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REFLECTION
“Hosanna – set us free!” is the theme for our reflection. “Hosanna is a Hebrew expression which essentially means please save us now. Jesus was born in an era when Israel was still under the government of the Roman Empire. The common expectation of the Jews was the coming of a Saviour as promised by the Prophets and ordained by God to re-establish the Kingdom of David. However, Jesus came riding on a donkey rather than a horse. He is a humble King who came to save the world not through chariots and war horses but on a humble, gentle and submissive donkey! We are told “The disciples went and did as Jesus had instructed them. They brought the donkey and the colt and placed their cloaks on them for Jesus to sit on. A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, while others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. The crowds that went ahead of him and those that followed shouted, “Hosanna to the Son of David!” “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!” “Hosanna in the highest heaven!” (Matthew 21:6-9). The Israelites saw Jesus as the Messiah or King who was God-sent to set them free from the Roman empire and to reestablish the Kingdom of David as promised in Isaiah 9:7 where it is written that “Of the greatness of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever. The zeal of the LORD Almighty will accomplish this.”

When the people witnessed the signs and wonders Jesus was doing among them, they had no doubt in their minds that Jesus who is the descendant of David is the promised political liberator of Israel. They had the expectation and belief that with the powers Jesus possessed He would liberate them from Roman oppression, therefore on this particular occasion,  A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, while others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. ⁹ The crowds that went ahead of him and those that followed shouted, “Hosanna to the Son of David!” “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!” “Hosanna in the highest heaven!” (Matthew 21:8-9) In other words, they were already celebrating Jesus as their political King and liberator who would set them free from the political enemy and guarantee them economic prosperity.

Beloved in the Lord, Jesus is a King and will remain a King but He was not a political King, He is the everlasting King and His kingship supersedes the reign of every human king that has ever lived and that will ever live. Jesus told Pontious Pilate “My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jewish leaders. But now my kingdom is from another place.” “You are a king, then!” said Pilate. Jesus answered, “You say that I am a king. In fact, the reason I was born and came into the world is to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me.” (John 18:36-37). All that the people said about Jesus from Matthew 21:8-9 was perfectly true except that He did not come at that material time to fight the Roman Empire and to politically and economically set Israel free, rather “… the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.” (Luke 19:10). Jesus had already mentioned the kind of liberation He has brought to the world when He quoted from the Prophet Isaiah that ““The Spirit of the Lord is on me because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, ¹⁹ to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour.” (Luke 4:18-19)

The key lesson for the day is for us to question what we really mean when we pray to Jesus to set us free. Do we, above all things, believe in Jesus because of our economic and political liberation? Do we mainly come to church or pray to Jesus because of our material or economic prosperity? If that is the foundation of our faith in Jesus then we have missed the mark. The core reason for which anyone should call on Jesus to be saved or set free is first and foremost liberation from the captivity of sin and eternal death. Jesus has come to save us from sin and to reconcile us to God, for Paul tells us in 2 Corinthians 5:18-19 that “All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them.” Again, Jesus assures us in John 3:16-17, that “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. ¹⁷ For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.” When we believe in Jesus and we are saved then the blessing of economic prosperity and political liberation can be prayed for, It is for this reason, Jesus admonishes us to “seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own. (Matthew 6:33-34).  Let us remember that our salvation or eternal life is the most important thing we must yearn for because Jesus assures us that “Heaven and earth (together with all power, wealth and material things) will pass away, but my words will never pass away. (Matthew 24:35)

In summary, we have reflected on the theme, Hosanna-Set us free. We have learnt that our eternal salvation in the Kingdom of God is more important than any other type of salvation and liberation, therefore let us surrender our lives to Jesus, our King, Master and Saviour who came to set us free from the bondage of sin and eternal death. Shalom.


PRAYER
HOLY SPIRIT HELP US TO UNDERSTAND AND APPRECIATE OUR ETERNAL SALVATION IN JESUS AND MAY GOD’S WILL BE DONE IN OUR LIVES. Amen