¹²The next day the great crowd that had come for the Feast heard that Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem. ¹³They 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!" ¹⁴Jesus 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." ¹⁶At 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 a mile into the parade, I had broken the head to my drum and couldn't play the music so ended up walking along with the rest of the drummers.  As we turned the corner to approach the end of the parade, the view of the TV cameras was in sight. I turned the drum over and pretended to be playing for all I was worth in front of the national T.V. while the other drummers were really making the noise. I looked good, but it was only for show.
      
The passage of Scripture that we are looking at talks of a parade this morning. It was the celebration of Jesus' entry into Jerusalem before the Passover. One commentary said that there were about three million people that were part of it. I do not know how they came up with that large of a number, but it was the Passover and all the Jews who could, came into the great city to celebrate this event. 
           
Word spread that Jesus had raised Lazarus from the dead. Many wanted to see the man who could do this. Excitement was in the air, as two towns’ people joined together from Bethany into Jerusalem. They were waiting to witness the coming of the celebrated guest - Jesus Christ.
   
Palm Sunday is exciting.  But why all the fuss? What were they celebrating?  Most didn't know. Many just wanted to join in the fun of the occasion. Some, like me, in the Thanksgiving Day Parade were there for a show, but not making music. Most thought they were welcoming a new King, a Jewish King, who was so powerful that He was going to allow Israel rule over the Romans. Others, I think 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, or 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 few who gather, it can diminish the spirit of a crowd as well. What is important to Jesus is the heart behind all the excitement, whether large or small.

Application: Do you show your excitement of God’s Word? Let the Holy Spirit move you to allow your excitement to be contagious.

Prayer: Dear God, please help me keep my eyes, heart, and soul focused on Jesus. Let it show my excitement of Your Word and let it become contagious for others to focus as well.

Dale