He Became The Savior They Rejected

The crowds who went in front of him and those who followed kept shouting, Hosanna to the Son of David! 

Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! 

Hosanna in the highest! Matthew 21:9 

Their shouts and acclamations showed that they had great hopes for Him. “Come save us, Son of David. You are our Messiah. Come and do for us what our great King David did. Come and slay the great giant Rome. Drive our enemies from the land. Make Judah a great name among the nations. Rebuild the glory of ancient Israel. Surely you are the Son of David and the Son of God. Come and be our King of Kings.” 

No doubt the majority of those who called out in joy to Jesus had no earthly idea of how He had come to be their Savior. There would be now militant uprising. There would be no massive Judean army at His side. There would be no Roman blood shed. The new empire of Israel was only a figment of their speculative imagination. 

As holy week would pass, the reality of what Jesus had come to do as their Savior would quietly unfold. Instead of a militant uprising, there would be cleansing as He drove the sellers and money changers from the temple. Instead of amassing a major army, He would prepare His apostles and disciples to carry His word to the world. Instead of shedding Roman blood, the Romans would shed His blood. The new empire would not be in Israel. It would be in the hearts of those who believed in His promises of new and eternal life. 

So the people grew weary waiting. Jesus was not the Messiah that they desired. The chief priests and the teachers of the law continued their work of trying to discredit Jesus. They worried that He would cause the people to riot, upsetting the delicate Roman peace, and causing them to lose their popularity among the people. By the time Friday’s sun shone upon Jerusalem, the people were willing to deny the Son of David, to cry out under the chief priests’ direction to have Him crucified, willing to take the blood guilt of His death upon them and upon their children. He was not the Savior they imagined, so He became the Savior they rejected. 

May our lives never be like the lives of those people, so ready to deny our allegiance to the King of Kings when He does not work out our lives as we want Him to, in a way which is contrary to how He has willed for our life to be. Should we be tempted to do so, let us remember that there is no other name under heaven by which we can be saved. He alone is the way, the truth, and the life. He alone is our redeemer. His blood alone can atone for our sins. Let us then forever live in gratitude saying, “Come save us, Son of David.” 

Coming up in the near future at Immanuel Lutheran School: 

❖ March 27-31 MAP Testing 

❖ March 28 Church Council 

❖ March 29 Childcare Director Call Meeting 

❖ March 30 Children’s Theatre at NLHS - Grades K-4th 

❖ April 7-14 Easter Break - No School