Jesus is coming! Our king is coming! The one who raises the dead is here!

“HOSANNA! HOSANNA!” (John 12:13)

These were the words of the large crowd that met Jesus at His triumphal entry into Jerusalem.

It was the time of the Passover feast, and the crowd was growing into a frenzy at the rumor that their long-awaited Messiah was finally here. Jesus had just raised Lazarus from the dead and His popularity was reaching astronomical levels. The people loved Him. They spread out palm branches and shouted Hosanna as He entered the city, which literally meant “save now”. Everyone were excited to finally have the Savior that would be able to stand up against Roman oppression and restore the glory of Israel.

But Jesus didn’t fulfill the Messianic expectations the way they were expecting. He didn’t do a lot that week; He did throw over some temple tables as well as a little teaching, but for the most part He hung out with His disciples and laid low.

Well, as the week went by, the people began to become restless and upset with Jesus. They had gone out of their way to give Him all this honor as Savior and how did He repay them? By doing nothing. Maybe this guy was just a charlatan like so many before Him. By Friday morning they heard a rumor that Jesus had been arrested during the night by the Sanhedrin. This guy must be bad news if the religious leaders were after Him.

As the day progressed, it was revealed that Jesus had claimed to be God. A very strong claim for a guy who didn’t take advantage of the people’s approval just a few days earlier. The Religious leaders then began to convince the crowd that Jesus must die for His blasphemy against God and against Rome. The crowd was swayed. Just days after crying out “Hosanna!” the crowd was shouting “Crucify Him!” and Jesus was put to death for the sins of the world.

Now, You may be thinking that your nothing like the crowd that 2000 years ago, turned on Jesus and aided in His crucifixion. But the sad fact is my friends, you and I are the very people that shouted “Crucify Him!” all those years ago. We are all pragmatists to the core of our being. We love things that work well and are accepted by the masses, and we openly reject the things that in our minds, are horrible failures.

As Easter approaches, let’s all remember the fact that we didn’t choose Jesus as our Savior, we rejected Him.  Jesus saved us, not on the basis of our righteous deeds, but according to His mercy and grace!  Praise the Lord!  Forgive us oh God, for being such fickle followers!

-Pastor Josh