Matthew 21:10-11 (NIV) When Jesus entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred and asked, “Who is this?” The crowds answered, “This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth in Galilee.”

On the day that we know as Palm Sunday, Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey while a crowd of people waved palm branches and laid their cloaks on the road as He passed by. They shouted, “Hosanna to the Son of David,” among other things. It was a huge happening but when he arrived in Jerusalem, the people there who were not part of the triumphal procession didn’t know who He was. They asked the people who were shouting and celebrating who Jesus was and the people gave them an answer, but it was the wrong answer. They told the people inquiring about Jesus that he was “the prophet from Nazareth.”

Here was Jesus close to the end of His ministry on earth and even the people celebrating Him didn’t know who He truly was. After this great celebration, many people just continued their lives without giving Him another thought. In just a little while, He would be arrested, tried in a few mock trials and then handed over to the Romans to be crucified. Crucifixion was widely considered to be the most shameful and humiliating form of execution in the Roman Empire. It was meant to instill fear and shame through a long, agonizing death in plain sight of everyone who passed by. It was intended to be very demeaning and was usually reserved for slaves, foreigners, rebels, and other “lower-class” individuals. Jesus, who was God in the flesh and the same God that created the earth and everything in it including the people that were crucifying Him, was relegated to criminal and lower-class status. To the people who were mocking and cursing Him, His name was considered the lowest of the low. But little did they know who this was and what would happen in three days.

On the third day, Jesus rose triumphantly from the grave, proving the fact that He was God incarnate and the Lord and Savior of the World. He went from the lowest name on the day that He was crucified to name that is above every other name (Philippians 2:9)! At that name, every knee will bow in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue will declare that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father (Philippians 2:10-11).

In our world, the opposite occurs. People who are famous and whose name is a big deal now fade into oblivion after they die. After just a few short years, nobody remembers their name anymore. But the name of Jesus, that was despised and dragged through the mud, rose to be the highest and greatest name of all! That’s the name that we’ve been given for salvation, provision and deliverance. It’s in that name that we have the victory and that we are safe from every attack of the enemy. God has given us the priceless gift of being able to pray in that name and to receive what we ask for in prayer. That name lifts us from the low dregs of existence to the highest heights as we are now positionally seated in the heavenly realms with Him (Ephesians 2:6). His name is above every other name and it is ours for eternity!

Pastor Joey Vazquez