By Jaime Sherman
- Matthew 21:9-16
- Luke 19:37-40
- Psalm 118:26
- Psalm 8:2
As Jesus descended the Mount of Olives and entered Jerusalem upon the colt’s back, hundreds if not thousands followed Him, echoing King David’s words of long ago, “Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!”
But all in the crowd were not merry. Caught up in the chaos were grumbling religious leaders, shouting, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples.” Jesus replied, “I tell you, if these were silent, the very stones would cry out.”
The following morning Jesus returned to the Temple, where the religious leaders tried again to silence the praise and declarations that He was king. Jesus was healing the blind and lame who approached Him, teaching, and displaying His righteous anger, for the holy place had become a circus of buying and selling animals and birds for sacrifice. And there in the midst of the chaos, a group of children encircled Jesus, shouting the Palm Sunday refrain, “Hosanna to the Son of David!”
The psalmist’s words and Jesus’ miraculous works were grating on the religious leaders, who asked Him, “Do you hear what these are saying?”
“Yes; have you never read, ‘Out of the mouth of infants and nursing babies you have prepared praise’?” Jesus asked. As He again quoted the psalmist, Jesus temporarily silenced these men; however, they continued to plot how to silence Him for good. But for that day, the children’s cries continued to ring, “Hosanna to the Son of David!”
Take some time today to praise Him for being your salvation and reigning as the King of kings.
For additional narratives in our Bystanders series, click here.
