Signs of spring are everywhere, new life sprouting and blossoming, from the greening of the trees to the gorgeous blankets of bluebonnets and Indian paintbrush here in Texas. And how glorious that as Easter approaches, the earth is coming alive with its vibrant beauty.
As I am writing this it is Palm Sunday, the day we remember Christ’s triumphal entry into Jerusalem, and the beginning of the most honored time in our Christian calendar, Holy Week. Jesus came seated on a lowly donkey, the crowds spreading out their cloaks and palm branches, crying out their welcome: “Hosanna! Hosanna in the highest, blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.” In the time of Jesus, it was customary to accompany pilgrims in joyful procession through the city and because many of these in the crowd had already heard of his last miracle, raising Lazarus from the dead, they were now thrilled to see this “son of David.”
Within a few days that welcome turned into cries of “crucify him.” As he rode into the city, he knew the cross awaited him, yet there was a deep anticipation of “the joy set before him (Heb. 12:2).” Christ humbled himself, even to this death on the Cross (Phil. 2:8) because He had come to do the Father’s will and take our judgment. In sacred fulfillment, one man suffered so that our sin is covered, our debt is redeemed, and we can be free! We can now sing with all our hearts:
“Hosanna! Hosanna! Come have your way among us.
We welcome you here Lord Jesus!”
This week we soberly remember the Garden of Gethsemane and the terrible crucifixion. And we joyfully remember the triumph of resurrection - for how could a tomb hold such life? Death could not claim him and keep him! The Holy Spirit raised Jesus from the dead, and this Spirit now lives within us who are his (Rom. 8:11). We receive both the cross and the resurrection, and we can know and cry out: “He is risen indeed.” In Him we live, alive with his vital existence, and carry His presence. So to the One who humbled himself, is now exalted, and will reign forever (Phil. 2:9-11) we cry “Hosanna” and “Alleluia,” and to one another we declare: “He is risen indeed!”
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