St Peter’s Carlton Colville and St Andrew’s Mutford
Sunday 5th April 2020
Thought for the week
This is Palm Sunday, and so we are taking that as our theme for this ‘Thought for the Week’
The account of Palm Sunday is found in all 4 Gospels, and had we been in church for our service we would have read together Matthew 21:1-11.
At this point in the Gospel records we come to what we often call ‘Holy Week’ as we see Jesus make his way to Jerusalem for the very last time.
It is so easy to simply ‘glance’ at the reading without giving it much thought – but in truth, as we look a bit deeper it has huge significance.
This was the only time in His ministry that Jesus actually planned and promoted a public demonstration.
Up to this time, He had always cautioned people not to tell who He was, and He had deliberately avoided public scenes.
So therefore, we need to ask ourselves why did Jesus plan this demonstration?
Since it was coming up to the time of the Passover, there were probably between 2 and 3 million people in and around Jerusalem.
Jesus going to Jerusalem, but not just to celebrate a Passover Meal as most of the people on the road that day were doing
He had set is sights on the Passover, which he totally transformed, but also on the cross of Calvary where He was to die, and on to His Resurrection.
He had in mind that the prophetic Scriptures required that the ‘Lamb of God’ needed to be sacrificed at the Passover festival.
Early in Jesus ministry as John the Baptist saw Jesus he said, ‘Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world’ (John 1:29) – and as the ‘Lamb of God’ Jesus knew that this was His time.
With that in His mind, as He rode into Jerusalem that day He was obeying the Word of God and fulfilling the prophecy recorded in Zechariah 9:9.
There we read, ‘See your king comes to you, righteous and having salvation, gentle and riding a donkey, a colt, the foal of a donkey’
Throughout Jesus ministry he went to many different towns and villages and he must have covered hundreds of miles – but wherever he went he always walked.
But here we see Jesus riding on a donkey into Jerusalem and this prophecy could only apply to Jesus Christ, for He is the only One with credentials that prove He is Israel’s King.
In truth, Jesus coming to Jerusalem in this way was an act of mercy and grace, not an act of justice or judgment.
He did have salvation for them, but they refused to accept it (John 1:11).
And so, here we find Jesus making His way into Jerusalem on the back of the donkey – but as we see, there was more going on than just the donkey ride.
We see the people cutting down branches from Palm Trees and laying them in the road in front of Jesus and shouting ‘Hosanna’
The significance of the shouts of the people along the way as Jesus rode into Jerusalem were immense.
They shouted Hosanna which means, "Save now!"
They were quoting from Psalm 118:25–26, and this psalm is definitely messianic in character.
Later that week, Jesus Himself would refer to this psalm and apply it to Himself (Ps. 118:22–23; Matt. 21:42).
This demonstration of Christ’s popularity incited the rulers to act.
When they saw this spontaneous demonstration of the people, they concluded that Jesus had to be destroyed.
The people acclaimed Jesus as their King both by their words and their deeds.
But on the whole the Jews still did not recognize Jesus as their King, so what caused Israel’s spiritual blindness?
For one thing, their religious leaders had robbed the people of the truth of the Word of God and had substituted man-made traditions.
The leaders were not interested in truth; they were concerned only with protecting their own interests.
"We have no king but Caesar!" was their confession of wilful blindness.
Even Jesus miracles did not convince them and the longer they resisted the truth, the more blind they became
It is so easy for us to have ‘spiritual blindness’ and not really see just who Jesus is and just what he was doing in this recorded incident.
With these thoughts in our mind, we would like to suggest two songs that we might like to look at, and even sing, as we read the notes and as we worship together.
The two songs are the modern version of ‘The Lord’s my shepherd’ and ‘Shine, Jesus, Shine’
We will print out below the words of both songs, and we will try to send out the music file later in the week to help us sing them, either in our head or out loud – we will see how we get on with that
The Lord’s my shepherd, I’ll not want.
He makes me lie in pastures green.
He leads me by the still, still waters,
His goodness restores my soul.
And I will trust in You alone,
And I will trust in You alone,
For Your endless mercy follows me,
Your goodness will lead me home.
He guides my way in righteousness,
and He anoints my head with oil,
and my cup, it overflows with joy,
I feast on His pure delights.
Chorus
And though I walk the darkest path,
I will not fear the evil one,
for You are with me, and Your rod and staff
are the comfort I need to know.
Chorus
　
　
　
Lord, the light of Your love is shining,
In the midst of the darkness, shining;
Jesus, light of the world, shine upon us;
Set us free by the truth You now bring us,
Shine on me, shine on me.
Shine, Jesus, shine,
Fill this land with the Father’s glory;
Blaze, Spirit, blaze,
Set our hearts on fire.
Flow, river, flow,
Flood the nations with grace and mercy;
Send forth Your word, Lord.
And let there be light!
Lord, I come to Your awesome presence,
From the shadows into Your radiance;
By Your blood I may enter Your brightness;
Search me, try me, consume all my darkness,
Shine on me, shine on me.
Chorus:
As we gaze on Your kingly brightness,
So our faces display Your likeness,
Ever changing from glory to glory;
Mirrored here may our lives tell Your story,
Shine on me, shine on me.
Chorus: