What do you think of when you hear the word “Hosanna?” If you’re anything like me, you think of this word as a shout of praise. We often arrive to Palm Sunday and think of it as a day of celebration. Now, don’t get me wrong- it is a day of celebration! This day marks the beginning of the week in which salvation would be made available to the whole world! But for the people at the time, running alongside Jesus as he rode a donkey into Jerusalem, that shout of “Hosanna” meant something a little different than it does for us today.

John tells us in his gospel that many of the people that had come to bear witness to Jesus’ triumphal entry to Jerusalem were people who had witnessed or heard of His miracle of raising Lazarus from the dead. Having witnessed this, we can only imagine the discourse that must have resulted amongst these Jews— “Could it be? Could this be our long-awaited king?” You see, for hundreds of years, the Jewish people had been eagerly awaiting their Savior, who they assumed would come in the form of a king: a king that would come in power to overthrow the tyranny of Rome, leading Israel to rule instead. For this reason, we see the people crying “Hosanna!,” in Hebrew meaning “save us,” as Jesus rode into Jerusalem. In this context, we can understand this translation of “save us” in a very literal manner. The Jews were crying out, asking their king to save them from Rome and to bring domination to Israel.

These Jews were celebrating the arrival of their king, but they grossly misunderstood His purpose and plan as their king. You see, they understood all the triumph and glory of a king, but they missed the humility and gentleness of a servant. They imagined salvation for their people, but they totally missed that salvation was coming for all. Praise the Lord that Jesus’ plan for salvation was so much bigger than these people could ever have imagined! Because of His sacrifice, we, as followers of Jesus, are able to sing “Hosanna” with a totally different meaning today. We are no longer crying out, waiting for salvation. Salvation has come!

As we enter this Holy Week, may we reflect on how wonderful it is that we can, in confidence, sing “Hosanna!” to our savior!

— Kaitlyn Perkins

Crucifixion. What a brutal, inhumane, and tortuous death. Yet we see Jesus, even in such agony, remaining loving and steadfast. Even while suffocating, He is providing for His mother and comforting those around Him. As sad and hard as it is to read, John does not rush us past the pain. Jesus carried His own cross, the weight of our sin on His holy body. He is lifted up on the wooden cross between two criminals to die a humiliating, public death as if He were also a criminal. But this innocent One bore my sin and yours on that criminal’s cross.

As someone who teaches children at MBCC, we constantly teach the Gospel truths. The picture of the cross represents one of our favorite phrases to repeat with the children: “Jesus Gives” and the kids answer back, “His life.” And in this passage, this Gospel truth is so clear; the sinless Son of God is handed over to crucifixion to suffer and die. It’s not a picture we can unsee, and it’s shocking every time we really think about the depths of what He did for us. What more could He give?

When Jesus says, “It is finished,” He is not saying, “I am finished.” He is declaring that the work is complete. The debt of sin is paid and the separation between man andthe heavenly Father is now bridged. Only His perfect blood sacrifice could satisfy that looming death penalty for sin pronounced in Eden. What we could never fix, He finished. Fully. Once for all.

Even as Scripture is being fulfilled in ways that look like chaos, nothing is actually out of control. This is not a tragic accident, but a willing Savior who has come to redeem us all. Prophecy is fulfilled, and redemption is secured. Even in death, Jesus is sovereign. The cross invites us to trust the One who stayed. The One who did not come down. The One who did not call legions of angels to stop the crucifixion. The One who finished the work. May we stand at the foot of the cross, see our Savior, and remember that this was love for us.

I think about our church family, our children, our parents, our seniors, all of us carrying burdens. We carry regret, grief, and unanswered prayers. The cross assures us that suffering is not meaningless and that God is not distant. He has entered into our pain and borne its full weight. That cross was for me, it was for you. How deep, how wide, how unfathomable is the love of our Savior for us!

— Dana Sheheane

Sometimes we forget that for 1st century Jews, the day between Jesus’ death and resurrection was the sabbath day—a day of rest. And rather than immediately rising from the dead, our Lord elected to observe this sabbath. For a day, God remained dead.

I empathize with the disciples during this time. After Jesus’ death they were scattered and scared. They were in hiding, but they knew the Jewish authorities wouldn’t dare arrest them on the Passover sabbath. Still, the disciples probably spent this day in anxious depression rather than rest. They had no faith in Jesus’ words that He would rise again. It had to be the most hopeless sabbath of their lives.

However, though they did not know it, they were not without hope. Jesus had never abandoned them—not even as He lie dead. Holy Saturday is traditionally associated with the line in the Apostles’ Creed (the earliest Christian creed) that Jesus “descended to the grave.” This line is important because it signifies that Jesus really did die. And Paul reminds us that He who descended into the abyss also ascended to Heaven to give us resurrection life (Rom 10:6–9)! Jesus shows such solidarity with sinners to die a sinner’s death so that we might have life with Him (1 Pet 2:24)! Even in Jesus observing that great sabbath when He remained dead, as gloom loomed over the disciples, God’s steadfast love never faltered. It was on that day that Jesus proved the words of the Psalm 139:8 to be true: “If I ascend to heaven, you are there! If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there!”

Now, we celebrate Holy Saturday in hopeful anticipation! In Medieval times, the Holy Saturday observation was a vigil prayer service that began at sunset and lasted till sunrise. Faithful attendees would remain in the church praying through the night until the Easter celebration at dawn. This posture of prayerful excitement contrasts the hopeless angst the Apostles felt.

Holy Saturday shows that there is no depth Jesus will not dive to rescue us, and no darkness so thick that will not be overcome with light (John 1:4). Even when God is silent, when He feels far away, when it seems like death and darkness has won—He is with us. This is Holy Saturday: to feel the weight of Christ’s death, God’s seeming absence, and yet to know Sunday is coming.

— Jacob Patton