Hosanna! "Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD!"

 Now when they drew near Jerusalem, to Bethphage and Bethany, at the Mount of Olives, He sent two of His disciples; and He said to them, "Go into the village opposite you; and as soon as you have entered it you will find a colt tied, on which no one has sat.  Loose it and bring it.  And if anyone says to you, 'Why are you doing this?' say, 'The Lord has need of it,' and immediately he will send it here."  So they went their way, and found the colt tied by the door outside on the street, and they loosed it.  But some of those who stood there said to them, "What are you doing, loosing the colt?"  And they spoke to them just as Jesus had commanded.  So they let them go.  Then they brought the colt to Jesus and threw their clothes on it, and He sat on it.  And many spread their clothes on the road, and others cut down leafy branches from the trees and spread them on the road.  Then those who went before and those who followed cried out, saying:

"Hosanna!  'Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD!'
Blessed is the kingdom of our father David
That comes in the name of the Lord!
Hosanna in the highest!"

And Jesus went into Jerusalem and into the temple.  So when He had looked around at all things, as the hour was already late, He went out to Bethany with the twelve.

- Mark 11:1-11

Yesterday we read that Jesus and the disciples came to Jericho, on their way to Jerusalem.  As He went out of Jericho with His disciples and a great multitude, blind Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus, sat by the road begging.  And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out and say, "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!"   Then many warned him to be quiet; but he cried out all the more, "Son of David, have mercy on me!"  So Jesus stood still and commanded him to be called.  Then they called the blind man, saying to him, "Be of good cheer.  Rise, He is calling you."  And throwing aside his garment, he rose and came to Jesus.  So Jesus answered and said to him, "What do you want Me to do for you?"  The blind man said to Him, "Rabboni, that I may receive my sight."  Then Jesus said to him, "Go your way; your faith has made you well."  And immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus on the road.  

 Now when they drew near Jerusalem, to Bethphage and Bethany, at the Mount of Olives, He sent two of His disciples; and He said to them, "Go into the village opposite you; and as soon as you have entered it you will find a colt tied, on which no one has sat.  Loose it and bring it.  And if anyone says to you, 'Why are you doing this?' say, 'The Lord has need of it,' and immediately he will send it here."  So they went their way, and found the colt tied by the door outside on the street, and they loosed it.  But some of those who stood there said to them, "What are you doing, loosing the colt?"  And they spoke to them just as Jesus had commanded.  So they let them go.  Then they brought the colt to Jesus and threw their clothes on it, and He sat on it.  And many spread their clothes on the road, and others cut down leafy branches from the trees and spread them on the road.  Then those who went before and those who followed cried out, saying:  "Hosanna!  'Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD!'  Blessed is the kingdom of our father David that comes in the name of the Lord!  Hosanna in the highest!"  And Jesus went into Jerusalem and into the temple.  So when He had looked around at all things, as the hour was already late, He went out to Bethany with the twelve.  Today's reading tells us of the events we commemorate as Palm Sunday.  This is called Jesus' Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem, in which He is welcomed as a king.   By Christ's time, my study bible notes, Jewish nationalism had led to the expectation of a political Messiah to deliver them from Roman control and to reestablish David's kingdom.  Clearly this is the expectation of the people as they welcome Jesus to Jerusalem.  We observe the careful and deliberate preparations that Jesus makes.  The donkey's colt is an image from Scripture (Zechariah 9:9), but it is also an image of humility and peace.  Rather than a horse or a chariot, the donkey's colt is a symbolic message of what kind of kingdom Jesus is ushering in.  My study bible says that this entrance into the Holy City declares the establishment of the Kingdom of God.  It's also a promise of Christ's final entrance into the heavenly Jerusalem with His people (all believers) and of His accepting the New Jerusalem as His pure Bride (Revelation 21:2).   The people spread their clothes and cut down leafy branches to spread on the road before Jesus, welcoming Him as king.   He enters Jerusalem from the east, as was expected of the Messiah.  Their cry comes from Psalm 118:25-26, associated with messianic expectation.   During the Feast of Tabernacles, it was recited each day for six days, and seven times on the seventh day as branches were waved.  Hosanna means "Save, we pray!"    It is a call to a deliverer, a redeemer.  We note that Jesus behaves in some sense like a king entering Jerusalem:  the first thing He does is to enter into the temple, and He looked around at all things.

The people clearly expect a world king to come and re-establish David's kingdom, delivering Israel from its conquerors and occupiers.  But Jesus' kingdom is not going to be like that.  It is a kingdom based on faith, and one established in order to usher in the kingdom of God on earth.  As He taught us to pray, in the "Our Father" or the Lord's Prayer, the faithful pray to our Father in heaven that "thy kingdom come, they will be done on earth as it is in heaven."  This is the essence of the Kingdom, Christ's kingdom:  that via faith we can live and participate and dwell within the kingdom of heaven.  It is hard to imagine that task that Christ has set for Himself:  to turn the understanding of the Messiah from one of expectation of a worldly kingdom to one of a kingdom of faith.  But this is the paradox in which we still live.  How is the kingdom of God a kingdom?  He has been preaching and teaching to His disciples, ever since they recognized Him as Christ, what this Kingdom must look like, and what kind of leadership He is asking for from those who would be great in His kingdom.  He has taught that His hierarchy demands that "whoever desires to become great among you shall be your servant.  And whoever of you desires to be first shall be slave of all."  Above all else, here in Jerusalem He will set the example of a voluntary sacrifice for love.  How can a king sacrifice Himself and retain a kingdom?  This is the great mystery He brings, a living reality in which we are all to participate, "for in Him we live and move and have our being" (Acts 17:28).