A Misunderstood Messiah

The next day a vast crowd of those who had come to the Passover Feast heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem.

 So they took branches of palm trees and went out to meet Him. And as they went, they kept shouting, Hosanna! Blessed is He and praise to Him Who comes in the name of the Lord, even the King of Israel! [Ps. 118:26.]

 And Jesus, having found a young donkey, rode upon it, [just] as it is written in the Scriptures,

 Do not fear, O Daughter of Zion! Look! Your King is coming, sitting on a donkey's colt! [Zech. 9:9.]

        --John 12:12-15 Amplified

Hosanna!

Blessed is He and praise to Him Who comes in the name of the Lord...

...even the King of Israel!

These words without a doubt come across as those of adulation as well as adoration. How can they not be? Word has gotten out that Jesus Himself is making His way to Jerusalem for the Passover feast. Now mind you, it's not just Jesus they are looking to hob knob and rub shoulders with. They are also hoping to steal a glance at a man called Lazarus who, six days prior, Jesus had raised from the dead. 

Of course, not everyone is looking to walk the "red carpet" as it were with Him. The chief priests of the temple are not exactly Jesus fans and when the news of Lazarus being resurrected hit their ears not only do they continue their scheme of putting Jesus to death, they also start plotting to kill Lazarus. The reason? Jesus was gaining notoriety right along with followers and believers. Again the reason?

The Jewish people had been living under Roman tyranny and oppression. Roman government took the taxes that had once been paid to the temple. No longer were the Jewish people allowed to worship in the temple, a tradition that had stood from the reign of Julius Caesar and Augustus.  Many Jews were sold as slaves. Senseless slaughtering of human life...the spread of disease...starvation...

Along with this the Jewish people were holding fast to the promise of the coming Messiah, the One who would deliver their people. This expected Messiah was believed to be a king from the lineage of David. He was believed to be anointed with holy anointing oil and would rule the Jewish people during what is called the "Messianic Age." 

And then, in John 12:14, in rides Jesus; meek, mild, the picture of humility. He enters Jerusalem on the backside of a donkey's colt with an overall message that we should love our neighbor as we do ourselves.

Suffice it to say, He didn't quite fit the bill of what they were looking for. 

Hosanna!

Blessed is He and praise to Him Who comes in the name of the Lord...

...even the King of Israel!

These were the cries heard throughout the crowd, palm branches waving everywhere, following Jesus down the crowded streets of the city. Close your eyes...listen for just a moment...can you hear them? "Hosanna! Hosanna! Hosanna!"

Why Hosanna?

Hosanna is an Aramaic phrase, one of joy and praise, an appeal for deliverance. It has since come to be a means of expressing joy at granted or anticipated deliverance. The crowd shouting from the rooftops "Hosanna! Hosanna in the highest!" obviously were looking to Jesus as the long awaited Messiah, the anointed one from David's lineage spoken of and prophesied by prophets who came well before the people who were among the throngs that day. The heart cry "Lord, save us!" became the heart praise "We are saved, praise God and His Messiah." 
But Jesus did not fit the bill.
Jesus did not fulfill messianic prophecies.
In short, Jesus simply didn't cut the mustard. 
When I started researching for this particular writing I went to a website called Jews For Jesus and found a wealth of information. Among the historical and cultural reasons behind Jesus' divinity being rejected, Stan Meyer had this to say about the religious reasons behind Jesus as the Messiah being called into question:

Rabbis, religious leaders and religious followers will respond to this question that Jesus cannot be the Messiah because he did not fulfill the job requirements. “Judaism does not believe that Jesus was the Messiah because He did not fulfill any messianic prophecies. ‘Nation shall not lift up sword against nation, nor shall they learn war anymore’ (Isaiah 2:4).” [12] Far from establishing world peace, Jesus himself said he came to divide “father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother” (Luke 12:53, ESV). In fact, there has been more bloodshed in the name of Jesus rather than peace. How can anyone argue that Jesus is the promised Messiah according to the Jewish Scriptures?

In the first place, it is important to understand all the prophecies describing the Messiah in the Jewish Scripture and not just selected passages. The Jewish Bible relates that the Messiah will first suffer and die for the sins of the world. “He [Messiah] was cut off out of the land of the living, stricken for the transgression of my people [Israel]” (Isaiah 53:8, ESV). When the Messiah does come, those who witness his arrival will see the wounds in his hands and his feet and weep rather than rejoice at his advent. “They will look on me, on him whom they have pierced, they shall mourn for him, as one mourns for an only child” (Zech. 12:10, ESV). 

In reference to the question of whether or not Jesus fulfilled messianic prophecies, he went on to say:

It was necessary for the Messiah to first come, suffer and die as an atonement for sin. By doing so, he brought peace between humanity and God. However, the Jewish Scriptures go on to explain that he will return and at that time establish peace on earth. If Jesus is the Messiah, then the God of Israel wants Jews and Gentiles to embrace him as their sin bearer. He came to preach life everlasting, not violence and bloodshed, especially against his own people. He will return one day in the future. Until then, he offers peace with God for those who will embrace him, Jew or Gentile. 

I have often found myself shaking my head in disbelief, wondering how Jesus could be seen as anything but the Messiah, the Son of God. How could thousands upon thousands of people walk with Him, talk with Him, bear witness to the miracles, listen to His teachings, and not know that He was indeed who He said He was?

How could these same people cry

Hosanna!

Blessed is He and praise to Him Who comes in the name of the Lord...

...even the King of Israel!

and six days later scream for His death?

Let's be real for just a moment...
Let's get downright brutally honest...

How often have we found ourselves crying "Hosanna!" , our hearts weeping and begging for deliverance from one set of circumstances or another only to get a result which is not only opposite of what we were looking and believing for but just simply doesn't cut it for us? And while we may not scream literally for His death, our actions and attitudes show us shaking our fists at Heaven and our eyes looking elsewhere for another way. 

Do we bail should God not come through in the manner we think He should?
Are we all in when we are trusting and believing for a mighty move on His part but instead we are on the receiving end of circumstances most couldn't begin to imagine in their worst dreams? 
Is God still good all the time?
Have we bore witness to what He has done in our lives and yet still question whether or not He has our best interests at heart or if He even loves us as He says He does?
Do we misunderstand our Messiah?

Let me leave you with this thought:

“If God has done what you think He should do, trust Him. If God doesn't do what you think He should do, trust Him. If you pray and believe God for a miracle and He does it, trust Him. If your worst nightmare comes true, believe He is sovereign. Believe He is good.” 
― Craig Groeschel, The Christian Atheist: Believing in God but Living As If He Doesn't Exist