Walk the Walk

Understanding Our Own "Lamb": Reflections on Jesus' Sacrifice

• Tina Perry

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Prepare to embark on a spiritual journey with us as we traverse the narrative of Palm Sunday and the initiation of Holy Week. Discover the poignant story of Jesus's triumphant entry into Jerusalem, riding on a donkey, lauded as a liberator the people sought to free them from Roman rule. Peel back the layers of Lamb Selection Day, a significant occasion when the Israelites chose an unblemished lamb for sacrifice, mirroring the acceptance of Jesus, our perfect lamb. Delve into the depth of the relationship we can cultivate with Jesus by inviting him into our lives, homes, and hearts.

Our expedition continues into the significance of Holy Week, beginning with the Last Supper, when Jesus unveiled the impending treachery by one of his disciples. Navigating through the crucifixion, we marvel at the miracle of his resurrection on Easter Sunday. This episode is an invitation to introspect, to identify and acknowledge our own "Lamb", and appreciate the sacrifices made by Jesus. Join us for this soulful exploration into the spirit of Holy Week, as we fathom its essence and the impact of Jesus's infinite sacrifices on our lives.

Speaker 1:

Hello and welcome to Walk the Walk. Today is Palm Sunday and some people are like, yeah, I know what Palm Sunday is and some people are not familiar with the term and some people are not really sure they know that they celebrate with these palms. And but what's the meaning behind Palm Sunday? Well, palm Sunday is the beginning of what we call Holy Week and, as we know, next Sunday will be Easter and then this week we will also be celebrating Monday, thursday and Good Friday. So again, this, just this, is the start of Holy Week. But what is Palm Sunday?

Speaker 1:

Well, now, jesus was doing his ministry and at this point, jesus was entering Jerusalem, his triumphal entry into Jerusalem on a donkey. Now, the people there wanted Jesus to come, but they thought he was coming in as a king or more of as a warrior. The people had been oppressed by the Romans, the Israelites were oppressed by the Romans and they wanted this king, thinking Jesus was going to come in and just destroy and and have this all-out war to to release these people from the Romans. And in fact, that's not who Jesus is or was. What I did learn today from my pastor was that today is also known as Lamb Selection Day. Now this will?

Speaker 1:

We have to go back a little bit to Exodus, during the Passover, and if you're at all familiar with and I think most of us are familiar with the Pharaoh and Moses and releasing the people from Egypt after 400 years of slavery, God had chosen Moses to go back to Pharaoh and asked to have the people released, and of course we know that he's has a heart and heart and does not release the people. And then God then leashes the different plagues, and the last one is is that the firstborn of everything will be destroyed, except for those who, the Hebrews, were to have a lamb that they selected, one without any defects. They selected this lamb and then, on the fourth day, they would then slaughter it and put the blood over their doorstep to protect their home from the angel of death. That's the Passover, so the angel would actually just pass over them because they put the blood upon the door and then anybody, their firstborn of whatever, anybody that was in there, would not be killed, and that included animals, and that's why I'm saying of whatever, not necessarily people, but of animals. The firstborn of everything was killed during the Passover and God had told the Israelites this would be a lifetime, forever. Celebration celebration was the Passover.

Speaker 1:

If you want to read more about that, you can look in Exodus 12 1 through 7, but this is also known as lamb selection day, which was so intriguing to me and I hope I can remember to get back to that that as well. So, anyway, jesus now rides in on a donkey and the people are welcoming him in with their, their palms. They're waving their palms, they're excited. He's there, there, here's our warrior. He's gonna come in. There's gonna be bloodshed. He's gonna kill. You know, and just save us. Now. You know, and and again, like I said, that's not who Jesus is. He will save us, but not in the way that they thought that he was going to. So also. So that's Palm Sunday, as he rides in, and then this is lamb selection day. So the people then pick the lamb that they're going to sacrifice in four days. So whatever animal they sacrifice or choose to have sacrifice, they had to take it home with them and care for it for four days, which then will bring us on to Monday, thursday, and this is the night where Jesus has the last supper. Monday, thursday is when he reveals that somebody, one of the disciples, will betray him, and we know that's going to be Judas, and this is also the night that he is captured, which then will bring us into Good Friday, and I'll leave that for another message, but I do want to take us back to okay. So we've got Palm Sunday, the beginning of holy week, the day that is called lamb selection day.

Speaker 1:

Have you accepted your lamb? What do I mean by that? Well, I think most of us might realize that selecting the lamb is selecting Jesus Christ into your heart. Do people know that you have accepted the lamb? You know it said that they were to take the lamb and take it home, and it had to be this perfect, unblemished lamb. And we know that that's true for Jesus, that he is perfect and unblemished, he has no sin and he dies on a cross for each and every one of us. He sheds his blood just like a lamb would do for a person who is a sinner, so that that person does not have to die. The lamb dies in its place. That's what Jesus did for us on the cross.

Speaker 1:

Have you accepted the perfect lamb into your life? You know, it's really kind of hard to believe that somebody would die in my place, because, I have to be honest with you. I don't know if I could do that for somebody other than my children or my husband, but my friends, people that I don't know, I'm sorry, I love them, but I just don't know if I could sacrifice my life for somebody like that. We were all sinners. They were all sinners back then when Jesus was put on the cross and he still went to the cross for them, died on the cross for everyone, even in the midst of their sin. Have you accepted Jesus? Is he the lamb that you're going to select and will you tell others about him? Or are you going to hide him? You know it says that they were to take the lamb, take it home, care for it. Would you take Jesus into your home and care for him and start your relationship in your walk with him? You're like what does it even look like? What does that look like? That looks like this that I accept Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior. I'm not afraid to let anybody know and I do everything in my power to follow him, to walk the way that he walks, to talk the way that he talks, to give the way that he gives, to love the way that he loves.

Speaker 1:

Today is Palm Sunday. We know that Jesus is about to go into Jerusalem and we know that the Friday Good Friday, which sounds like an oxymoron, like Good Friday is when Jesus was crucified. What's so good about that? What's so good about that is that we know Sunday's coming. We know that Sunday is coming and that he is going to resurrect, or he was resurrected, on that Sunday for each and every one of us. I thank God every day, I anoint myself every day and I say Lord, thank you for dying on the cross for me and my family and thank you for coming back and saving us. So today's Palm Sunday, thursday's Monday, thursday, we have the Last Supper. Jesus reveals that there's going to be somebody who's going to betray him. He tells Peter that you're going to deny me and, of course, peter's like no, no, that's not possible, but it does happen. On Friday, jesus is crucified on the cross. And Saturday and Sunday, sunday comes and he is resurrected. That is what we call Holy Week. Have you accepted your Lamb?