Way of The Warrior- A Daily Devotional

And when he had said these things, he went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem. When he drew near to Bethpage and Bethany, at the mount that is called Olivet, he sent two of the disciples, saying, “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.’” So those who were sent went away and found it just as he had told them. And as they were untying the colt, its owners said to them, “Why are you untying the colt?” And they said, “The Lord has need of it.” And they brought it to Jesus, and throwing their cloaks on the colt, they set Jesus on it. And as he rode along, they spread their cloaks on the road. As he was drawing near—already on the way down the Mount of Olives—the whole multitude of his disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works that they had seen, saying, “Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!” And some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples.” He answered, “I tell you, if these were silent, the very stones would cry out.” – Luke 19:28-44 ESV

Warrior;
This was the ORIGINAL Palm Sunday. This was the beginning of HOLY WEEK. The week that would lead to the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, according to Scripture- PROPHECY. It is said that somewhere between 27%-33% of the Bible is prophecy. The Word defines prophecy the following way: A prophecy is a message that is claimed by a person to have been communicated to them by a deity. Such messages usually involve inspiration, interpretation of dreams, or revelation of divine will concerning the prophet’s contemporary world and/ or a preternatural knowledge of events to come in the future. In layman’s terms prophecy is: is to say that a specified thing will happen in the future in a certain way. This moment in time is called the TRIUMPHAL ENTRY. It was prophesied by many of the OLD TESTAMENT prophets, hundreds of years before it happened. We can go back to the book of Zechariah to get one of the first mentions. The book of Zechariah was written Between 520 and 518 BC. In the Old Testament book of Zechariah, the prophet speaks of a future king presenting himself to Jerusalem while riding on a humble donkey. This foreshadowed something that happened over 500 years later. As explained in Luke 19:35-37, Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey and presented himself as the Messiah, the King.

Leader, Rejoice, O people of Zion! Shout in triumph, O people of Jerusalem! Look, your king is coming to you. He is righteous and victorious, yet he is humble, riding on a donkey— riding on a donkey’s colt. (Zechariah 9:9) The Palm Sunday story comes to life in the Bible in Matthew 21:1-11; Mark 11:1-11; Luke 19:28-44; and John 12:12-19. The Triumphal Entry of Jesus Christ into Jerusalem marks the high point of his earthly ministry. The Lord enters the city, knowing full well that this trip will end in his sacrificial death for the sin of humanity. “And there are also many other things which Jesus did, the which, if they should be written every one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that should be written”. (John 21:25) The four Gospels represent 4 separate accounts from 4 people who walked with Jesus. Minus the book of John, Matthew, Mark, and Luke are called the SYNOPTIC Gospels because they contain similar information. However the book of John is unique, it is said to be in the 90% range of unique information. There are very few stories, recollections that are in all 4 gospels. It is an interesting study to see what was SO IMPORTANT, that all Gospels covered it. It seems that there are only eleven events that managed to be included in all four Gospels. Any level of intelligence would recognize, most likely, these eleven hold a special significance to the biography of Jesus Christ. This is one of those IMPORTANT events that is in all 4 Gospels!

Conduit, “This is the day that the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it. Save us, we pray, O LORD! O LORD, we pray, give us success! (Psalm 118:24-25) This is one of the most mis-applied scriptures in the Bible; Psalm 118:24. Many people quote this scripture; This is the day the Lord has created, I will be happy and rejoice in it’, as a way to be positive about the day that they are starting. It is a nice thought, but this PROPHECY is specific to the TRIUMPHAL ENTRY of the CHRIST, Jesus. It was the beginning of the END; IT IS FINISHED! It is written; “So when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, “It is finished!” And bowing His head, He gave up His spirit.” (John 19:30) Slow down this week- The Passion week- meditate on the importance of this week. It’s coming soon….This is NOT JUST a week, like others, this is HOLY WEEK. Holy means to SET APART. Set apart some time to meditate on what this week means to you personally and to the whole of humanity! The prophet Zechariah not only prophesied about Jesus’ Triumphal entry, but he also told what the repercussion of the Messiah’s entry into Jerusalem would be. Hear the Word of the Lord: “I will remove the battle chariots from Israel and the warhorses from Jerusalem. I will destroy all the weapons used in battle, and your king will bring peace to the nations. His realm will stretch from sea to sea and from the Euphrates River to the ends of the earth”. (Zechariah 9:10) There is only one JESUS of Nazareth, there is only ONE REDEEMER, there is only ONE GOD, the Triune Jehovah: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. One God who expresses Himself in 3 forms. This week be different, be changed, be redeemed- Be like Jesus! It has been said: “To reward good with evil is devilish. To reward evil with evil is beastly. To reward good with good is manly. To reward Evil with Good is Godly.” We are never more like our SAVIOR than when we FORGIVE and reward Evil for Good. That is not possibly in our flesh, that is only possible with the HOLY SPIRIT living inside of us- AGAPE! Make this week HOLY, as we remember what was DONE FOR US! “For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life”. This is the day the LORD has created, let us be happy and rejoice in it!