“What are they saying?” she asked her friend.

“It’s him. It must be him!” the girl’s companion said as she bolted in the direction of the noise. “The Lord is here!”

The teenager followed her older friend. As they pressed against the growing crowd, she noticed varied reactions to the scene ahead.

Some laughed, pointing their fingers at the absurdity of the scene. Others jumped in excitement: “He has finally come to end Rome’s tyranny! Hallelujah!” a young man exclaimed. Taking their outer garments, some people laid them on the road, bowing in reverence — a well-known gesture in ancient eastern cultures of surrender to authority.

The shouts were now abundantly clear:

“Hosanna to the Son of David; blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord; Hosanna in the highest!”

The words, a familiar quote from the book of Psalms, speak of Messiah as the mighty Savior of Israel: Hosanna meaning, “save us now, we beseech thee!”

She also recognized the scene — a perfect portrayal of an age-old prophecy given by the prophet Zechariah:

“Behold, your king is coming to you; he is just and endowed with salvation, humble, and mounted on a donkey, even on a colt, the foal of a donkey.”

She slowed her pace to cut a branch from one of the nearby trees. Pressing her way through the crowd, she gently lowered it to the ground, just in time. Jesus looked at her and smiled, and her heart took a leap. She never saw such tenderness and love.

“Hosannah!” she cried, eyes locked on Messiah’s face as he rode by her: “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord; Hosanna in the highest!”

The scene is a deliberate allegory, created in my mind as I imagined myself amid the crowd that greeted Jesus as he entered Jerusalem in the week of Passover, six days before his crucifixion. Christians call it Palm Sunday, and it marks the beginning of the Holy Week’s festivities, which culminate on Easter Sunday, one week from Sunday.

The triumphal entry is described in all four gospels in detail. Even though we know that Jesus entering Jerusalem as the promised Messiah created a stir that propelled the Pharisees to become even more determined to kill him, there is no question that the evident portrayal of prophecy brought a significant surge of hope among the people.

They had heard his powerful teachings and witnessed his miracles for three years. He healed the sick, showed authority over nature, and even brought dead people back to life. He was followed by many, some surrendering everything they had to follow Christ.

Later that week, when Jesus gathered with the disciples to eat the Passover meal, we read how each of them, starting with Peter, vowed never to leave Jesus’ side. But standing on the other side of the resurrection, we know better.

As Jesus prophesied that very night, Peter denied knowing Him three times before daybreak. All His disciples either ran away or watched his trial and crucifixion from a distance. Likewise, many of those who waved branches and sang “Hosanna” as Jesus entered Jerusalem were the same people shouting “Crucify Him” before Pontius Pilate less than a week later.

The account makes us realize something sinister, however accurate, about human nature. Our faith, convictions, and love for God can sometimes easily succumb to the fire of opposition or self-preservation.

Our faith, convictions, and love for God can sometimes easily succumb to the fire of opposition or self-preservation. @ajc #HolyWeek #Easter #GoodFriday #TuesdayDevotional
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Indeed, if we are honest, some of us can fully empathize with Peter’s denial of his Savior. Once, we walked beside him, learning from him and even experiencing his miraculous deliverance in our lives. And yet, this Holy Week, we may find ourselves aloof, lacking the fire that once drove us to walk in victory because we knew that our savior lives and reigns.

Indeed, if we are honest, some of us can fully empathize with Peter’s denial of his Savior.@ajc #HolyWeek #Easter #GoodFriday #TuesdayDevotional
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If that is you today, may the account of the beginning of Holy Week remind you that the same eyes that greeted the people of Israel with love and grace, even though he knew they would betray him, wants to rekindle your faith once again.

Easter — the season of new beginnings. What a perfect time to recommit to follow the Savior faithfully, unwavering, and no matter the cost.

Easter — the season of new beginnings. What a perfect time to recommit to follow the Savior faithfully, unwavering, and no matter the cost. #HolyWeek #Easter #GoodFriday #TuesdayDevotional
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This article was originally published in Patricia’s column for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution on Saturday, March 27, 2021. Click HERE to read it on the AJC’s website.

