Today, I am reading and commenting on  Matthew 21-22.

When Jesus rode into Jerusalem on the back of a donkey colt He was declaring that He had already won.  The passage from Zechariah which Matthew quotes here refers to a king returning to his capital after winning a war, and not just any war but a war of rebellion.  We often think about the Crucifixion or the Resurrection being the moment when Jesus was victorious over Satan, but this passage suggests that His victory came when He rode into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday.  Palm Sunday was when Jesus committed Himself to accept being arrested and crucified and when He accepted that He was victorious over Satan.  In the same manner, we are victorious over sin when we accept that doing the right thing will lead to suffering and do it anyway.  I want to add two points to that.  The joy which comes from suffering for doing the right thing exceeds the pain of that suffering.  And the Resurrection shows us that the joy is lasting, but the suffering is temporary.  I realized I have a third point.  If we do not do the right thing for fear of suffering, the shame we will feel is also lasting.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.