On the Sunday that begins Holy Week the Church looks steadfastly & adoringly at Jesus who enters Jerusalem to begin the last part of His saving mission -- within the city that symbolizes the old covenant, the covenant to be fulfilled and replaced by the new covenant, inaugurated by His Blood shed at Calvary.
To assist us in a right looking at Jesus, let us consider the animal on which he rode on the Sunday.
It was an animal upon which no one had previously sat. It had not been broken in. Yet Jesus sat upon it and rode on it as if it were a well broken in, seasoned donkey used to such a thing. In this "miracle" we see that the One who rides is not only Messiah, but also the Lord of creation.
Jesus, whose entry on this animal rather than on the war horse proclaims he is the King of peace, is the King whose kingdom is not of this world but of the world to come.
Further, this Entry tells us that He who will suffer, die,rise from the dead and be exalted to heaven in Jerusalem, does this for us and for our salvation. He is One who is truly able to represent us and to stand in our place for He is the Lord of Creation. In the words of the church's dogma, He is One Person made known in two natures, divine and human, and thus what He does has an eternal and infinite effect, and thus covers all creation.
Ride on, Ride on in Majesty, Ride on to die.... for us and for our salvation.
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The Rev'd Dr. Peter Toon M.A., D.Phil. (Oxon.)
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