Cry "Hosanna!"

They took palm branches and went out to meet him, shouting, “Hosanna!”  John 12:13

In Hebrew, the cry “Hosanna!” means “save now” or “help me.” It was a cry of distress but also of intense happiness. The Jewish people were overjoyed that their Messiah had come at last. When He rode into town on a donkey, He was fulfilling the ancient prophesies written about Him (Zech. 9:9). Surely He would overthrow the oppressive Romans, punish the arrogant Pharisees, and establish His throne in Jerusalem. So they cheered with all their might, but those cheers turned to jeers in less than a week when He did not live up to their expectations. His deliverance was not what they had in mind so they turned away.

 “Help me, God!” we cry when the doctor says “No hope,” the IRS says “Pay up,” or the landlord says “Get out.” “Hosanna!” we cry to the Deliverer we imagine. Then the loved one dies, the debts stack up, or we lose our home and we assume our God failed us. This was not what we had in mind when we cried those words, so we turn away. We’re not much different from the crowd that lined the street that day. Maybe we too would have shouted “Crucify Him!” when He did not fulfill our expectations. God’s way of delivering us is often not what we had in mind because His ways are better. They’re eternal. God’s plan restores what sin destroyed. His deliverance is Kingdom-focused, not limited to earthly focus. “Hosanna!” was the right cry, but the wrong motivation. When we understand Who Jesus is and why He came, we can shout “Hosanna!” and trust His answers.

.