Jesus the Son of God became the son of man, so that we as sons of men might become sons of God!

Palm Sunday is the traditional beginning of what is called the Holy Week. We celebrate a man named Jesus, Who is God Himself. He came to earth in human form, lived a sinless life and willingly went to the cross to take on our sin and die for us.

This coming Friday is what we refer to as Good Friday. It is the day that Jesus was crucified. Why would anyone call this “good?” It is because He took our sin, hung in our place, and paid our debts. We now have our sins forgiven and we have a relationship with God. This certainly is “good!”

Next Sunday we will celebrate Easter, which is the Resurrection of Jesus Christ!

“Now when they drew near Jerusalem, to Bethphage and Bethany, at the Mount of Olives, He sent two of His disciples; and He said to them, “Go into the village opposite you; and as soon as you have entered it you will find a colt tied, on which no one has sat. Loose it and bring it. And if anyone says to you, “Why are you doing this?’ say, ‘The Lord has need of it,’ and immediately he will send it here.”So they went their way, and found the colt tied by the door outside on the street, and they loosed it. But some of those who stood there said to them, “What are you doing, loosing the colt?”

And they spoke to them just as Jesus had commanded. So they let them go. Then they brought the colt to Jesus and threw their clothes on it, and He sat on it. And many spread their clothes on the road, and others cut down leafy branches from the trees and spread them on the road. Then those who went before and those who followed cried out, saying: “Hosanna! ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD!’ Blessed is the kingdom of our father David That comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!”” And Jesus went into Jerusalem and into the temple. So when He had looked around at all things, as the hour was already late, He went out to Bethany with the twelve.
(Mark 11:1–11 NKJV)

The above event is a Big Deal! This was the first time since the beginning of His ministry that Jesus had returned to Jerusalem. There were huge crowds crying out “Hosanna” or “Here He comes!” His reputation had preceded Him before His arrival in Jerusalem. Without Twitter, text messaging, emails and Facebook, the word had gotten out that he healed the sick, taught, fed the hungry and raised the dead. In fact, Lazarus had just been raised from the dead the week before. They cried with excitement “He’s the One!” and “He’s the One?” They certainly wanted Him to be the One because they were under Rome’s heavy hand of oppression. They were hopeful that He had come to set up a new kingdom.

Jerusalem was the most holy of cities and the temple was the heart of Jewish worship. It was Passover, the feast of all feasts, and thousands had come to Jerusalem to celebrate. Jerusalem was packed and pumped and electrifying.

Jesus knew that this would be the climax and fulfillment of His ministry. He had prepared for this moment like an athlete trains for their big event. Jesus had been telling His disciples all along that everything He did, taught and was about, was moving toward Jerusalem. We can see this in the following Scriptures:

Now it came to pass, when the time had come for Him to be received up, that He steadfastly set His face to go to Jerusalem, 
(Luke 9:51 NKJV)

Jesus went through the towns and villages, teaching as he went, always pressing on toward Jerusalem. 
(Luke 13:22 NLT-SE)

Then He took the twelve aside and said to them, “Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and all things that are written by the prophets concerning the Son of Man will be accomplished. For He will be delivered to the Gentiles and will be mocked and insulted and spit upon. They will scourge Him and kill Him. And the third day He will rise again.
(Luke 18:31–33 NKJV)

Jesus had been moving toward Jerusalem His whole life! His single mission was that He was born to die! This is where His mission would be fulfilled. Jesus was totally focused on this. We tend to miss this with the clouding of bunnies and eggs. There is nothing wrong with chocolate bunnies on Easter, but don’t miss the real story.

It was the beginning of Holy Week and this is the most important week in the history of the human race! As Jesus enters Jerusalem, the crowd goes nuts. They say “Hosanna” which is a praise and declaration that can be translated “Save we pray” or “There He is!” This is the One who has come in the Name of the Lord. Spontaneously, they put clothes, blankets and cut branches on the road. They do this to welcome, invite, and celebrate “there He is!” This was an act of honor similar to rolling out the red carpet today.

There was expectation that Jesus would fix things for them. Times were difficult under Roman oppression. They were hungry and Jesus had multiplied food. They were weak, tired and sick and He had healed the sick and raised the dead. They were afraid and He spoke of peace. They needed help and He might set them free from Rome!