Today, Palm Sunday is celebrated all over the world as the day that Jesus road into Jerusalem on a donkey’s colt. However, its meaning goes much deeper than people shouting “Hosanna!” and waving palm branches. It was His time. Jesus had been preparing His disciples for what would be happening in a just a few days. But, the Jews, in general, Jerusalem, and definitely the Jewish leaders were not ready for Him.
It’s not like God hadn’t warned the Jews. Jesus here is fulfilling several biblical, Old Testament prophecies. The problem was that the Jewish leaders — the Pharisees, Saducees, teachers of religious law, and the Sanhedrin — were so closed-minded and hard-hearted, that they didn’t see the truth when it was right in front of them.
Unfortunately, the same things happens with many people today. Especially those involved and entangled in religion.
The question is, if Jesus came back today, would you be ready? Let’s dig in…
Matthew 21
As Jesus and the disciples approached Jerusalem, they came to the town of Bethphage on the Mount of Olives. Jesus sent two of them on ahead. 2 “Go into the village over there,” he said. “As soon as you enter it, you will see a donkey tied there, with its colt beside it. Untie them and bring them to me. 3 If anyone asks what you are doing, just say, ‘The Lord needs them,’ and he will immediately let you take them.”
4 This took place to fulfill the prophecy that said,
5 “Tell the people of Jerusalem,
‘Look, your King is coming to you.
He is humble, riding on a donkey—
riding on a donkey’s colt.’” [Zechariah 9:9]6 The two disciples did as Jesus commanded. 7 They brought the donkey and the colt to him and threw their garments over the colt, and he sat on it.
8 Most of the crowd spread their garments on the road ahead of him, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. 9 Jesus was in the center of the procession, and the people all around him were shouting,
“Praise God (Hosanna) for the Son of David!
Blessings on the one who comes in the name of the Lord!
Praise God in highest heaven!” [Psalm 118]10 The entire city of Jerusalem was in an uproar as he entered. “Who is this?” they asked.
11 And the crowds replied, “It’s Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth in Galilee.”
John wrote about this day in John 1:11…
11 He came to his own people, and even they rejected him.
John 1:11 NLT
Luke told of the angels singing about this…
14 “Glory to God in highest heaven,
Luke 2:14 NLT
and peace on earth to those with whom God is pleased.”
Do YOU have PEACE?
Zechariah’s prophecy was written 5 centuries earlier…
9 Rejoice, O people of Zion!
Zechariah 9:9 NLT
Shout in triumph, O people of Jerusalem!
Look, your king is coming to you.
He is righteous and victorious,
yet he is humble, riding on a donkey—
riding on a donkey’s colt.
Here’s a quote from one the Bible Studies in the free, YouVersion Bible App…
Jesus entered Jerusalem riding on the colt of a donkey in order to fulfill the prophecy of Zechariah 9. The donkey was significant because it was the mount ridden by kings during times of peace, when they were confident that there were no threats against them. This symbolic action was intended to display Jesus’ confidence as Israel’s rightful king; to affirm those that were faithful to his kingdom message; and to rebuke those that weren’t.
Third Millennium
It was also prophesied in Psalm 118, which is one of the Psalms that the Jews sang during the festival of Passover. And that is even older than Zechariah’s prophecy!
Continuing…
Jesus Clears the Temple
12 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. 13 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!” [Isaiah 56:7; Jeremiah 7:11]
14 The blind and the lame came to him in the Temple, and he healed them. 15 The leading priests and the teachers of religious law saw these wonderful miracles and heard even the children in the Temple shouting, “Praise God for the Son of David.”
But the leaders were indignant. 16 They asked Jesus, “Do you hear what these children are saying?”
“Yes,” Jesus replied. “Haven’t you ever read the Scriptures? For they say, ‘You have taught children and infants to give you praise.’” [Psalm 8:2] 17 Then he returned to Bethany, where he stayed overnight.
When Jesus “cleaned house”, He was taking a stand for righteousness. We are called to stand firm in our faith and take a stand for what is right. Where do you see wrong in this world?
- Parents – what are you children being taught — or not taught — in schools?
- U.S. Citizens – we are seeing our freedoms being taken away. Freedoms that many have fought and died for.
- Christians – seeing innocent babies being murdered because they are an inconvenience.
Lord, help us to be bold in our faith and stand firm for what is right and for a biblical world view.
Wouldn’t you rather stand with God and be judged by man, than stand with man and be judged by God?
The main problem in the temple was greed. What does your house look like? For born-again Christians, our bodies are the temple of the Holy Spirit. Would Jesus approve of what you watch, read and/or listen to? What you eat? Is it time to spring-clean your life?
