⁹ Now the crowds going ahead of Him, and those who followed, were shouting, “Hosanna to the Son of David; Blessed is the One who comes in the name of the Lord;
Hosanna in the highest!” ¹⁰ When He had entered Jerusalem, all the city was stirred, saying, “Who is this?” ¹¹ And the crowds were saying, “This is Jesus the prophet, from Nazareth in Galilee.”– Matthew 21: 9-11

Jesus entering Jerusalem isn’t what we think. Yes, prophecy is fulfilled with Jesus riding in on a colt. Yes, His disciples pick this colt up just in the place where Jesus said it would be which worked out His providential plan. The scripture is true; however, we must examine the intention of the crowd.

Many times this is a celebratory day, depicting Jesus riding in on a colt and people throw down their cloaks and wave palm branches for Him. In Easter plays and even contemporary music, Hosanna in the Highest is celebrated. Let’s dig into this, though. Hosanna means “Save now!” or “Please save!”. As modern Christians, this sounds great. Yes, please save us! We cry out to you!

But, when we say that or sing similar songs, let’s not relate to the crowd or picture us as one that would cheer for him in the crowd. The crowd shouted “Hosanna” for largely another reason.

Jesus did check a lot of their “Messiah boxes”. He worked miracles. He had massive crowds. He taught with authority. He raised the dead. He entered Jerusalem publicly and in a prophetic way. This screams, “This is it for us, the King has arrived!”. Yes, the King did arrive, but not as a King in the way they wanted (yet).

We can’t forget that the Jewish people were largely under Roman rule. Rome oppressed the Jews, mocked Jesus (think Pharisees), and taught that Caesar was the one to be worshipped. Rome was pagan to the core. The Jewish people thought their Messiah would save them from the Roman rule right then and over throw Rome as a new, political King. The crowd cheered because the “Messiah boxes” checked out, and here is their King riding in on a colt to overthrow Rome! As we know, Jesus didn’t come to do that in that time. Jesus came to die for our sins and not to overthrow the political establishment.

So, the same crowd that cheered Hosanna quickly became the one’s shouting “Crucify Him!” or “We want Barabbas”, just a few days after. Why this sudden change? Well, He wasn’t checking their boxes. He did not rally an army. He did not attack Rome. He did not seize the throne. He did not lead a revolt. Instead, Jesus confronted their sin. He denounced hypocrisy. He predicted judgement. He talked about His death. He in fact did not check their boxes. That’s a pretty quick way to empty out a fan club. People will cheer a Messiah who blesses their cause. That’s why they hated a Messiah that demands repentance and dying to ourselves.

What should this say for us as a modern day Christ follower? Don’t be one in the crowd shouting Hosanna for the wrong reasons. We want God to save us everyday from sin and the flesh, but we also look forward to the day He comes again and fulfills that King title over all the nations. Let’s remember this Holy Week to start out by not mocking Jesus, understanding what He came to do for us, and identifying with His death by dying to ourselves.