter of Sion, Behold, thy King cometh unto thee, meek, and sitting upon an ass, and a colt the foal of an ass. 6 And the disciples went, and did as Jesus commanded them, 7 And brought the ass, and the colt, and put on them their clothes, and they set him thereon. 8 And a very great multitude spread their garments in the way; others cut down branches from the trees, and strawed them in the way. 9 And the multitudes that went before, and that followed, cried, saying, Hosanna to the Son of David: Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord; Hosanna in the highest. 10 And when he was come into Jerusalem, all the city was moved, saying, Who is this? 11 And the multitude said, This is Jesus the prophet of Nazareth of Galilee. (KJV)

This is Palm Sunday the week before Easter Sunday. What is the significance of Palm Sunday? We know that Easter Sunday is the day we remember the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. This is the day that we remember that when he arose from the dead he ascended into heaven to present his blood for the Atonement for our sins. But why do we celebrate Palm Sunday? Palm Sunday is the day we remember that Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a colt in the manner of the King and many of the people of Jerusalem helped to celebrate his entry. They wanted Jesus to set up his kingdom in Jerusalem and free them from the Roman Rule. But Jesus could not do that because for one the time was not right. Jesus had to die for the sins of the world and become the atonement sacrifice for the sins of the world. Then Jesus had to rise again to show his power over hell death and the grave. He showed his power over sin as he lived. He showed his power over death, hell and the grave as he rose again from the dead. If Jesus had not risen from the dead there would be no hope for our resurrection, ruling and reigning with him in heaven for all time without end. If Jesus had not risen from the dead there would be no hope for us. This is all well and good but what about Palm Sunday?

The people had seen Jesus heal the sick and lame. They had seen Jesus raise the dead. They had seen Jesus feed five thousand and seven thousand with a little boys lunch. What did they wantwhat did they expect? Let's take a look at this for a moment. Rome had been ruling Jerusalem since 37 BC, when Herod the great captured Jerusalem. Then Rome was very strict in its rule of Jerusalem until the great revolt in 66 AD and Jerusalem was recaptured in 70 AD by Titus and his forces. The Jews remembered the stories about a king coming to free them from the oppressive rule over them. They were not looking for the carpenter's son to come and teach them how to free themselves. They were not looking for someone to come and heal the sick and raise the dead. They were not looking for someone to come and feed the multitudes with a little boys lunch although that would be a great help in times of war when they could shut the gates of the city and ration the food, but no one would go hungry. They were looking for a king to come in the name of the Lord and throw Rome out of Jerusalem. They were looking for a warrior. Those that had followed Jesus saw him as a Rabbi that was building an army of followers. After all there were more than the 12 following him, in fact there were at least 70 most of the time the rest of the time there were more than that. There were crowd listening to him teach and heal the sick. These crowds were after someone that would take care of them. Yes, they were looking for the Messiahbut he would come all grown up with his army and free them from the Roman rule. But when he came riding into Jerusalem on the colt that was the sign they were looking for. Jesus was finally stepping up to take his position as their leader in a revolt against Rome. They were all hyped up and telling the world that Jesus was going to break the chains of Rome. But when he was arrested the people saw that he was not the warrior that they had tried to make him into. The people decided that if he could not free himself then he could not free them and he was not worthy to live. Besides what did they need him for if he was not the one to free them from Rome? So they joined in with the religious leaders and helped to get him out of the way so their true liberator could come on the scene.
Here we are remembering Jesus Triumphant entry into Jerusalem as a King. What do you expect from Jesus? What do you want from him? Is Jesus your liberator and King or is he just another imposter? Are you going to stand with Jesus Christ or are you going to stand with the world and crucify him?

Duane L. Huffstutler, Written 2011, Faithwriters.com
Duane L. Huffstutler is the Sunday School Director at Oak Grove Pentecostal Ministries in Bonifay Florida. All scripture is from the King James Version (1611)

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