Palm Sunday

The next day the great crowd that had come for the festival 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 on it, as it is written:

 “Do not be afraid, Daughter 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 these things had been done to him.

 Now the crowd that was with him when he called Lazarus from the tomb and raised him from the dead continued to spread the word.

Many people, because they had heard that he had performed this sign,went out to meet him.

                                                                                                                                                 John:12

Explanation:

Zechariah (9:9):

“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.”

The location of the Mount of Olives is significant in the Old Testament in that Zechariah 9:9 and Zechariah 14:1-5 stated that the Messiah would come to Jerusalem from the Mount of Olives:

Then shall the Lord go forth and fight against those nations, as when he fought in the day of battle. And his feet shall stand in that day upon the Mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east.

Jesus’ entry on a donkey has a parallel in Zechariah 9:9 which states that:

thy king cometh unto thee; he is just, and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass.

The symbolism of the donkey may also refer to the Eastern tradition that it is an animal of peace, versus the horse, which is an animal of war.

Therefore, a king came riding upon a horse when he was bent on war and rode upon a donkey when he wanted to point out that he was coming in peace.

Therefore, Jesus’ entry to Jerusalem symbolized his entry as the Prince of Peace, not as a warmongering king.

 

“Quick, getup!”

It was about this time that King Herod arrested some who belonged to the church, intending to persecute them. He had James, the brother of John, put to death with the sword. When he saw that this met with approval among the Jews, he proceeded to seize Peter also. This happened during the Festival of Unleavened Bread. 

After arresting him, he put him in prison, handing him over to be guarded by four squads of four soldiers each. Herod intended to bring him out for public trial after the Passover.

 So Peter was kept in prison, but the church was earnestly praying to God for him.

The night before Herod was to bring him to trial, Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains, and sentries stood guard at the entrance. Suddenly an angel of the Lord appeared and a light shone in the cell. He struck Peter on the side and woke him up. “Quick, get up!” he said, and the chains fell off Peter’s wrists.

Then the angel said to him, “Put on your clothes and sandals.” And Peter did so. “Wrap your cloak around you and follow me,” the angel told him. 

Peter followed him out of the prison, but he had no idea that what the angel was doing was really happening; he thought he was seeing a vision.  

They passed the first and second guards and came to the iron gate leading to the city. It opened for them by itself, and they went through it.

When they had walked the length of one street, suddenly the angel left him.

Then Peter came to himself and said, “Now I know without a doubt that the Lord has sent his angel and rescued me from Herod’s clutches and from everything the Jewish people were hoping would happen.”

When this had dawned on him, he went to the house of Mary the mother of John, also called Mark, where many people had gathered and were praying. Peter knocked at the outer entrance, and a servant named Rhoda came to answer the door. 

When she recognized Peter’s voice, she was so overjoyed she ran back without opening it and exclaimed, “Peter is at the door!”

“You’re out of your mind,” they told her. When she kept insisting that it was so, they said, “It must be his angel.”

But Peter kept on knocking, and when they opened the door and saw him, they were astonished.

 Peter motioned with his hand for them to be quiet and described how the Lord had brought him out of prison. “Tell James and the other brothers and sisters about this,” he said, and then he left for another place.

How to Celebrate Christmas

Hello welcome to Hiding Place

If you do not know how to celebrate Christmas this post could help you

Not only Christians but Millions are celebrating Christmas 

Mostly around the world we can see many families decorate their homes and their gardens 

Many will be rushing to stores to buy new dresses may be even jewels and other accessories 

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Many children will be busy collecting the decoration items and greeting cards[now a days e-cards 🙂 ]

Well after all the purchase and decorations are over then there will be cooking part

Okay, this is what we all can see from outside

Now let us see How God wants us to celebrate Christmas

God sent his only son Jesus to this world because He loves us very much and so He gave His son to us on Christmas day.

But when we read in Bible we can see Jesus did not have a good tidy and neat place on His birthday also we can read that He was not clothed very richly

Then How does God wants us to celebrate Christmas

Lets take an example:

You are celebrating your birthday and on that day everyone is happy and your family gets best clothing and they have ordered for good and delicious food and arranged a party that day, but none cares about you but you are there in their midst the whole celebration is for you but none respond you or speak with you 

Obviously you will be sad and worried may be even burst to tears 

Whats this celebration for? and for whom are they all doing this?

It is for you

My friend we all celebrate Christmas not for Jesus to rejoice on that day but for our own entertainment

Then How can Jesus be happy in this celebration

I am not telling new dresses or good food or decorations should not be done, but I emphasize that Jesus should be in your midst and He must be happy then that celebration has a true meaning in it.

So What to do:

Accept Jesus in your heart and welcome Him into your home then He will come to you and dine with you

When you live a holy and pleasing life to God, Jesus will be delighted in it.

• Go to Church
• Pray as a family and thank God for His gift for us
• Share God”s love to others

Christmas is coming friends.…

Be prepared to celebrate it with Jesus in your Heart and Home

 Why is Christmas Celebrated?  Please click this link to know more

 

Why is Christmas celebrated?

