Hosanna! Welcome Christ into the City of Your Hearts
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!”
- Matthew 21: 09 -
It is Palm Sunday, a day that the entire world remembers Jesus's victorious entry into Jerusalem. Right at the beginning of today's devotion, let me ask why this entry was "victorious?" There may be many historical and socio-political facts that point to Jesus' memorable entry as a victory. However, for all of us who are reading this devotion in the year 2026, to what extent does it appeal to be a victorious one? If it is only a remembrance of a historical event, then why are we celebrating it today and feeling the joy of this entry? I think the answer lies in what follows in this entire week.
Those of us who were singing "hosanna" this morning, will be very soon remembering Jesus's last supper with his disciples on the Maundy Thursday, then Jesus's seven words on the cross and the greatest sacrifice in human history for the sake of those who have sinned on the Good Friday, and then finally, the glorious resurrection of Jesus on Easter morn. There is a palm leaf of victory, a bread and a cup of wine of remembrance, a cross of sacrifice and an empty tomb of glory ahead of us in this week. And that's why today's entry is victorious for every believer. Within this one week, we see Christ Jesus being victorious over fame, temptations, weaknesses, anxieties, political and social pressures, criticisms, disappointments, treason, broken promises, pain, and Christ stands beyond the logic and vulnerabilities of the natural world and human life.
Christ victoriously completes the very purpose of his birth in this world. Though the people of Jerusalem welcomed him like welcoming a king returning from war, Christ knew very well that His greatest war and the victory were yet to be witnessed by these people after this grand welcome into the city. Therefore, indeed, his entry into Jerusalem was a victorious one, for we now understand that this victory was not about today, but about what is yet to follow.
Today, as we celebrate Christ's memorable entry into the City of Jerusalem, let us welcome him joyfully into the city of our hearts. Let us invite him into our hearts. As we fight every war of fame, temptations, weaknesses, anxieties, political and social pressures, criticisms, disappointments, treason, broken promises and pain, let us ask him to help us. For he has traced the same path. He knows how every weakness feels. He knows how much every broken promise breaks us. He knows how much it pains when we physically and mentally struggle with ailments. Hosanna is a celebration of Christ's victory over evil, and the same Hosanna stands as a monument for each one of us to trust in Christ Jesus the Lord and invite him into our lives. He will win every war for us, and we will be victorious.
