House of Hope Online

March 24, 2024

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Palm Sunday is one of my favorite days.  It is the day we commemorate the Triumphal Entry of Jesus into the praises of His people as He descended the Mount of Olives.   On that day, Jesus was publicly recognized as a King coming to save the people.  It was a day of great praise and worship.  It was also a day that Jesus showed Himself to be different than earthly kings, as He came to the people humbly mounted on a donkey.

The Lord has shown me today that Palm Sunday is a day full of prophetic symbolism that is very relevant to where we are today in this world.   The Triumphal Entry itself was fulfillment of Zechariah’s Old Testament prophecy.

Zechariah 9:

 9 ¶ Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout [in triumph,] O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your king is coming to you; He is just and endowed with salvation, Humble, and mounted on a donkey, Even on a colt, the foal of a donkey.

Matthew 21:

 6 And the disciples went and did just as Jesus had directed them,

 7 and brought the donkey and the colt, and laid on them their garments, on which He sat.

 8 And most of the multitude spread their garments in the road, and others were cutting branches from the trees, and spreading them in the road.

 9 And the multitudes going before Him, and those who followed after were crying out, saying, “Hosanna to the Son of David; BLESSED IS HE WHO COMES IN THE NAME OF THE LORD; Hosanna in the highest!”

The word “Hosanna” is an exclamation of praise and adoration for a saving King.  It is an expression of a people yearning to be saved.  In Romans 8, the Apostle Paul describes a yearning of the entire creation.

Romans 8:

 18 For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us.

 19 For the anxious longing of the creation waits eagerly for the revealing of the sons of God.

 20 For the creation was subjected to futility, not of its own will, but because of Him who subjected it, in hope

 21 that the creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God.

 22 For we know that the whole creation groans and suffers the pains of childbirth together until now.

Verse 18 points to the suffering of this present time.  I think all would agree that there is great suffering in the world today.  But Paul contrasts it with the glory that is going to be revealed.  Get that in your spirit – there is a coming revelation that we all are yearning for that is going to be revealed.  Paul indicates that the entire creation is yearning for this revelation, and to be set free from corruption into the freedom of the glory of God. 

I think that perfectly describes where we are today – mistrustful because of the widespread deception that permeates our world, and therefore longing for revelation and for freedom from slavery to corruption.  We all want to be free of corruption, so we yearn for a King who will free us.  We yearn not for an earthly king, but rather the King already chosen by the Father, the King who is coming to us once again.

Most are familiar with the Zechariah prophecy of the Triumphal Entry, but there is more to the Zechariah prophecy.  In the very next verse, He describes the Second Coming and what Jesus will do to end the darkness.

Zechariah 9:

 9 ¶ Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout [in triumph,] O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your king is coming to you; He is just and endowed with salvation, Humble, and mounted on a donkey, Even on a colt, the foal of a donkey.

 10 And I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim, And the horse from Jerusalem; And the bow of war will be cut off. And He will speak peace to the nations; And His dominion will be from sea to sea, And from the River to the ends of the earth.

Verse 9 says Jesus is “endowed with salvation,” so He came to save us and was adored as Savior on the first Palm Sunday.  But verse 10 is an end times prophecy referring to His Second Coming.  This King who came humbly on a donkey will also come again to cut off the chariot, and the weapons of war.  He will bring peace to a world engulfed in warfare.  He will conquer the corruption.  And His dominion, meaning His rule and reign, will be from sea to sea to the ends of the earth.

There is a yearning in my spirit, and a yearning in your spirit, to be free of the corruption in this world.  There is a yearning for a King of Righteousness to reign, just as the people yearned for King Jesus on the first Palm Sunday.  In fact, as Paul wrote in Romans 8, the entire creation yearns for it.  Jesus indicated as much in Luke’s description of the Triumphal Entry.

Luke 19:

 36 And as He was going, they were spreading their garments in the road.

 37 And as He was now approaching, near the descent of the Mount of Olives, the whole multitude of the disciples began to praise God joyfully with a loud voice for all the miracles which they had seen,

 38 saying, “BLESSED IS THE KING WHO COMES IN THE NAME OF THE LORD; Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!”

 39 And some of the Pharisees in the multitude said to Him, “Teacher, rebuke Your disciples.”

 40 And He answered and said, “I tell you, if these become silent, the stones will cry out!”

So, the people adored the Saving King Jesus, and the Pharisees, representing the religious antichrist spirit of the day, demanded an end to the praise.  But Jesus said essentially, even if the people became silent, the creation itself would cry out.

Closing

And so, on this Palm Sunday, and every day, let us yearn for our Saving King to return.  Let us sing hosannas to Him, let us praise and worship Him so fervently that the devil wants to quiet the creation.  This is what we were created to do.

Revelation 19:

 5 ¶ And a voice came from the throne, saying, “Give praise to our God, all you His bond-servants, you who fear Him, the small and the great.”

 6 And I heard, as it were, the voice of a great multitude and as the sound of many waters and as the sound of mighty peals of thunder, saying, “Hallelujah! For the Lord our God, the Almighty, reigns.

 7 “Let us rejoice and be glad and give the glory to Him, for the marriage of the Lamb has come and His bride has made herself ready.”

 8 And it was given to her to clothe herself in fine linen, bright [and] clean; for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints.

 9 And he *said to me, “Write, ‘Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.’” And he *said to me, “These are true words of God.”

Let us rejoice and be glad and give glory to Him, who is coming to rule the nations with a rod of iron.

Revelation 19:

 11 ¶ And I saw heaven opened; and behold, a white horse, and He who sat upon it [is] called Faithful and True; and in righteousness He judges and wages war.

 12 And His eyes [are] a flame of fire, and upon His head [are] many diadems; and He has a name written [upon Him] which no one knows except Himself.

 13 And [He is] clothed with a robe dipped in blood; and His name is called The Word of God.

 14 And the armies which are in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white [and] clean, were following Him on white horses.

 15 And from His mouth comes a sharp sword, so that with it He may smite the nations; and He will rule them with a rod of iron; and He treads the wine press of the fierce wrath of God, the Almighty.

 16 And on His robe and on His thigh He has a name written, “KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.”

God promises us the King of Kings, the Lord of Lords is coming to bring justice.  He is coming to smite the unbelieving nations that stand against Israel.  King Jesus’ name is called the Word of God.  He is Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and wages war.  How awesome it will be to have a Righteous Judge on the earth!

Let us pray.

Father God, we thank You for King Jesus, who is coming to us to rule and reign over all the nations.  Hosanna to our King!  Hosanna in the highest!  We yearn for Him to come.  We yearn for revelation.  We yearn to be free of this present darkness!  We humble ourselves in Your presence, and we pray for the bow of war to be cut off.  We yearn for His righteous dominion over the creation from sea to sea.  Let us rejoice and be glad and let us give glory to Jesus!  Amen.