Matthew 21:9-11  The crowds that went ahead of him and that followed were shouting, "Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest heaven!" When he entered Jerusalem, the whole city was in turmoil, asking, "Who is this?" The crowds were saying, "This is the prophet Jesus from Nazareth in Galilee."

Hosanna means "save us, we pray!" The acclamation expresses the fervent hope that the people of Israel had for the coming of the Messiah who would deliver them. And with Jesus' entry into Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred into turmoil asking, "Who is this?" The initial answer of the crowds to that question is quite understated: a prophet from Nazareth.

As Matthew tells it, Jesus is so much more than a prophet from Nazareth, of course. When Jesus died on the cross, there was a tearing apart of the curtain in the temple, opening the glory of God's promise to all. And with that, there was a stirring of the ground, with rocks splitting apart and tombs being opened and with the saints rising from the dead. (Matthew 27:51-52).

Who is this? This is Jesus Christ, the One who has come to save us and give us life beyond all death! We trust in him, even as we cry joyously, "Hosanna in the highest! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!"

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