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Bread for the Journey


Today is Palm Sunday, the beginning of the Easter Season.
The Bible tells the story best.

Luke 19: 28-40 TLB

Jesus went on towards Jerusalem, walking along ahead of his disciples.  
As they came to the towns of Bethphage and Bethany, 
on the Mount of Olives, he sent two disciples ahead, with instructions to go to the next village, and as they entered they were to look 
for a donkey tied beside the road.  
It would be a colt, not yet broken for riding.
"Untie him," Jesus said, "and bring him here.  And if anyone asks you what you are doing, just say, 'The Lord needs him.' "
They found the colt as Jesus said, and sure enough, as they were untying it, the owners demanded an explanation.
"What are you doing?" they asked. "Why are you untying our colt?"
And the disciples simply replied, "The Lord needs him!"
So they brought the colt to Jesus and threw some of their clothing 
across its back for Jesus to sit on.
Then the crowds spread out their robes along the road ahead of him, [and others cut palm branches and spread them out before him.(from Matt. 21:8)] And as they reached the place where the road started down from the Mount of Olives, the whole procession began to shout and sing as they walked along, 
praising God for all the wonderful miracles Jesus had done.
"God has given us a King!" they exulted. "Long live the King!"  Let all heaven rejoice!  Glory to God in the highest heavens!"
But some of the Pharisees among the crowd said, 
"Sir, rebuke your followers for saying things like that!"
He replied,  "If they keep quiet, 
the stones along the road will burst into cheers!"


There are several things that catch my attention from this story:
  1. When Jesus has something He wants done, He makes sure everything is in place. The colt was there, tied up and the owners were willing to let Him use it. When I am obedient to Christ's instructions,  I can be sure that He will do His part in making sure His will is done.
  2. The crowds recognized Jesus as the One who had been doing miracles in their midst.  They acknowledged Him as coming from God. Do I recognize and acknowledge Christ in the midst of my daily life?
  3. The people honoured Him by spreading out their robes on the ground and by waving palm branches as they would have for royalty. God is present whereever I am at any given moment.  Do I honour Him with uninhibited worship?
  4. The Pharisees wanted Jesus to tell them to cool their enthusiasm but Jesus replied that the stones would cheer if everyone else was silent.  Am I willing to speak out - or do I expect nature and other people to tell of God's glory?
  5. Finally, although it's not part of this passage, it's entirely possible that many of these same people were in the crowd that cried, "Crucify Him!" several days later. Do I let those around me influence my reaction to Christ?  Or do I stand up and follow Christ when there is a cost involved?

My prayer is that I will recognize and acknowledge Christ's presence in my life, that I will obey Him and honour Him with unrestrained praise.



5 comments:

  1. I am reminded of a song which says,the rock are going to cry out,but they'll have to wait their turn.I pray that I will make the rocks wait as I give praise to God.

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  2. I've been sharing "Mennonite Girls Can Cook" posts over at my "Marginal Mennonite Society" Facebook page for months now, and they are appreciated. I wanted to ask a question about this Palm Sunday post, though. The version of the story in Matthew 21 has Jesus riding astride two animals, which paints a funny mental picture. It seems that the author of Matthew must have misread the prophecy in Zechariah, and attempted to make the Jesus story fit the prophecy. So which was it? Did Jesus ride one animal as Mark, Luke and John have it? Or was it two animals, as Matthew has it? I'm confused. --Charlie Kraybill, Bronx, NYC

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  3. re - question of two animals
    I am not a theologian but I believe the simplest answer to bible questions is most often the right one.
    Matthew, as well as the prophecy in Zech, mention clearly that there were two animals - mother and her colt. Mark,Luke and John only mention one animal that Jesus rode on.
    We know that all scripture must harmonize without contradiction so I think this is the only explanation that fits.

    We understand the closeness between mother and colt (although this colt was obviously grown enough to carry a man) and where one goes the other goes. It is not hard to visualize that the mother would have pressed in to the side of her colt and so the clothes were thrown over both, even though Jesus sat only on one as Mark,Luke and John state.

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  4. I've been visiting your website for quite awhile, and of the recipes I've tried, they've all become family favorites!! Food Blogs are my favorites, but I'm also seeing a trend as I "travel" the web. So many of them post recipes, and then sprinkle their posts with profanities..why must we include profanities with recipes...just don't get it!! This is why I absolutely love your site, and have suggested it to others, the great recipes, pictures, uplifting posts, and acknowledgment of Jesus as our Lord and Savior is why I love you ladies!! Thanks for all you do! ♥

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  5. Absolutely fabulous website--furthermore-- I love your recipes. To-night we are having rhubarb cake as I have been waiting for the rhubarb to get big enough to pick.

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