took 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.”
The irony from the
first day of the week to the end of week is difficult to comprehend. What makes it even more difficult is the pain
that our Savior, Jesus the son of God, had to endure with making His way to the
cross.
What we know as “Palm
Sunday” was a day of people hearing about this Jesus and celebrating his
arrival in town. In fact there are Bible
promises and prophecy that find their conclusion in Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem
that day. It was a path of honor and of
pomp and circumstance since everyone seemed so excited about Jesus being in
town.
People spread palm
branches along the road. This might be
similar to someone laying down their coat on a dirty road when someone needed
to cross. It might be better aligned with
the red carpet spread when a celebrity comes to an event.
Jesus was the
celebrity. He continues to be the most
important person of history. His coming
was promised. His life was a sacrifice. He literally is the one who comes in the name
of the Lord.
Hosanna. A simple word of adulation or praise, as in
worthy of being lifted up.
Blessed. An understanding of something set a part or
special.
He who comes in the
name of the Lord. This is Jesus. But this was not something foreign to the
people of God. They had met prophets
through the years, but they had never met Jesus.
Remember the
irony? One day they praise Jesus. One day, just a couple days later, they are
calling for His death. Would you find
yourself there? Troubling. Difficult for me to say the least.
May we be found as
people singing His praise and enjoying His presence as the people did on that
first palm Sunday!
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