SCRIPTURE: Luke 19:28-40
28 After Jesus had said this, he went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem. 29 As he approached Bethphage and Bethany at the hill called the Mount of Olives, he sent two of his disciples, saying to them, 30 "Go to the village ahead of you, and as you enter it, you will find a colt tied there, which no one has ever ridden. Untie it and bring it here. 31 If anyone asks you, 'Why are you untying it?' tell him, 'The Lord needs it.'" 32 Those who were sent ahead went and found it just as he had told them. 33 As they were untying the colt, its owners asked them, "Why are you untying the colt?" 34 They replied, "The Lord needs it." 35 They brought it to Jesus, threw their cloaks on the colt and put Jesus on it. 36 As he went along, people spread their cloaks on the road. 37 When he came near the place where the road goes down the Mount of Olives, the whole crowd of disciples began joyfully to praise God in loud voices for all the miracles they had seen: 38 "Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!" "Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!" 39 Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Jesus, "Teacher, rebuke your disciples!" 40 "I tell you," he replied, "if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out."
OBSERVATION:
As Jesus was on the road to Jerusalem and as he approached Bethphage and Bethany at the hill called the Mount of Olives, he sent two of his disciples and said to them, “Go into the town ahead of you and as you come into the town you will see a colt, that no one has never ridden, tied up there. Untie the colt and bring it here. If anyone asks you, ‘Why are you untying it?’ tell him, ‘The Lord needs it.” The disciples went into the town and found everything just as Jesus said they would be. As they were untying the colt the disciples were asked by the owners of the colt, “Why are you untying it?” The disciples told them, “The Lord needs it.” The brought the colt to Jesus, placed a cloak on it and sat Jesus on the colt. As Jesus went along the road, people put their cloaks across the road. As he approached the place where the road goes down to the Mount of Olives the disciples began to rejoice and praise God in a loud voice for all the miracles they had seen: “Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest” Some of the Pharisees told Jesus, “Tell your disciples to be quiet.” Jesus told them, “I tell you that if they keep quiet, the stones would cry out.”
APPLICATION:
I love this story, even though I know that a week later that many of the people praising Jesus at this time, were the ones yelling “Crucify Him.” What I see God showing me here is how I should be praising him. I should be praising him because I love him. I should not do it because I am supposed to but I am to praise him because it is in my heart to do so. I think it is pretty neat how that Jesus told the Pharisees here that even if the disciples stopped that the stones would cry out. I see here that so much love and praise for the Lord was being lifted that earth itself couldn’t contain it and that it would cry out as well. That is very powerful to me because I see here the power that genuine, heartfelt praise can have in my life. I shouldn’t see praise as a duty but as a choice to show how much I love the Lord and what he has done for me and the world. I want my prayers, song, talk, walk, everything to show my love for him. That is the way it should be.
PRAYER:
Lord, I praise you so much for all things. I praise you in this prayer and I want to tell you that I love you. I praise you for the time I am having with my family. Lord, you complete me so much that I want to praise you even though my current situation is trying to tell me to turn against you. Lord, you are with me and love me know matter what my circumstances are. Thank you Lord for loving me and thank you Lord for blessing me. Thank you Lord for making me whole and saving my soul. Amen.