Triumphant and Victorious

March 30, 2014 Background Scripture: Zechariah 9:9, 10; Matthew 21:1 – 11 Lesson Passage: Zechariah 9:9, 10; Matthew 21:1 – 11 Palm Sunday for many is simply the Sunday that occurs one week before Easter. When asked to elaborate, additional details may be offered that describe Jesus riding into Jerusalem while well-wishers and worshipers were spreading palm leaves and clothes in the path before him. However, when one steps back and considers the prophetic significance of what many in that day must have seen as an impromptu parade, we see a lot more than a parade. This is the prophesied offering of Jesus to the Jewish community as their Messiah. God had promised him for well over a thousand years. Every time the Jewish nation found itself in more trouble than they could handle, it seems as though the promised Messiah always served as a reminder that better days were coming. This was especially so when the nation’s punishment included exile into a foreign land. The day would come when they would stand above their enemies and never taste defeat again. The Anointed One would rule over them forever after he destroyed their enemies. The excitement of this promise must have loss its luster after years of going through the cycle of apostasy, punishment, repentance, and restoration. The fact is the restoration always appeared to be to a state that was less than the previous one prior to the apostasy. To the righteous among them, surely the question was, How long will this all last before God’s promise is fulfilled? Theologians today opine that Heaven was silent for four hundred years from the prophecy of Malachi until the preaching of John the Baptist. John presented Jesus to the Jews as their long awaited Messiah. They constantly examined him publically for three years. Some examinations were particularly gruesome and disrespectful. Jesus kept healing and teaching through the process. His teachings were different and challenging to the religious establishment. They found it difficult to accept much of it. This led to much confusion since the miracles he performed were indeed ordained of God. Jesus’ miracles reminded them of what they had learned about the days of the Old Testament prophets. No one had been able to do these things in a sustained way without the help of God. But some of his teachings were very disturbing to the most learned among them. He presented what appeared to them to be a conflict of character. How could he blaspheme God and turn around and do His biddings at the same time? How could he break The Law of the Sabbath and use it to do God’s will at the same time? He didn’t even bother to wash his hands before he ate. How could he be holy and keep company with sinners? Jesus seemed to have no respect for the traditions of the elders which was held in higher esteem than the Law itself at times. Yet, the masses went after him. And now this is upon them. He parades into Jerusalem riding a colt of a donkey while his followers praise him as though he were God. He refused to stop them even after he was admonished to do so. No, this was the moment of his formal presentation to the Jews as their Messiah after three years of public scrutiny. He would not ride in as a victorious king but rather as a meek and humble lamb who was preparing to triumph over mankind’s greatest enemy, death. In a sense, this was the pre-victory party. In seven days, it will be clear to many that he is both triumphant and victorious. Robert C. Hudson March 22, 2013