Mensa Otabil - The Triumphant Entry (10/23/2025)
Well, today is Palm Sunday, so we celebrate the triumphant entry of the Lord Jesus Christ into Jerusalem with a shout of "Hosanna! Hosanna! Hosanna!" John chapter 12, verses 12 to 13: The next day, a great multitude that had come to the feast, when they heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem, took branches of palm trees and went out to meet him, and cried out, "Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, the King of Israel."
Hosanna means "Save now." It is a word that the Jews had developed as a result of their time of captivity. When they experienced the bondages, suppressions, and political control, that language became a rallying cry for God to save them, for God to deliver them. So that cry is now applied to Jesus because, at that time, the people believed that Jesus had something within himself to deliver them. So they cried, "Save us now! Hosanna! Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord." Those who followed him expected that he would deliver them. There were those who thought he would deliver them politically from the Romans; there were those who thought he would deliver them spiritually. But whatever the expectation was, they believed that Jesus was a Savior and a Deliverer, and that's what Hosanna means.
Interestingly, Jesus entered Jerusalem sitting on a donkey, and a donkey was not the animal of choice if you wanted to make an entrance. He should have used a horse, as a general from conquest would have done. But Jesus came in humility; he is a humble King, and he came sitting on a donkey. I want you to also note that when they said, "Hosanna," they said, "Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord."
So Hosanna is going to come in the name of the Lord. Hosanna doesn't come in our own name, in the name of your pastor, or your church, or by your own will. This is God who delivers us. It is in the name of the Lord that we experience deliverance; it's in the name of the Lord that we experience peace. And then they said, "Hosanna in the highest!" Hosanna goes to the highest; Hosanna goes to God. You know, many times when we want somebody to help us, we want somebody to Hosanna us, to deliver us, we're looking to a human being, but these people understood it's in the name of the Lord, and it's in the highest. So if you expect God to deliver you in any way, remember Hosanna is in the name of the Lord and is in the highest.
And so today, as you go to church to join the throng of believers to sing Hosanna, remember this momentous occasion when Jesus entered Jerusalem with palm branches. As you wave your palm branches, remember the Deliverer is not just coming; he's already come, and he will deliver you. He will save you, and he will help you. And today, allow him to enter your life; allow him to enter your marriage; allow him to enter your finances; allow him to enter your home; allow him to enter your church. Because wherever he enters, there will be deliverance; there will be salvation. Hosanna in the highest! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. I wish you all a Happy Palm Sunday because pretty soon it's going to get dark as we start talking about the suffering and the death of Jesus Christ, and then it will be magnificent as we celebrate his resurrection next Sunday at Easter.
Let us pray. With me, Heavenly Father, you are my Deliverer. Today I proclaim, "Blessed are you, O Lord! Hosanna in the highest!" In Jesus' name, amen and amen. Go to church, celebrate the Lord, sing his praise, and let your heart warm up with the throng who welcomed Jesus Christ this day. I am Pastor Mensa Otabil. I'll catch you again tomorrow. Shalom, peace, and life to you.