“Hosanna to the Son of David!”  “Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!”  Matthew 21:9

 Many times Jesus had said, “My time has not yet come” – now His time HAD come, it was the climax of His purpose in coming to earth.  The last week of Jesus’ earthly life had begun and Jesus was going to the cross.  The most amazing events in the history of the world would soon take place!

It was Passover week in Jerusalem and up to a million people would crowd into the 0.9 square miles that comprised the ancient city.  Tens of thousands of sheep were being prepared for sacrifice on the temple mount.  The villages of Bethpage and Bethany only two miles away, home to Mary, Martha and Lazarus, would be crowded with pilgrims.  When Jesus began His descent from the Mount of Olives, there were huge crowds to welcome Him, a festive atmosphere and celebrations!  People were excited!

Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a colt, the foal of a donkey.  It was a direct fulfillment of Zechariah 9:9, “Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Jerusalem!  Behold, your King comes to you, righteous and having salvation, gentle and riding on a donkey.”  The colt had never been ridden or broken!  He was coming as the King of peace, to save men not destroy them.  “The Lord needs it!”  That was enough!  Jesus asserted His authority over all creation and possessions, and the owner willingly gave the colt to Him!  Is Jesus asking anything of you today?  It all belongs to Him!  Are you available?

“They took palm branches and went out to meet Him, shouting, ‘Hosanna!’  Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!”  “Blessed is the king of Israel!”  John 12:13.  This quote from Psalm 118:26 was electrifying!  These were code words for the Messiah entering Jerusalem in triumph!  For the people laying down their cloaks and who believed, it was the most incredible moment of their lives.  History in the making!  The Messiah was here!

But, when you read the whole prophecy in Psalm 118, it contains a terrible rejection.  “The stone the builders rejected has become the capstone; the Lord has done this, and it is marvelous in our eyes.  This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad it in.” Psalm 118:22-27.  Psalms 113-118 are the Hallel Psalms and are said today by the Jewish people at Passover.  They would have been sung by the Lord and his disciples just before He went to the Garden of Gethsemane!  These words meant the crowd was treating Jesus as the Messiah!  It was a critical key moment!  Would Israel receive Him?

Sadly, the leaders treated it as blasphemy and Jesus as a blasphemer!  It was a fatal choice!  The builders rejected the cornerstone!  Today in the western wall in Jerusalem, you can go below the temple mount and find a stone, the largest stone ever taken from a quarry in Israel.  It is 66 tons, 12 feet high, 12 feet thick and 25 feet long.  It was there when Jesus was crucified.  For some reason it was not used as the cornerstone.  It’s called to this day, “The stone the builders rejected.”  But God is never frustrated in His purposes.  By inspiration, Peter looks ahead to the day the Lord Jesus as the living stone, rejected by men but chosen by God and precious” will be made the cornerstone….”Behold, I lay a stone in Zion, a chosen and precious cornerstone, and the one who trusts in Him will never be put to shame,” 1 Peter 2:4.

Hosanna!  Hosanna!  Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!

Your friend, Jean