Flash Forth
Matthew 21:1-11
1Now when they drew near to Jerusalem and came to
Bethphage, to the Mount of Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples, 2 saying to
them, “Go into the village in front of you, and
immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her. Untie them and
bring them to me. 3 If anyone says anything to you, you shall
say, ‘The Lord needs them,’ and he will send them at once.” 4 This took
place to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet, saying, 5“Say to the
daughter of Zion, ‘Behold, your king is coming to you, humble, and mounted on a
donkey, on a colt, the foal of a beast of burden.’” 6 The disciples
went and did as Jesus had directed them. 7 They brought the donkey and the colt and
put on them their cloaks, and he sat on them. 8 Most of the crowd spread their cloaks on
the road, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. 9 And the
crowds that went before him and that followed him were shouting, “Hosanna to
the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in
the highest!” 10 And when he entered Jerusalem, the whole city was
stirred up, saying, “Who is this?” 11 And the crowds said, “This is the
prophet Jesus, from Nazareth of Galilee.”
Palm Sunday conjures up the
use of one word – Hosanna! The only time we find this word used in the entire
Bible is in 3 of the four Gospels as the events of what we now call Palm Sunday
are told. In fulfillment of the Old Testament prophecies, Jesus rides into
Jerusalem on the back of donkey colt for He is the true King. The people gather
to greet Him because by this point He is famous. He is the One who can provide
food where there is none. He is the One who can heal the lame and blind. He is
the One who casts out demons with a mere word. He is the One who actually
raises people from the dead! So the people gather, waving palm branches and
laying their cloaks down on the path before Him. And while He passes, they
shout “Hosanna!” The reason we don’t use this word very much in our own worship
is because it really doesn’t mean very much. It simply means “save.” These
people were looking at the One who could indeed save them from eternal
destruction; but they were interested in being saved from other things – like
famine, sickness, and the rule of tyrants.
Today when we want to worship
our God, we use words like “Alleluia” and “Praise”. Now these are strong words!
Psalm 106:1 (along with many, many others) says, “Praise the Lord!” Alleluia
could also be put into that sentence, as the two words are the same in the
Hebrew. The actual definition is the fascinating point for the day. “Praise the
Lord” and “Hallelujah” actually mean FLASH FORTH the Name of Yahweh! Now
that’s some action for you. It gives brings up images of lightning; that sudden
bursting forth of energy and power that is found in the Name of God. Genesis
1:3 describes the creation of light this way. “And God said, ‘Let there be
light,’ and there was light.” The word for “let there be” is Yahweh! He uses
His own name to flash forth the creation of the world. It’s a fantastic
picture.
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