Hosanna! Our King Comes to Save Us!
Those who went in front and those who followed were crying out, Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David! Hosanna in the highest! (Mark 11:9–10)
On that first Palm Sunday, the crowds gathered together to praise the King of the Jews. They cried out to him with their praise. In early Hebrew, Hosanna meant “save us,” But by the time of Jesus it had taken on a meaning of praise. The crowd didn’t realize that Jesus was going to do exactly what they were asking. As they worshipped him and praised him like a king, their king rode into Jerusalem to be put to death in order that he might save them and us.
More than likely, many from this crowd would quickly forget their praise of Jesus, as they were stirred up to cry out “Crucify him!” They would be the ones who would be calling for his death only a few days later. They would mock him and insult him and treat him as a criminal.
How often doesn’t this happen to us? We praise Jesus for saving us while at church or when a hymn becomes stuck in our head, but in the next breath, we do something that takes our savior to that cross. We ask for God to save us from our sins and only a matter of minutes later act as though we have no need for Jesus. Our struggle with our sinful nature is the very reason that Jesus came to this earth; that he rode into Jerusalem on a donkey. He did it all so that we might know the outcome of our struggle. Our sins have been paid for; our sinful flesh has been defeated. It may fight hard, but in the end, it has lost the battle because of Jesus. Our king rides to his death so that we might have life. Amen.
The song for today is “ Hosanna” by Carl Tuttle