A Kings Welcome

John 12:12-13  

"On the next day much people that were come to the feast, when they heard 

that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem, Took branches of palm trees, 

and went forth to meet him, and cried, Hosanna: 

Blessed is the King of Israel that cometh 

in the name of the Lord."

    News and rumor had gone out that Jesus the man who had raised Lazarus from the dead was on his way to Jerusalem. There were two crowds, the crowd which was accompanying Jesus from Bethany, and the crowd which surged out from Jerusalem to see him; and they must have flowed together in a surging mass like two tides of the sea. Jesus came riding on a ass' colt. As the crowds met him they received him like a conqueror. And the sight of this tremendous welcome sent the Jewish authorities into the depths of despair, for it seemed that nothing they could do would stop the tide of the people who had gone after Jesus. This is an incident so important that we must try to understand just what was happening. 
    In such a situation it was obviously impossible for Jesus to speak to the crowd. His voice could not have reached such a large assembly of people. So he did something that all could see; he came riding upon an ass' colt, "Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold, thy King cometh unto thee: he is just, and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass," (Zech. 9:9). There is no doubt at all that Jesus' claim was a messianic claim! 
    The point is that a king would come riding upon a horse when he was waging war; but he would come riding upon an ass when he was coming in peace. This action of Jesus is a sign that he was not the warrior figure men dreamed of, but the Prince of Peace. No one saw it that way at that time, not even the disciples, who should have known so much better. "Here was the one who was to come." But they looked for the Messiah of their own dreams and their own wishful thinking; they did not look for the Messiah whom God had sent. Jesus drew a dramatic picture of what he claimed to be, but none understood the claim.
    My Friends, we cannot leave this passage without noticing the simplest thing of all. Seldom in the world's history has there been such a display of magnificent deliberate courage as the Triumphal Entry. We must remember that Jesus was an outlaw and that the authorities were determined to kill him. Common sense would have warned him to turn back and make for Galilee or the desert places. If he was to enter Jerusalem at all, all caution would have demanded that he enter secretly and go into hiding; but He is Jesus, and He came in such a way as to focus every eye upon Himself. It was an act of the most superior courage, for it was the defiance of all that man could do; and it was an act of the most powerful love, for it was love's last appeal before the end; "God's Love For All Humanity." 
Amen!

Reading: (John 12:12-19)
Ref: (HG SB, DSB)

May God Bless You

And Your Family

Minister Robert A. Lail Sr. 

The Cross Life Ministry