It was Passover week, and the streets of Jerusalem were choked with tens of thousands of faithful Jews from around Judea and the far reaches of the Roman Empire. It was Palm Sunday, the first day of the week, and Good Friday would be just a few days away. When the multitudes heard that Jesus was coming into the city:

…they took branches of the palm trees, and went out to meet Him, and began to cry out, “Hosanna! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord, even the King of Israel” (John 12:13; Psalm 118:26). 

Remembering the words of the psalmist, the people welcomed Him as the One who comes “in the name of the Lord,” and the One who is “the King of Israel.” The word “hosanna” is a word of adoration meaning “oh save!” What the people were looking for, of course, was salvation from the iron grip of Rome, but Jesus had a totally different reason for “saving” them, and that was to save them from the penalty and power of sin. Once again, the people were expecting an earthly king, something that Jesus consistently rejected. 

And then the disciples found a young donkey and Jesus sat upon it, fulfilling another ancient prophecy from the book of Zechariah:

Fear not, daughter of Zion, behold, your King is coming, seated on a donkey’s colt (John 12:15; Zechariah 9:9).

And once again, the prophetic theme is that “the King is coming,” and as He entered Jerusalem, it was not to save His people from the dominance of Rome, but to save all of us from the penalty and power of sin. Interestingly, John comments on the fact that the disciples did not understand what was going on until after Jesus had risen from the dead (John 12:16). Furthermore, many in the crowd were those who had witnessed Lazarus’ resurrection the week before in Bethany, and they brought others from Jerusalem to welcome Jesus (John 12:17-18). But the Pharisees in the crowd had plenty to say to each other, namely:

You see that you are not doing any good; look, the world has gone after Him (John 12:19).

The Pharisees were hoping that the crowds would reject Jesus as a false Messiah and an imposter, but instead, they welcomed Him. Although their plot was still in motion, it was just delayed a bit. They would have to wait until Judas offered to give Jesus up to them on Thursday, the night of the Last Supper. But more on that later.

There’s something I’d like us to be thinking about — The very people who welcomed Jesus on Palm Sunday would turn against Him just a few days later on Good Friday. Why? Because He failed to deliver, that is, deliver them from Rome, or to even give them a hint that this was His plan. I wonder how many of us reject Christ, or at least withdraw from Him, because He failed to “deliver” on what we expected Him to do. Rather than realizing that God’s ways are not our ways because His thoughts are not our thoughts (Isaiah 55:8-9 ), we reject Him altogether. Simply put – He hasn’t delivered because it was not in our best interest to do so! And what is in our best interest is to acknowledge His wisdom and to rest in His daily provision for our needs. 

The King of kings entered Jerusalem to the cheering of the crowds. Today, He desires to enter into our lives by granting us His salvation from the penalty and power of sin, and to provide His Holy Spirit to sustain us. Interestingly, the people welcomed Jesus into Jerusalem, but not into their hearts. Salvation is God’s gift to each one of us, and it’s a gift that changes everything in our lives. If you haven’t received this gift, then you haven’t asked for it. Just ask. It’s a step of faith, but it’s a step not into the darkness, but into the light. 

Blessings to all of you.