My brothers, what I have seen today I all but do not have the words to write! And you will have a hard time believing all I am about to tell you, but I pledge an oath on my life that all I am saying is bound in truth.
I found myself up before dawn this morning wanting to make sure I was able to follow this man, Jesus, today. I want to know more about him, and to see for myself if this is truly the Promised One all the prophets have proclaimed. As I waited in Bethany for him to leave the house of this man Lazarus, I soon noticed that I was not alone. Others had also gathered, anticipating he would go to Jerusalem today.
As he left the house, I watched Jesus and his followers take Jericho’s road toward the great city, moving west toward the Mount of Olives(Mark 11:1). As we arrived on the Mount, I watched him send two of his followers on ahead, to Bethpage(Mark 11:2). As I heard him speak to them, he told them that they will find a colt, a young donkey, that has never been ridden tied up there. He then tells them to bring it to him so he can ride it into the city, and if anyone questions what they are doing, to simply say that the Lord was in need of it(Luke 19:31).
In hearing these words, they made no sense to me. How many donkeys have we raised as youth? We all know, my brothers, how hard they can be to tame, and we often had sore backsides to prove it! To think that he would not just sit on, but ride, this untamed creature made absolutely no sense to me.
And as I thought, I also began to wonder why he would choose a colt, a young donkey, and not a magnificent horse. Would not the Messiah ride at the top of a great steed? One where all could see his majesty as he entered Jehovah’s precious city? But as I walked, I heard a man speak to another that answered all my questions for me. He spoke about our Hebrew traditions, which acknowledged how an unused animal was specifically suited for a sacred purpose(Numbers 19:2, Deuteronomy 21:3). As in observing this done, the Lord’s plans could be seen as being fulfilled.
As this man continued to speak, I heard him echoing the words of Zechariah that I still remember our father teaching us. “Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout in triumph, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your king is coming to you; He is just and endowed with salvation, humble, and mounted on a donkey, even on a colt, the foal of a donkey.”(Zechariah 9:9). And as I heard these words it hit me, I am watching this man, Jesus, proclaiming to all that he was the Promised Messiah.
As they brought the colt back to Jesus, I watched as they placed their garments on its back, and then I watched Jesus place himself on it(Luke 19:35). I swear to you my brothers, not one flinch was seen from that colt, as there was a calmness unlike anything I have ever seen from such an animal. And as I watched him sit on top of that colt, I saw a man riding into Jerusalem in peace, not looking to draw his sword and conquer all the Romans in his path. With each step, confusion continued to be felt in me, as I just could not understand how peace could be brought to Jerusalem, or offered to Rome.
We made our way through the Kidron Valley, and to the Golden Gate(Eastern Gate), I watched as the crowd continued to grow and grow. And with each step, I watched as they ran to the road to place palm branches and their garments on the path in front of him, honoring him as their King(John 12;13, Mark 11:8). The numbers of this crowd were unlike any I have ever seen, and they praised him step after step, proclaiming out loud all the miracles they had witnessed from him(Luke 19:37). In each of their hands they were waving even more of these palm branches, the same palm branches that the Maccabeans had used to symbolize how Israel would rise again as they overthrew the Assyrians. The same palm branches that we use as a symbol of our revolt against Rome this day.
Looking up, I could see the masses that had come from Jerusalem to meet him, and they were even larger in numbers than those of us who were following him(Mark 11:9). As they waved their palms, they shouted, “Hosanna(means ‘save us now’)!” Then they shouted the words of the Psalms, “Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!”(Psalm 118:26). And followed that up by proclaiming, “Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David; Hosanna in the highest!”(Mark 11:9-10). With each word, they saw the Lord coming down from the heavens to set up His kingdom, and to rid our land of these Roman oppressors! All we could hope for, all we have worked for, I heard in the words of the people, as they proclaimed Jesus as their King!
But as these words were shouted to the heavens by the masses, I could hear the venom spewing from some of the Pharisees, shouting back at Jesus, telling him to rebuke his followers, to denounce the words they were saying(Luke 19:39-40). The words he spoke back to them, are words I could not believe, as he spoke up against this den of vipers who have for years only served themselves. He told them, “I tell you, if these become silent, the stones will cry out!” Making it clear to them, if the people did not proclaim him as the Messiah, then the very stones Jerusalem and the Temple were built on would!
On arriving at the Temple and taking a quick look around, Jesus and his followers soon left to go back to Bethany again(John 11:11). I looked closely at his eyes as he looked the Temple over, and it was a disappointment that I saw looking back at me. I wondered to myself, how could the Messiah, after all Jerusalem had proclaimed him as King, look on what he saw with disappointing and troubled eyes? But as we made our way back from Jerusalem, I heard the same man speak again that I had heard speak on the way there. Once more, he said something that has stayed with me, that still has me thinking like I never have before. He reminded us all that this was the day that the Passover lamb would be chosen for sacrifice. But he then said something I still do not comprehend. He asked if Jerusalem would recognize how the Lord God had just shown them who that Passover lamb would be?(Psalm 22).
I do not understand his words, but I know in my heart and in my mind there is far more to his words that I now can appreciate. Just as I know in my heart there is far more to this Jesus than I now know, I somehow know in my heart and my mind that a truth rings in his very words, but I do not know why. I am so confused, my brothers. So much I have seen this day. So much in the words I heard from the crowd that left my heart full. And so much that also filled my heart as i saw this Jesus ride that colt into Jerusalem. All we have planned for, all we have hope for, I can see being fulfilled in this man. But there is something more to this Jesus than just victory over our oppressors. Something that stirs my soul to want to understand, that drives the need in me to know. And know I will, my brothers! As I am going to now devote my every waking hour to answering these questions that now burns in every inch of my body!
You brother in blood and cause.
Meshach
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