To Save or Not

They took palm branches and went out to meet him, shouting, “Hosanna! ” “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!” “Blessed is the king of Israel!” John 12:13 NIV

Today is Palm Sunday, the day Jesus rode into Jerusalem a week before his crucifixion. The word they shouted, Hosanna, means to save. The people knew who he was, or thought they did. They were looking for someone to deliver them from the rule of the Romans, not a savior.

So can you imagine what Jesus must have been thinking as he rode into town? He knew all of this. He knew what they were really looking for. He knew, and understood, that they needed so much more than physical deliverance. He knew he was to be the sacrificial lamb. Yet there he sat, on that donkey, riding into town. He was assured in his station that he was about to deliver them and generations to come from death.

We often think we know what we want or need. We think we know what others want or need. We must realize that we have no clue. Only God knows what we really want or need and his plan is far bigger than petty business on this earth. Putting that into perspective helps us see what others need through God's eternal eyes.