The loud cries made her turn around. The streets, filled with movement, the sound of laughter and conversation, seemed to freeze for a moment as everyone stopped to listen. At a distance, a chant filled the air, its cadence rising by the second.
“What are they saying?” she asked her friend.
“It’s him. It must be him!” the girl’s companion said as she bolted in the direction of the noise. “The Lord is here!”
The teenager followed her older friend. As they pressed against the growing crowd, she noticed varied reactions to the scene ahead.
Some laughed, pointing their fingers at the absurdity of the scene. Others jumped in excitement: “He has finally come to end Rome’s tyranny! Hallelujah!” a young man exclaimed. Taking their outer garments, some people laid them on the road, bowing in reverence — a well-known gesture in ancient eastern cultures of surrender to authority.
The shouts were now abundantly clear:
“Hosanna to the Son of David; blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord; Hosanna in the highest!”
The words, a familiar quote from the book of Psalms, speak of Messiah as the mighty Savior of Israel: Hosanna meaning, “save us now, we beseech thee!”
She also recognized the scene — a perfect portrayal of an age-old prophecy given by the prophet Zechariah:
“Behold, your king is coming to you; he is just and endowed with salvation, humble, and mounted on a donkey, even on a colt, the foal of a donkey.”
She slowed her pace to cut a branch from one of the nearby trees. Pressing her way through the crowd, she gently lowered it to the ground, just in time. Jesus looked at her and smiled, and her heart took a leap. She never saw such tenderness and love.
“Hosannah!” she cried, eyes locked on Messiah’s face as he rode by her: “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord; Hosanna in the highest!”
The scene is a deliberate allegory, created in my mind as I imagined myself amid the crowd that greeted Jesus as he entered Jerusalem in the week of Passover, six days before his crucifixion. Christians call it Palm Sunday, and it marks the beginning of the Holy Week’s festivities, which culminate on Easter Sunday, one week from Sunday.
The triumphal entry is described in all four gospels in detail. Even though we know that Jesus entering Jerusalem as the promised Messiah created a stir that propelled the Pharisees to become even more determined to kill him, there is no question that the evident portrayal of prophecy brought a significant surge of hope among the people.
They had heard his powerful teachings and witnessed his miracles for three years. He healed the sick, showed authority over nature, and even brought dead people back to life. He was followed by many, some surrendering everything they had to follow Christ.
Later that week, when Jesus gathered with the disciples to eat the Passover meal, we read how each of them, starting with Peter, vowed never to leave Jesus’ side. But standing on the other side of the resurrection, we know better.
As Jesus prophesied that very night, Peter denied knowing Him three times before daybreak. All His disciples either ran away or watched his trial and crucifixion from a distance. Likewise, many of those who waved branches and sang “Hosanna” as Jesus entered Jerusalem were the same people shouting “Crucify Him” before Pontius Pilate less than a week later.
The account makes us realize something sinister, however accurate, about human nature. Our faith, convictions, and love for God can sometimes easily succumb to the fire of opposition or self-preservation.
Indeed, if we are honest, some of us can fully empathize with Peter’s denial of his Savior. Once, we walked beside him, learning from him and even experiencing his miraculous deliverance in our lives. And yet, this Holy Week, we may find ourselves aloof, lacking the fire that once drove us to walk in victory because we knew that our savior lives and reigns.
If that is you today, may the account of the beginning of Holy Week remind you that the same eyes that greeted the people of Israel with love and grace, even though he knew they would betray him, wants to rekindle your faith once again.
Easter — the season of new beginnings. What a perfect time to recommit to follow the Savior faithfully, unwavering, and no matter the cost.
Patricia Holbrook is a columnist, author, blogger and international speaker. Visit her website www.soaringwithHim.com to learn about her speaking ministry, Bible studies and book. For speaking engagements and comments, email pholbrook@soaringwithHim.com.
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