They took palm branches and went out to meet Him, shouting,
“Hosanna!
“Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!
“Blessed is the king of Israel!” – John 12:13
Shared in the post “Spirit Inside to Guide” was how Jesus put in the effort to care for people. He got on a donkey and the people waved palm branches as He was on the pathway to passion.
Jesus was ready to carry out His purpose as He surrendered all to fulfill His call. He loves you and He demonstrated that love on the Cross. You are a treasure beyond measure!
The Word is available to teach about how to live and He has sent the Holy Spirit to guide, so be drawn to Jesus to improve your life now and for eternity. Once your situation in life improves, express your thankfulness with songs like Gratitude by Brandon Lake and praise Him again and again.
Like the caterpillar that transforms into a beautiful butterfly, we are changed when we accept Jesus in our heart. This day with God, we seek to understand and help others understand the Way taught by Jesus. Because of Jesus, we have been given the opportunity to let God’s Spirit live inside to guide.
Today as we focus on the passage John 12:12-19, we note the growth in the number of people who began to believe in Jesus. Many gathered for the Passover festival in Jerusalem. There was the hope that Jesus would be there, so a crowd gathered in the temple courts to meet Jesus.
Jesus was in their thoughts, and they knew what Jesus could do. He had turned water into wine (John 2), healed the nobleman’s son (John 4), healed the man at the pool (John 5), fed the 5,000 (John 6), walked on water (John 6), healed a man born blind (John 9), and raised Lazarus from the dead (John 11).
They had heard about or even seen these miracles as Jesus put in the effort to care for people. He was passionate about His purpose and taught people about how to live.
Jesus was interesting and His inspiring teachings along with His actions motivated the people towards improvement of their situation in life. For these same reasons, many continue to be drawn to Jesus to improve their life now and for eternity.
The crowd grew as the word spread. They took palm branches and went out to meet Him, shouting (v.13).
“Hosanna!
“Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!
“Blessed is the king of Israel!”
Jesus found a young donkey and sat on it.
“Do not be afraid, Daughter Zion:
See, your king is coming,
Seated on a donkey’s colt.”
Only after Jesus had surrendered all to accomplish His call on the cross do the disciples understand the significance of the event for it fulfilled the prophecy as written in Zechariah 9:9.
On the other hand, the Pharisees reacted to the event differently. They wanted to kill Lazurus as well as Jesus because they despised their popularity. A good portion of the people were beginning to believe Jesus was King. The Pharisees believed the Romans would be threatened by Jesus who they began to call “King of the Jews” and take away their temple and their nation.
Lord, we live in gratitude for each day. Your love demonstrated on the Cross tells us we are Your treasure beyond measure. In this world, there is bitterness, hate, anger, and envy which block us from being all that we can be. By accepting what You did on the Cross, we have the Spirit inside to guide. What we thought was undoable by ourselves is now unstoppable with You. Day by day, we step ahead being changed into who You want us to be. For all these reasons, we praise you again and again … Amen.
In exploring God’s Word, we can set sail on a new destination. With the help of Jesus, we can get away from worldly values that lead nowhere to a place of freedom being powered by the Holy Spirit. This is the day we start new, we plan, we think, and dream big!
Let us acknowledge the Lord; let us press on to acknowledge Him. As surely as the sun rises, He will appear; He will come to us like the winter rains, like the spring rains that water the earth. –Hosea 6:3
Priorities are made and choices are made. As pointed out in the post “Number One”, there is a need to set aside time, and make Jesus number one as you grow your faith beyond just mediocre.
The time spent in study, prayer, and praise is of great importance. It’s what’s on the inside or the heart that will ultimately come out in what you do and how you do it. As the old saying goes, “Actions speak louder than words”.
Now, get in the rhythm of the Father’s heart with the song Healing Rain by Michael W. Smith. Sometimes bad choices are made that can lead to low places, but you can look up and God will take you higher as the song points out.
Priorities are made and choices are made. Many times, opportunities to grow in faith are set aside but this day with God, let us make Jesus our number one as we grow our faith beyond just the mediocre.
It was six days before the Passover as recorded in John 12:1-11, and Jesus came to Bethany where Lazarus lived. This is Lazarus who Jesus had raised from the dead who was the brother of Martha and Mary.
They gathered for dinner in Jesus’ honor (v. 2). While Martha was preparing a dinner, Mary decided to pour expensive perfume on Jesus’ feet. Her attitude and actions revealed that she was totally focused on what was most important in her life.
Judas Iscariot who would later betray Jesus said that the perfume should have been sold and the money given to the poor, but reading further, the passage says Judas was really not concerned for the poor. He was keeper of the money bag and would help himself to what was put into it (v. 6).
When a large crowd found out that Jesus was there, they came not only to see Jesus but also to see Lazarus. Having a friendship with Jesus like Lazarus did gives us an example that we should want to emulate because Lazarus was turning people’s attention to Jesus. The chief priests could not let this happen because they believed the Romans would take away the temple and their nation if Jesus threatened them. They not only wanted to kill Jesus but wanted to kill Lazarus too.
The take away for us is to know what’s most important in our life and focus in on that. To understand that what’s on the inside or in the heart is most important because that’s what will ultimately come out in what we do and how we do it. Let us remember the old saying “actions speak louder than words”.
Along this journey God, help us to focus on what is most important like Mary did. To keep focused on what truly matters most. Help us to use the individual skills we have to reveal Your glory. To focus on the eternal and our relationship with Jesus so we stay on target with our purpose which is turning people’s attention to Jesus. In His name we pray, amen.
