Hosanna! Blessed is He! (John 12:12-19)

Today's scripture: John 12:12-19

When Jesus entered Jerusalem, a large crowd who had heard of the miracle of Lazarus greeted Him with shouts of praise. "Hosanna! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord, even the King of Israel."

The chief priests and Pharisees didn't acknowledge Jesus as Messiah or King. No, instead it was the common man. Matthew Henry, one of my favorite commentators, wrote:

They were not the rulers, nor the great men, that went out to meet Christ, but the commonalty; some would have called them a mob, a rabble: but Christ has chosen the weak and foolish things (1Corinthians 1:27), and is honoured more by the multitude than by the magnificence of his followers; for he values men by their souls, not their names and titles of honour ... [The words they shouted are] quoted from Psalm118:25-26. See how well acquainted these common people were with the scripture, and how pertinently they apply it to the Messiah. High thoughts of Christ will be best expressed in scripture-words. Now in their acclamations, They acknowledge our Lord Jesus to be the king of Israel, that comes in the name of the Lord.

These common people had either seen and heard Jesus themselves or had heard of Him through others. In both cases, they believed in Him. They knew prophecy, and they believed Jesus was the promised Messiah, and they greeted Him appropriately.

We know Jesus was the Messiah promised to God's people. We know He is the "Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world" (John 1:29). We know He is the "way, the truth, and the life" and the only way of salvation (John 14:6).

So we too should praise Him. In fact, we can greet Him each morning with "Hosanna! Blessed are You, Lord Jesus!"