Zechariah prophesied 500 years prior: “Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your King is coming to you; He is just and having salvation, Lowly and riding on a donkey, A colt, the foal of a donkey”. Matthew records the fulfillment, “They brought the donkey and the colt, laid their clothes on them, and set Him on them. And a very great multitude spread their clothes on the road; others cut down branches from the trees and spread them on the road. Then the multitudes who went before and those who followed, cried out, saying: ‘Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD! Hosanna in the highest!’
Yet Jesus is less than a week from being betrayed, beaten, and crucified. He is 5 days from “Hosanna” to “Crucify Him.” 5 days is all it took for people to change their minds and turn their backs on the One worshipped. His triumphal entry into Jerusalem marked the beginning of the ending of His earthly days. All the prophecies of His birth and death culminate there in the streets of Jerusalem. Even that day; Palm Sunday is the fulfillment of the Daniel’s “seventy sevens” prophecy: “Know therefore and understand, That from the going forth of the command to restore and build Jerusalem until Messiah the Prince, There shall be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks; The street shall be built again, and the wall, Even in troublesome times” Daniel9:25
He came heralded by angels. He left in the mire of man’s ridicule. He was born to die. He was given to give His life. He entered this day riding on a mule, but in a short period of time He will re-enter the same streets carrying an 80 lb. crossbeam and indeed the weight of the world on His shoulders. He is Jesus. The Messiah. Hosanna in the Highest.
Pastor Jeffrey Harpole