A Celebration and Sobering Reminder

Today is known as Palm Sunday. It is the day Jesus arrives at Jerusalem, and as he comes down off the Mount of Olives, people lay their blankets before him and cry out praises for the arrival of a new king. All this is a fulfillment of the prophecy in Zechariah 9:9;

Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your king is coming to you; righteous and having salvation is he, humble and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.

The salvation he bore though was not what Israel desired. They wanted deliverance from Roman rule, to be their own kingdom again. The salvation Jesus brought was much greater and something we should celebrate on this Palm Sunday.

But in the midst of this great celebration comes a sobering reminder – the nature and gravity of our sin. In just a matter of days the people who are proclaiming and celebrating the arrival of Jesus will desert him. Others will turn against him. And many will call out “crucify him.” It is an important reminder of how our sin and selfish desires can blind us to the mind, will, and love of God.

May this day be one of celebration and thanksgiving to God for saving us, for opening our eyes to see his salvation, and our minds for understanding it, and our hearts for responding positively to it.