12 The next day the great crowd that had come for the Feast heard that Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem.

13 They took palm branches and went out to meet him, shouting, "Hosanna!" "Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!" "Blessed is the King of Israel!"

14 Jesus found a young donkey and sat upon it, as it is written,

15 "Do not be afraid, O Daughter of Zion; see, your king is coming, seated on a donkey's colt."

16 At first his disciples did not understand all this. Only after Jesus was glorified did they realize that these things had been written about him and that they had done these things to him.

 

 

Most people like parades. I still enjoy watching them. One of my highlights as a child was watching the Detroit Hudson Day Thanksgiving parade. There were clowns, bands, costumes and floats but the best part of the parade was Santa Claus who came into town at the conclusion.           

When I was in High school, our band was invited to march in it. About 2/3 of a mile into the parade, I broke the head to my drum and couldn't play so I walked along with the rest of the drummers.  As we turned the corner to approach the end of the parade the view of the television cameras.  I turned the drum over and pretended to be playing for all I was worth while the other drummers were really keeping the beat.  Looking good, but it was only for show.

       

The passage of Scripture that we are looking at this week talks of a parade. It is a celebration of Jesus' entry into Jerusalem before the Passover. The crowd was huge since this was the Passover and all the Jews who could came to the great city to celebrate this event. 

           

Word had spread that Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead. Many wanted to see the man who could do this.  Excitement was in the air, as two townspeople joined together from Bethany into Jerusalem.  They were waiting for the coming of the celebrated guest...Jesus Christ.

   

Palm Sunday is exciting. Many wanted to join in the fun of the occasion. Some, like me in the Thanksgiving Day Parade, were there for the excitement, but not making music. Most thought they were welcoming a new king, a Jewish king, who was so powerful that he was going to led Israel to overthrow the Romans. Others in the parade of palms were just curiosity seekers. Others want to be healed.  Others firmly believed He was the Messiah sent from God.

           

We have great gatherings today with special events, like Promise Keepers and City-wide prayer gatherings. The larger churches grow into mega churches, and now Mega churches grow into Giga churches. There is something about a crowd that makes excitement contagious. When there are only a few, it can diminish the spirit of a crowd as well, but what is most important to Jesus is the heart behind all the excitement, whether large or small.

 

The same can be said of churches, whatever the size. Is it just for a show?

 

  Dale