A Royal Welcome
Holy Week, Part 2
The crowds going ahead of Him, and those who followed, were shouting,
“Hosanna to the Son of David;
BLESSED IS HE WHO COMES IN THE NAME OF THE LORD;
Hosanna in the highest!” – Matthew 21:9
Tobiah’s lungs burned. Chest heaving, he held the stitch in his side. But none of that mattered. He’d run all the way to Jerusalem to warn Jesus, but how would he find him? Jerusalem was teeming with travelers who’d arrived for the Passover.
When his gasping breaths eased until he could hear something other than wheezing, he turned toward the sound of joyous singing. A huge crowd surrounded the Fish Gate. They waved palm branches and sang the song traditionally sung when the High Priest entered the city with the Passover lamb. “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.” But that couldn’t be right. Tobiah had started for Jerusalem before the High Priest had even gotten to Bethlehem. Was this some sort of practice?
No.
They were singing praises to the Son of David.
Hosanna to the Son of David;
BLESSED IS HE WHO COMES IN THE NAME OF THE LORD;
Hosanna in the highest!
The Son of David – the King of Israel.
And who was the current Son of David, the rightful heir to David’s throne? All those years ago when Jesus had been born, it had been Joseph. Was the crowd proclaiming Joseph their king? The Romans wouldn’t stand for that. He’d find Mary and warn her.
He pushed through the crowd and saw a man younger than he was. He couldn’t be Joseph. Who was he? And he was riding a donkey. Riding a donkey?
Rejoice greatly, daughter of Zion!
Shout in triumph, daughter of Jerusalem!
Behold, your king is coming to you;
He is righteous and endowed with salvation,
Humble, and mounted on a donkey,
Even on a colt, the foal of a donkey. – Zechariah 9:9
Whoever this man was, he was claiming to be King of Israel in fulfillment of Zechariah’s prophecy. Tobiah’s mind spun. He’d come to warn Jesus about the plot to kill him, and he’d discovered a pretender to the throne. Against the jubilant melody, he let out an angry shout. “Hey! What are you doing?”
The man turned and found Tobiah immediately. He registered no surprise. It was as if the man expected him and was excited to see him.
Jesus. This was Jesus. “Jesus!”
A huge smile spread over Jesus’s face. He didn’t speak, but his gaze said, “I’m glad to see you, friend.”
Tobiah remembered the reason he’d come. “Jesus, you’re . . .” in danger.
Jesus gave a little shrug. I know. So do you. And you know this is why I came.
Of course. Why he came to Jerusalem and why he came down from heaven. But . . .
The people were acknowledging him as their king. Maybe this was it. His time had come. With the people’s support, he could stand up to the religious leaders. Jesus, the Son of David, would take his rightful place on the throne of Israel. THIS WAS IT.
A child handed Tobiah a palm branch, and he waved it, singing along with the others. “Hosanna to the Son of David.”
