Pastor's Corner: Hosanna! 'Save us now'

When the people heard He was coming,

they lined the streets hoping to see Him.

They sacrificed their best coats and stripped

nearby trees to create a makeshift red carpet to honor him. They shouted "Hosanna"

over and over when He came into sight.

(See Mark 11:1-10)

The strange thing is that many from this

same crowd were shouting again a few days

later, but this time, they were calling for His

execution. "Crucify Him! Crucify Him!"

(See Mark 15:6-15)

Have you ever wondered about these

fair-weather friends or fickle fans of Jesus?

What could make them so enthusiastic one

moment and so ready to condemn the next?

When they cried, "Hosanna," they

weren't just saying "hurray." The Aramaic

root word for "Hosanna" actually means

"Save me now!" Even if they were not fully

aware of it, they were crying out for help.

Like us, the people of Jerusalem were

living through times that were difficult economically, politically and personally. Life

was hard, and they were desperate for solutions and ready to listen to anyone who

could give them new hope.

Some had heard that this Jesus could

feed thousands with a child's lunch, heal

contagious and incurable diseases like leprosy and, rumors claimed, just days ago,

He had even brought someone back to life

who had been dead and buried for days.

Of course, what they were really hoping,

is that He would use all that power to force

out their oppressive rulers and start a new

golden age, the messianic kingdom they all

dreamed about.

So, they came to check Him out. And

they shouted, "Save me now!" But what

they meant was, "Save us from our unjust

government!" "Rescue us from our money

troubles!" "Fix all our problems!" And when

Jesus didn't immediately do all that and He

wouldn't even fight for Himself before Pilate,

it was all too easy for them to just listen to the

next influencer whispering in their ears and

join the crowd shouting for Him to die.

What they didn't understand is that

He did come to save them. Like us, they

thought that if He could save them from

their circumstances, everything would be

fine. We sometimes imagine that if we

could just get rid of the politicians we don't

agree with or if we just had enough moneyor if something in our situation (our health,our home, our job, our family) changed, wecould finally be happy.

Truth is, even if all those fantasies cametrue at once, we'd still find ourselves longing for something more. We don't need saving from our circumstances; we need savingfrom ourselves.

Jesus came to pay the price on the crossfor our sin and selfishness, so we could livein continuous relationship with our lovingFather God, the only one who can fill uswith peace and make us feel whole, regardless of our circumstances. We just need torecognize that we need saving and that onlyHe can save us.

We need to stop listening to every newvoice (or advertisement) that claims tohave the answers to make us happy, better, healthy, wealthy, wise... etc. It's timeto say, "Hosanna, Jesus, save us now!" andmean it. Not like the people who shouted inthe streets and then turned their backs on Jesus days later, but time to make a real commitment to give Jesus your whole life andwait patiently to see what He can do with it.

This resurrection Sunday is the perfecttime to cry out "Hosanna, save us now"alongside your neighbors! If you're an earlyriser, join in the sunrise service at MannelPark at 6:30 am. If not, head to your local church and join in the festivities. Don'tworry about having the right clothes or evenif you haven't been there in a while. They'llbe glad to see you! If you don't have a local church, there are so many here, including ours, that would welcome you with openarms and help you keep that commitmentyou've made to Jesus.