The Winning Entry
Sometime last month an 81 year old lady walked into a store and purchased an ice cream and a lottery ticket. Little did she know that she held a winning ticket worth $336 million—after all, the odds of winning the jackpot were 1 in 175,000,000. And yet, somehow, against impossible odds, her entry won the day. The day she bought the ticket was a day that changed everything for one little old lady from Rhode Island—and she didn’t even know it until weeks later.
This weekend, the Christian church all over the world celebrates Palm Sunday. It is the day recounted in Matthew chapter 21, when Jesus (who had been traveling through the countryside as was His custom), returned to Jerusalem. In most Bibles, the heading over that section reads “The Triumphal Entry.”
On the outskirts of the city, Jesus had His disciples bring him a young donkey and they laid their cloaks on the animal’s back to form a makeshift saddle for Him. As He began to ride through the city gates, crowds of people who had heard of the great teacher’s arrival began to form and line the streets along his path. There was a buzz of intense anticipation. Some wanted to get a glimpse of this teacher that, according to the stories, was not only a very wise man, but who healed the blind and the lame. Others had sat with him on the hillside as He taught them the principles of the Kingdom of God. Still others had been there when he had brought the dead man Lazarus back to life.
Suddenly and spontaneously, people began cutting branches from nearby palm trees and they lined the road before Jesus with them. Others couldn’t find palms, so they took off their jackets and spread them out so that the feet of the colt would not touch the ground. The crowd began to shout, “Hosanna” which today would be, “Long live the King!” As He passed by, many fell in behind Him and began to march along shouting at the top of their lungs, “This is the prophet Jesus who is worthy of our praise!”
We don’t know how long this time of celebration went on, but it is clear that it was an entry fit for a King. Little did the crowd know, that day would change everything. By entering into Jerusalem at precisely that moment, exactly one week before the Jewish Passover celebration—a holiday where they remembered God had spared them from the Angel of Death—Jesus had set into motion a series of events that would change the very course of history.
In a matter of days, the same crowds who had celebrated His entry and proclaimed His Kingship, would cry out for His death. In a matter of days, He would be humiliated, whipped, beaten and crucified on a cross. And in a matter of days, the power of the Angel of Death would be crushed forever. And they didn’t even know it.
What do you know about Jesus? This Palm Sunday, why don’t you gather your family and attend services at one of the churches in Kings County? You just might discover that Jesus is better than even the biggest winning lottery ticket you could ever buy.
This weekend, the Christian church all over the world celebrates Palm Sunday. It is the day recounted in Matthew chapter 21, when Jesus (who had been traveling through the countryside as was His custom), returned to Jerusalem. In most Bibles, the heading over that section reads “The Triumphal Entry.”
On the outskirts of the city, Jesus had His disciples bring him a young donkey and they laid their cloaks on the animal’s back to form a makeshift saddle for Him. As He began to ride through the city gates, crowds of people who had heard of the great teacher’s arrival began to form and line the streets along his path. There was a buzz of intense anticipation. Some wanted to get a glimpse of this teacher that, according to the stories, was not only a very wise man, but who healed the blind and the lame. Others had sat with him on the hillside as He taught them the principles of the Kingdom of God. Still others had been there when he had brought the dead man Lazarus back to life.
Suddenly and spontaneously, people began cutting branches from nearby palm trees and they lined the road before Jesus with them. Others couldn’t find palms, so they took off their jackets and spread them out so that the feet of the colt would not touch the ground. The crowd began to shout, “Hosanna” which today would be, “Long live the King!” As He passed by, many fell in behind Him and began to march along shouting at the top of their lungs, “This is the prophet Jesus who is worthy of our praise!”
We don’t know how long this time of celebration went on, but it is clear that it was an entry fit for a King. Little did the crowd know, that day would change everything. By entering into Jerusalem at precisely that moment, exactly one week before the Jewish Passover celebration—a holiday where they remembered God had spared them from the Angel of Death—Jesus had set into motion a series of events that would change the very course of history.
In a matter of days, the same crowds who had celebrated His entry and proclaimed His Kingship, would cry out for His death. In a matter of days, He would be humiliated, whipped, beaten and crucified on a cross. And in a matter of days, the power of the Angel of Death would be crushed forever. And they didn’t even know it.
What do you know about Jesus? This Palm Sunday, why don’t you gather your family and attend services at one of the churches in Kings County? You just might discover that Jesus is better than even the biggest winning lottery ticket you could ever buy.
posted by Andrew Cromwell at
9:32 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]
<< Home