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 apocryphal words of the prophet
Zechariah become reality as I hear the shouts of the people; “Hosanna to the Son of David: Blessed is he that cometh
in the name of the Lord; Hosanna in the highest!”
The Roman-oppressed people looking for their Messiah, laid a carpet of palm
branches for him to ride upon, while those who hated and feared Him wove webs
of betrayal and entrapment.
The palm branch in Roman
culture symbolized victory, and eternal life in the Egyptian culture. Hosanna
means “please deliver us” or “I beg you to save”.
As Jesus
enters Jerusalem as the righteous King, fulfilling the prophecy of Zechariah,
he sits humbly on a donkey. He would first ride on a donkey hours before his birth in
Mary’s womb. Now, the Prince of Peace would not sit on a princely horse, but
again on a humble donkey.
He is hours away from Passover supper He will share
with his disciples. He is hours from his agonized prayer and arrest at
Gethsemane, the mock trial and death sentence to follow.
Simultaneously I rejoice with the
Hosanna’s of the people, while grieving during the days forward when my
heart will turn toward the stations of Jesus’ cross.
Under an Eastern sky amid a
rabble cry, a man went forth to die, for me – for me.
He will come again, for me - for
me, and for you.
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