PALM SUNDAY
Six days before the Passover, Jesus came to Bethany where Lazarus was, the one Jesus had raised from the dead. …Then a large crowd of the Jews learned he was there. They came not only because of Jesus but also to see Lazarus, the one he had raised from the dead. But the chief priests had decided to kill Lazarus also, because he was the reason many of the Jews were deserting them and believing in Jesus.
John 12:1; 9-11
…he went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem. As he approached Bethphage and Bethany, at the place called the Mount of Olives, he sent two of the disciples and said, “Go into the village ahead of you. As you enter it, you will find a colt tied there, on which no one has ever sat. Untie it and bring it. If anyone asks you, ‘Why are you untying it?’ say this: ‘The Lord needs it.’”
So those who were sent left and found it just as he had told them. As they were untying the colt, its owners said to them, “Why are you untying the colt?” “The Lord needs it,” they said. Then they brought it to Jesus, and after throwing their clothes on the colt, they helped Jesus get on it.
As he was going along, they were spreading their clothes on the road. Now he came near the path down the Mount of Olives, and the whole crowd of the disciples began to praise God joyfully with a loud voice for all the miracles they had seen:
Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord.
Peace in heaven and glory in the highest heaven!
Some of the Pharisees from the crowd told him, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples.”
He answered, “I tell you, if they were to keep silent, the stones would cry out.”
As he approached and saw the city, he wept for it, saying, “If you knew this day what would bring peace—but now it is hidden from your eyes. For the days will come on you when your enemies will build a barricade around you, surround you, and hem you in on every side. They will crush you and your children among you to the ground, and they will not leave one stone on another in your midst, because you did not recognize the time when God visited you.”
Luke 19:28-44
The blind and the lame came to him in the temple, and he healed them. When the chief priests and the scribes saw the wonders that he did and the children shouting in the temple,” Hosanna to the Son of David!” they were indignant and said to him, “Do you hear what these children are saying?”
Jesus replied, “Yes, have you never read:
You have prepared praise from the mouths of infants and nursing babies?”
Then he left them, went out of the city to Bethany, and spent the night there.
Matthew 21:14-17
PRAYER POINTS
1) Worship Jesus as the miracle worker. (reference for further reading: Jer. 32:17, Job 42:2, Matt. 19:26, Luke 1:27)
Jesus, You are a miracle worker. You are the resurrection and the life. You can make what is dead to live again. Nothing is too hard for You or beyond your control!
2) Give Jesus the sacrifice of praise – acknowledge who He is. (ref. Heb. 13:5, Psalm 34:1)
Jesus, You are the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords and Your name is above every name. At Your name, Jesus, every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that You are Lord. Just as the crowd cried out, “Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord,” we want to praise and exalt Your name with all our hearts. The stones will not need to praise You in our place. We long to praise and worship You. It is what we were made to do.
3) Ask Jesus to make us aware of His presence every day. (ref. John 5:17 & 19-20)
Lord, let it never be said of us that we “did not recognize the time when God visited us.” Make our hearts sensitive to You. Make our spirits receptive to the leading and moving of Your Spirit among us, so that we will not miss what You are doing in our day and time.
4) Ask Jesus to reveal Himself to our children. (ref. Matthew 19:14)
Lord, thank You that you do not exclude children from worship. Let us never exclude them, but welcome our little ones into our worshiping community. May they “taste and see” for themselves how wonderful You are, so that they cannot help but cry out in praise to You!
*Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Christian Standard Bible, Copyright (c) 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Christian Standard Bible and CSB are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers.