Hosanna!

On the next day the large crowd who had come to the feast, when they heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem, 13took the branches of the palm trees and went out to meet Him, and began to shout, "Hosanna! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD, even the King of Israel." 14Jesus, finding a young donkey, sat on it; as it is written, 15"Fear not, daughter of Zion; Behold, your king is coming, seated on a donkey’s colt.”16These things His disciples did not understand at the first; but when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that these things were written of Him, and that they had done these things to Him. 17So the people, who were with Him when He called Lazarus out of the tomb and raised him from the dead, continued to testify about Him. 18For this reason also the people went and met Him, because they heard that He had performed this sign. 19So the Pharisees said to one another, "You see that you are not doing any good; look, the world has gone after Him." - John 12:12-19

Imagine the scene: Thousands and thousands of people are making their way into Jerusalem for the annual Passover celebration. Most of them are bringing lambs to be sacrificed. A famous historian from that era, Josephus, reports a census that recorded 256,500 lambs slain during a single Passover! It is tough to imagine such a scene, but it was an annual trek for faithful Israelites, who were following God’s directions from centuries earlier. God instituted the Passover when He used Moses and miraculous plagues to free His people from slavery in Egypt. At that time, He told each family to sacrifice their best lamb, eat it, place some of it’s blood over their doors and be ready to leave Egypt. That night deadly judgment fell on every house that was not covered by the lamb’s blood, and in an instant, God’s people were set free to follow and worship God.

So, back to our scene in roughly A.D. 30, Jesus is making His way into Jerusalem to offer Himself up as the Passover Lamb of God (John 1:29). On the way, a crowd of people who have heard that Jesus miraculously brought a dead man named Lazarus back to life is waving palm branches and shouting, “Hosanna!” - meaning “Save!” or “Save now!” That sounds promising until we realize that many of the same people were shouting “Crucify Him!” by the end of the week. What happened? In part, I think many of them were looking for a different kind of salvation. They wanted salvation from Roman occupation. They wanted an earthly “King of the Jews,” and once it became clear that was not Jesus’ agenda, they rejected Him. The same thing happens today. So many people come to Christ looking for salvation from something different, and actually less, than what Jesus has come to save us from. Jesus has come to save us from God’s condemnation. He has come to set us free from sin’s penalty (death), and it’s enslaving power over us. Just as the Israelites were hopelessly trapped in Egypt and utterly powerless to free themselves, all people - including each and everyone of us - are hopelessly trapped in sin until God miraculously saves those covered by the blood of His spotless Lamb, Jesus.

It is tragic when people come to Christ for financial salvation or marital salvation or some other salvation and use that as their basis for accepting or rejecting Him. A right relationship with God can and often does help with all of those matters. People following God’s lead become better stewards of their resources and experience improved financial health, for example. But - God invites us to receive peace with Him on His terms - not ours! He sets the agenda. In Luke’s account of this event, he records that Jesus wept over Jerusalem and lamented that they were not receiving God’s terms of peace. Here He was - the Prince of Peace - the King of kings - riding in on a colt (a custom for kings coming in peace vs. coming on war horses), and they were missing their God-given opportunity to escape spiritual bondage and ultimate condemnation. It was then, and it is now, a heart-breaking tragedy.

So, how does a person accept God’s terms of peace? Well, first we must understand them. God has graciously revealed in the Bible that He is the Creator, Sustainer, and rightful Ruler of everything that exist. He has also revealed that He created us to love us forever and to enjoy life under His benevolent rule and care. He calls all people to respond to His perfect love by loving Him and all other people all the time. What a world this would be if we did! Of course, we have all fallen extremely short of that mark. Most people have utterly ignored God and His right to rule their lives. Some angrily protest His rule. A few try to deny His existence, but all fail to always love Him and to love our neighbors the way we love ourselves. This is sin, and it destroys our peace with God, each other and creation. Thankfully, God is destroying sin and restoring His creation, and He is doing so in a way that frees even the guiltiest sinners who accept His terms of reconciliation.

Here they are: Each of us must recognize our guilt and need for a Savior. God repeatedly reveals in the Bible that we all are not only guilty of sin - we are all helplessly trapped in sin. So, first we admit our guilt and need. Next, we turn from sin and self-righteous attempts to earn God’s favor, and we turn instead to God to ask Him to forgive our sin against Him and to free us to live new lives for Him. So, second we beg for saving grace. Finally, we trust in and rely on the reality that God loved the world, including each of us, so much that He gave His only begotten Son so that everyone, including you, who believes in Him and receives Him to be their Savior and King will not perish but will instead have everlasting life in His name! So, understanding the term and the salvation Jesus (the sinless Son of God who bore sin’s penalty in our place) is offering, I pray you turn to Him now and cry, “Hosanna!”