LESS COLOR.  NO FLOATS.  PALM BRANCHES -- ANOTHER PARADE

The Mardi Gras parade was about 35 minutes long.  It was colorful.  It was loud.  It was exciting.

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The next day the great crowd that had come for the festival heard that Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem.  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!” 

Jesus found a young donkey and sat on it, as it is written:  “Do not be afraid, Daughter Zion; see, your king is coming, seated on a donkey’s colt.”

John 12:12-15

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This is portrayed in movies as grand.  I am not sure you would call this a parade or even a processional.  One man, one donkey, palm branches and a great crowd. 

When I was a child, I figured Jesus rode the donkey because he was tired of walking.  Was I ever wrong!  But a donkey?

How did the Prophet Zechariah know about this?  It is written in Zechariah 9:9 that the king would come to Jerusalem, not only riding on a donkey, but righteous and victorious.  Still, why a donkey?  Surely a king would come to town in a Lamborghini Veneno or at least a Koenigsegg Regera.  But a donkey is such a lowly animal.  My goodness, the common people use donkeys!  Oh…..

The donkey is a symbol of peace.  A horse would be ridden by someone of wealth or a warrior.  A donkey would show Jesus was not here to fight a bloody battle.  Jesus embraced the poor and healed the sick.  He came to serve and save. 

That explains the donkey, but what about the palm branches?  Was some merchant in the right place at the right time and made a hefty profit?  Maybe. 

I went to a parade that celebrates by throwing beads.  When Jesus began his ride into Jerusalem, the people did what they always did.  They welcomed returning kings and war heroes with a path of palm branches.  The Romans honored champions of games and the military after successful campaigns with palm branches.  Palm branches would also have been a reminder of the Festival of Booths in Leviticus and Deuteronomy. 

I am sensing Jesus riding into Jerusalem was not a spontaneous action.  Like the Mardi Gras parade, there was a bit of planning in this entry into Jerusalem.  Maybe more than a bit.

There is one question: Who first shouted Hosanna?  How really cool is it that one person shouted Hosanna and then it became a chant of all?  They were praising ……

Wrong again.  Hallelujah is a declaration of praise.  Hosanna ----- Hosanna is a request.  Save us!  Deliver us!  We beg you!  They saw Him as their Messiah (Son of David) and they realized He could save them.  They wanted salvation!

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At first his disciples did not understand all this.  Only after Jesus was glorified did they realize that these things had been written about him and that these things had been done to him.

John 12:16

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This is portrayed in movies as grand.  I am not sure you would call this a parade or even a processional.  One man, one donkey, palm branches and a great crowd. 

When I was a child, I figured Jesus rode the donkey because he was tired of walking.  Was I ever wrong! 

HOSANNA

JESUS, I BEG YOU.  DELIVER ME.