Bible Passage: Matthew 21:1-10
Pastor: Joel Jenswold
Sermon Date: March 29, 2026

Bulletin – March 29, 2026

In the name of, and to the eternal glory of, Jesus,

Something feels different about today.  I don’t mean that just from the standpoint of how Palm Sunday “feels” in contrast to the quieter days of Lent.  I also mean it “feels” different from the tone of Jesus’ whole ministry.  Here is what I’m driving at.  Early in Jesus’ ministry, he heals a man with leprosy.  The account is in Mark 1.  After healing the man Jesus gave him a strong warning: “See that you don’t tell this to anyone.” (Mark 1:43-44)  Jesus very sternly told this man to keep a lid on things!  A similar event takes place in Mark 9.  Jesus heals two blind men.  Again, we are told:  Jesus warned them sternly, “See that no one knows about this.” (Mark 9:30)  This has sometimes been referred to as “the Messianic secret.”  Jesus carefully “curated” how and how much information about himself he wanted proclaimed.

So we are back to the first point.  Today feels different.  All restraint seems gone.  Jesus rides into Jerusalem with people shouting and generally making a big deal out of it!  He warns no one.  He restrains no one.  The time has come for the word to get out!

At the center of all the shouting today is one word.  It is an odd word.  I remember being a child attending Palm Sunday worship services and hearing this word and wondering what the world it meant.  The word at the center of the shouting is “hosanna.”  Today we want to be sure we understand what all this commotion is about. Today we want to be sure we don’t miss the significance of what the children and grown ups were all saying:  Hosanna to the Son of David!  Hosanna in the Highest!

To begin with, we might take a moment and appreciate how carefully every part of Palm Sunday is “curated” by, of course, the Lord Jesus.  The opening verses of our text describe how Jesus sends two disciples to retrieve a donkey and its colt.  Jesus describes in exact detail how it will all go down!  The village, the two donkeys, the owners’ questions!  All, just as Jesus said.  We are told:  This took place to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet. (v. 4)  It was no secret!  God wanted Israel to know her Messiah-King was going to come riding on a little donkey!

A crowd gathers around Jesus and his lowly conveyance.  There is a crowd that is with Jesus as he begins his ride from the Mount of Olives just to the east of Jerusalem.  A crowd begins to come out from inside Jerusalem.  Some in the crowds cut palm branches and wave them, or put them down on the road.  Some take their coats off and lay them on the road.  They are treating Jesus like he is a returning conqueror!  And they say “that word.”  They keep saying, “Hosanna!”  They say, Hosanna TO the Son of David!  And they say, Hosanna IN the highest!  Why this word?  Why say it TO Jesus?  Why say it is IN the highest heavens?  Confused?

The word “hosanna” is really a Hebrew word.  It comes from Psalm 118:25, which says, O LORD, please save us now.  You say, “I didn’t hear the word hosanna!”  Let’s try again.  This time in Hebrew.  אָנָּ֣א יְ֭הוָה הוֹשִׁ֘יעָ֥ה נָּ֑א. Did you hear it?  “Hosanna” means, “Save us now, please.”  In Psalm 118: 25, the followers of the Messiah cry out to him, “Please save us now!”  So on the one hand, “hosanna” is a prayer, it is a plea for salvation and deliverance.  But over time, “hosanna” also became a term of praise for the Messiah.  So, today, as the people cry out, “Hosanna,” is it prayer or is it praise?  Why can’t it be both?

Today as we see Jesus arriving in the city of Jerusalem, it is most fitting to cry out, “O Lord, please save!”  But from what do you want to be saved?  Some of those on that first Palm Sunday were still a little confused.  They were right in calling Jesus the Son of David.  He was.  They were right in begging, “Save us now, please!”  But they were wrong if they thought Messiah was coming to save them from the hated Romans and their occupation of their homeland.

From what do you most need to be saved?  What is “salvation” and “deliverance” for you?  Fill in the blank:  “Jesus is coming to save me from ________________.”  Lord, please save me from my credit card debt.  Lord, please save me from the bullies at school.  Lord, please save me from hypertension.  Lord, save me from high cholesterol, or cancer.  Here we must remember how Jesus had prepared his followers for their trip to Jerusalem.  He had told them, We are going up to Jerusalem and the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and teachers of the law.  They will condemn him to death and will hand him over to the Gentiles, who will mock him and spit on him, flog him and kill him.  Three days later he will rise. (Mark 10:33-34) 

Jesus didn’t say a research lab awaited where he would go and provide a serum or antibody to cure all ills.  He wasn’t going to the financial district of Jerusalem to get the interest rates lowered so the economy would be better.  He knew torture, crucifixion, death and resurrection where in Jerusalem.  And that is why he went.  He went to save us from ourselves!  He went to save us from our sins!  Those who want Jesus simply as a Savior from their sickness, or a Savior from financial hardship are thinking too small!  Paul wrote to the Galatians, [T]he Lord Jesus Christ…gave himself for our sins to rescue us from the present evil age. (Galatians 1:3-4)  By rescuing us from our sins, he rescues us from it all!  By his death and rising, Jesus opens for us an eternity of “never again.”  Of our eternal home it is written, Never again will they hunger; never again will they thirst.  The sun will not beat upon them, nor any scorching heat. (Revelation 7:16)  Ah, the fullness of redemption!  Salvation complete!

Friends, the “Messianic secret” is out!  Jesus from Nazareth is going to Jerusalem to save us from sin and death!  There can be only one thing to say.  “Hosanna.”  Hosanna as a word of praise!  Hosanna in the highest! 

Amen.