Shout Hosanna! Jesus Addresses Our Need for a Savior: A Matthew 21 Devotional
“A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, while others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. The crowds that went ahead of him and those that followed shouted, ‘Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest heaven!’”
A Story of Misdiagnosed Pain
Have you ever had a circumstance where you were wrong about the source of your pain? This is something I know from experience. Last year, I had a pinched nerve behind my left shoulder blade. If I turned the wrong way, pain would radiate from my shoulder to my neck and down my back. I tried all the home remedies to fix it but nothing worked. The pain persisted. It wasn’t until I began to toss around in my sleep from the pain that I decided to drag myself to a massage therapist for help.
When I arrived, I was sure that the source of my pain was my shoulder, however, the therapist who treated me said that the pain actually came from a nerve that extended down the entire left side of my body. She did a full body massage, starting from my legs, moving up my back, and working through my arms until she got to my neck. I was completely astounded when the pain subsided once she began to massage my arms.
In that moment, I realized my attempts to resolve my own pain failed because the source of the pain was not in the area I was trying to treat. I was extremely grateful for this patient and wonderful therapist who helped me to recover from my pinched nerve.
The Israelites Seek Salvation from their Pain
In the Bible, we see the Israelites struggling with an incredibly painful situation. During Jesus’s lifetime, the Israelites were under Roman rule. They were treated cruelly by the Romans who consider them to be inferior. Overtaxed, vulnerable to violence, and facing constant discrimination, the Israelites were in need of a savior king to rescue them from the Romans.
As Jesus entered the city of Jerusalem on what would come to be known as Palm Sunday, the Bible tells us that He was greeted by a crowd that laid down cloaks and palm leaves for His donkey as a sign of them accepting Him as their king.
Matthew 21:9 says, “The crowds that went ahead of him and those that followed shouted, ‘Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest heaven!’”
The Israelites were so excited to see Jesus and so desperate for a solution that they were crying hosanna, or save us, in the streets of Jerusalem.
Jesus Addresses Our Spiritual Need for a Savior
When the Israelites said the word hosanna on Palm Sunday, they were thinking that Jesus would save them from Roman rule and oppression. However, Jesus had another kind of salvation in mind—He wanted to save the Israelites from sin and death.
Jesus knew that they needed a savior to save them from God’s judgement and provide them with eternal life. This is not to say that Roman oppression wasn’t brutal, but that Jesus saw the ultimate pain point for all of mankind and came to address it.
We Needed a Savior and Now We are Free
As we reflect on Easter Sunday and the sacrifice Jesus made for us, we can rejoice that our savior saw the root cause of our pain—sin. He saw that we needed a savior, died on the cross, and rose from the grave to save us from our sin. Now we can spend eternity with Him! Because of Jesus, we are saved, healed, delivered, and set free!
Key Takeaways:
- The root cause of our pain is sin and only Jesus can address it
- Jesus went to the cross because we needed a savior
- Easter reminds us to rejoice because Jesus saved us from sin
- Jesus’s resurrection gives us an unshakeable hope
- We have true freedom and eternal life through Jesus
Prayer: Thank Jesus for Becoming Our Savior
Dear Jesus, I thank you for recognizing that I needed a spiritual savior because I needed to be saved for my sin. Thank you for saving me and setting me free! I praise and glorify your name! Hallelujah!
Lord, I pray that you would help me to grow in my faith. I don’t want to take what you’ve done for granted. Help me to draw closer to you and give me an even deeper understanding of your love. As I prepare for this Easter Sunday, help me to honor you as I celebrate with family friends. Help me to remember the sacrifice that Jesus made and help me to share Christ’s love with others. In Jesus name, amen!
Find more encouraging devotionals on the blog. You can also find a list of Bible verses to share with family and friends on Easter morning.
Noelle Williams
Nice to meet you, friend! I'm a Christian and inspirational blogger. I write Christian living tips, devotionals, and prayers to encourage my fellow believers in their journey of faith.
