Encouragement Page
13 March 2005

In one week’s time, we will be remembering our Lord’s last entry into Jerusalem. He chose to ride on a colt as He entered, in order to fulfill the prophecy of prophet Zechariah: "Behold, thy King cometh unto thee: he is just, and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass" (Zech 9:9). This was to let the people in the city and all those who came to Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover know that He was the "Messiah" foretold by the prophets. The people saw this and recognized Him as the coming King. "And a very great multitude spread their garments in the way; others cut down branches from the trees, and strawed them in the way. And the multitudes that went before, and that followed, cried, saying, Hosanna to the Son of David: Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord; Hosanna in the highest. And when he was come into Jerusalem, all the city was moved, saying, Who is this?" (Matt 21:8–10).

"Hosanna to the Son of David". The son of David here means the Messiah, which also means "the Anointed". Hosanna means "Save Us". The people in the city recognized that He was the anointed Saviour and therefore spread their garments and cut down branches of tree and strawed them in the way for Jesus to walk past. This was done to show their own humility and to exalt the Lord our Saviour. Believers who are saved by His precious blood ought always to do this. However, the Scribes and Pharisees were upset because they did not recognize Jesus as the Son of God and the Saviour of the world. Therefore they asked: "Who is this? Who came into the city as a king?" Finally, they delivered Jesus to Pontius Pilot to have Him crucified. However, this fell in with God’s plan of salvation for us.

"Blessed is He that cometh in the name of the Lord". Our Lord came into the world in the name of God the Father. He came to this world to save us and be the propitiation of our sins. What we need to do is to repent of our sins and receive Him and He will give us eternal life. We should therefore receive Him and thank Him for what He has done for us. It is a pity that men, instead of believing in Him, asked: "Who is this?" as if they have never known Him before. "Who is this, whose death we are remembering and whose resurrection we are going to celebrate?" The question is do you really know Him? What is your relationship with Him? Is He your personal Saviour? If not, try to know Him during this coming Easter. He came to die for you in order that your sins can be forgiven.

"Hosanna in the highest". The Jews at that time thought that Jesus had come to save them from the oppression of the Romans. So, they expected Him to become the king of the Jews. But it was not so. He came to save not only the Jews but the people of the world; not to save them from human oppressors but to save men from the power of darkness and from eternal death. He was dead and He rose on the third day. He is Hosanna our Saviour in the highest. Today, "God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name" (Phil 2:9). Do you know this Person? He will save you from eternal death and give you eternal life. All you need to do is to receive and believe in Him. "He came unto his own, and his own received him not. But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name" (Jn 1:11–12).

"This is Jesus the prophet of Nazareth of Galilee" (Matt 21:11). Many people in Jerusalem knew Jesus long ago because He had taught them, healed them and performed many miracles before them. But they only knew Him as a prophet of Nazareth and not their Saviour. One day, Jesus asked His disciples: "Whom do men say that I the Son of man am?" They said to Him: "Some say that thou art John the Baptist: some, Elias; and others Jeremias, or one of the prophets" Jesus then asked them: "But whom say ye that I am?" and Simon Peter answered and said, "Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God" (Matt 16:13-16) Next week, the world will ‘celebrate’ Good Friday and Easter. But do the people know "Who is this" for whom they celebrate? A prophet or the Saviour of the world? Let us tell the world that our Lord Jesus is truly the Saviour of the world. He came to save sinners like you and me. He also wants to save our friends and loved ones only if they will believe in Him.

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