Hosanna in the highest!

 

 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 

 

On Saturday we read that Jesus and the disciples came to Jericho, on their way toward Jerusalem.  As Jesus went out of Jericho with His disciples and a great multitude, blilnd 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.  The events described in today's reading are understood as Christ's Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem.  It is celebrated by the Church on Palm Sunday.  My study Bible explains that by Christ's time, Jewish nationalism had led to the expectation of a political Messiah to deliver them from Roman control and to reestablish David's kingdom.  Let's note Jesus' careful preparation for this event, and the specific directions given, making them very significant in the Scripture.  Jesus specifies a young colt, on which no one has sat.  Note also that He has allowed His disciples to refer publicly to Himself as the Lord.  

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.  Jesus rides into Jerusalem in His Triumphal Entry on a donkey's colt, a sign which my study Bible calls one of humility and peace (Zechariah 9:9).  The people spread their clothes in such a way as to pay reverence to a King.  My study Bible says that this is spiritually interpreted as our need to lay down our flesh, and even our lives, for Christ.  

 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.   The people quote from Psalm 118:25-26, which was associated with messianic expectation.  It was recited daily for six days during the Feast of Tabernacles (the Feast of the Coming Kingdom), and seven times on the seventh day as branches were waved.  Hosanna means, "Save, we pray!"  

My study Bible comments on today's reading that this entrance into the Holy City is a declaration of the establishment of the Kingdom of God, and this is the way we, as followers of Christ, should view it.  It's also a  promise of Christ's final entrance into the heavenly Jerusalem with all believers, and of His accepting the New Jerusalem as His pure Bride (Revelation 21:2).  Jesus walking into the temple as His first act after the Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem is an act of the Messiah, surveilling His heavenly Kingdom.  As we will see, this will be followed by acts which could only be done by the Messiah, in response to which Jesus will continually be questioned as to His authority to do so by the religious leaders.  Tradition asks us to understand the acts of Jesus on many levels at once, as whatever He does is both temporally and eternally true.  That is, as Jesus goes triumphally into Jerusalem, we must also see this -- as my study Bible noted -- as parallel to the promise of entry into the heavenly Jerusalem, and the fullness of the wedding feast unified to His pure Bride, the Church.  Not only do we read about events that happened two thousand years ago in today's text, but we must also understand the promise of this event (which is ongoing, and whose signs are with us, such as the continual growth of the Church around the world), its fulfillment through time, and its ultimate fulfillment at the end of the age which is yet to come. So, therefore, this event exists and is fulfilled at many levels, and its promise ongoing, which is our hope.  Moreover, we know that the events of Christ's eventual suffering, death on the Cross, and Resurrection will also be a part of His experience at Jerusalem, the response of the religious leaders, and even His glory.  For His time on the Cross, paradoxically in worldly terms, will be what He calls His hour of glory, when He will glorify His Father's name (see John 12:30-36).   In Hebrews 13:8, we read, "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever."  In Revelation 1:8, we read, "I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End," says the Lord, "who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty."  Revelation 4:8 tells us the four living creatures, the seraphim around the Lord's throne, continually praise, "Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, Who was and is and is to come!"  Taking all of these things together means that should we choose to dispute whether or not we should look at this event as only something that historically happened once in the past, or as an event of promise continually unfolding, or even as one with an eternal horizon of fulfillment (whose time we don't know), the correct answer to this question is that all of these things are true at once.  And this is our reality as believers, we hold all of these things at once, for they are all true of our Lord, who was and is and is to come.