A Blind Hosanna
Palm Sunday warns us that followers of Jesus aren’t immune to self-seeking and misguided worship.
Many of us are aware that the same crowd who shouted “Hosanna” on Sunday shouted “Crucify him” on Friday.
Matthew 21:9 | 27:22
Though their lyrics of praise were true, their hearts were tangled.
Luke’s account helps us understand what was really going on:
Luke 19: 37-38 | NIV
When he came near the place where the road goes down the Mount of Olives, the whole crowd of disciples began joyfully to praise God in loud voices for all the miracles they had seen:
“Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!”
The crowd that loosely followed Jesus around Palestine for the last few years weren’t strangers to amazement. They had seen and heard Jesus do and say unimaginable things, giving them hope that their lives were about to change.
Luke 5:15 | 5:26 | 6:17 | 7:16 | 9:43
But it’s clear from Luke 19 that the miracles they’d seen became the source of their praise.
Instead of seeing Jesus for who He really was, they only saw the parts of Him that would benefit them.
As the passage in Luke continues, we see that the “joy” of the people doesn’t match Jesus’ emotion. Jesus, who knows hearts (Matt. 9:4), sees through the mask of their applause and begins to weep.
Looking over the city, tears in His eyes, through the noise and fanfare He grieves,
Luke 19:42 | NIV
“If you, even you, had only known on this day what would bring you peace—but now it is hidden from your eyes.”
The crowd saw the miracles but failed to see the mission.
Both the crowd and the religious leaders wanted peace, but they didn’t want it the way Jesus intended to bring it.
The crowd wanted peace through comfort and the religious leaders wanted peace through power but Jesus came to bring peace through surrender.
Our praise is blind when we only look at what God can do FOR US and neglect to see what God wants to do IN US.
A real heart of worship lays aside our assumptions and presuppositions and opens hands to receive who God really is. A real heart of worship is open to transformation into His image, not an image we’ve crafted for ourselves. A real heart of worship chooses Jesus’ way over what’s easy and comfortable. A real heart of worship lays aside our power and position and cedes control of our lives to the King of kings.
This Sunday, we can learn from the crowd and choose to match the right lyrics with the right heart. In doing so we may actually experience the peace Jesus truly did come to bring—not a peace through power, but a peace through sacrifice.