Hosanna!

HOSANNA!

by Pastor James May

Luke 19:29-38, "And it came to pass, when he was come nigh to Bethphage and Bethany, at the mount called the mount of Olives, he sent two of his disciples, Saying, Go ye into the village over against you; in the which at your entering ye shall find a colt tied, whereon yet never man sat: loose him, and bring him hither. And if any man ask you, Why do ye loose him? thus shall ye say unto him, Because the Lord hath need of him. And they that were sent went their way, and found even as he had said unto them. And as they were loosing the colt, the owners thereof said unto them, Why loose ye the colt? And they said, The Lord hath need of him. And they brought him to Jesus: and they cast their garments upon the colt, and they set Jesus thereon. And as he went, they spread their clothes in the way. And when he was come nigh, even now at the descent of the mount of Olives, the whole multitude of the disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works that they had seen; Saying, Blessed be the King that cometh in the name of the Lord: peace in heaven, and glory in the highest."

Matthew 21:7-11, "And brought the ass, and the colt, and put on them their clothes, and they set him thereon. And a very great multitude spread their garments in the way; others cut down branches from the trees, and strawed them in the way. And the multitudes that went before, and that followed, cried, saying, Hosanna to the Son of David: Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord; Hosanna in the highest. And when he was come into Jerusalem, all the city was moved, saying, Who is this? And the multitude said, This is Jesus the prophet of Nazareth of Galilee."

After the Normandy invasion Paris waited for liberation. The resistance tracked the slow progress out of the Normandy coast and towards Paris. On August 19, the Communist-led French resistance rose up against the German army commanded by General Dietrich Choltitz. At first the German commander tried to work out a truce with the Free French under Charles de Gaulle, but negotiations broke down and the Germans counterattacked with tanks. Hitler, who had ordered the city destroyed, asked his staff, “Is Paris burning?”

Upon hearing the threat against Paris, General De Gaulle and the Free French threatened to pull out of the Allied plans and make a dash for Paris to relieve the resistance and save the city on their own. The German general did not follow Hitler’s orders to burn the town. He did not want to go down in history as the man who ordered the destruction of Europe’s favorite city, the “City of Lights”. General Eisenhower had decided to bypass the city, but de Gaulle convinced him that little resistance would be met if the Allies took Paris.

The resistance and the advancing Americans wiped out the few remaining collaborators and German pockets of resistance and by August 25th Paris was free.

General De Gaulle entered the city the next day as a conquering hero. After four long hears of suffering under the occupation of German SS Troops and the Gestapo, Paris could finally breathe freely once again. He addressed Parisians and the world: “Paris! Paris outraged! Paris broken! Paris martyred! But Paris liberated!”

Today we that are Christians observe the entrance of another conqueror into a city that was under occupation of foreign military troops.

Jerusalem was celebrating the Triumphal Entry of our Lord Jesus Christ into the city. Jesus came riding into the city on a donkey early on the first day of the week. As he rode down the path to the city gates, passing under the massive stone gate and walls of the city, and into the street, multitudes came out to greet him and to make him welcome to their city. Their cry to him was Hosanna to the son of David! Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest. !

The earthly ministry of Christ was at an end. The plan of God for the salvation of mankind was nearing its completion. We all know that Jesus would soon be going to the cross to die but it’s hard for us to imagine how that the same crowds who praised and looked to Jesus as their Messiah on Palm Sunday would so quickly turn into the mob that demanded his crucifixion less than 5 days later.

What brought about such a huge change in their attitudes? What was it that caused them to change their minds so dramatically?