Hello friends welcome to Hiding place 

Well all around the world people celebrate Christmas and I hope this festive has attracted the hearts of whole world.

My dear friend may be you do not know what is Christmas? Then please read this post

Main person : Christ Jesus

Parents: God the Father

Theme: God sent his only Son (Jesus) to this world on Christmas day.

Where: In a manger at Bethlehem

Who were all there at that time: Shepherds who were near that manger

What was Jesus clothed: Swaddling Clothes

One day Mary of Nazareth was in her home she was just engaged to Joseph a Carpenter who was from the tribe of Judah and so she was a virgin 

At that time suddenly she saw an angel standing before her and obviously she was really scared at his sight 

He introduced himself as Gabriel and he was from the God to announce an important message to her, and he said Mary you have received favor in the sight of God so He has ordained you to be a carrier of His own Child and He will be called Son of God 

She said I am a virgin how is it possible for me to conceive 

Angel said God’s Holy spirit will overshadow you and because of His power you will be conceived

She accepted this call of God even though this could cost her own life and her whole family; because it is the law of Israelite’s to stone and kill those who conceive a child before they have are married

Then Joseph his fiance who tried to divorce her quietly because he came to know that Mary was conceived 

But again the angel appeared to Joseph and revealed the divine plan of God to Joseph and so he accepted Mary as his own wife 

Then one day they came to Bethlehem for a survey  was taken in that country

At that time they had no room to stay so they found a manger and there Jesus was born 

Angels appeared to the shepherds who were near that place and announced that their King the Anointed one has born in a manger and clothed with swaddling cloths

They came and saw Jesus and went and told the villagers about this great happiness that has come to their village

And thus we all celebrate Christmas remembering the love of God that He sent his Only son to die for us in this world

Yes, my friend Jesus came not to rule this earth as an earthly king but to be as a slave and die for us on the Cross …

Please wait: Remember Christmas is not a festival for Christians

                       It is for the whole world 

God Bless you

 

 

 

The Lord’s table

It was a feast time in Jerusalem.

Every house was preparing for it; while Jesus knew his time was very near; so he told his friends that they should prepare for the passover that very night

At the dinner; Jesus who was a teacher(Master)  for his disciples  wore a servant’s dress and took water with a towel and he started to wash his disciples feet and to wipe it; though his disciples tried to stop him Jesus did it and he said If your master has done this  work of a servant you should also be humble  

¹⁴ When the hour [for the meal] had come, Jesus reclined at the table, and the apostles with Him. ¹⁵ He said to them, “I have earnestly wanted to eat this Passover with you before I suffer; ¹⁶ for I say to you, I will not eat it again until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.”

¹⁹ And when He had taken bread and given thanks, He broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is My body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of Me.”²⁰ And in the same way He took the cup after they had eaten, saying, “This cup, which is poured out for you, is the new covenant [ratified] in My blood.

Then he said one of you will betray me

His disciples except Judas Iscariot did not know what Jesus was speaking.

When everyone were discussing who could that person be? Jesus told Judas Iscariot to do quickly what he wanted to do 

Then Jesus said you (other 11 disciples) will leave me alone at that time but I am not alone because my father is with me.

Immediately peter(Simon) said Lord even if these people go I will not leave you alone

Jesus said Peter today you will deny that you know me for three times;

³¹ “Simon, Simon (Peter), listen! Satan has demanded permission to sift[all of] you like grain; ³² but I have prayed [especially] for you [Peter], that your faith [and confidence in Me] may not fail; and you, once you have turned back again [to Me], strengthen and support your brothers[in the faith].”

Then they all praised God and went to garden of Gethsemane.

He declared that the bread spoke of His body which would be broken. There was not a broken bone, but His body was so badly tortured that it was hardly recognizable (Psalm 22:12-17; Isaiah 53:4-7).

The wine spoke of His blood, indicating the terrible death He would soon experience.

He, the perfect Son of God, became the fulfillment of the countless Old Testament prophecies concerning a Redeemer (Genesis 3:15; Psalm 22; Isaiah 53).

When He said, “Do this in remembrance of me,” He indicated this was a ceremony that must be continued in the future.

It indicated also that the Passover, which required the death of a lamb and looked forward to the coming of the Lamb of God who would take away the sin of the world, was fulfilled in the Lord’s Supper.

The New Covenant replaced the Old Covenant when Christ, the Passover Lamb (1 Corinthians 5:7), was sacrificed (Hebrews 8:8-13). The sacrificial system was no longer needed (Hebrews 9:25-28).

The Lord’s Supper/Christian Communion is a remembrance of what Christ did for us and a celebration of what we receive as a result of His sacrifice.

“Thus we do remember the sufferings of Christ in our churches by doing this”

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Passover:

The origins of the Passover festival antedate the Exodus in old testament (Before the birth of Christ).