Going on…
Jesus Curses the Fig Tree
18 In the morning, as Jesus was returning to Jerusalem, he was hungry, 19 and he noticed a fig tree beside the road. He went over to see if there were any figs, but there were only leaves. Then he said to it, “May you never bear fruit again!” And immediately the fig tree withered up.
20 The disciples were amazed when they saw this and asked, “How did the fig tree wither so quickly?”
21 Then Jesus told them, “I tell you the truth, if you have faith and don’t doubt, you can do things like this and much more. You can even say to this mountain, ‘May you be lifted up and thrown into the sea,’ and it will happen. 22 You can pray for anything, and if you have faith, you will receive it.”
I did a podcast last year on this. Listen to it here…
Finishing the chapter, Jesus puts the Pharisees in their place….
The Authority of Jesus Challenged
23 When Jesus returned to the Temple and began teaching, the leading priests and elders came up to him. They demanded, “By what authority are you doing all these things? Who gave you the right?”
24 “I’ll tell you by what authority I do these things if you answer one question,” Jesus replied. 25 “Did John’s authority to baptize come from heaven, or was it merely human?”
They talked it over among themselves. “If we say it was from heaven, he will ask us why we didn’t believe John. 26 But if we say it was merely human, we’ll be mobbed because the people believe John was a prophet.” 27 So they finally replied, “We don’t know.”
And Jesus responded, “Then I won’t tell you by what authority I do these things.
Parable of the Two Sons
28 “But what do you think about this? A man with two sons told the older boy, ‘Son, go out and work in the vineyard today.’ 29 The son answered, ‘No, I won’t go,’ but later he changed his mind and went anyway. 30 Then the father told the other son, ‘You go,’ and he said, ‘Yes, sir, I will.’ But he didn’t go.
31 “Which of the two obeyed his father?”
They replied, “The first.”
Then Jesus explained his meaning: “I tell you the truth, corrupt tax collectors and prostitutes will get into the Kingdom of God before you do. 32 For John the Baptist came and showed you the right way to live, but you didn’t believe him, while tax collectors and prostitutes did. And even when you saw this happening, you refused to believe him and repent of your sins.
Parable of the Evil Farmers
33 “Now listen to another story. A certain landowner planted a vineyard, built a wall around it, dug a pit for pressing out the grape juice, and built a lookout tower. Then he leased the vineyard to tenant farmers and moved to another country. 34 At the time of the grape harvest, he sent his servants to collect his share of the crop. 35 But the farmers grabbed his servants, beat one, killed one, and stoned another. 36 So the landowner sent a larger group of his servants to collect for him, but the results were the same.
37 “Finally, the owner sent his son, thinking, ‘Surely they will respect my son.’
38 “But when the tenant farmers saw his son coming, they said to one another, ‘Here comes the heir to this estate. Come on, let’s kill him and get the estate for ourselves!’ 39 So they grabbed him, dragged him out of the vineyard, and murdered him.
40 “When the owner of the vineyard returns,” Jesus asked, “what do you think he will do to those farmers?”
41 The religious leaders replied, “He will put the wicked men to a horrible death and lease the vineyard to others who will give him his share of the crop after each harvest.”
42 Then Jesus asked them, “Didn’t you ever read this in the Scriptures?
‘The stone that the builders rejected
has now become the cornerstone.
This is the Lord’s doing,
and it is wonderful to see.’43 I tell you, the Kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a nation that will produce the proper fruit. 44 Anyone who stumbles over that stone will be broken to pieces, and it will crush anyone it falls on.” [Psalm 118:22-23]
45 When the leading priests and Pharisees heard this parable, they realized he was telling the story against them—they were the wicked farmers. 46 They wanted to arrest him, but they were afraid of the crowds, who considered Jesus to be a prophet.
Matthew 21 NLT
Since the Jewish leaders rejected Jesus, thus the Gospel would be preached to the Gentiles, who would spread it all over the world.
Have you rejected the truth about Jesus?
This day, Palm Sunday, began the most important week in history.
Further Bible Study…
So, if Jesus came today, would you be ready?
If you’re not sure if you’re saved or not, if you truly want to be born again and have the assurance of salvation, receive the Holy Spirit, feel His Shalom — a peace that surpasses all understanding, and get a 1-way, non-stop ticket to Heaven after you die, or that you won’t be left behind at the Rapture, which can happen at any moment, this is what you have to do…
Invite Jesus into Your Heart and Receive the Gift of Grace, Joy, Peace, and the Confident Hope of Eternal Life…
Grace Alone
Cornerstone
Hosanna
Jesus Paid it ALL
Soli Deo Gloria! To God Alone Be the Glory!
Top picture by Good News Productions International from FreeBibleImages.org, (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0).