HOW COME HOSANNA TO HANG HIM?

Wasn't the same crowd who is shouting "Hosanna" today, shouted all the more "Hang Him, Hang Him" only a few days later? 

Though people at Jerusalem welcomed Jesus and his disciples with grand celebration and shouting Hosanna hosanna, at a closer look, their understating of Jesus was completely fallacious. Therefore, before even the end of the week, they forgot Hoshana and shouted all the more "hang Him in the Cross, hang Him in the Cross". One of the key reasons for such alteration of thought was their selfishly motivated anticipation from Jesus. They were not looking at Jesus as a Messiah who would die for their deliverance from sin but as someone who would deliver them from political subjugation of their day. They looked at Jesus thoroughly in material terms and Jesus meant spiritual. They mistakenly thought that Jesus will wage physical war against Roman Empire and establish worldly kingdom, whereas Jesus, of course, waged war but it was spiritual war against principalities of darkness. Consequently, as these people witness the story of Jesus’ sacrifice further unfolded as Jesus is preparing Himself not to kill/attack then human enemies but to die Himself their erroneous hopes were shattered and they began opposing Him adamantly. Even the disciples, who at some point claimed to be closest and were, left Jesus at this crucial point time, thinking He could not save Himself how would He save us. On the other hand religious leaders also had their quite obvious reasons to be envious about Jesus Christ and arrange the well planned plot to kill Him. A number of times, we tend to neglect/dislike God's purpose for our lives and impose our own will (emerging from carnal mind) over it. And when things don’t seem to go our way we cringe in the shadow of pessimism or oppose God as the people at the Jesus's entry of Jerusalem. There are a lot people who seem to be dancing and rejoicing until the time there appears a cyclone of crisis as seen in the sad story of Jesus' disciples. Evidently, human nature is to always see surroundings in terms of competition and success. And sometimes, because of our sinful inclination, this nature pushes us to cross limits and become envious about other's success as religious leaders did in the narrative. 

A few questions for reflection; 

1. Do we really understand Jesus in the frame of His own purpose for our lives or try to impose our purpose on Him? 

2. Do we abide with Jesus when there are trials and sufferings in our lives for his name's sake or only when there is dancing and singing in the church. 

3. Does the fame of others make our hearts merry or envious? 

As some of us gladly celebrate Palm Sunday; the Triumphal Entry of Jesus, despite our long or short experience in Christian faith let's try to reflect on these three questions.

Posted in: Hoshana,Jesus Christ,Palm Sunday