The post Holy Week – A Time for New Beginnings {The Atlanta Journal-Constitution} appeared first on Soaring With Him Ministries.

History is not left without certain data which give us a fair estimate of the actual number of people flooding Jerusalem for the most anticipated annual Jewish feast. According to the Roman historian Josephus, 256,500 lambs were sacrificed that year. Even at the very low estimate of 10 people to each lamb, the number of people assembled would have amounted to almost 2,700,000. That number does not even include the people who were present, but unable to be partakers in the sacrifice due to impurities ascribed by ceremonial laws.

Indeed, the astounding crowd represented nearly half of the population of Galilee and Judea. In other words, a large representation of the Jewish nation witnessed the popular, yet controversial Prophet entering the capital, riding, not upon a war-horse, but on a donkey, which was a symbol of peace.

The men and women who followed Jesus and witnessed his many miracles recognized the incident as a fulfillment of messianic prophecy. They responded by reciting the famous words: “Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest heaven!”

Shouts of joy echoed throughout the hills and valleys of Jerusalem in response to Jesus’ presentation of Himself as King. However, as one studies the gospels, Jesus’ reaction as He saw the city from a distance looks nothing like the portray of a joyous king. Rather, according to Luke’s account in his gospel, when Jesus approached Jerusalem, where He would be crucified that Friday, He was moved to tears.

“He saw the city and wept over it,” Scripture says. He wept because the people received none of the spiritual blessings that He had come to offer and thus, judgment would come. While wailing in anguish, Christ delivered the prophecy concerning the destruction of his beautiful Jerusalem. The prophecy was fulfilled less than 40 years later, when the Romans besieged the city under the leadership of Titus, leveling buildings, the holy temple and most of the city wall. Over than 600,000 Jews died in the aftermath.

But I imagine Jesus’ sadness as he entered Jerusalem was also in response to a more personal understanding. He knew that the multitudes that waved palm leaves and praised God for the long-awaited Messiah would soon be shouting “Crucify him!”

Close friends — witnesses and recipients of many miracles, who feasted on the bread of life He offered — would soon desert, betray or deny Him. And many of those who welcomed Him would soon cast the votes which would send Him to the cross.

The foreknowledge of the pain of betrayal by those He loved… Could that have been yet a deeper sorrow, hidden behind the tears shed by the Christ? Could the emotional pain be what pierced His heart deeper than the nails driven into His hands and feet?

The foreknowledge of the pain of betrayal by those he loved… Could that have been yet a deeper sorrow, hidden behind the tears shed by the Christ? #MondayDevotional #HolyWeek #PalmSunday
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I believe so. Anyone who has experienced severe physical pain, as well as deep emotional sorrow, understands this truth: Nothing hurts quite as deep as the pain of betrayal. Whether it is the betrayal of a spouse, friend, sibling or child, nothing hurts quite as much or leaves uglier scars.

The knife in our back, driven by someone whom we shared our deepest secrets with…

The physical or emotional abuse promulgated by the most unnatural source – a parent or a spouse…

Things that leave us with scars that never disappear, much like the ones the resurrected Savior showed His disciples on his nail-pierced hands.

And yet, as He hung on the cross, He cried: “Forgive them, Father. For they know not what they are doing.”

His heart released the betrayer, even before Judas kissed his cheek. His loving eyes reached Peter, even before the rooster crowed that third time.

Jesus' heart released the betrayer, even before Judas kissed His cheek. His loving eyes reached Peter, even before the rooster crowed that third time. #HolyWeek #Easter
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And as Palm Sunday arrives tomorrow, and I gladly join the crowd singing Hosanna to my king, His tears on Jerusalem’s hilltop serve as a reminder that the Man of Sorrows understands each time our hearts are broken, and offers us the grace and strength to forgive those who hurt us, yet again.

This article was originally published in Patricia’s column for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution on Saturday – April 12, 2019. 

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The post A Reflection on the Pain of Betrayal – LINKUP {The Atlanta Journal Constitution – Palm Sunday} appeared first on Soaring With Him Ministries.