“They raised a shout.” – Mark 11:1-11

We are entering into the passion week and in our text we find Jesus riding a colt coming into Jerusalem.

What an exciting event this must have been for the people of Jerusalem.

Could you just imagine the excitement in the air?

Jesus, the Messiah, was coming.

The people began to spread their cloaks and palm branches on the ground, paying honor to Jesus; shouting words of praise and adoration.

They were shouting “hosanna!” It’s a Hebrew expression meaning “save!”

“Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.”

“Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David!”

“Hosanna in the highest!”

I can only imagine that the excitement level was intense, to say the least.

But there was a problem: The people who were doing all the shouting and praising were about to miss the very reason why Jesus was coming.

They were excited about Jesus coming as the Messiah to save them physically, but Jesus came to save their soul.

They were looking for Jesus to rule on this earth as an earthly king, only to miss the big picture of Jesus being the King of Kings. For Jesus came to save a world and not just a nation.

To my amazement, the people were raising their voices with shouts of praise because they saw Jesus coming as a direct earthly benefit to them.