They brought the donkey and the colt and placed their cloaks on them for Jesus to sit on. A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, while others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. The crowds that went ahead of him and those that followed shouted, "Hosanna to the Son of David!" "Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!" "Hosanna in the highest heaven!" (Matthew 21:7-9 NIV)
This week we begin to celebrate "Holy Week," It is a time set aside to remember not only the person at the center of our faith (Jesus), but the reason we celebrate Jesus (his death and resurrection). We kick off the week remembering Palm Sunday: they day everyone celebrated Jesus as King.
They took palm branches and went out to meet him, shouting, "Hosanna!" "Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!" "Blessed is the king of Israel!" (John 12:13 NIV)
We know that Jesus has promised to return in a way that everyone will see him. This "second coming" will be the time he is seen by all as King. Until then, though, we have only experienced Jesus as the suffering Messiah. This confuses many people, starting with the crowd who was there that day, because they expected Jesus to become King the first time he was here.
This took place to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet: "Say to Daughter Zion, 'See, your king comes to you, gentle and riding on a donkey, and on a colt, the foal of a donkey.'" (Matthew 21:4-5 NIV)
Jesus' decision to ride down the middle of Jerusalem on a donkey was his purposeful fulfillment of this prophecy from Isaiah. He was telling everyone there that he was, indeed, the promised King. Hh offered many signs and other reasons to believe that he was the sent Messiah and King. Perhaps the most significant of the signs was his perfect walk together with the Father (God).
To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps. "He committed no sin (nothing to hide), and no deceit was found in his mouth (nothing hidden)." (1 Peter 2:21-22 NIV)
This picture of a perfect person, who had nothing hidden and nothing to hide, has never been seen throughout history since Adam and Eve were kicked out of the Garden of Eden. When they ate the forbidden fruit, they used fig leaves and nearby bushes to try and hide their nakedness because they now had something to hide. They had rebelled against God. They had sinned. Before that death-fruit eating event, though, Adam and Eve both experienced what it was to be Christ-like.
The man and his wife were both naked (nothing hidden), and they felt no shame (nothing to hide). (Genesis 2:25 TNIV)
How about you? Is Christ your example? Do you strive to be Christ-like? Do you let him be King in your life, leading you to righteousness, holiness, and peace? Do you, like Adam and Eve before their sin, have nothing hidden and nothing to hide?
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