Palm Sunday - Thinking of You

Palm Sunday, as we have labeled it, would have been a day filled with emotions for Jesus. The validation of His finished work on earth for the salvation of every soul who believes in Him receives His gift of grace through faith and declares Him as Lord, will be witnesses one week from this day. Before He would hear the praises of "Hosanna!" and even before He would weep for Jerusalem, Jesus gave a command to His two disciples that would confirm His desire to take our burdens and display His authority over them. 

"Go into the village in front of you, where on entering you will find a colt tied, on which no one has ever yet sat. Untie it and bring it here. If anyone asks you, 'Why are you untying it?' You shall say this: 'The Lord has need of it.' "  - Luke 19:30 (ESV)

When Matthew describes this same occurrence, he records, 

"This took place to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet saying, "Say to the daughter of Zion, 'Behold your king is coming to you, humble, and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a beast of burden.' The disciples went and did as Jesus had directed them. They brought the donkey and the colt and put on them their cloaks, and he sat on them (cloaks)." - Matthew 21:4-7 (ESV)

I always paid attention to the donkey as His choice for the continual message of humility. But, as only Jesus could do so well, He offered a deeper message to those who know Him. Jesus demanded the representation of our burdens be brought to Him and He would display His willingness to take them while being seen above them. This is one beautiful detail in the Gospels giving us more confirmation that our surrender to Him is His triumph to us. Symbolism continued when the disciples placed their cloaks on the donkey. The cloak was an extremely important and valued piece of clothing in Jewish culture. It was a more costly possession of clothing which also served as the identity of a person by day and a covering at night. When we give of ourselves the burdens we carry striving to live according to man, which becomes so heavy, Jesus gives us His purpose, which is light according to His own words - covering or clothing us with His righteousness.

With His eyes gazing at the city He loved so much and staring into the agony He would face in the short days to come, He was thinking of us. He's still thinking of us. The thoughts of every situation we would face in life that brings heartache, pain, and despair caused by a world of sin would be more motivation for Him to continue with God's plan. He "had need" of our burdens to lead Him to the place of His sacrifice and our freedom because He was driven by an overwhelming love for us. Whatever cloak identifies us and we use to cover us, may we willingly place it as a seat on our burdens to focus only on Jesus. He reigns over them as King, whose blood becomes our covering; the only cloak we need, and His purpose by which we live.