Happy Palm Sunday this weekend! Have you ever thought a parade could bring hope? Until recently I had not. How do you think a parade might bring hope? What are parades for anyway? Why do a lot of towns have annual parades? Let me share with you what I’ve learned about parades and hope.
I have come to realize from centuries ago that parades were meant to celebrate things. There were parades celebrating soldiers who returned from a victory. There were parades to celebrating the coronation of a new King or Queen and parades to celebrating a good harvest.
Today we have parades to celebrate important events in a community. We have parades as part of a local festival. We have parades to celebrate our sport’s teams win of the world championship. There is a upcoming parade that will celebrate the coronation of King Charles III of Great Brittan.
I would like to look at three specific parades talked about in the Holy Bible. The first is the parade for David as he entered Jerusalem after slaying Goliath. David was greeted by the women of Jerusalem which caused King Saul to be jealous of David. The woman sang, “’Saul has struck down his thousands, and David his ten thousands.”” 1 Samuel 18:7b (ESV) None the less this is one of the celebrations of victory over the enemy. The other is the parade that occurred as a triumphal entry of the Ark of the Covenant as it entered the City of David. Read the whole story in 2 Samuel 6. In this parade David also caused strife between himself and his wife Michal. 2 Samuel 6:16 says, “As the ark of the Lord came into the city of David, Michal the daughter of Saul looked out of the window and saw King David leaping and dancing before the Lord, and she despised him in her heart.” (ESV) So some people reacted negatively to the triumphal entries of David which I believe represent the triumphal entry of the Messiah to come. The first representing Jesus’ victory over Satan and the second Jesus’ victory over sin represented by the Ark of the Covenant and the Mercy Seat that sits on top of it.
The third parade I want to look at is the one we continue to celebrate, Palm Sunday and the triumphal entry of Jesus the Messiah into Jerusalem found in Matthew 21. In this parade we see two different sets of people those who are celebrating and those who are not. As Jesus enters the City of Jerusalem there are the crowds celebrating and shouting ‘“Praise God for the Son of David! Blessings on the one who comes in the name of the Lord! Praise God in highest heaven!”” Matthew 21:9b (ESV)
Then there were others who were not celebrating and also were against the others celebrating. Matthew 21:10 tells me, “The entire city of Jerusalem was in an uproar as he entered. ‘Who is this?’ they asked.” (ESV) Luke expands on the story in Luke 19:39-40, “And some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to him, ‘Teacher, rebuke your disciples.’ He answered, “I tell you, if these were silent, the very stones would cry out.”’(ESV) The people both with King David and with Jesus had a choice to get hope from the parade or reject the hope from the parade. I believe that to get hope from the parade I need to fall into the group that is celebrating the event. So as Palm Sunday comes, I will be celebrating the coming of the Messiah. I hope you will also. If you do not have this kind of hope, then you can get it. It is easy all you have to do is believe in Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior.
I pray you will join in the parade to celebrate the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords Jesus Christ as we remember His triumphant entry into Jerusalem. This was the last step that concluded in His sacrificing Himself on the cross so that we might be saved and have true hope. Now you can trust the promises of God and realize the same hope that only comes from Jesus. It is through a relationship with God through Jesus that solves the problem of sin and brings us hope in the present and the future. I would also encourage you to seek Jesus for He is the only opportunity there is to have eternal life. This is to me the greatest source of hope. In doing so, I believe we will have hope and joy in our everyday lives. Understanding how Jesus Christ grants us access to eternal life, allows us to live in hope. “And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.” John 17:3 (ESV) At the same time understanding you will live eternally knowing the only true God and Jesus Christ will also bring you the greatest hope. Because of the death of Jesus Christ on the cross satisfied the penalty for sins. His payment satisfies all my sins from the past, the present and in the future. My penalty and yours was satisfied on the cross by the death of Jesus, God’s greatest act of love and wrath, who became sin for me and you. It was also God’s greatest act of faithfulness because “God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Romans 5:8 (ESV) Because holiness shows us, we need to believe in Jesus. I hope that you join me in helping others to choose Jesus.
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eBook or Audiobook versions can be found at Westbow Press or Christianbook.com at Amazon or Google.
