It’s Palm Sunday. That special (Sun)day set aside in the year to celebrate the triumphant entry of the Lord Jesus into Jerusalem, just a few days before His crucifixion. The irony of this sequence of events was perplexing for Jesus’ disciples at the time. But today, that turn of events is no longer surprising – we know it was by divine design.

“Hosanna” is an Hebrew expression that means “Save (us)!”. It was a request for help that had morphed into a form of praise offered to one who has the ability to save. Though the Jews wanted Jesus to save them from political oppression and re-establish their kingdom, he had a much higher purpose and an unbelievable strategy…

Jesus’ purpose was to save humanity from the oppression of sin and deal with the root of all human problem; he also intended to save the whole world, not just the Jews. He meant to achieve this by giving up His life as a sacrifice that satisfied God’s wrath on sin and giving us new life by His resurrection. And that was exactly what He did…

But on that fateful Sunday, that was not the expectation of the Jews. Nor was it that of the disciples, even though He had repeatedly told them He was going to die – they were yet to understand. Today, we can take comfort in knowing that cry, “Hosanna”, has been and will be answered because of Jesus’ glorious entry, not just into Jerusalem, but into the Father’s presence in heaven.