Holy Week Thoughts, Part 1: Save!
This is the first in a series of posts for Holy Week. I hope you’ll tune in every day this week to read these thoughts.
When they came near to Jerusalem, and arrived at Bethphage on the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two of the disciples on ahead.
2‘Go into the village over there,’ he said, ‘and at once you’ll find a donkey tied up, and a foal beside it. Untie them and bring them to me.
3And if anyone says anything to you, say, “The master needs them, and he’ll send them back straight away.” ’ He sent them off at once.
4This happened so that the prophet’s words might be fulfilled:
5Tell this to Zion’s daughter: look now! Here comes your king; he’s humble, mounted on an ass, yes, on a foal, its young.
6So the disciples went off and did as Jesus had told them.
7They brought the donkey and its foal, and put their cloaks on them, and Jesus sat on them.
8The huge crowd spread their cloaks on the road. Others cut branches from the trees and scattered them on the road.
9The crowds who went on ahead of him, and those who were following behind, shouted out, Hosanna now to David’s Son! God’s blessing on the coming one—the one who comes in the Lord’s own name! Hosanna in the highest!
10When they came into Jerusalem, the whole city was gripped with excitement. ‘Who is this?’ they were saying.
11‘This is the prophet, Jesus,’ replied the crowds, ‘from Nazareth in Galilee!’
Matthew 21:1–11 (The Bible for Everyone: A New Translation)
The narrative of Holy Week begins on Sunday as Jesus enters Jerusalem. The drama of the life and ministry of Jesus is about to reach a climax. After Jesus has his disciples borrow a donkey to ride on, he goes to Jerusalem in advance of the Passover knowing that his life is in danger.
The crowd sees Jesus coming, and they spread palm branches and their own cloaks on the road in front of him. They use an unusual word in their cries to Jesus as they greet him: “Hosanna.”
What exactly does Hosanna mean? Marvin H. Pope in The Anchor Yale Bible Dictionary explains Hosanna this way:
The term is simply a transliteration of the Heb imperative hôšaʿ, “save,” augmented by the enclitic precative particle - (n)nā, which adds a note of urgency, “save, now/please.”
Pope, M. H. (1992). Hosanna. In D. N. Freedman (Ed.), The Anchor Yale Bible Dictionary (Vol. 3, p. 290). New York: Doubleday.
“Hosanna” is a cry to Jesus to save the people. But from what?
I would guess that there were a few true believers in Jesus in that crowd who knew that He was the true Messiah who would save them from their sins, but most of the crowd were putting their hope in Jesus as one who would overturn Roman authority and restore a Jewish kingdom to the region.
Pope explains:
The provocative impact of cries of “Help!” accompanied by palm waving can be appreciated by reference to 2 Macc 10:5–8, which tells us how the first Hanukkah celebrating hard-won but short-lived political and religious independence was actually a repeat performance of the crucial rain rites of Sukkoth given new political significance by coincidence with recent victory over foreign rule.
Pope, M. H. (1992). Hosanna. In D. N. Freedman (Ed.), The Anchor Yale Bible Dictionary (Vol. 3, p. 291). New York: Doubleday.
In other words, it was misplaced hope. Jesus never intended to ride into town as a conqueror; rather He came to Jerusalem to save the people from something far more deadly and harmful than Rome.
When we cry out to Jesus to help or save or deliver us, how often to we misplace our hope? Do we expect Jesus to save us from the things He’s allowing in our lives to build our character? Do we think Jesus will help us get out of a situation that’s meant to be a lesson for us? Do we beg Him to deliver us from what we really need?
What are your expectations for Jesus? Where’s your hope in Him? How are you trusting Him this year?
My wish for everyone who reads these posts this Holy Week is for you to think about Jesus more deeply. If you don’t know Him as your Lord and Savior, reach out to me. I’d love to talk to you. I’d also encourage you to dig into God’s Word this week to prepare your heart to remember His death and resurrection.
Photo by Raimond Klavins on Unsplash