GOSPEL: Matthew 21:1-9

Reading: And when they drew nigh unto Jerusalem, and were come to Bethphage, unto the mount of Olives, then sent Jesus two disciples,  Saying unto them, Go into the village over against you, and straightway ye shall find an ass tied, and a colt with her: loose them, and bring them unto me.  And if any man say ought unto you, ye shall say, The Lord hath need of them; and straightway he will send them.  All this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying,  Tell ye the daughter of Sion, Behold, thy King cometh unto thee, meek, and sitting upon an ass, and a colt the foal of an ass.  And the disciples went, and did as Jesus commanded them,  And brought the ass, and the colt, and put on them their clothes, and they set him thereon.  And a very great multitude spread their garments in the way; others cut down branches from the trees, and strawed them in the way.  And the multitudes that went before, and that followed, cried, saying, Hosanna to the Son of David: Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord; Hosanna in the highest.

Commentary: The wonders of our salvation are always found in Christ our King.  The way of salvation is entirely unknown to the natural man, and only the Holy Spirit can open our eyes that we may see Christ as He is, True and Almighty God, yet also a True and meek Man of flesh and blood, come to save us from sin - a true Brother.  While the word "meek" includes humility, the particular virtue of meekness is to humbly submit oneself to God's judgment, via the hands of men.  No man would have laid a hand upon Christ to hurt Him, had He come in all His glory, and so for our sake, since He must suffer for our sins, this King of the entire universe, before Whom devils tremble, rides into Jerusalem quite unlike a king.  "Hosanna to the Son of David…..Hosanna in the highest."  Hosanna means "O save" or "Lord save us".  Consider how Jesus enters Jerusalem as a king, yet a few days later He leaves caring a cross.  "Being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.   Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name:  That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth."