Blog In Audio:
Greetings,
I hope you had a great week and weekend. Bonnie and I have been in Redding, California with our son Aaron, his wife Amani, and our grandson Kaden and granddaughter Zaria. It was a great week and yesterday was like the icing on the cake. Our grandson Kaden was water baptized last night at Bethel, the church they attend. Many people were water baptized and the presence of God was wonderful. It was such a blessing to watch our grandson make his public confession. Jesus, you are faithful, and you are good!
This weekend marked the celebration of Palm Sunday. It was on Palm Sunday that Jesus rode into the city of Jerusalem upon the back of a young male donkey that had not been put to manual use before. Jesus was the substitute lamb for the firstborn lineage of every donkey. The donkey symbolized the Gentile nations of the world as an unclean animal intended only for the service of servant labor. Jesus invited the nations into the full harvest of life for all of humanity when He willingly chose to ride into Jerusalem upon the back of that colt. He was the Lamb for Israel, and He was the substitute Lamb for the nations of the world.
Exodus 13:11 “And it shall be, when the LORD brings you into the land of the Canaanites, as He swore to you and your fathers, and gives it to you, 12 that you shall set apart to the LORD all that open the womb, that is, every firstborn that comes from an animal which you have; the males shall be the LORD’s. 13 But every firstborn of a donkey you shall redeem with a lamb; and if you will not redeem it, then you shall break its neck. And all the firstborn of man among your sons you shall redeem. 14 So it shall be, when your son asks you in time to come, saying, ‘What is this?’ that you shall say to him, by strength of hand the LORD brought us out of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.
Jesus was the firstfruit offering that guaranteed the future of all the nations of the world. He was both our peace and our victory unto life and a destiny of being the life-giving family of God among the nations of the world. When Jesus rode into Jerusalem He came to redeem all of mankind for their identity, testimony, and purpose of life in the world.
Matthew 21:1 Now when they drew near Jerusalem, and came to Bethphage, at the Mount of Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples, 2 saying to them, “Go into the village opposite you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her. Loose them and bring them to Me. 3 And if anyone says anything to you, you shall say, ‘The Lord has need of them,’ and immediately he will send them.” 4 All this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying: 5 “Tell the daughter of Zion, ‘Behold, your King is coming to you, lowly, and sitting on a donkey, a colt, the foal of a donkey.'” 6 So the disciples went and did as Jesus commanded them. 7 They brought the donkey and the colt, laid their clothes on them, and set Him on them. 8 And a very great multitude spread their clothes on the road; others cut down branches from the trees and spread them on the road. 9 Then the multitudes who went before and those who followed cried out, saying: “Hosanna to the Son of David! ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD!’ Hosanna in the highest!” 10 And when He had come into Jerusalem, all the city was moved, saying, “Who is this?” 11 So the multitudes said, “This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth of Galilee.”
The crowd’s response to Jesus was that of honor and praise. They had expectations of a coming King, but their expectations were according to their own preconceived ideas of how that was to be. They cast their palm branches before Him and gave Him homage as the one who gives true prosperity by way of peace and victory that can only come through Him. Their expectations were stronger than their expectancy, because by the end of the week, they were willing to change their hope from the silent King for a man of violence and shame.
Mark 15:6 Now at the feast he was accustomed to releasing one prisoner to them, whomever they requested. 7 And there was one named Barabbas, who was chained with his fellow rebels; they had committed murder in the rebellion. 8 Then the multitude, crying aloud, began to ask him to do just as he had always done for them. 9 But Pilate answered them, saying, “Do you want me to release to you the King of the Jews?” 10 For he knew that the chief priests had handed Him over because of envy. 11 But the chief priests stirred up the crowd, so that he should rather release Barabbas to them.
A week earlier they paid homage and honor to Jesus as the king of revolution in their shouts of praise as He rode into Jerusalem upon the back of a donkey. The crowds saw Him as the hope and the promise of freedom, but upon His arrest a week later He stood as a Lamb to the slaughter and the crowd could no longer see how He could possibly free them from their oppression. The people had preconceived ideas as to what God would and must do. Barabbas was a criminal, but he was also a zealot. He was a man who challenged the oppressive government of Rome and the crowd saw him as a more promising hope than Jesus. Although Barabbas was a criminal and a man of carnal character, they considered him a better option than the silent man of peace. The name Barabbas has its roots in the Aramaic and Hebrew. His name means “son of a father or master”, perhaps an indication that most often men see freedom can only come from power. A father who seeks to be a master can seem more promising than a Father who calls for sons to manifest as overcomers by an internal power of grace that brings about true change. The self-will of mankind chose a son of the flesh over the Son of God but it is only through the gift of the Son of God that we can truly become sons of men as God has called us to be.
Jesus was the price to deliver us all from the house of bondage. He is the one who has freed all men from the bondage of sin, as Egypt symbolizes the way of the world – a way of darkness. Jesus was the lamb slain for the sins of the world. It is by the blood of Jesus that we have been made one as the family of God in this world and into all of eternity.
Blessings,
Ted J. Hanson
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