Recreate Church, Pastor Michael Shockley—Service, April 2, 2023

Palm Sunday Today, Pastor Michael is in the story of Jesus where some things are being set into motion.  Folks are worshipping Jesus at this point, His disciples likely feeling like folks are understanding his message and rolling out the red carpet, so to speak.  The welcome one would normally give to royalty. Palm Sunday, the Sunday before Easter.  It gets its name from people laying down palm fronds (i.e. becoming the ‘red carpet’) for a grand entrance.  Jesus and His Disciples stopped at Bethphage and Bethany.  This is the only time in the bible that Jesus isn’t walking but actually riding a colt.  Jesus, riding the colt, and His disciples started the descent from the Mt of Olives into Jerusalem, while followers shouted Hosanna, praising Him as the Messiah.   The prophecy continues as Jesus arrives on a lowly donkey as an invitation to those that will humble themselves.  Luke 19:29-34 (CSB Study Bible Notes) 19:29 Bethphage and Bethany were small villages near the road from Jericho to Jerusalem. Bethany, the hometown of Lazarus, Mary, and Martha (Jn 11:1) was only two miles east of Jerusalem, just over the Mount of Olives, a ridge across the Kidron Valley from the temple in Jerusalem. The two . . . disciples are not named in any of the Gospels. 19:30-34 Religious or political leaders in that time often borrowed property (a young donkey) for a short time, as here. Matthew 21:7 says that the mother donkey was also commandeered. This action fulfilled the prophecy of Zch 9:9: “Daughter Jerusalem . . . your King is coming to you . . . humble and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.” Verses can be found in Mark 11, John 12, Luke 19, and Matthew 21.   Scripture quotations marked CSB have been taken from the Christian Standard Bible®, Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible® and CSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers.