Between Two Blesseds
A Meditation on Palm Sunday and the Day of the Lord
The account of Jesus’ triumphal entry through the streets of Jerusalem is documented in all the gospels and was, by all accounts, a pivotal moment in history.1See Matthew 21:1-11, Mark 11:1-10, Luke 19:28-38, and John 12:12-18. The atmosphere must have been thick with anticipation. One can almost see the connections being made in the minds of the Judean crowd as they shout, “Hosanna!” Could this be the fulfillment of what the prophet Zechariah spoke concerning Zion’s King arriving on a donkey,2See Zechariah 9:9. ushering in a Messianic age of unprecedented peace and prosperity for Jerusalem?3See Zechariah 9–10. How fitting that the inhabitants of Jerusalem should welcome this promised Son of David with a song of David, saying, “Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord”?[See Psalm 118:26, Matthew 21:9, Mark 11:9, Luke 19:38, and John 12:13.]
However, not long after, Jesus snuffs out these hopeful speculations. Instead of relishing his triumphal entry, announcing his Kingdom’s establishment, and sitting on his father David’s throne, Jesus instead reacts in lament and weeping over Jerusalem because she “did not know the time of her visitation,” 4Luke 19:44 and consequently her “house will be left to her desolate.” 5Matthew 23:38, echoing the prophetic declarations of Isaiah 64:11 and Jeremiah 12:7. After this lament, Jesus then prophetically promises to Jerusalem, “You will not see me again until you say, ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord.’” 6Matthew 23:39
Strange indeed, since those were the very words, the exact quotation just employed to receive Jesus at His triumphal entry into Jerusalem. Apparently, this first recitation was ineffective in welcoming Israel’s Messiah because the shouting Jerusalamites did not understand the true implications of their declarations. In Acts, Luke interprets the irony of this rejection: “For those who live in Jerusalem and their rulers did not recognize Him nor understand the utterances of the prophets, which are read every Sabbath, and fulfilled them by condemning Him.”7Acts 13:27 In light of this tragic—yet not unforeseen—set of circumstances, Jesus sits on the Mount of Olives overlooking the City of the Great King and expands on what He meant by Jerusalem’s “house shall be left desolate.”8See Matthew 24. He explains the destruction of the temple and the signs times of the end, which are severe: a great tribulation and the abomination which causes desolation.9See Daniel 9:24–27. The crisis will be so great, Jesus somberly observes, that no human being would be saved if the days had not been cut short.10See Matthew 24:22. The thought of Jerusalem’s future trouble so burdened Jesus that even as he was being led away to be crucified, he turned to a gathering of women who were mourning for him and said, “Daughters of Jerusalem, don’t weep for me, but weep for yourselves and your children.”11Luke 23:28
Though the Romans would soon destroy the temple in Jerusalem and decimate the Jewish population in the land of Judea in the first century, Jesus was prophesying about an even greater future tribulation, the time of Jacob’s trouble, which would be the climactic event in an era culminating in what Paul called “the fullness of the Gentiles.” 12See Romans 11:25. During this era, a partial hardening has come upon Israel, that mercy might be extended to the Gentile nations. But this repudiation is neither final nor forever but a temporary measure that is a catalyst for Israel’s ultimate salvation. “But if their rejection means the reconciliation of the world,” reasons Paul, speaking of his fellow Jews, “what will their acceptance mean but life from the dead?” 13See Romans 11:15.
After his crucifixion and resurrection, Jesus presented himself “alive by many proofs.” 14See Acts 1:3. He stayed with his disciples, appearing to them for forty days and teaching them about the Kingdom of God. At the end of this time, the disciples asked Jesus, “Is now the time that you will restore the Kingdom to Israel?” 15See Acts 1:6. “That time has been set by the Father’s authority, but it is not for you to know.” was his reply. “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be My witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” 16See Acts 1:8. The task before the disciples was to bear witness to the nations during this “time of the Gentiles.” After that merciful harvest season, Jesus would return and establish his Kingdom, restoring his father’s dynasty to Israel. Hosanna to the Son of David, indeed.
As Jesus ascended into heaven on that same Mount of Olives where He had so clearly spelled out the signs of His appearing in the Olivet discourse just a couple of months earlier, two angels appeared to the disciples saying, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven will come the same way as you saw Him go into heaven.”17See Acts 1:11. This will fulfill the words of the prophet Zechariah, who said, “I will gather all the nations against Jerusalem to battle and the city shall be taken…then the LORD will go out and fight against those nations as when He fights on a day of battle. On that day, his feet shall stand on the Mount of Olives that lies before Jerusalem on the east, and the Mount of Olives shall be split in two… And the LORD will be king over all the earth… Jerusalem shall dwell in security.”18See Zechariah 14.
So, we are in this time between—bookended by the two “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord,” declarations. The first proclamation was trying to force fulfillment but was ultimately counterfeit. Zion’s true king wept that those in Jerusalem did not know the time of their visitation. How far her wanderings would take her before she genuinely and wholeheartedly acknowledged that all her hope is in the Messiah and desperately cried, “Hosanna!”19“Hosanna” is an appeal for deliverance from the Hebrew phrase הושע נא hosia-na, that is, “Save, I pray.” found in Psalm 118:25. Hosanna came in liturgical usage to serve as an expression of joy and praise for deliverance granted or anticipated.
At this second declaration at the end of this age, we will find Jerusalem powerless and at the end of herself, just as her prophets from Moses have foretold.20See Deuteronomy 32:36. It is at this desperate point that her salvation is at hand. On that day, when Jesus’ feet stand on the Mount of Olives, Jerusalem will look upon the pierced One, mourn, burn her idols, and say with all her heart, “Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord.” 21See Zechariah 12, 13; Matthew 23:39.
Amen. May it happen speedily and in our days.
Footnotes
- 1See Matthew 21:1-11, Mark 11:1-10, Luke 19:28-38, and John 12:12-18.
- 2See Zechariah 9:9.
- 3See Zechariah 9–10.
- 4Luke 19:44
- 5Matthew 23:38, echoing the prophetic declarations of Isaiah 64:11 and Jeremiah 12:7.
- 6Matthew 23:39
- 7Acts 13:27
- 8See Matthew 24.
- 9See Daniel 9:24–27.
- 10See Matthew 24:22.
- 11Luke 23:28
- 12See Romans 11:25.
- 13See Romans 11:15.
- 14See Acts 1:3.
- 15See Acts 1:6.
- 16See Acts 1:8.
- 17See Acts 1:11.
- 18See Zechariah 14.
- 19“Hosanna” is an appeal for deliverance from the Hebrew phrase הושע נא hosia-na, that is, “Save, I pray.” found in Psalm 118:25. Hosanna came in liturgical usage to serve as an expression of joy and praise for deliverance granted or anticipated.
- 20See Deuteronomy 32:36.
- 21See Zechariah 12, 13; Matthew 23:39.