LIVING WORD DEVOTIONAL
By Pastor Mensa Otabil
 
Sunday 29th March 2026

THE KING OF ISRAEL

Scripture Reading: John 12
 
The next day a great multitude that had come to the feast, when they heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem, 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!” John 12:12–13
 
The word, ‘hosanna’ means ‘save now’. It was a call for salvation and deliverance from wrong or evil. It was also a proclamation of faith in the ability of God to save His people from trouble. It is a call for deliverance from clear and present danger. It is the call for deliverance from evil plots set to entrap us.
 
The multitudes that followed Jesus and welcomed Him on this trip to Jerusalem were in an expectant mood. They had either seen or heard accounts of the great miracles that Jesus had performed in the three short years of His ministry.
 
Some had expectations of a personal miracle that would solve some problems in their lives; others were expecting to hear some of those life-changing words from the lips of this mysterious humble rabbi; still others were expectant that Jesus would use His enormous powers to deliver them from the oppressive rule of the Romans. All of them cried, ‘Hosanna!’
 
Jesus came in humility. In the days of Jesus, kings did not ride on donkeys; they rode on horses. Donkeys were for the ordinary people. For anyone who was planning a majestic introduction, the most logical means of transportation would have been a horse with chariots and a large retinue of mounted squadrons. But Jesus chose the lowly donkey.
 
Jesus acted in the name of the Lord - ‘blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord’. That is the secret to success. We must learn to always move and act in the name of the Lord, and not in our own name. Jesus approached His mission in the name of the Lord.
 
Jesus did not come to fulfil every expectation of man. He came to fulfil those expectations that are godly and promised by God. True ‘Hosanna’ comes from the Highest – the Most High God. Hosanna in the Highest. When we call on the Lord for help, we must be sure that our expectations are rooted in God’s word and His promises for us.

Prayer:

Heavenly Father, you are my deliverer. Today, I proclaim, blessed are you O Lord. Hosanna in the highest! In Jesus’ name, Amen.