Throughout the Hebrew Scriptures, God emphasises compassion for strangers and those who are oppressed. Again and again (more than 25 times!), the Torah calls us to love or treat outsiders with kindness because we were also outsiders…
On Palm Sunday, the triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem is celebrated. We know that Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a colt, the foal of a donkey, in fulfilment of the prophecy in Zechariah 9:9. Jesus was not only given a king’s welcome; He was greeted with the waving of palm branches. These details are far from incidental. Together, they tell a profound story: The people of Israel recognised the signs of the coming Messianic King, the long-awaited Messiah, the Son of David.
The Lord’s calling for Israel as a nation is to be a ‘light to the nations’ (Isaiah 42:6), but this past year has been a very dark time for Israel and our Jewish people.
