A Resurrection Day Meditation
“Rejoice greatly, O Daughter of Zion! Shout, Daughter of Jerusalem! See, your king comes to you, righteous and having salvation, gentle and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.”
(Zec 9:9)“Are you the king of the Jews?” asked Pilate. “Yes, it is as you say,” Jesus replied.
(Mark 15:2)
I write this on Palm Sunday, the day we remember when Jesus made a triumphal entry into the Jerusalem. It is estimated that over a million pilgrims and residents[1] were there in the city for the coming Passover and Feast of Unleavened Bread. (Mk 14.1) As Jesus approached, the people shouted:
9 Those who went ahead and those who followed shouted, “Hosanna!” “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!”
10 “Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David!” “Hosanna in the highest!”
Mark 11.9-10
Why were the people so excited? What was it that seemed to put electricity in the air? In short, it was the messianic hope of the people. The people recognized Jesus as the son of David. They knew the messiah would be the son of David. They also knew the prophecy in Zechariah about the messiah coming on a donkey. Perhaps most of all, they were all aware of the King David, whose military career was not only legendary, but they assumed such exploits would be repeated by the messiah to come since he would be the “son of David”. Even in David’s day the people chanted about his prowess in battle: Continue Reading
