My prayer for you and your loved ones, Beloved, today as always, is that you know without a doubt who Jesus is and that you are His.
This has been a difficult Lenten journey for me. But the wonder of our walk with the Lord can be that the biggest blessings come from knowing the Lord is with us, especially in the toughest of times.
What joy there was for Jesus' closest family members and friends when the reality of who He was and is became evident on Palm Sunday! Hundreds of years of trials and tribulation, hope and dejection came to a close as Jesus made His triumphant entry into Jerusalem.
With the help of His most trusted family members and friends He had made all the preparations to fulfill the prophecies that were dearest to His heart. If you have any questions or doubts about this, I ask you to seek your own answers. Here are some helpful web sites --
Did you know that the Upper Room was the facility above King David's tomb? The caretakers would not have allowed Jesus to stay there if they had not believed He was and is Messiah, the Holy One of God, the Lord's only begotten Son.
Have you ever thought about the impact for the observant, people of Yahweh, the Jews of that time, when they saw Jesus' friend Lazarus sitting outside the house he shared with his sisters Mary and Martha in Bethany on the approach to Jerusalem?
Jewish individuals and families from all over the Roman Empire and beyond had come to the Holy City of Jerusalem for the Passover, their most sacred festival, that commemorates the deliverance of the descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob from hundreds of years of slavery in Egypt. For hundreds of years this formative act that tied the Children of Israel to the Creator of the Universe had been celebrated.
And on the day that Jesus of Nazareth came triumphantly into the City of His ancestor King David, all those who knew the Torah and everything that had been written about Him had a chance to be witnesses. They each and every one could decide for themselves who He was and is.
After his triumphal entry, Jesus retreated each evening to stay with Lazarus, Mary and Martha. During each day of preparation for all that was required in observance of Passover, Jesus traveled from Bethany to the Temple. While there He was examined by the Torah scholars and Temple leaders.
We have the record of some specific acts that include Jesus anger over the financial currency traders and those who sold birds, lambs and goats for sacrifice. From the perspective of the established rulers of the Temple and sacred government, Jesus of Nazareth was challenging their authority and inciting unrest.
From the perspective of the Roman Empire's political and military leadership. The rule of Palestine had never been easy. And the Jewish insurgents came in many varieties. They were a constant irritation and especially so during festivals when Jerusalem's population was swollen beyond measure by faithful pilgrims.
For three years the eyes of the religious leadership and the Roman overlords had given increasing attention to a once obscure rabbi from the quiet town of Nazareth. While John the Baptist had garnered the lion's share of attention, Jesus began to travel, teach, heal, deliver and perform other miracles. He and his followers mostly stayed out of the mainstream in the Galillee, a region filled with trade routes, populated by people of many ethnic groups.
As His notoriety grew, more and more people were attracted to Jesus because of the miracles. To many people of His era, all that He taught and demonstrated indicated that He was an anointed prophet. This meant to them that He was connected to God and given knowledge and supernatural power. These miracles, signs and wonders included:
a man who was crippled being able to walk again;
a man who was born blind was able to see;
a woman who had had an issue of blood for 12 years was healed;
a twelve year old girl who had just died was brought back to life;
a man overcome by mental illness was restored to peace and rationality.
Lazaraus had died and been entombed for four days before Jesus called him back to life. And of all the miracles Jesus had brought forth up until this time, this was the most significant and the most witnessed.
What joy and wonder swept through the crowds of people who had been downtodden and oppressed!
Yet on Palm Sunday only Jesus closest family members and friends really knew that the celebrations of Palm Sunday would lead to Jesus' sufferings, death and resurrection.
And perhaps truly only Jesus believes.
Nevertheless, by the power of the Holy Spirit, you can know who Jesus is with absolute certainty.
If with all your heart you seek Him, He will surely reveal Himself to you. He will answer all your questions and extinguish all your doubts.
Won't you give Him a chance to show you how much He loves you?
I pray that you will.
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