The crowds that went ahead of him and those that followed shouted, “Hosanna to the Son of David!” “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!” “Hosanna in the highest heaven!”
Matthew 21:9
A Greater Type of King Who Saves Us
Daily Devotion – April 5, 2023
Devotion based on Matthew 21:9
See series: Devotions
Did the crowd understand the significance of their own words? We’re not sure. Did the crowd understand the true nature of Jesus’ kingdom? We’re not sure. But as we stand on the Palm Sunday road two millennia later, it really doesn’t matter if they understood what they shouted. The question is, do we?
I grew up in a church where twice a month we sang, “Hosanna, hosanna, hosanna in the highest! Blessed is he, blessed is he, blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!” Even though I may not have fully understood what I was singing as a little boy, the words I sang were giving testimony that Jesus is the Savior. Hosanna literally means, “Lord, save us.” This is why Jesus came to earth and why he marched into Jerusalem on a day we call Palm Sunday. He came to seek and to save what was lost. He came to seek and save you.
When the crowd shouted those words that day, it was a plea, “Lord, save us.” From our perspective, it’s a word of praise, knowing that Jesus answered the plea. He didn’t just march into Jerusalem as king. Five days after Jesus rode into Jerusalem, he marched to a cross where he did save us from our sins. And on the following Sunday, on Easter morning, he marched out of the grave to prove that he had saved us from death. And that’s what makes him a greater type of king: He’s a King who saves us.
Prayer:
Dear Savior King, as I find myself in the middle of holy week, help me to pause and consider why you did what you did; you came into this world to save me. For that I give you thanks and praise. Hosanna! Amen.
Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide.
