The next day a great multitude that had come to the feast, when they heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem, 13 took branches of palm trees and went out to meet Him, and cried out: “Hosanna! ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!’ The King of Israel!” 14 Then Jesus, when He had found a young donkey, sat on it; as it is written: 15 “Fear not, daughter of Zion; Behold, your King is coming, Sitting on a donkey’s colt.” 16 His disciples did not understand these things at first; but when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that these things were written about Him and that they had done these things to Him. (John 12:12-16 NKJV, emphasis added)
The next day after what? It was the day after Jesus had raised Lazarus from the dead, demonstrating that He was “The Resurrection and the Life.” Crowds had left Bethany, where Lazarus lived, to return to Jerusalem for the Passover feast. The rulers were plotting to kill him and instructed anybody who knew where Jesus was to inform them. However, others who heard Jesus was coming to Jerusalem began to take branches from palm trees and cry, “Hosanna! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!”
But many were singing because they had seen Lazarus raised from the dead (Luke 19:37), not because they understood that Jesus was the Resurrection and the Life who was about to go to the Cross and rise again. Today, many will celebrate Palm Sunday. Will they really get the meaning of the celebration? Back then, many jumped on the proverbial bandwagon with branches but didn’t understand why Jesus had entered the city or that it was a fulfillment of prophecy.
Today, we celebrate Jesus’ power and strength to enter the city to face the Cross. We celebrate the fulfillment of prophecy.
Jesus wasn’t on a donkey for no reason–he was headed somewhere. He was headed to the Cross, and as he entered the city, he wept for it, saying, “You did not recognize the time of God’s coming to you” (Luke 19:44 NIV). The KJV says, “Thou knewest not the time of thy visitation.” Isn’t it possible he was thinking, “You could have enjoyed my goodness while I was here, but now I’m headed to the Cross, and though I rise, many of you still will not believe. You have missed it!”
His weeping and the adults’ empty hosannas beg the question, “Do we understand the time and season we are in?” This week is a time when God wants to visit many, redeem them from sickness by the blood of Jesus, work miracles, and reveal Himself through His Son, Jesus. But will anybody recognize the time of visitation?
We are in the month of Adar, a month of power, strength, and victory from determined death. We commemorate the victory over Haman’s wicked plot against the Jews in the Book of Esther. Still, we must remember that the Resurrection of Jesus is the most excellent divine turnaround in history.
If we open our hearts to all this season and this Holy Week has to offer, we can experience divine turnarounds and encounter Jesus in a new and living way.
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Lenita is the senior pastor of Action Chapel Baltimore and Action Chapel North Carolina churches, under the covering of Archbishop N. Duncan-Williams, who ordained her into the ministry. She is an author of nine books, international speaker, founder of PrayerWatch with Pastor Lenita, and creator of the Purpose/full Institute, which helps people discover and hone their divine purpose. She is a former Accenture consultant with college teaching experience, professional instructional design experience, a member of the RAINN speaker’s bureau, a trained pastoral counselor, and a Christian International/Bishop Hamon authorized prophetic instructor. Sign up to connect, receive more blog posts, and updates on courses, books, and events.