Red Letters: Undeniable | Palm Sunday - Pastor Josiah Elias

"Hosanna! Hosanna!" It is Palm Sunday. Zechariah 9:9 predicted

the coming of the King.

“Rejoice greatly, Daughter of Zion!

Shout, Daughter of Jerusalem!

See your king comes to you,

righteous and victorious,

lowly and riding on a donkey,

on a colt, the foal of a donkey.” (NIV)

The prophecy was made hundreds of years before Jesus rode on

the donkey into Jerusalem, and He fulfilled it. Josh Munoz

reminded us,

”The Lord wants us to catch a glimpse of Him. Set your eyes on

the Lord.” When you have set your eyes on Him, have you made

Him Savior? Is Jesus your Lord?

Pastor Josiah shared that our mission is to culture like Christ, and

our vision is Jesus. Then he asked, ”Why is today special?” He

answered through the reading from Matthew 21:1-3 where Jesus

instructed two disciples to go to the nearby village.

”As soon as you enter it, you will see a donkey tied there,

with its colt beside it. Untie them and bring them to me. If

anyone asks what you are doing, just say, ’The Lord needs

them.’” (NLT)

He’s intentionally fulfilling prophecy from Zechariah 9:9.

Instead of riding on a large warhorse, Jesus rode on a humble

donkey.

After Jesus healed a person in the Jewish-controlled areas, He

warned her/him not to talk about the healing. That would have

limited His ability to get around with the crowds following Him. In

contrast, Palm Sunday was the time to shout, “Hosanna.” “Tell

the people of Jerusalem, ’Look, your King is going to you. He

is humble, riding on a donkey-riding on a donkey’s colt.’”

Matthew 21:5 (NLT) The donkey was a sign of peace.

Oppressed by the Romans the Israelites wanted a conquering

king to overthrow the Romans. However, Jesus came to declare

war on sin and all its fallout. He was on a mission to get you

reconciled with the Father. Jesus knew as He rode on the donkey,

He was riding to His death. It did not deter Him because He was

obsessed with you and bringing you back to Jehovah! He was

beckoning you and was on a mission to defeat death, hell, and

sin. He fought a battle on His donkey. Jesus claimed authority

through humility. This is Jesus.

After the two disciples procured the donkey, “Most of the crowd

spread their garments on the road ahead of him, and others

cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road.”

Matthew 21:8 (NLT) A similar scene is described in Revelation 7.

”Great multitude which no one could count from every nation

and all the tribes, peoples, and languages, standing before

the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, and

palm branches were in their hands…” Revelation 7:9 (NASB)

The palm branches at the Triumphant Entry was a dress

rehearsal of an eternal, heavenly praise. In Matthew 21, people

honored Jesus and called Him “Son of David.” Matthew 21:9

(NLT) That is a messianic term. “Messiah-Heb-Mashiach-

anointed One (Grk.-Christ)" The image of Jesus riding on a

donkey contrasted with the image of Jesus in Revelation 1 where

Jesus had eyes like flames of fire; feet like burnished bronze; “out

of His mouth came a sharp two edged sword; and His face

was like the sun shining in its strength.” Revelation 1:16

(NASB) Jesus continued, ”Do not be afraid; I am the first and

the last, and the living One; I was dead and behold I am alive

forevermore, and I have the keys of death and of Hades.”

Revelation 1:17b-18 (NASB) Jesus the Messiah is the everlasting

One.

In Luke 19:37b, the people praised the Lord “for all the

wonderful miracles” they had seen. (NLT) The miracles were

tied to the fact that He was God. These miracles included the

blind seeing; the lame walking; the deaf hearing. “And the Good

News is being preached to the poor.” Luke 7:21 (NLT) Jesus

carried the divine character of God to them and does the same for

us today. The kind of miracles He performed validated His

declaration of Messiahship.

After Jesus called Lazarus out of the grave, many people went

out to see Him. The miracles are what made what He was

saying so undeniable. Words coupled with actions make an

impact. That is what Jesus did, and that is what He wants us to

do-proclaim and demonstrate.

The Paramount point is Undeniable. Jesus is the Messiah who

came to earth, lived, died and rose again to save us from our sins.

May we live that truth and share it with others so that we are light

and salt in this troubled world.

Submitted by

Larry and Annette Linthicum