Palm Sunday is a Christian celebration that marks the beginning of the Holy Week leading to Easter Sunday. Each and every day of this upcoming week has significance that many do not know or understand and I will do my best to clarify the importance of each day. Today commemorates Jesus’ triumphant entrance into Jerusalem when people laid down palms branches and clothing on the road before him as a sign of honor. It is written in *John 12:12 The next day a great multitude that had come to the feast, when they heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem, 13 took branches of palm trees and went out to meet Him, and cried out: “Hosanna! ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!’ The King of Israel!” The palm branch represented goodness and victory and was symbolic of the final victory Jesus would soon fulfill over death. When the people shouted “Hosanna!” they were hailing Christ as King. Hosanna means “Pray, save us now,” and though in their minds, they waited for an earthly king, God had a different way of bringing true salvation to all who would trust in Him. There was joy among the people of Israel on the first day of that week when Jesus rode into Jerusalem humbly on a colt.  The people had waited all their lives for their promised Messiah and on that day they knew that it was Jesus. Since becoming a Christian I have tried to imagine what it must have been like on that Palm Sunday when Jesus rode triumphantly into Jerusalem. What made the people so happy and joyful? Was it just that they expected Jesus to free them from the Romans? Did they have any understanding on how He would help them triumph over sin and death? What exactly made them so happy to have Jesus there in Jerusalem on that specific day? One thing that many did not comprehend was that Jesus had not come to be king of the land, but He came to be the King of their hearts. Today is a reminder for all people to welcome Jesus into their hearts and to be willing to surrender to His Lordship and follow Him wherever He guides them. One thing that brings conflicted emotions to me is that when Jesus rode into Jerusalem on that Sunday afternoon, He began His journey to the cross. As we reflect on the first Palm Sunday, let it be a remembrance that the world has witnessed the arrival of our King and may we receive our King according to God’s plan and purpose. My beloved, as we walk through this coming week, may we remember the Lord’s good work, and pray for those who do not know Jesus. May we be bold to help them to understand the two-fold mission of God, that Jesus came first as the sacrificial Lamb and He will come again as the ruling King, the Lion of the Tribe of Judah, when no one will want to stand before the Lion without the blood of the Lamb covering them. Everyone of us is faced with the question that Jesus asks in the silence of the human heart, that silence that looms between the shouts of “Hosanna” and the cries of “Crucify him!” Will you allow “Me” (Jesus) to be your Lord over all and Savior of your soul, or will you choose eternal destruction? May we all reflect upon what is written in *2 Corinthians 6:2 For He says: “In an acceptable time I have heard you, And in the day of salvation I have helped you.” Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.* In Christ Love, douglas. HE>i. pastord.blog

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