"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

Today is Palm Sunday! And what a blessed day it is as we remember Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem so long ago. He came righteous and victorious, yet humble riding a donkey. And the people welcomed him and carpeted the road with their clothes and with cut branches and shouted, "Hosanna (please, save us!) to the Son of David; Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord; Hosanna in the highest!"

Why were the Jewish people so excited? Because their blessed Messiah had come to save them after thousands of years of waiting. I wonder if anyone noticed that at the time Jesus was coming into Jerusalem so were the lambs for the Passover seder.

Funny how they joyously welcomed Jesus with loud Hosannas, but six days later they were yelling "crucify him."

This was all part of our heavenly Father’s plan of redemption. Jesus came to die. As we are told in Philippians 2, "He humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross." In Titus 2:14 we are told that "Jesus gave himself to us to redeem us from every lawless deed so that he might purify for himself a people of his own possession, zealous for good deeds."

If the Jewish people on that first Palm Sunday were oblivious to what God was doing in their midst, I wonder what great work of God we are oblivious to on This Palm Sunday? Oh, if only we knew God’s will for our lives now.

Paul in Romans 12:1-2 told us how we can know the will of God. "Therefore, I urge you, brethren, by the mercy of God, to present your bodies as a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what is the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect."

Jesus set the example, presenting his body as a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God. Now he is purifying for himself a people of his own possession who will also know God’s will and do it.

I pray that your Holy Week will be blessed as look forward to the blessed hope and the coming of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus.

Banks is pastor of First Presbyterian Church Hinesville and a member of the United Ministerial Alliance.