Today, if you will, allow the Holy Spirit to lead you, trusting that you are being led by a kind and loving Father. Allow for the gift of sight - sight that allows you to see differently, perhaps, than you may have seen until now.  As words are spoken, allow Jesus to be revealed to you in perhaps a new or deeper way.

Close your eyes, take a deep breath and relax in your seat. Thoughts about the day, the week, the year, demands of your life, your family, the person sitting next you - picture them on a plate. Imagine yourself handing that plate to Jesus. Pause for just a second in that exchange and notice His kind eyes and warm smile. Receive the comfort and the peace that comes with allowing Him to put all things in His perfect order for you. Now, with all in His hands, take another deep breath in and allow your mind and heart to be filled by what the Father has for you. Palm Sunday commemorates Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem as He was revealed as the long-awaited Messiah and King who came to rescue the nation of Israel.

SCRIPTURE:

John 12:1-11 (The Passion Translation)

¹ Six days before the Passover began, Jesus went back to Bethany, the town where he raised Lazarus from the dead. ² They had prepared a supper for Jesus^]Martha served, and Lazarus and Mary were among those at the table. ³ Mary picked up an alabaster jar filled with nearly a liter of extremely rare and costly perfume—the purest extract of nard, and she anointed Jesus’ feet. Then she wiped them dry with her long hair. And the fragrance of the costly oil filled the house.

⁹ When the word got out that Jesus was not far from Jerusalem, a large crowd came out to see him, and they also wanted to see Lazarus, the man Jesus had raised from the dead. ¹⁰ This prompted the chief priests to seal their plans to do away with both Jesus and Lazarus, ¹¹ for his miracle testimony was incontrovertible and was persuading many of the Jews living in Jerusalem to believe in Jesus.

From Luke 19:11-27 (The Passion Translation): On the day now known as Palm Sunday, Jesus had been teaching as usual. He had just finished a story about 3 men who had been given talents to look after while their master was away.

Luke 19:28-36 (The Passion Translation)

²⁸ Once His story was finished, Jesus headed straight for Jerusalem. ²⁹ When he arrived at the stables of Annia near the Mount of Olives, he sent two of his disciples ahead, saying, ³⁰ “When you enter the next village, you will find tethered there a donkey’s young colt that has never been ridden. Untie it and bring it to me. ³¹ And if anyone stops you and asks, ‘What are you doing?’ just tell them this: ‘It is needed for the Lord of All.’”  ³² The two who were sent entered the village and found the colt exactly like Jesus had said. ³³ While they were untying the colt, the owners approached them and asked, “What are you doing?” ³⁴ The disciples replied, “We need this donkey for the Lord of All,” so they let the disciples go. ^35–36 They brought the colt to Jesus. Then they placed their prayer shawls on its back, and Jesus rode it as he descended the Mount of Olives toward Jerusalem.

John 12:12-15 (The Passion Translation)

¹² News that Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem swept through the massive crowd gathered for the feast. ¹³ So they took palm branches and went out to meet him… ^14bThis was to fulfill what was prophesied: ¹⁵ “People of Zion, have no fear! Look—it’s your king coming to you riding on a young donkey!”

As he rode along, people spontaneously threw their prayer shawls on the path in front of him like a carpet.

Luke 19:37-44 (The Passion Translation)

³⁷ As soon as he got to the bottom of the Mount of Olives, the crowds of his followers shouted with a loud outburst of ecstatic joy over all the mighty wonders of power they had witnessed. ³⁸ They shouted over and over, “Highest praises to God for the one who comes as King in the name of the Lord! Heaven’s peace and glory from the highest realm now comes to us!” ³⁹ Some Jewish religious leaders who stood off from the procession said to Jesus, “Teacher, you must order your followers at once to stop saying these things!” ⁴⁰ Jesus responded, “Listen to me. If my followers were silenced, the very stones would break forth with praises!” ⁴¹ When Jesus caught sight of the city, he burst into tears with uncontrollable weeping over Jerusalem, ⁴² saying, “If only you could recognize that this day peace is within your reach! But you cannot see it. ⁴³ For the day is soon coming when your enemies will surround you, pressing you in on every side, and laying siege to you. ⁴⁴ They will crush you to pieces, and your children too! And when they leave, your city will be totally destroyed. Since you would not recognize God’s day of visitation, your day of devastation is coming!”

John 12:16-28 (The Passion Translation)

¹⁶ Now Jesus’ disciples didn’t fully understand the importance of what was taking place, but after he was raised and exalted into glory, they understood how Jesus fulfilled all the prophecies in the Scriptures that were written about him. ¹⁷ All the eyewitnesses of the miracle Jesus performed when he called Lazarus out of the tomb and raised him from the dead kept spreading the news about Jesus to everyone. ¹⁸ The news of this miracle of resurrection caused the crowds to swell as great numbers of people welcomed him into the city with joy. ¹⁹ But the Pharisees were disturbed by this and said to each other, “We won’t be able to stop this. The whole world is going to run after him!”

 

²⁰ Now there were a number of foreigners from among the nations who were worshipers at the feast. ²¹ They went to Philip (who came from the village of Bethsaida in Galilee) and they asked him, “Would you take us to see Jesus? We want to see him.” ²² So Philip went to find Andrew, and then they both went to inform Jesus. ²³ He replied to them, “Now is the time for the Son of Man to be glorified. ²⁴ Let me make this clear: A single grain of wheat will never be more than a single grain of wheat unless it drops into the ground and dies. Because then it sprouts and produces a great harvest of wheat—all because one grain died. ²⁵ “The person who loves his life and pampers himself will miss true life! But the one who detaches his life from this world and abandons himself to me, will find true life and enjoy it forever! ²⁶ If you want to be my disciple, follow me and you will go where I am going. And if you truly follow me as my disciple, the Father will shower his favor upon your life. ²⁷ “Even though I am torn within, and my soul is in turmoil, I will not ask the Father to rescue me from this hour of trial. For I have come to fulfill my purpose—to offer myself to God. ²⁸ So, Father, bring glory to your name!”

Our Response To The Word:

Trees blow in the wind and the sounds of their leaves clapping is audible, but rocks, well rocks just sit... still... seemingly silent. Ask yourself:

• Has my own heart become as one of them?
• Will the cries of the rocks of the hills lauding His lordship judge the silence of my own heart?
• Have I been and am I still willing to reduce myself and my own life to just a small grain, one that must die in order to find a life of abundance promised?
• Do my daily routines reflect a love for a King more than a love for my own domain?
• Is Jesus weeping over me today as He did over Jerusalem because of my blindness?

There's an invitation today to see more clearly. For the light to illuminate more than what we've seen. Father, turn on the light and allow our hearts to respond, we allow our lives to adjust because we want you to give us the tour of what's just been revealed. Write down things in your life that you want to sacrifice ownership of to give to God, and bring them to the throne of the King to invite His order in your life to bring abundance He promised.

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