Matthew 21:7-11 They brought the donkey and the colt and placed their cloaks on them for Jesus to sit on. A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, while others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. The crowds that went ahead of him and those that followed shouted, “Hosanna to the Son of David!” “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!” “Hosanna in the highest heaven!” When Jesus entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred and asked, “Who is this?” The crowds answered, “This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth in Galilee.”
The whole city of Jerusalem was stirred about this man, Jesus, who was coming to them on a colt. They had heard rumors about Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth. The Jews, suffering under the harsh treatment of the Romans, had been waiting for this moment of rescue from their harsh overlords. Zechariah 9 had been taught many times in their Jerusalem synagogues. Now, they thought this might be the time of fulfillment of the prophet’s words. Some of them in Jerusalem were already followers of Jesus, the man of miracles and wonders. They and others covered Jesus’ way into Jerusalem with their own cloaks to show their respect and allegiance to him. Many cut branches from trees and spread them on the road to usher in this man of power. Jesus was anticipated by many as being their deliverer from the hated Romans; therefore, they shouted Hosanna, Hosanna in the highest heaven. For them on that day, Jesus was the messenger of God sent from the highest heaven. The word Hosanna has a variety of connotations, but all of them imply “save.” The people greeted Jesus with joy because in their minds He was bringing salvation to them from their enemies. But I will encamp at my temple to guard it against marauding forces. Never again will an oppressor overrun my people, for now I am keeping watch. Rejoice greatly, Daughter Zion! Shout, Daughter Jerusalem! See, your king comes to you, righteous and victorious, lowly and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey. I will take away the chariots from Ephraim and the warhorses from Jerusalem, and the battle bow will be broken. He will proclaim peace to the nations. His rule will extend from sea to sea and from the River to the ends of the earth. Zechariah (9:8-10) No longer would the Jews have to learn war to defend themselves. The chariots of war will be gone, the warhorses will disappear from the land, and the battle bow will be broken. What a joyous day that will be when war leaves the hearts of men. They were happy and smiling on that day when Jesus, their proclaimed savior, entered Jerusalem. They believed their long anticipated day of deliverance had finally arrived. Of course, Zechariah’s prophecy would be fulfilled completely some day, but in that day, Jesus was coming to Jerusalem to release men permanently from the oppression of the evil one. He was coming to the seat of power of the Israelites’ religion, the temple, to overturn the tables of corruption and selfishness. He was coming to defeat the hierarchical structure of the priests, for He was from the tribe of Judah, David’s clan, not from the tribe of Levi. Once again, a man after God’s heart would take control of the land of Israel. But Zechariah’s prophesy does not end at the borders of Israel: He will proclaim peace to the nations. His rule will extend from sea to sea and from the River to the ends of the earth. Surely, the people who greeted Jesus that day with hosanna did not fully realize that He came not only for them but also for the Romans and people around the world. His salvation would extend over all people everywhere. He, the Prince of Peace, would establish peace in the hearts of mankind, changing the world from a place of violence and corruption to a place of peace and mercy. Men would possess the wisdom of God in their lands: But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere. Peacemakers who sow in peace reap a harvest of righteousness. (James 3:17-18) A harvest of righteousness would be the inheritance of mankind. But not yet, some day.
