Worthy of Praise

"Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!"
"Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!"
Luke 19:38 (NIV)

Do you feel the excitement?  The streets of Jerusalem found themselves full of such praise.  "Hosanna," that word of praise, literally means "save now."  Keep this in mind!  The people wanted Jesus to restore Israel and Jerusalem to a land of Zion.

The day was joyous.  Everything went according to plan.  Jesus instructed two of His disciples as to where and how they could acquire a colt.  They found the colt just as He said - tethered and ready.  Looking back on the occasion, those familiar with the Hebrew text, thought of several passages His actions fulfilled.  One rather interesting one is found in Genesis 49:10-11 . . .

10 The scepter will not depart from Judah,
    nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet,
until he to whom it belongs shall come
    and the obedience of the nations shall be his.
11 He will tether his donkey to a vine,
    his colt to the choicest branch;
he will wash his garments in wine,
    his robes in the blood of grapes.

While Jesus' choice of animals did point to humility and the unexpected nature of His fulfillment of the Messianic task, the donkey or colt also symbolized His ruling authority and His fulfillment of the promise to Judah.

Truly, no one except Jesus understood exactly what lay ahead; yet all saw the power of the moment.

Thousands of people poured into Jerusalem for the coming Passover.  Many of that number knew Jesus' ministry.  Those that did not experience His teaching and acts of wonder first-hand knew about Jesus due to the spreading word.  No one who feeds thousands or heals the lame goes unnoticed.

Prior to this day, many mourners watched as Jesus raised Lazarus from the grave.  Those "Hosannas" and "Blesseds" were shouted with voices fueled by amazement and wonder.  One can almost hear them say, "Certainly this man who raises from the dead comes in the name of the Lord."

The Father told the disciples to listen to Jesus.  Now came the opportunity for Jesus to listen.  How I imagine those words of praise rang splendidly in Jesus' ears!  How magnificent were the words of worship!

The one who humbled Himself by taking on flesh and coming to earth now, if only for a moment, listened to pure praise from the lips of those whom He came to save.

He is worthy of our praise!

Let Jesus hear your words.  Praise Him.

#ordinarylives