Palm Sunday

Bienhome Muivah *

Easter Sunday at MBC Church, Chingmeirong, Imphal on April 8 2012 :: PPix - Bunti Phurailatpam

Today, as we celebrate and deeply reminisce that very significant Day Jesus entered Jerusalem, we cannot help walking down the memory lane of yesteryears with Jesus on the streets of Jerusalem. Christ's triumphant entry into Jerusalem is recorded by all four Gospel writers. It was the only occasion that Jesus enlisted the support of the crowd for His Messianic role. There is no doubt that the event was something Jesus planned.

The triumphal entry is that of Jesus coming into Jerusalem on what we know as Palm Sunday, the Sunday before the crucifixion.

On that day, Jesus rode into Jerusalem. On the back of a borrowed donkey's colt, one that had never been ridden before. The disciples spread their cloaks on the donkey for Jesus to sit on, and the multitudes came out to welcome Him, laying before Him their cloaks and the branches of palm trees. The people hailed and praised Him as the King who comes in the name of the Lord as He rode to the temple.

Upon reflecting on so many miracles, signs and wonders He had performed, the crowd all the more praised and exalted Him, acknowledging Him as the only one person who will bring freedom from the enslavement and bondage they were going through.

Jesus' purpose in riding into Jerusalem was to make public His claim to be their Messiah and king of Israel in fulfillment of Old Testament prophesy. "Zechariah 9:9" The Jew had a great expectation on Him and with that very expectation in mind, they hailed Him, and the streets of Jerusalem, the royal city, was open to Him and like a king. The spreading of cloaks was an act of homage for royalty (2 Kings 9:13).

Jesus was openly declaring to the people that He was their King and the Messiah they have been waiting for. Here, we can pause and see the different mind sets of the crowd and Jesus. Which kingdom the Jew were desiring and looking for? Obviously the worldly kingdom! But as for Jesus, it was a spiritual/Heavenly Kingdom. Here lies a stark contrast/antithesis of perspectives.

Very unfortunately, that the praise, the people showered on Jesus was not because they recognized Him as their Messiah. They welcome Him out of their desire for a deliverer, someone who will save them from the clutches of the Roman Empire. But when Jesus failed to fulfill their expectations, those who hailed Him with their many Hosannas, later on, collaborated with those malefactors in the plot to crucify Him. What a situation Jesus was in? Very very disheartening indeed!

The story of the triumphal entry is one of the contrasts, are the application to believers. It is the story of the King who came as a lowly servant on a donkey, not on a prancing steed, not in royal robes, but on the clothes of the poor and humble. Christ comes not to conquer by force as earthly Kings, but by Love, Grace, Mercy, and His own sacrifice for His people. His is not a Kingdom of armies and splendor, but of lowliness and servanthood.

Let's pause for a little while here, and reflect on one particular scene: Talk about an anti-climax! Jesus doesn't cleanse the temple, he doesn't lead the mob against the Romans fortress, He doesn't even give a stirring speech. He just looks around and leaves! His triumphal entry into the city was not something the Romans were expecting or would have understood and Jesus' procession probably just meted into the Passover crowd once they got to Jerusalem.

What kind of Messiah is this? What sort of a deliverer are the sure questions the crowd asks amongst themselves???

What a great disappointment for those who hailed Him just a week ago? Obviously the reaction of the crowd was who needs a king like this?

Basing on the Triumphal Entry of Jesus, in our Christian lives, as we grow older, we all encounter situations in which God does not fulfill all our expectations. What will be our immediate reaction on such situation? I hope and pray that no one would act like the crowd who were blinded by their own perceptions. Had they prayed for their spiritual eyes to be opened, things would have been different.

Today, as we celebrate Palm Sunday, let us probe deeper into the inner recesses of our hearts and ask this question.

Are we blinded by our own perceptions and cannot look on further like the crowd on the streets of Jerusalem?

Let the Holy Spirit guide and give you the divine discernment as you search for the right answer to this question?

Let's prayerfully anticipate the coming Resurrection Day of Christ!