Hosanna!

February 12, 2024 Monday Message:

Mark 11:9b NKJV: “Hosanna! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!”

Jesus was about to enter the Holy City of Jerusalem. It’s called the Triumphal Entry. We celebrate it as Palm Sunday. The story unfolds like this:

Two disciples were sent to borrow a donkey for Jesus to ride through the city, explaining, “The Lord has need of it.” Now if someone told me to go into my neighborhood and borrow a Buick that had never been driven – the keys will be in it – and explain that the Lord has need of it, I’m sure I’d be arrested on the spot! And that’s what this was like, commandeering someone’s means of transportation. But it all happened just as the Bible reports. All signs point to the super-natural nature of the event that’s about to transpire.

As Jesus rode the streets of Jerusalem, people lined the route with palm fronds and the cloaks they’d been wearing. They cheered and shouted, “Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna!” The crowd was acknowledging that Jesus wasn’t just a regular human being. He was heaven-sent, fulfilling the Lord’s mission here on earth. How else could you explain everything that happened when Jesus was present?

And now that the crowd knows who Jesus is, they shout “Hosanna,” which means, Save us. Now!” They would not ask Jesus to save them unless they believed that it was possible for him to do so!. And there’s an urgency to “Hosanna.” “Save us – save us NOW!” These people want to repent and return. They believe there’s a heaven and a hell, and it’s forgiveness by the Father that can punch their heavenly ticket. They sure don’t want to see hell!

So go ahead – shout and cheer and cast your own branches on the road. Call out “Hosanna” as Jesus rides by!

Have a blessed week!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus in the City Fellowship