Yesterday was Palm Sunday, where Christians world-wide celebrate the 'Triumphal Entry' of Jesus into Jerusalem the week before he died (see Matt. 21:1-11, Mark 11:1-11 etc).
As he entered the city on a donkey and made his way towards the temple, the crowds responded with singing and laying palm branches and their cloaks on the ground. They held messianic hopes for Jesus and joyously sang Psalm 118 proclaiming their hopes of God's salvation. "Hosanna" literally means "Lord save us!" In it's original context, Ps. 118:26 is actually a call for deliverance, though used in these later days, it seems to have morphed into an expression of praise.
Interestingly enough, before his death, Jesus would lament his rejection and predict his future coming that will be accompanied by the same proclamation that was made that first Palm Sunday (Matt.23:38-39). It's fascinating to me how Psalm 118 had specific relevance to ancient Hebrew worshipers, worshipers of Jesus' day, and it still holds relevance for the future.
I didn't completely understand all of this until the very end of our service yesterday when I made the spur-of-the-moment decision to read Revelation 7:9-10:
9 After this I looked, and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands. 10 And they cried out in a loud voice:
“Salvation belongs to our God,
who sits on the throne,
and to the Lamb.”
While this vision doesn't directly allude to Psalm 118 or what Jesus described in Matthew 23, I hadn't noticed the palm branches reference the many times I'd read this before. No doubt this is an allusion to the celebrations that first Palm Sunday as the final victory of God is realized on that day.
Hosanna in the Highest!
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