It was the 10th day of Nisan in the year 33 AD. People from all over the Empire were gathering in the capitol of a small nation to celebrate Passover. As the preparations for the celebration were proceeding a large crowd gathered to welcome the great Prophet and Teacher as He approached the entrance of the city. As the Teacher approached, riding on a donkey, the crowd began to praise God and sing: “Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord; Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!”
The multitude that gathered around him began laying their coats in the road and cutting branches from the trees and laying them before Him. But there were Pharisees in the crowd that were offended and demanded that Jesus rebuke His disciples to silence them. He answered them and said, “If these are silenced the rocks will cry out”.
Of course the Pharisees would not let the matter drop. It is an attempted insurrection the claimed. “We must stifle this attempted overthrow of the government by these peasants. We must investigate this matter, uncover this evil plot, and bring the leaders to justice.”
Over the course of the next four days they plotted and interrogated those involved trying to forcing the matter into the courts. Obvious to them, this was a giant conspiracy to overthrow the government, for the majority favored the leader of this insurrection. And when this teacher rose up and disrupted the commerce in the temple in preparation for Passover, it was clear something must be done. Surely there was only one way to undermine this conspiracy and they began plotting how they could put this Teacher to death.
The breakthrough finally came when one of the inner circle agreed to betray the Teacher. Under the cover of darkness they made an arrest and staged court hearings behind closed doors. Their planning and plotting was paying off, for they had arranged for false witnesses to collaborate their accusations. With a slight twisting of the teachers own words they were able to present evidence of an insurrection. For the most part the Teacher remained silent offering no defense. When finally the hearings reached the highest court the Teacher was confronted with a straight forward question: Are you the King of the Jews? To the surprise of all in attendance the Teacher simply admitted that He was the rightful King.
On the 14th of Nisan in the year 33 AD the Pharisees were convinced that they had succeeded in stifling the insurrection and conspiracy of this Teacher riding on a donkey and His palm waving followers. Jesus was crucified on a cross and died. For a while they thought that their positions of power in the government were secure and the effects of this man’s teaching would soon disappear.
What happened three days later would rock their world and forever change the course of history. Jesus resurrection changed everything and remains the testimony of the rightful ruler over all of creation. It is this testimony that inspires and empowers His palm waving followers to this day. Though His conquering of death, hell, and the grave, Jesus became our Savior and will soon return to judge the usurpers of His authority on earth. Jesus will overthrow the conspiracy of those who plot with Satan to discredit Jesus and His followers. The actual insurrection will be exposed and judged. And we will wave our palm branches and cry, “Our Lord reigns, Our Lord reigns.”
The plot of the Pharisees in AD 33 backfired and the Gospel of Jesus Christ continues to spread throughout the world producing faith and hope in all that will believe in the love of God that will conquer all.