March 31 | Blessed
Read Mark 11:1-10
“Hosanna!” It means “Save, I pray.” This is what the people shouted as Jesus entered into Jerusalem.
Mark is more reserved about his description of the people’s reception than Mathew and John who explicitly tie this moment to a messianic prophecy. He also doesn’t have them call Jesus “Son of David.”
Instead, Mark includes a phrase that was said to pilgrims on their way to the temple, “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!”
He also has the crowd saying “Blessed be the coming Kingdom of our father David!” Jesus preached the Kingdom of God, fulfilled through the line of David, not the reborn kingdom of David. Mark wants us to see that the crowd, like the disciples, were unclear on Jesus’ mission. They were still looking for a military coup that put them back on top politically. They couldn’t have imagined what would take place later that week… and when they saw Jesus arrested and put on trial, the very same crowd that called “Hosanna!” would call out “Crucify Him!”
So often, our unfulfilled expectations cause us to abandon our faith or our trust in God.
Today, let’s pray, “Hosanna!” to God. “Save, I pray!” Let’s ask God to save us from our expectations of what He should do. Let’s ask for help seeing things the way He does.