It’s one thing to turn water into wine; or take authority over God’s Temple, heal the sick, set the lame a-walking; or give sight to the blind. Some Jewish leaders began to trust in Jesus as they listened to His teachings, but most were beyond skeptical of the claims that Jesus was the Son of God. What would He do next?
Their biggest fear was that Jesus would bring the entire Roman army down upon their heads if Jesus convinced the Jewish people that He was their Messiah. Only Caesar was to be worshipped in the Roman Empire. The Pharisees spied upon Jesus and His activities constantly in order to find a crack in His armor – a breach of conduct unbecoming His claims to be The Light of the World – as He revealed to the Pharisee, Nicodemus. They met privately, but we all know how hard it is to keep the lid on secrets. It was no different in ancient times. Jesus began to baptize believers in Judea and word got back to the Jewish leaders. No doubt they heard about Jesus claiming to be the Messiah when He spoke to the Samaritan woman at the well (John 4:26). God’s Word states that many Samaritans believed in Jesus as the promised Messiah.
Then Jesus began to heal on the Sabbath and break all sorts of other religious rules and the Pharisees became incensed. They tried to find ways to kill Jesus, for fear that the people would accept Jesus as their King.
Their biggest fear was that Jesus would bring the entire Roman army down upon their heads if Jesus convinced the Jewish people that He was their Messiah. Only Caesar was king in the Roman Empire. The Pharisees spied upon Jesus and His activities constantly in order to find a crack in His armor – a breach of conduct unbecoming His claims to be The Light of the World – as He revealed to the Pharisee, Nicodemus. They met privately, but we all know how hard it is to keep the lid on secrets. It was no different in ancient times. Jesus began to baptize believers in Judea and word got back to the Jewish leaders. No doubt they heard about Jesus claiming to be the Messiah when He spoke to the Samaritan woman at the well (John 4:26). God’s Word states that many Samaritans believed in Jesus as the promised Messiah.
When the people saw Him do this miraculous sign, they exclaimed, “Surely He is the Prophet we have been expecting!” John 6:14 NLT
And then the game changer happened. Jesus resurrected a dead person named Lazarus! That was the last straw.
Many more people had quit following John the Baptist in favor of believing in Jesus. The leading priests and Pharisees held a high council to discuss how to get rid of Jesus. They just knew that if Jesus were allowed to live, the Romans would come and annihilate the nation of Israel along with their Temple.
Then an amazing thing happened. The head priest, Caiaphas, prophesied regarding Jesus:
Caiaphas, was high priest at that time, said, “You don’t know what you are talking about! You don’t realize that it’s better for you that one man should die for the people than for the whole nation to be destroyed.”
He did not say this on his own; as high priest at that time he was led to prophesy that Jesus would die for the entire nation. And not only for that nation, but to bring together and unite all the children of God scattered around the world.
So from that time on, the Jewish leaders began to plot Jesus’ death. As a result, Jesus stopped His public ministry among the people and left Jerusalem. He went to a place near the wilderness, to the village of Ephraim, and stayed there with His disciples.
John 11:49-54 NLT
His time had not come yet. But when the Passover feast filled Jerusalem with many visitors a short time later, prophecy was fulfilled. Jesus rode into the city on a donkey's colt in order to celebrate the Passover, and a large crowd met Him on the road leading into the city. They spread palm branches and their own clothing before Jesus in honor of Him. Many believed that He would deliver them from the Roman occupation and become their new King.
Praise God! Blessings on the One who comes in the name of the LORD! Hail to the King of Israel!” John 12:13 NLT
Fulfilling this prophecy:
"Don’t be afraid, people of Jerusalem. Look, your King is coming, riding on a donkey’s colt.” Zechariah 9:9 NLT
Then the Pharisees said to each other, “There’s nothing we can do. Look, everyone has gone after Him!” John 12:19 NLT
May your Palm Sunday be blessed with a renewed faith in Jesus, who redeemed our souls by laying down His own life for our sins.
~ Sherron
