We are nearly there.
It’s nearly Easter.
Maybe you are looking forward to that extra dose of chocolate.
Perhaps your looking forward to an extra day or two off.
Maybe it’s a chance to catch up with someone
or some things.
And it is also a wonderful opportunity to spend time with the most important person in your life.
God…the Father, Jesus and the Holy Spirit.
At Easter time you get to share with God and with other Christians,
and experience probably the two extremities of the Christian faith.
On Good Friday we hear and experience the suffering and death of our saviour, Jesus.
Then Sunday morning we join in the celebrations.
Celebrating His triumph over death.
Celebrating His resurrection.
However, before this could happen Jesus had to complete his journey to the cross.
And today Palm Sunday begins the final leg of Jesus’ journey.
It is the start of Holy Week.
This leg of the journey is very public.
It’s a little like a royal trip,
where the itinerary is known
and people no matter who they are can observe and even be part of the journey.
Like other aspects of the journey,
we get to see more of Jesus,
more of His character,
who he is!!
And some of his traits.
It also highlights some things about us.
About our habits.
Particularly when we are with others.
Or with Jesus.
In verses 1-3, Jesus does something that sounds a little strange.
He sends two of his disciples off to go and pick up a donkey and a colt that just happens to be in a village close by.
And if anyone questions them about it,
they are to reply the Lord needs them.
Some people may even say, "Hey Jesus is being a little cheeky’ taking someone elses donkey for his own use.”
But we should put this in perspective.
Listen to Psalm 24 verse 1,
’The earth is the LORD’s, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it.’
And Psalm 50:10-11
’for every animal of the forest is mine,
and the cattle on a thousand hills.
I know every bird in the mountains,
and the creatures of the field are mine.’
That’s right everything on this earth is the Lord’s.
Everything that you can see, feel, touch, smell or taste not only comes from God,
but also is His.
Now that doesn’t mean I can come around to you a demand that you hand everything over to the church for the use of the Lord’s work.
What it does mean though is that every single thing we have,
we should first remember is not ours,
everything we have belongs to God.
And we have been given the responsibility to look after it.
And to use it for the purpose of bringing Jesus and His love to people.
What I found amazing is that Jesus expected this to happen and it did.
It demonstrates that Jesus had respect and recognition amongst the community.
But Why an ass???
Why did Jesus choose a donkey?
Was it for the donkey’s stubborness, in all situations.
In 1828…Andrew Jackson stood as a presidential candidate in America.
His opponents and the media quickly labelled him a donkey, in an attempt to discredit him.
He declared he was delighted to be called a donkey.
Infact he adopted it as his mascot,
because donkeys are hard working, sturdy creatures, able to carry heavy loads and willing to serve.
Jesus chose the donkey, however for another reason.
As verse 4 and 5 indicates,
the donkey was chosen to fulfil scripture.
In other words it was part of Jesus plan in saving us
and in riding a donkey it demonstrated the type of king Jesus is.
A king who was humble
A king who came in peace…the donkey represents peace.
A king as Graham Kendrick emphasises in his song, the SERVANT king.
Yet, was this the type of king the locals were expecting?
They were probably expecting a strong,
stern fellow to overthrow the foreign rulers that they had been putting up with, not just for yearse, but for generations.
They had been waiting for this moment for some time.
And in rides their king, humbly on a donkey.
Many of Jesus followers still had faith at this stage that his plans to become king were still on track.
They laid the way for Him, with coats and branches.
They expected him to save them.
However the sight of Jesus on a donkey caused problems in Jerusalem.
We read in verse 10 the whole city was shaken as he entered Jerusalem.
Imagine the scene for a moment.
Here was this character riding a donkey.
Into a city that was attempting to accommodate 3 times as many people who live there.
And his followers were calling him the Son of David.
Hosanna.
Which means the king who saves.
If you were a leader wouldn’t you feel threatened?
No wonder the Jewish and the local leaders felt threatened.
Then there would have been some people looking suspiciously at Jesus because he didn’t quite look like a king.
Perhaps some of the crowd were worried about fighting.
And others asked the key question….who is this?
Now, this question or ones like it we need to be prepared to answer everyday.
Who is Jesus?
It may not be asked in exactly that way.
Over Easter if someone asks you why we have Good Friday?
Why do you go to church?
Or why do you believe in Jesus?
What would you say??
It is one of the aspects of our faith God is constantly placing in front of us?
Opportunities to be his witness.
Through both what we say and what we do.
God will present each one of us the opportunity to talk with others who Jesus is?
The crowds partially answered the question,
by indicating that he was the prophet Jesus.
Now for some people they would have known exactly who the crowds were talking about,as they had been following his journey.
On the other hand others may have thought he was just a prophet.
This instance demonstrates that the crowd as a whole was not prepared to publicly acknowledge that Jesus was their saviour, their king.
Even though Jesus comes in a peaceful and meek way,
there would have been some suggesting that no way could he be a king.
He doesn’t fit their image.
Likewise today people will reject Jesus because He doesn’t meet their job description of who God should be or how a God should act.
He doesn’t act and do what they want him to do or be
Such people need prayer, because they have placed themselves, and their opinions at the centre of the world,
and pushed God to the side.
And the person to pray for them is you!!
The only way we can know who God is and how he acts is by listening and reading about Him through His scriptures.
It is these scriptures that show us that Jesus,
is a king who cares,
is a servant who comes in peace.
It is these scriptures that show us that Jesus’ entry to Jerusalem on a donkey was so that he could get closer to the cross.
Get one step closer to suffering and dieing for each one of us.
It is these scriptures that also indicate that Jesus’ suffering, happened for a purpose.
To benefit YOU!!
But the story of Jesus doesn’t stop there.
It continues through to Easter Sunday.
When we are invited to celebrate with Him and the disciples that he has triumphed over death.
So this week spend time with Jesus.
Get to know him a little better.
Experience his peace and his love.
Discover what he did and does for you.
Amen
