“ Hosanna to the son of David! Blessed is the one who comes in the name the Lord!”
Verse 9
Bible Reading
Prayer
Dear Lord. Help us to remember that in all things You are there to guide us and challenge us. We pray that we can hear your voice even when we allow the world around us to drown out your message. Amen
To Ponder
In the gospel of John, Palm Sunday is set after Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead in Bethany. Outside Jerusalem the Jews were likely to be praising Jesus for the miracles they had seen. Inside Jerusalem there is possibly quite a different feeling. Historians believe that whilst Jesus sits on a colt and enters Jerusalem from one side, it is likely that Pilate is sitting on a war horse and leading a parade of Roman soldiers into Jerusalem from the other side of the city. The procession of Jesus is probably tantamount to treason. It is no wonder that the Hebrew people are railing against Roman oppression and are hoping that Jesus is the Messiah that the prophets spoke of. The one to liberate them from Roman rule. They are shouting to Jesus “Hosanna” which is loosely translated to “Pray, save us”. The Jews have a political agenda that they want Jesus to bring about. Do we have an agenda also that we want fulfilled? Are we making deals with God? Are we reading into scripture God’s message, or are we picking and choosing only the words that make us comfortable.