Mar 28 - "The Sweet Ain't as Sweet without the Bitter"

Zechariah 9:9-12
"Rejoice greatly, O daughter Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter Jerusalem! Lo, your king comes to you; triumphant and victorious is he, humble and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey."
**********************
What a wonderful image we have today! Christ enters Jerusalem today as a king. He ministry has reached its crescendo and thousands rejoice at His magnificent yet humble entry through the city gates. The question is, to what event has He so triumphantly arrived?

As I have grown older, the feelings I have on this day have changed. I used to look at Palm Sunday as this big, exciting event where Jesus comes into Jerusalem like a king. I loved getting the palms at church, waving them around in the air. As we left church on this day, I knew we were only one week away from the Easter Bunny's arrival with baskets of goodies and a fun day spent with family.

For me now, it is the beginning of a week filled with a melancholic rise and fall. In the coming days, we will watch Jesus humbly serve His friends, washing their feet. We will sit with Jesus at a simple meal, creating a ceremony of remembrance. He will go to the Garden at Gethsemane, be taken in and beaten. We will stand in a crowd and shout "Crucify Him!!". Our Lord will trudge these same streets through which He rides in glory today, bearing a crushing cross, His body bleeding and broken. Even though I know how the story ends next Sunday, I still know the pain of the coming week.

I imagine Jesus felt the same way. He knew this entry into Jerusalem was a celebration based on Man's standards, not on God's. The waving palms were beckoning Him to His temporary demise. He could likely see the Pharisees standing in the back of the crowd, talking with the Roman authorities, convincing them that this man of no account from the backwater town of Nazareth was putting Himself above Caesar. Maybe He caught a glimpse of His friend Judas down a dark alley, accepting a bag of silver. He sees all of this and knows what is to come over the next week. Yet, perhaps there is gleam in His eye, the corner of one side of His mouth upturned into a slight knowing smile. He knows how the story will end.

But, dear friends, just because we know there is pain ahead it does not mean we can't enjoy the triumphant entry of Jesus into Jerusalem on this day. Place yourself in the crowd, just inside one of Jerusalem's imposing gates. You are surrounded by the blind who can now see, the lame who can now walk, the diseased who are now clean. On your left and right are those who drank the sweet wine at the wedding of Cana; those who broke bread with the 5,000. Everyone is filled with great joy seeing the Man we have come to know and love being praised as a king.

So, sing with joy today! Praise the arrival of your King into the ancient city. Celebrate with those He has healed and made whole. Emmanuel...God with us...Messiah has come!