Palm Sunday gets its name from the palm leaves that the people waved when Jesus arrived in Jerusalem. The Israelites were euphoric because they had been waiting for the promised saviour: a king who was to release them from living under the Romans. He was the one who was going to establish a kingship in Jerusalem again for all Israelites. They heard of the miracles, healing He performed. They heard how Jesus raised Lazarus from death. So when Jesus came to Jerusalem, the people were more than excited, “

13 took branches of palm trees and went out to meet Him, and cried out: “Hosanna! ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!’ The King of Israel!”

What is fascinating is within a week, the same people who were singing Hosanna, are the same people who were crying for his crucifixion. I want us to focus on today is our impression of Jesus? Throughout the history of the Israelites that we read in the bible, we see that their bondage was against sin rather than the nations it fought against. Evil has reigned in their hearts no matter who has been in power. The Israelites had been in physical bondage with the Egyptians, Babylonians, and the Romans yet what they needed saving from was their servitude to sin. Their impression of Jesus was a saviour in the body of Moses/ David (we have learned about the sins they committed during their time in the wilderness.) However, it is the power of sin over their lives that they had never been free from, and Jesus came to release them from this sin. Yet their view of Jesus was a King who was going to overthrow the Romans. When THEY realised Jesus did not come as THEY expected-despite the miracles, despite the healing and the fulfillment of all prophecies-THEY crucified HIM. Jesus came to establish his kingdom not against the fleshly Nations but the principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places (Ephesians 6:12). So I go back to the question, what is your impression of Jesus? I say this so that we do not replicate the mistakes of the Israelites. Who tried to ‘fit Jesus into a box,’ and when He did not live up to their expectations they Killed him. We also have the capacity to fit Jesus into a box, and when He does not live up to our expectations, we can often blame him for the problems in our lives and the world. So I leave you with this question to meditate on, what is your impression of Jesus?