Read:
People have a desire to be noticed by important people. It’s why we buy passes for meet & greets with our favorite musicians or gather by stadium exits to catch a glimpse of our favorite athletes post-game.
People knew Jesus was important, and they wanted the chance to see him up close, to be noticed by him. As Jesus entered Jerusalem a week before his death, the people lined the street, waving palm branches and shouting, “Hosanna!” Something else filled the street: lambs.
This was the Passover, Judaism’s highest holy day. Everyone was required to go to Jerusalem to sacrifice the Passover lamb, and Jewish law required that the lamb live with the family for three days before sacrifice. For this reason, in the days leading up to the festival, the streets were crowded with hundreds of thousands of lambs, going up to be sacrificed.
And Jesus rode among them, the Lamb of God who would be sacrificed for our sins. Isaiah predicted this, saying, “He was oppressed and treated harshly, yet he never said a word.
He was led like a lamb to the slaughter. And as a sheep is silent before the shearers, he did not open his mouth” (Isaiah 53:7).
On the day Jesus rode into Jerusalem, the people praised him, but a few days later, “He was despised and rejected – a man of sorrows, acquainted with deepest grief. We turned our backs on him and looked the other way. He was despised, and we did not care” (Isaiah 53:3).
God’s plan had always been right in front of their eyes, but the people didn’t see it. The Messiah was not going to be a king, a man who we want to shake hands with, but a suffering servant. He didn’t come to earth to lead a revolution but to die for our sins. The Jews didn’t believe. Do you believe?
Pray: Dear God, you promised a Messiah to save us from our sins, and you kept your promise! I believe! Amen.