Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion!
Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem!
Behold, your King is coming to you;
He is just and having salvation,
Lowly and riding on a donkey,
A colt, the foal of a donkey.  Zechariah 9:9 (NKJV)

Dear one, 

I hope you are having a blessed Holy Week!  As we began on Palm Sunday, waving palm branches, I pondered what to share with you today.  The Gospels are packed with blessings and promises from this week of eternal significance.

Just one week before Jesus would rise from the grave, He rode into Jerusalem on a donkey as the prophet Zechariah had foretold.  The people laid down their coats and waved their palm branches, praising the Coming King.  When Jesus majestically rode into Jerusalem that day, He looked down eternity and saw you.  He rode for you, sister; He rode for you, brother;  He rode for me (see Matthew 21:1–11).

Then Jesus went to the temple and overturned the tables of the money-changers. When Jesus cleansed the temple, He cleaned it for you, sister; He cleaned it for you, brother; He cleaned it for me. He knocks over our tables and prunes us for His glory and kingdom. What clutter and sin do we need overturned and  washed away by our Savior today? (see Mark 11:15–19)

When Jesus sat at the Last Supper with His disciples, He took the Bread and Wine, saying, “Do this in remembrance of Me.” He meant that for His disciples; for all believers; for You, sister; for You, brother; for me.  He wants us always to remember His sacrificial death and resurrection until He comes (see Luke 22:14–23, 1 Corinthians 11:26).

When Jesus prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane, He prayed to the Father, He prayed for His disciples, and He prayed for all who would one day believe in Him (John 17) – that’s you, sister; that’s you, brother; that’s me. Just think, when He prayed for us in the Garden, He was praying so hard that He sweat drops of blood – Yes, that drop was for you, sister; that drop was for you, brother; that drop was for me (see Luke 22:39–46).

When Jesus took the stripes, even though He was the Spotless Lamb who had never sinned, He bore those stripes for you, sister; He bore those stripes for you, brother; He bore those stripes for me. Each of the 39 lashes was a whip that should have been upon us.  The scourge left raw wounds on Jesus’ back, and it is by Those Stripes we are healed (see John, 19:1–3, 1 Peter 2:24).

…He poured out His soul unto death,
And He was numbered with the transgressors,
And He bore the sin of many,
And made intercession for the transgressors. Isaiah 53:12 (NKJV)

When Jesus went to the cross, He took those nail holes for you, sister; for you brother; for me. Those nails were for the sins, sickness, family troubles, government squabbles, and every evil in this world. He bore all our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sin, might live for righteousness (1 Peter 2:24).

When Jesus cried, “I thirst,” from the cross, He was thirsting for you, sister; for you, brother; and for me (see John 19:28).  He still thirsts today for all the world to be saved.  Just as the Lord needed the donkey to ride, He needs us to take the Gospel and the message of His salvation to all the nations.  The Lord needs you, sister; the Lord needs you, brother; the Lord needs me.

And if anyone says anything to you, you shall say, ‘The Lord has need of them,’ and immediately he will send them.”  Matthew 21:3 (NKJV)

When Jesus said, “It is finished,” He had completed the work the Father had sent Him to do, the plan the Father had set in motion from before time began to save His children (see John 19:30).  He paid our debt in full with HIs precious blood – your debt, sister; your debt, brother; my debt.  Jesus purchased us with His blood (see Acts 20:28).

When Jesus rose on Sunday morning, He rose for you, sister! He rose for you, brother! He rose for me!  Because He conquered sin, death, and the devil, we also have victory and the promise of eternal like through Jesus Christ. HalleluYAH! We will see our loved ones again!

He is not here, but is risen!… Luke 24:6 (NKJV)

Today’s TEA CUPP: And still today Jesus calls us to “Tell the daughter of Zion, ‘Behold, your King is coming to you…” He’s calling you, sister, He’s calling you, brother, He’s calling me.  Keep telling the story of Jesus, dear sister, dear brother.  Read the Gospel story. Tell a friend or stranger that King Jesus is coming soon, this time not on a donkey, but on a horse.  He is coming in victory for all who believe in HIm. 

Tell the daughter of Zion,
‘Behold, your King is coming to you,
Lowly, and sitting on a donkey,
A colt, the foal of a donkey.  Matthew 21:5 (NKJV)

 I am He who lives, and was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore. Amen. And I have the keys of Hades and of Death. Revelation 1:18

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson.