Day 1 in Jerusalem: ‘Hosanna in the Highest!’

It is an amazing and awesome sight.

The carpenter’s son from Nazareth, who has been performing miracles that defy belief and whom many believe will save Israel from the tyrannical grip of the Romans, is entering Jerusalem on a donkey, with throngs of people behind Him waving palm branches and saying, “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! the King of Israel!” (John 12:13).

He isn’t riding a horse like a warrior, but a donkey, as if he were trying to bring peace to the world.

Many of those in the crowd had been with Him only days before when He called Lazarus out of the tomb and raised him from the dead. They continued to testify to the wonder of this man. And yet some of the high priests are telling Him to keep the crowd silent, to rebuke His disciples.

This man, named Jesus, was heard to say, “I tell you, if these should be silent, the stones would immediately cry out” (Luke 19:40). Did this mean that God would bring to life those who had died, as indicated by the visible gravestones that surrounded the Mount of Olives, to bear His testimony?

Who was this man who could do such a thing?

There are rumors circulating that the chief priests are plotting to kill Jesus and Lazarus both because Lazarus was the reason many of the Jews were deserting them and believing in Jesus (John 12:10-11).

As this man they call Jesus approached the city, he wept for it. He was also heard to say, “If you, even you, had know even today what things would bring you peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes. For the days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment around you and surround you, and press you in on every side. They will dash you, and your children within you, to the ground. They will not leave one stone upon another within you, because you did not know the time of your visitation” (Luke 19:42-44).

It’s as if the stage is set for something very explosive to happen here. It’s as if Jesus knows that something special is about to take place, something that could very well change the world for generations and centuries to come.

One thing is for sure, however. It’s going to be a clash of epic proportions. {eoa}

Editor’s Note: The preceding is an account of what one person could possibly have witnessed in Jerusalem on Palm Sunday during Jesus’ entry into the city. It is the first day of what will happen, according to the Bible, during Holy Week.

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