Weekend Words

 From Our Daily Bread...

A King on a Donkey - Read Matthew 21:1-11

"See, your king comes to you, gentle and riding on a donkey." (Matthew 21:5)

It was Sunday - the day we now call Palm Sunday.  Without a doubt, this wasn't Jesus' first visit to Jerusalem.  As a devout Jew, He would have gone to the city every year for the three great feast (Luke 2:41-42; John 2:13; 5:1).  In the past three years, Christ had also ministered and taught in Jerusalem.  But this Sunday His coming into the city was radically different.

By riding a young donkey into Jerusalem at a time when thousands of worshipers were coming to the city, Jesus was the center of attention (Matthew 21:9-11).  Why would He take the place of prominence before thousands of people when for the past three years He'd deliberately kept a low profile?  Why would He accept the people's proclamation that He was King just five days before His death?

Matthew says that this took place to fulfill a five-hundred-year-old prophecy (Matthew 21:4-5) that God's chosen king would come into Jerusalem "righteous and victorious, (yet) lowly and riding on a donkey" (Zechariah 9:9, see also Genesis 49:10-11).

This was a truly unusual way for a triumphant king to enter a city.  Conquering kings usually rode on mighty stallions.  But Jesus didn't come riding a warhorse.  This reveals what kind of King Jesus is.  He came in meekness and lowliness.  Jesus came not for war, but for peace, establishing peace between God and us (Acts 10:36; Colossians 1:20).

K. T. Sim

What kind of king is Jesus to you today?

How can you honor Him as your King?

Jesus, thank you for coming into Jerusalem to reveal Your mighty and humble ways.  Fill my heart with your peace. 

*****

From Beside the Still Waters...

Jesus Knowing All Things - Read: John 13:1-5, 16:25-55

"Jesus knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he was come from God, and went to God..." - John 13:3

How would it be if we knew beforehand the things that are going to take place?  Would we try to rearrange matters to suit ourselves, and especially to remove unpleasant experiences that call for self-sacrifice?  We can clearly see that Jesus struggled with submitting to death on the cross when he prayed in the garden, "Let this cup pass from me."  We also see His submission to the will of God in His words, "Not my will, but thine, be done."  Hebrews 12:2 tells us that Jesus endured the cross "for the joy that was set before him."

Jesus knew that He had come from God.  This did not cause Him to lift Himself up in pride or to seek a reputation; rather, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the will of God.  Jesus also knew that all things had been given into His hands, which means the choice was His concerning the use of legions of angels, the full finishing of the salvation of souls, and the endurance of intense suffering.  He knew who would betray Him and told Judas to do it "quickly."  Jesus always leaves the choice of life or death, blessing or cursing, to every man.

Once we know the will of God, we need to yield ourselves to it.  We do not have foreknowledge as Jesus did, but we do have the same choice to rebel or submit to God's will as He did.  And just as it was for Him, we find peace in submission, and joy in victory over evil.  And we look forward to heaven in the end!

Daniel Stauffer - Ephrata, PA

Blessed are all who willingly learn obedience through suffering.