Daily Devotion: April 6

Matthew 21:6-11
“The disciples went and did as Jesus had directed them. They brought the donkey and the colt and put on them their cloaks, and he sat on them. Most of the crowd spread their cloaks on the road, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. And the crowds that went before him and that followed him were shouting, “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!”  And when he entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred up, saying, “Who is this?” And the crowds said, “This is the prophet Jesus, from Nazareth of Galilee.”

We’ve been talking a lot on Sunday mornings about finding the real Jesus and relying upon His Holy Spirit for guidance and direction in every decision we make day to day. We will be looking at Jesus’ last week before His crucifixion and resurrection this week for our Daily Devotions and  today I want to briefly look at Jesus’ entrance into Jerusalem the week before He was crucified. Christians call this day “Palm Sunday” because we read in verse 8 that most of the crowd that gathered cut palm branches and laid them on the path as Jesus entered Jerusalem.  

As I read this scene, there is so much happening, and if I close my eyes, I can imagine a little of what this must have been like. I’m picturing a lot of chaos as crowds are gathering, people are shouting “Hosanna”, lining the path that Jesus is riding on with their cloaks, the Pharisee’s coming and yelling at the people to keep quiet. This was definitely different than most of Jesus’s other arrivals into Jerusalem where He didn't want to be noticed. On this day Jesus didn’t stop the crowds from gathering, from laying their cloaks and palm branches on the path (which was a sign of respect for a King), He doesn’t stop them from shouting “Hosanna” which means “save now” and He even went as far as saying if the people stopped shouting these things, even the very rocks would cry out! The reason was that this was His day. This was a fulfilment of Daniel’s 70 weeks in Daniel 9:24-27 and a fulfillment of Zech 9:9 as well.

What gets me as I think about this whole scene in all of it’s chaos, beauty and emotion is the fact that on the day where Jesus actually reveals Himself as Messiah and King, the day where He allows the people to say what they were saying, on that day when it should have been so clear, the people missed the real Jesus. They missed the fact that He was riding a colt, a beast of burden instead of a horse. They missed that He wasn’t riding into Jerusalem with His sword and His army ready to overthrow the Roman occupiers, they missed that instead of a prideful smirk, Jesus was weeping over them and their holy city. The signs were all there, that Jesus was not the type of King that they thought He was, and that He wasn’t going to do what they hoped for, but they couldn’t see it.  I pray that this week as I read the gospels, particularly as I read about the last week of Jesus’ life before He was crucified, that I wouldn’t let my own preconceived thoughts or my upbringing or even my denomination, influence who I see as the real Jesus. I want to know more of His love. His absolute authority over the world that He created.  His power to conquer sin and death. His life changing grace, and His ability to bring peace in the midst of chaos. And I pray that for you this week as well. I’m praying that you would be blown away by His presence, and the reality of who He is today and His desire to meet with you and reveal more of Himself to you.

FOR YOUR KIDS

Get to know your kids
  1. If you had a restaurant, what would you serve?
  2. If you were a dessert, what would you be?

Devotional Questions
  1. What do you think it was like seeing Jesus ride into town while everyone was cheering? What would you be thinking?
  2. What things make Jesus the real Jesus?
  3. Real Jesus List: Born of a virgin, lived a life without sin, did what the old testament said He would do, died for our sins, came back to life, is coming back one day.

Prayer
What do you need prayer for today?

Have Fun
Palm Sunday by Crossroad Kids
Youtube Link: https://youtu.be/lTmbTuutBgg

3 Comments


Faith welch - April 6th, 2020 at 10:44am

Thankyou all for taking the time and serving us by providing these devotions they are a way of keeping us all close Thankyou

David IVory - April 6th, 2020 at 10:52am

Pastor, I seek prayer today for my mother Doris Janis Hite. She is suffering from stage 2 Pancreatic Cancer. She is 80 yrs old. I know God has been good to allow her to live this long. I ask the Lord to extend her life for whatever number of months or years He allows, as she is a mother and great great grandmother to over 50 children. Your prayerz.would.be greatly appreciated! God Bless and I will continue to keep you in my prayers as well. 😔🙏🏿🙏🏿🙏🏿

Lane Sharman - April 6th, 2020 at 11:04am

So appreciate your ministry. We are praying for you and yours. Giv’em heaven

Recent

Archive

Tags