On the first Palm Sunday, people laid their coats and branches down before Jesus. By spreading their coats on the road, as well as freshly cut branches, it was their version of rolling out the red carpet. This is why it is called Palm Sunday.
They laid these down and began to praise Him with shouts of ‘Hosanna’.
I was thinking…. If Jesus came riding down your street, what would you lay down before Him? What is preventing you from praising Jesus.
1 – Pride?
We may not want to admit it, but perhaps pride stands in the way of our praise. We are concerned of what others think of us. I also wonder if sometimes we might overlook pride and excuse our lack of expressive praise as our personality. We might say, “Well, by nature, I’m just not a very expressive person. I’m kind of quiet and don’t do things like what took place on that first Palm Sunday. I’m too reserved.”
If Jesus came riding down your street if it’s pride standing in the way of praise, would you be willing to lay it down?
2 – Fear?
Perhaps fear at times stands in our way of praise. The classic example I think of when someone had opportunity to praise Jesus but was just too scared to do it is Peter. After Jesus had been arrested, Peter sort of lurked behind in the shadows to see how things would turn out. Someone said to him, “You were with Nazarene, Jesus, weren’t you?” What a perfect opportunity for Peter say, “I sure was.” But of course, Peter didn’t say that. He said, “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Within a few moments he denied knowing Jesus two more times. He could have praised, but he was afraid. Sometimes it is scary to praise Jesus. We don’t know what people might think of us if we really let loose with genuine Palm Sunday praise.
If Jesus came riding down your street, and if it’s fear that stands in your way of praise, would you be willing to lay it down?
3 – Doubt?
It could be doubt that hinders your ability to praise Jesus. Maybe you have a similar feeling when you are surrounded by people who are praising and talking about Jesus. You may think, “I know a lot of others are really into this. I’m just not sure if I should be praising. I have some serious questions that need to get answered before I can praise.” It’s tough to praise when you have doubts
If Jesus came riding down your street, and if it’s doubt that’s standing in the way of your ability praise, would you at least be willing to consider laying it down?
It could even be…
Possessions, Sin, Sadness, Burdens, or Worries… All these may stand in your way of praise. Whatever it is, would you be willing to lay it down?
I encourage you to praise Jesus! You don’t have to go crazy, but don’t be ashamed. Praise can be as simple as giving a public compliment to Jesus for His goodness.
So praise Jesus at church, with a friend or co-worker, or at home. Begin each of your prayers with praise – Jesus taught us to say, “Our Father in Heaven, hallowed be your name”
When I consider the story of that first Palm Sunday, I am struck by the thought that these coats probably wouldn’t be worth much after a donkey walks on them. In a crowd like that there was no guarantee that once you laid it down you were ever going to get it back. For some reason, the story leads me to believe those people probably weren’t real interested in coats at that moment when Jesus rode by. Though these people were probably very poor, they weren’t as concerned about coats as they were about praise.
For the people on the first Palm Sunday, praising Jesus might have cost them something… their coat. That sounds a little bit like a sacrifice. The Bible speaks of a sacrifice of praise. It is appropriate to give someone ‘a sacrifice of praise’ to who saved our lives by sacrificing his own life.
What is your sacrifice of praise today?