“As they approached Jerusalem and came to Bethphage on the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples, saying to them, ‘Go to the village ahead of you, and at once you will find a donkey tied there, with her colt by her. Untie them and bring them to me. If anyone says anything to you, say that the Lord needs them, and he will send them right away.’
This took place to fulfill what was spoken through Isaiah the Prophet:
‘Say to Daughter Zion,
‘See, your King comes to you,
gentle and riding on a donkey,
and on a colt, the foal of a donkey.’
The disciples went and did as Jesus had instructed them. They brought the donkey and the colt and placed their cloaks on them for Jesus to sit on. A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, while others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. The crowds that went ahead of him and those that followed shouted,
‘Hosanna to the Son of David!’
‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!’
‘Hosanna in the highest heaven!”
(Matthew 21:1-11)
The Last return of Jesus to Jerusalem is reported in every one of the synoptic Gospels: (Matthew 21:1-11, Mark 11:1-10, Luke 19:28-44, and John 12:12-19)
THE HOSANNA CAPER
JESUS KNEW!
He knew that He would be a sacrifice that would bring forgiveness of all sins past, present, and future. He knew that the moment Holy Spirit descended on Him as a dove and anointed Him to begin His ministry, He would be tortured and die to pay for all sin so that whoever believes and believes in Him will be with Him forever because He loves each of us so much just as we are that He could not do without us whom He calls His glorious inheritance. His willingness to die the worst death any human ever could or would prove that incomprehensible, infinite, unconditional love.
Jesus was a threat to the sin and guilt- based religious industry then, as now. He was particularly dangerous to the religious rulers of that day.
During the three years of His ministry, He performed stunning miracles that the people knew about. He raised three people from the dead: The daughter of Jairus, the son of the wealthy widow, and Lazarus. He performed a miracle by causing a boat full of thirteen men to move eight miles from the middle of the Sea of Galilee to the shore at Capernaum. He healed all manner of diseases and cast out mighty demons, among others.
All of these things proved that He was God in the flesh. They all knew it. Nicodemus told Jesus that they knew who He was.
Jesus continually spoke of the sins and immorality of the Jewish leaders who were using their false piety and holiness to extort, repress, suppress, and oppress the children of God. Jesus demonstrated their wickedness and mocked their man-made ordinances. They, in turn, were continually setting traps for Him so that they could legally dispatch Him with extreme prejudice. Jesus stepped around all of them.
THE STRAW THAT BROKE THE DONKEY’S BACK
In order to fully understand the sequence of events that led to the end of Jesus’s earth suit, one needs to read and comprehend the eleventh and twelfth chapters of the Gospel of John.
The resurrection of Lazarus was the final straw. The people knew about it, and huge crowds spread the news. Now, there could be no doubt to anyone that Jesus was God. The Sanhedrin, the Pharisees, the Sadducees, the High Priests, and the Scribes all knew it. The people knew it, and they were accepting Jesus as the King of Israel, the descendant of David prophesied; they knew that Jesus was the one the Prophets had promised.
The Religious rulers knew that Jesus could destroy their business. In their warped minds, they had no option but to have the Romans kill Him by spinning the lie that He was an insurrectionist bent on overthrowing their government.
That is precisely what the people wanted. They wanted Jesus to overthrow and destroy the Roman government and the religious rulers of Israel and rule in their place.
So when Jesus entered Jerusalem riding the prophesied white donkey, they tried to seal the deal with the HOSANNA CAPER!
They shouted that word, meaning “save us”! They did not mean it in the sense of eternal salvation; they meant from those who rule over us. They waved palm branches at Jesus and proclaimed Him to be their new King. Which is exactly what those who were to destroy Him needed them to do.
The people, including those closest to Jesus, believed that at that very moment, Jesus would hear their cries and do what they wanted, overthrow the Jewish rulers and the occupying Roman government. After all, in their minds, He had the obvious power to free them once and for all. They had been dreaming of such a day since they chose to reject God for a King and Laws and placed themselves under the rule of others, not their God.
(1 Samuel: 7-8).
Now all the cards were on the table. The will of the rulers, the will of the people, and the will of God would determine what happened next.
I WANT WHAT I WANT WHEN I WANT IT!
Just five days later, when Jesus had not done what they wanted, the people demanded that the Romans kill Him.
The very people who shouted Hosanna and waved palm branches at Jesus traded His life for the life of a known murderer and thief, Barabbas.
They rejected the God that created them! They rejected eternal joy, and gladness, and the blessings promised by Jesus. They believed that Barabbas the Zionist would do for them what Jesus would not. They accepted a short-term answer and rejected eternal salvation.
Today, many reject the teachings and promises of Jesus because to accept them would mean to believe, and believe in a Jesus that they do not want. As sad and pitiful as it was then.
JESUS KNEW!
One of the most shocking facts about Jesus is that knowledge. He knew that His death by horrid torture was imminent. He could have run away or disappeared. He could have changed His appearance and gone to another country. But He chose to do what He was born to do. He voluntarily gave His life for your eternal life.
All He asks in return is that we believe and believe in Him, which is hard for our score-keeping flesh minds to accept, but it is the truth.
THAT IS ALL FOLKS, END OF TEACHING
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