Palm Sunday; Asylum offered by Abgarus

JESUS RIDES INTO JERUSALEM ON A DONKEY.

The chief priests' blindness and hardness of heart caused them to sink ever deeper into sin. They rejected the Messiah and planned to kill Him, and then plotted to murder Lazarus as well.

Jesus, the sacrificial victim, began his last week on earth by riding into Jerusalem on a donkey under a canopy of palm branches, with crowds hailing Him as their king. The people who were prising God for giving them a king had a wrong idea about Jesus. They were sure he would be a national leader who  would restore their nation to its former glory, and thus they were deaf to the words f their prophets and blind to Jesus' real mission. When it became apparent that Jesus was not going to fulfill their hopes, many people turned against Him. Their adoration was short-lived.

THE APOCRYPHAL LETTER OF ABGAR, KING OF EDESSA, TO CHRIST (John 12, 20) is given by Eusebius (Hist. Eccl. i. 13) who professes to derive it from Syriac documents preserved at Edessa, and quoted by Moses Chronensis (Hist. Arm.ii.28). The letter and replay are probably as old as the 3rd century. Abgarus says that having heard of His miracles, and thence concluded His Divine nature, "I have written to ask of Thou wouldst trouble Thyself to come to me, and heal this sickness, which I have. For I have also heard that the Jews murmur against Thee, and wish to injure Thee. Now I have a small and beautiful city which is sufficient for both". The reply, whicy is almost entirely couched in Scriptural language, begins with an allusion to John 20,29, and after declining the king's offer, adds, "When I am taken up, I will send thee one of my disciples to heal thy sickness; he shall also give salvation to thee  and to them that are with thee" (B.H.Cowper, Apocr. Gosp.,p.220)

JESSUS EXPLAINS WHY HE MUST DIE (John, 12,24) "I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds". This is a beautiful  picture of the necessary sacrifice of Jesus who died to pay the penalty for our sins, but also to show his power over death. His power proves He has eternal life. Because Jesus is GOD, He can give this eternal life to all who believe in Him.

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