John 12:12-16 (NIV)
The next day the great crowd that had come for the Feast heard that Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem. They 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!”
Jesus found a young donkey and sat upon it, as it is written, “Do not be afraid, O Daughter of Zion; see, your king is coming, seated on a donkey’s colt.”
At 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.
The time had finally come. The Passover was only a few days away when Jesus would allow Himself to be arrested and executed. But in the meantime, there were a few messianic prophesies that had not yet been fulfilled.
One of those prophesies was, of course, the Messiah riding into Jerusalem, not on a war horse, symbolizing conquest, but on a donkey colt (Zechariah 9:9). Jesus fulfilled this one completely as He rode down the Mount of Olives and into the city gates, surrounded by cheering crowds. Those same crowds unconsciously fulfilled a messianic prophecy from Psalm 118:25-27 with their cries of adoration and the waving of palm branches.
John was entirely open when he wrote that Jesus’ disciples had no idea that the things that they were witnessing were direct fulfillments of Scriptures that they had known since childhood. It was only later, after Jesus was glorified (which, to His followers, pointed to the day when the Holy Spirit was poured out on them all – John 7:39), that they suddenly realized that everything that had happened was precisely a part of God’s plan.
Even though they spent the vast majority of their time with Jesus stumbling along in the dark, following Jesus and, at times, trying to persuade Him to do things their way, Jesus had always walked in the pure light of God’s will, listening every day, every moment, for His direction, and fully obeying His every command as soon as He knew it (John 5:19-20). Thus, Jesus walked in God’s power, and in all of His wisdom, the perfect model of what God wants ALL of His people to do.
Father, I don’t think I have ever seen this so clearly! How often have I stumbled along in the dark, trying to persuade You of what You should be doing, instead of merely walking in Your light, listening and fully obeying? And what a difference it makes when I do simply listen and obey! Forgive me, Lord, for not taking full advantage of ALL the light that You make available to me. Help me to do better from now on, all the rest of my life. Amen.