Hosanna! #1801

12 The next day a great multitude that had come to the feast, when they heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem, 13 took branches of palm trees and went out to meet Him, and cried out: “Hosanna! ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!’ The King of Israel!” (John 12:12–13, NKJV)

The Passover feast of the Jews was approaching as Jesus entered Jerusalem. People laid palm branches (and even clothing) in His path as symbols of festive joy (Matt. 21:8; cf. Lev. 23:40; Rev. 7:9). The people verbalized their anticipation of victory with shouts of praise from the Psalms: “Save now, I pray, O Lord; O Lord, I pray, send now prosperity. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!” (Psa. 118:25-26). “Hosanna” (“save now” or “oh save!”) punctuated their excitement that Jesus was the “Son of David,” the “King of Israel” (Matt. 21:9). But, Jesus was not riding upon a mighty steed as a conquering hero, but upon a lowly donkey (fulfilling a prophecy depicting the humble nature of the King and His kingdom, Jno. 12:14-15; Zech. 9:9). The salvation He brought was redemption from the bondage and death of sin, not freedom from their oppressive Roman overlords (Isa. 62:11-12). His kingdom is “not of this world,” and when their vision was not realized, they viciously turn against Jesus and shouted, “Crucify Him!” (Jno. 18:36-38; 19:14-16). We must not conjure up false images of Jesus and His gospel. If we do, we join hands with the faithless crowd that crucified the King of Israel, the Savior of the world.

Save me, Lord! #1059

9  Then those who went before and those who followed cried out, saying: “Hosanna! ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!’ 10  Blessed is the kingdom of our father David that comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!” (Mark 11:9–10, NKJV)

How could shouts of Hosanna (“save, we pray” or “save now”) turn so quickly to shouts of “Crucify him!” (Mk. 15:31)? Because Jesus did not meet their expectation of salvation, of a king and of the kingdom. They expected a king who would save them from Rome (like David saved Israel from their enemies), and a kingdom wielding earthly power over men. But, Jesus said, “My kingdom is not of this world” (Jno. 18:36). He withdrew Himself from forcible attempts to make Him king; His kingdom is “within” (Jno. 6:15; Lk. 17:20-21). And so, they killed Jesus. Even to this day, when Jesus does not fit people’s expectation of salvation, their shouts of hosanna turn to scornful contempt. For example, Jesus could not be more plain, that one must believe and be baptized to be saved (Mk. 16:16). Yet, people ridicule His way of salvation as “water salvation.” They clamor for “faith only” salvation (which will never save the lost, see Jas. 2:14-26). When one shouts, “Save me, Lord,” he must be willing to be saved Christ’s way. There is no other way (Jno. 14:6; Acts 4:12).