The day when we celebrate Jesus’ Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem for the last week of His life.  He entered with the intention of taking on the sins of the world and dying so that we might live.

All over the world, people celebrate this day as the beginning of “Holy Week”.

For Jesus, it was the beginning of the end.  The sacrificial process began on this day.  On that journey up to Jerusalem, He began the 5-day process that culminated in the cross and the empty tomb.

The Passover is a foreshadowing of Jesus’ sacrifice to pay the price of our sins.  In Exodus 12, the lamb died so that the family would live.  That’s the picture that had been celebrated for 1500 years, seen imperfectly but pointing to God’s great plan of Salvation.

And it all began with the selection of the lamb.

Tell all the congregation of Israel that on the tenth day of this month every man shall take a lamb according to their fathers’ houses, a lamb for a household.  (Exodus 12:3)

On the 10th of Nissan, the lamb was selected from the flock and set aside for observation.  On the 14th, the lamb was sacrificed at twilight and blood applied to the doorposts of the house.  On the 15th of Nissan the Passover was celebrated.

Sunday – Thursday – Friday.

So Jesus came.  The Lamb of God, presenting Himself for examination before His sacrifice.  So that the word of the Lord would be fulfilled.

The Triumphal Entry happened on the 10th of Nissan.  The Plan of Salvation entered the end game.  Jesus came to Jerusalem determined to sacrifice Himself.

The disciples worshipped Him and called him the Son of David (Luke 19:37-40).  The crowds cheered Him, and paved the road with palm fronds and even their cloaks (Matthew 21:8).

Never before and never again would a day like this happen.

Jesus was being obedient to death, even death on a cross.  And the actual event was still five days away.

The Pharisees, the “religious people” in the crowd, objected and told Jesus to get control of the crowd.  They did not approve of this glorification.  They thought it was blasphemous.  Totally inappropriate.

Jesus rebuked them.  He said that if the crowds didn’t praise Him, then something even more spectacular would happen.  The very rocks on the ground would acclaim Him.

The day was a day for praise.  NOTHING could stop it.  God was doing something that only HE could do.  The promise of Genesis 3:15 was about to be fulfilled.  Everything was about to change.

• In 5 days the power of sin would be broken.

• In 7 days the victory of death would be shattered.

• In 56 days the Holy Spirit would come and the church would be born.

Do you feel the tension, the power, the glory?

It was the point of no return and once this step had been taken, there would be no going back.

So how will YOU praise Him today?

How will you consecrate this week where we remember His sacrifice?

How will you revel in the awesome power of God to once and for all address the power of sin and make a way back to Him?

Will you praise Him yourself, or will you rely on the rocks to praise you?

Here’s my challenge.

Get a rock.  Put it on your desk or your counter or some place that you see frequently.

Let it be a reminder that Praise Is Mandatory this week.

Then take a picture and email it back to me.  Flood my inbox with images of rocks that are reminding the faithful of the glory of God and the sacrifice of the Lamb.

Here’s my rock:

I’ll leave it there all week as a reminder that if I don’t worship Him, the rocks will cry out.

I really hope you’ll do the same.

Dennis