Hosanna, You are King!

Luke 19:28-44

Zechariah 9:9 Rejoice greatly, Daughter Zion! Shout, Daughter Jerusalem! See, your king comes to you, righteous and victorious, lowly and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.

The prophecy we look at today was a very specific telling of what would happen with the Messiah. He was the King even if it wasn’t what the people thought or feared.

Jesus knew that this would be His last journey into Jerusalem as a human for the Passover. He also knew this would be the most difficult week of His life. He would suffer emotional, physical and spiritual pain. But before any of that could happen He needed to be hailed as a king. The people needed to declare Him so the Jewish leaders would hate Him to the point that they hurried their plan to get rid of Him. The leaders feared His kingship because they didn’t want to lose their power.

As far as the disciples were concerned, this was a day of great joy. It seemed that the Man that they hoped would take over leadership of the nation was making His entry. They make a parade out of the event, even throwing their coats down for the donkey to walk on. They were singing His praises and waving palm branches as they displayed their joy. The problem was that their joy was not for who He is but who they wanted Him to be.

We can fall into the same point of stumbling. We read verses saying things like “pray for anything in my name and it will be given to you” and we start thinking of all the things we want from Him. They may not be bad things, there is nothing wrong with desiring a person’s salvation or physical healing, but to think that God will answer those prayers simply because we prayed in Jesus’ name says that we desire what He can give more than what He has planned to do. It isn’t that He doesn’t love us, just that we don’t understand the depth of His love and therefore His reasons for not giving us everything we ask for.

While this parade is continuing Jesus looks out over the city and He can’t help but weep over the hearts of these same people that are joining in the festivities. He knows they don’t see the whole picture. They are looking forward to a future free of the oppression that they are under right now but Jesus knows that the oppression is only going to increase and will reveal which of these people are truly His followers and those who only love Him for what they want from Him.

Making It Personal

What are some of the things that you pray for that you want no matter what? Are you asking Him if it is His will or just demanding what you want? Would Jesus cry over your heart?

Making It Personal Kids

What kinds of things do you pray for? Do you think they are things that Jesus would say you should have? What does it mean to trust Jesus to do what He says is best?

Closing Prayer

Father, thank You for being more than we can see of You. You are our King, forever our King. Help us live solely for Your glory, not concerned with what it means for us but that we can live out loud like those who sang Your praises in that parade those many years ago. In Jesus’ name, amen.