The scene is German-occupied Paris, France, in the summer of 1944. The European city known as the "City of Lights" waits for liberation after years of Nazi tyranny. The French resistance rises against the German army on August 19th after German commander General Dietrich von Choltitz tries but fails to work out a truce with French military leader Charles de Gaulle. Hitler, who had ordered the city destroyed, asked Von Choltitz, "Is Paris burning?"
Paris doesn't burn, of course. The German general did not follow Hitler's orders. In fact, Von Choltitz lies because he does not want to be the man who ordered the destruction of Paris. So the French resistance, coupled with advancing Americans troops, wipe out the few remaining German strongholds and, by August 25th, Paris is free.
General De Gaulle enters the city the next day as a conquering hero. After four years under the occupation of German SS Troops and the Gestapo, Paris could finally breathe freely again. De Gaulle addressed Parisians and the world by saying: "Paris outraged! Paris broken! Paris martyred! But Paris liberated!"
Today you will be liberated, if you so choose, because today we observe the entrance of another conqueror, one known as the Messiah.
Let's understand this day. As Jesus rides into Jerusalem, he enters as a King, a king so few understand. And few understand him—even today—because he didn't enter like De Gaulle in August of 1944. See, when a king enters a city as a conqueror, he more than likely charges in on a stallion—not a measly donkey—at the head of his military entourage. Jesus, being the very Son of God, could have chosen to enter Jerusalem on a prancing stallion in a manner much like the famous French hero at the close of World War II, but this is not God's plan. Jesus rides in on a lowly animal. This is to signify that his kingdom would be a kingdom won not of man's military might, but of peace...peace that would be—and can be—established in the hearts of those who believe in him.
Even on a donkey, the masses shout praises to Jesus because the crowd believes him to be the Messiah. They cheer, "Hosanna to the son of David: Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!"
That's not all they are saying by shouting Hosanna. Today we will see that there is a double meaning to the shout of Hosanna. We will share both meanings here as we begin our sermon notes this morning.
The first meaning of Hosanna is what we commonly know, and it's our first point this morning. What does Hosanna mean? It is a shout of praise. It is a loud cry glorifying the Son of God, the one they knew who had turned the water into wine, who cast out the demons, raised the widow of Nain's son from the dead, and, just days before he came riding into town, had raised Lazarus' from the grave. Yes, Hosanna to the king!
Please keep your notes close because here is our second fill-in. There is a second meaning to this word Hosanna. It also means "save now!"
And here's where the Greek language illuminates what we alone cannot understand. As the crowd shouted Hosanna, they were actually crying out to Jesus to begin the revolution that would free them from Roman rule.
Much like Paris in the early 1940's, Jerusalem was held to Roman rule, and so now we can begin to understand why their attitude would change so quickly in the coming days from a king to one crucified. They fully believed that Jesus was their Messiah who would come to usher in a day of freedom, peace and prosperity for the nation of Israel. With this Messiah entering their city, they would be free from Roman oppression.
That didn't happen then and it hasn't happened yet, but that's the kind of Messiah that humankind still looks for today! We want the peace God promises not later, but now, right now, and if we don't experience it, we either quit church or our Sunday school classes. We shut doors, or shut our hearts to Jesus.
Think of it. Why do all churches flounder? Be it Catholicism, Methodism, Lutheranism, Presbyterianism or Congregationalism known since 1957 as the United Church of Christ, people want a Messiah that will give them a perfect life on this earth. Then, like now, they want a King to give them a kingdom now. Yet Jesus didn't ride into Jerusalem to establish a paradise of peace and prosperity here on earth. He rode in as the Messiah, yes, but then, like now, he brings more division than deliverance.
It's true. Crowds then like crowds now don't want a spiritual deliverer; they want an earthly deliverer. They don't want a Messiah that would be a lamb led to the slaughter who would die on the cross for them; they want a Messiah that would lead them in battle and live on as a conquering hero.
Do you see how alive this text is today? What was then is now. Too often, our vision of Christ is earthly and physical, not eternal and spiritual. This is our third point this morning. I'll repeat that for those who use these notes into the week ahead. Too often, our vision of Christ is earthly and physical. It is not eternal and spiritual.
I want to get back to that German General who disobeyed direct orders to destroy Paris. Just what was von Choltitz thinking? In August of 1944, whose leadership do you think he was honestly following, that of Hitler and the Nazi regime, or did he give his heart somewhere else?
Marred and marked by a war that must have left him scars until he died, his vision of the true conquering hero wasn't earthly or physical. No, that general, assigned to destroy a city, knew of the greater conquering King, the one not sent to save any from political oppression, but spiritual oppression. He didn't come to tear down walls and liberate a city; he came to tear down the walls around your heart and liberate your soul to a place that is eternal and spiritual.
So when they shouted "save now" and Jesus didn't, no wonder they killed him.
And we still kill him today when we ignore him.
This isn't the end of World War II. But in a world still riddled with hate and violence, in a world dominated by a push and pull 'me first' attitude, where is your king, and what does your king do? And, more specifically, what is your king to save?
Pray Hosanna. Pray that he saves you now. Your world will not be spared pain and suffering, but your world can be purposeful and peaceful. How?
Let Jesus in. Let Jesus in.
Our Lord desires to enter the doors of your heart right now. So when you pray Hosanna and engage its second meaning, which is 'save now' let God through Jesus do just that. Let him save you now.
But know who God is. First John 4:7 will help you for that verse says, love is God; and everyone who loves is born of God, and knows God. God is love. God does not come to you as a conquering hero, with his unlimited power to force his will upon you. With love for you, he comes to your door as a peaceful deliverer. Towers will fall and roads will crumble, blood will spill and eventually cities like Paris may fade, but Jesus, who is love, does not fade. Instead, he gently calls to every heart, asking if we will open the door and allow him to become our King and the Lord of our lives. He enters the city today. Let him enter your heart now.