They took palm branches and went out to meet him, shouting,
“Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!”
“Blessed is the King of Israel!”
John 12:13
Today is Palm Sunday, the beginning of Holy Week—Super Bowl week, if you will, for followers of Christ. The week we celebrate the ultimate victory: life over death! Love wins out!
Our English word Hosanna came over from the original Greek word in the New Testament, Hosanna. And that Greek word came from an original Hebrew phrase, Hoshiya na. The original Hebrew meaning was Save! or Save, please! But through the years the meaning has shifted to mean, Salvation has come!
As the crowd welcomed Jesus into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, they praised Him as their Savior and acknowledged Him as the King of Israel. Every word they uttered was true, but they attached their own connotation. Their expectation of a Messiah and King fell short of what Jesus delivered. Their hope was not big enough, their adoration not high enough: they hoped only for an earthly king and a hero to conquer Rome, but Jesus was an eternal king who came to conquer death.
John gave them a heads up in John 1:29 —
“Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!”
His words should have stirred their hearts and minds to think of Passover and to recognize Jesus as the once-and-for-all sacrifice for the sin of the world.
As followers of Christ, familiarity with this truth can blind us to its magnificence, but I hope you will take some time this week to marvel. Ponder the awesome truth that God became man, took the penalty we deserved by dying a sinner’s death, and then supernaturally came back to life.
Take some time to thank Jesus for loving you like no one else ever has or ever will. He knows everything about you. He knows you better than your mom or dad, your spouse, and your best friend. All that junk you would like to hide, erase, or forget about … He knows it and He still loves you. And He died for you, mess and all.
But God demonstrates his own love for us in this:
While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
Romans 5:8 (NIV)
Acknowledge your gratitude that He cared enough to “cut in.”
He loves you. He died for you.
When Judgement Day comes, Jesus will be the judge of all:
Moreover, the Father judges no one,
but has entrusted all judgment to the Son.
John 5:22 (NIV)
As those who have placed our faith in Him, we can come to that day with confidence, rather than fear. All will bow to Him, but we will bow to Him as our Savior rather than our judge. Our identity in Him means we are clothed in His righteousness, rather than the filthy rags of our own sin.
Because of the gospel, we have hope for eternity on that day, and we can live in peace and joy on this day.
Therefore, since we have been justified through faith,
we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,
through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace
in which we now stand.
And we boast in the hope of the glory of God.
Romans 5:1-2
As we celebrate Easter, we rejoice in serving a risen Savior.
As we look to the future, we rest in our confident hope for eternity.
If you follow along with our monthly Write the Word series, we have chosen to focus on LAMB verses during April. My prayer is that dwelling on these verses has filled your heart and mind with hope because of Jesus—the Lamb of God and the risen Savior.
Hosanna! Thank you, Jesus! Salvation has come!
This week’s Bible study found us in II Kings, chapter 20-22. We hope you’ll be encouraged to hear Laura teach about the growth and transformation of King Hezekiah!
“As we look to the future, we rest in our confident hope for eternity.” Amen. Thank you.