The next day the large crowd that had come to the feast heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem. So they took branches of palm trees and went out to meet him, crying out, “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, even the King of Israel!” And Jesus found a young donkey and sat on it, just as it is written,
“Fear not, daughter of Zion;
behold, your king is coming,
sitting on a donkey's colt!”His disciples did not understand these things at first, but when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that these things had been written about him and had been done to him.
John 12:12-16
The One Step Daily Devotional is intended to provide just one step each day for your journey with God. Every journey requires water breaks. Here is a water break for you.
What’s with the palm branches? Much is to be gleaned from these few verses depicting the entrance of Jesus into Jerusalem that fateful Passover weekend. They paint a picture of the hopes and dreams of the people of Israel and how those hopes and dreams were not to be fulfilled.
First, there is the question of the palm branches. To first-century Jews, these branches were symbols of religion and politics.* Palm branches had become a national symbol for Israel, and waving them would be much like waving an American flag while the newest President of the United States rolled into town. Waving palm branches in Jerusalem to welcome Jesus made a statement of their reception of Him as a religious and political leader.* Specifically, they were recognizing Him as a the Messiah.*
Second, there is their use of the word Hosanna. While this word had come to be used as a more common exclamation of praise, it’s origins (which would have been known to the people) pointed toward a meaning of “save us” or “save now.”* This too points to their expectation that Jesus would be their Savior.
Third, they proceed to quote Psalm 118, a prophetic psalm that points toward the Messiah.* It was used even in other contexts as a royal welcome to the one that was coming to save.*
Fourth, the people add, “even the King of Israel!” This takes away any suspicion as to their intentions.
Fifth, the people quote Zephaniah 9:9, which speaks of the King coming to save.*
Some scholars suggest that Jesus rides the donkey to counter the expectations of the people that Jesus would save them by force, while other scholars suggest that His use of the donkey actually reinforces their hopes for His role as Messiah because of the context of Zephaniah 9:9.* Either way, Jesus eventually shows that their expectations were off.* Truly, even the disciples missed what Jesus was aiming to do until after Jesus died and raised again, leaving the Holy Spirit to lead them into all truth.* In the moment of Jesus’s entrance into Jerusalem, His life, ministry, and position on the donkey said, “I come in peace.” Still, somehow they missed it. Somehow they held onto their hope for a Rome-conquering savior.
Jesus did not come to set up an earthly kingdom; He came to set up a Kingdom that they had never known.* Jesus did not come to destroy the rule and reign of the Romans; He came to dismantle the rule and reign of sin in the heart of the world. Jesus did not come as a conquering hero on a horse; He came as a Messiah of peace.*
How many times do we welcome Jesus correctly (as our Savior), but completely miss His true intentions? How many times do we praise Him as a conquerer in our lives, but mislabel the enemy? How often does Jesus attempt to show us His intentions, but we ignore it or miss it?
What if Jesus wants to do more in our life than just the thing that we want right now?
Today, take a step.
Maybe today the one step God wants you to take is to pay attention to what He is saying and doing. Perhaps God wants you to see the bigger story of salvation that He is trying to tell in your life. Maybe He would have you lay down some expectations that you have of what He might do. Maybe God wants you to know that some things you will understand later, but for now, you must trust.
Whatever the step, ask God to direct it. Take a moment to take that step. Invite Him to speak. He will.
Life is a long road. Walk it with Jesus. Take a water break… we all get thirsty.
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*Carson, D. A. (1991). The Gospel according to John (pp. 431–435). Inter-Varsity Press; W.B. Eerdmans.
Mounce, R. H. (2007). John. In T. Longman III & D. E. Garland (Eds.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Luke–Acts (Revised Edition) (Vol. 10, pp. 531–533). Zondervan.
Whitacre, R. A. (1999). John (Vol. 4, pp. 303–307). IVP Academic.
Burge, G. M. (2000). John (pp. 340–342). Zondervan Publishing House.
Klink, E. W., III. (2016). John (C. E. Arnold, Ed.; pp. 534–541). Zondervan.