This day of greeting Jesus with shouts of Hosanna was a day of acclamation for the Jewish people. The word, Hosanna, was probably upon many people’s lips. However, not many days in the future, the words, “crucify him” would be shouted with fervor from many of the same lips. From the heights of the day we call “Palm Sunday” to the lows of the dark day of crucifixion, we find a span of only a few days. The whole city was stirred with the emotions of both events. Of course, seeing their savior bound and punished by the hated Romans brought great disillusionment to the people. How could their anticipated deliverer seem so weak, effeminate, unlike the warrior they expected. How could a man supposedly sent by God, who comes in the name of the Lord from the highest heaven, now be the captive of the Romans. To them Jesus was now a betrayer of their highest expectations to become free from the Romans. Jesus was a humiliation to them, even Pilate toyed with their affections by placing a humiliating statement at the cross: King of the Jews. This man Jesus was their King, a weak and emaciated man, unable even to come down from the cross. Compared to the Romans, this King of the Jews had no power, no kingdom, no land, no authority to do anything. He could not even protect his own self from the Romans; how could He defend the Jewish people from their enemies. Impossible! Now the Jerusalem people were stirred with hatred. They believed Jesus had betrayed them. He was a charlatan of the worst order: the great pretender was He. Consequently, an evil man, Barabbas was released to freedom that day because the Jewish people would rather have this criminal, this revolutionary released than this helpless man, Jesus. Barabbas had been thrown into prison for an insurrection in the city, and for murder. (Luke 23:19) At least Barabbas fought against the Romans, a man of strength, not like this helpless Jesus. Releasing Barabbas angered Pilate, for Barabbas was a threat to Rome, so he placed his anger on Jesus’ back by having him flogged with a lead tipped whip. The Peacemaker was whipped and crucified. The evil, violence, and disruption personified in Barabbas won the day. He was free to do his wicked will, but Jesus was bound and crucified with nails in his hands and feet. Jesus, the Son of God, died, Barabbas, the murderer, lived.
Peter in his sermon on Pentecost referred to the days after Jesus’ resurrection as the last days. The Barabbas contingent in life will always be scoffers and persecutors. They will consider Jesus as dead and absent from their existence. Above all, you must understand that in the last days scoffers will come, scoffing and following their own evil desires. They will say, “Where is this ‘coming’ he promised? Ever since our ancestors died, everything goes on as it has since the beginning of creation. (2 Peter 3:3-4) For them, Jesus was never powerful then and will never exert power in the future. He is dead, Barabbas is alive. The world will continue as it has always been. The powerful will rule, forcing their will on the weak and vulnerable. They, the powerful and strong, are containers of evil, doing their own thing, living for their own purposes. When Peter talks to Ananias, a member of the Christian community, but a liar, he says, “Ananias, how is it that Satan has so filled your heart that you have lied to the Holy Spirit and have kept for yourself some of the money you received for the land?” (Acts 5:3) Ananias’ heart was filled to the brim by Satan. He was willing to go against the Holy Spirit, who was present in the Christian church. From the very beginning, Satan has corrupted and hardened the hearts of humankind, making people unwilling to follow God and his righteousness. In the time before Noah, the people were totally corrupt and violent. God repented of making such people, who in their freedom chose rebellion and evil. Barabbas was a man of evil, a man of rebellion. The Jews chose him over the man of peace. They wanted a violent man who would defend their rights, win back their freedom through force. The world still wants that kind of man. We choose force rather than servanthood. We choose “our rights” over the rights of other people. We have little patience with leaders who do not defend us with violence and ferocity. As the scoffers, we know everything is the same as it was from the beginning. Even for some wayward Christians, Palm Sunday never happened. The man of peace never fully arrived in our lives. We choose Barabbas to defend us, not Christ. We claim the Christ of peace, but when things get really tough, we demand our rights, our pound of flesh. That is who we are in the flesh, and the flesh is still too strong in our lives. We have not been crucified with Christ as Paul describes our Christian lives. (See Galatians 2:20) That is who Peter was when he denied Christ in front of the world—in the flesh. Jesus knows our hearts: He knew Peter’s heart when Peter proclaimed loudly that he would always be there for Jesus. But after the resurrection, the women at the tomb are told, Go tell Peter, the denier, to meet me in Galilee. Jesus knows our hearts. He knows the depths of our love, the quality of our allegiance to him. But his love is greater than all of our intestinal fortitude or desires. The angel tells us that Jesus will meet us on the other side of the resurrection. He paid the supreme price for all of us. There are no special people around this breakfast table, no super righteous at this meeting place. Yes, we are willing to greet Jesus on Palm Sunday with happiness, but are we willing to follow Jesus who sometimes seems powerless in our lives? When we struggle and life has gone sideways on us, are we willing to visit Jesus daily to hear his voice or have we become disgruntled, removing ourselves from his presence? Nevertheless, the presence of God is always near us, even at our mouths, if we are willing to express praises to him: Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest heaven! Our Savior is here today with us! Sing his praise. Amen!
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