"From a Festive Parade to a Horrendous Death March"

“From a Festive Parade to a Horrendous Death March”

 

The disciples went and did as Jesus had instructed them.  They brought the donkey and the colt and placed their cloaks on them for Jesus to sit on.   A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, while others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road.  The crowds that went ahead of Him and those that followed shouted, “Hosanna to the Son of David!”  “Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!”  “Hosanna in the highest heaven!”             Matthew 21:6-9

Now, as they led Him away, they laid hold of a certain man, Simon a Cyrenian, who was coming from the country, and on him they laid the cross that he might bear it after Jesus.   And a large multitude of the people followed Him, and women who also mourned and lamented Him.       Luke 23:26-27

God’s SALVATION plans included a FESTIVE parade, which, was kind of the jumping off part of His plan.  It is well known to Christians today as, the Triumphal Entry into the city of Jerusalem, where Jesus would share a Passover meal with His disciples.  Matthew 21:6-9 gives us a picture of the atmosphere of the attitude of MOST of the people, as they awaited Jesus’ coming.   They prepared quite a celebratory scene.  Some laid their cloaks in the road, while others went and cut palm branches and laid them in the road, some kept some of the branches to wave, as Jesus passed by.  This was to show their acknowledgement of Jesus being the Son of David, especially when they began to shout out, “HOSANNA TO THE SON OF DAVID!”  “BLESSED IS HE WHO COMES IN THE NAME OF THE LORD!”  “HOSANNA IN THE HIGHEST HEAVEN!”  All this festivity was evidence of the people’s acknowledging that Jesus was the Messiah.

 

However, within one short week that FESTIVE parade was forgotten and a HORRENDOUS DEATH MARCH was being planned.  The recipient of this DEATH MARCH was JESUS, the very one the people had PRAISED, APPLAUDED, and ACKNOWLEDGED as the MESSIAH.  They were now, yelling “CRUCIFY HIM!” “CRUCIFY HIM!”  Spitting in His face and running up hitting Him with their fist and who knows what they yelled at Him as He passed by them, on His way to be NAILED to an old wooden cross, bloody and bruised, suffering and weakened, to die in THEIR place, in order for them and US to receive the SALVATION of our SOULS, and the HOPE of an ETERNITY in HEAVEN, and ESCAPING HELL and ALL of its HORRORS.

 

If you want that SALVATION, you MUST TURN AWAY FROM your sinful lifestyle, and TURN to God with a TRUE REPENTANT HEART, CONFESSING your sins to Him, and asking Him for His FORGIVENESS, BELIEVING, with ALL your HEART that JESUS died for YOU, and is ALIVE in Heaven, making intercession for you, before God.  Then ACCEPT His gift of SALVATION, and receive the SALVATION of your SOUL, an ETERNITY in Heaven, and ESCAPING an ETERNITY in Hell.  Do it NOW while you still can.  He’s waiting and coming SOON!!!