Palm Sunday

     Palm Sunday commemorates the arrival of Jesus and the disciples into Jerusalem for Passover.  As Jesus came into town riding on the colt of a donkey he was openly declaring Himself to be a King.  Appropriately the people waved palm fronds welcoming their King into the capital city of Israel.

     Several key events would occur this week before the arrest and trial of Jesus, events that occurred all through the night on Thursday.  After much physical and emotional abuse, Jesus would be nailed to the cross around 9:00 AM on Friday.  He would endure there until the late afternoon when He would give up His spirit, and allow death to come.  Before doing so, He would declare that the redeeming work of the cross was finished.

    The next few days were filled with confusion, angst, heartache, and hopelessness for His followers.  Not one of them was counting on resurrection--this was the end.  I’m sure that if they confidently believed He would be raised on the third day, these in-between days would have been a lot more joyous.

     God’s promises offer us hope in the midst of the dark times of life.  Let us purpose to learn to live in the hope of the promises even in the heartache of hard times.