During Holy Week, it is time to examine some of the events of the last week of Jesus’ life and seek to understand what it cost him to die for our sins.

They brought a donkey colt, placed their cloaks on it, and Jesus was seated.

A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, while others cut branches from the palm trees and spread them on the road or waved them for joy at what they perceived as His triumphal entry into Jeresalem. 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!" (Matthew 21:7-9)

No wonder those people waving palm branches were so excited. They had great expectations of Jesus. This was the one who would throw the Roman oppressors out of the Holy City of Jerusalem. He would cast off the burden of taxes. He would feed and protect them, giving them back their national dignity.

But as the week wore on, the mood of the crowd changed. Why wasn’t Jesus making His move? Yes He made a few appearances in the temple, but why did He remain apart, retreating to a nearby village outside the city walls every night? Why wasn’t He spending time with the "right" people, the Jewish leaders who had some influence?

The mood of the people soured by midweek. And the rest is history. I wonder... are we all that different from those people? When expectations are running high, when we think we’ve got God’s plan neatly figured, when we’ve convinced ourselves that the Lord’s job is to make our lives easier...don’t you think our praises may sound a bit empty?

Do we sing our Hosannas (a Hebrew expression meaning "Save!" which became an exclamation of praise, Psalm 118:25) to the Most High when Palm Sunday turns into Blue Monday? Let’s not turn on God with half-hearted praises when He doesn’t follow through on our expectations. Let’s give Jesus praise for who He is, not what we think He ought to be.

Praise Him for who He is and what He can do if we believe in Him. Our only expectation should be that God will fulfill His glorious purpose in our lives.

To continue on an Easter pilgimage, please follow my pages at: Journey to Calvary

This beautiful background is from In His Image.