8 April 2023
Shouts
On Palm Sunday, multitudes proclaimed "Hosanna! Save us, O Son of David!" referencing passages from Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. They anticipated an earthly king who would liberate them from Roman rule. Yet within days, these same voices would demand "Crucify Him!" — unaware that both declarations pointed toward the same redemptive event.
From Golgotha, Jesus cried out "Father, why have You forsaken Me?" This represents not actual abandonment but economic participation in human suffering. Though eternally fatherless in biological terms, the incarnate Word entrusts His mother to the disciple John, extending divine fatherhood to humanity through His experience of abandonment.
In His final agony, Jesus breaks a prolonged silence with "It is finished." Through these words, spoken while experiencing death itself, He recreates humanity — no longer as a distant sovereign, but as one who assumes and saves our mortal nature on the Cross.
The narrative continues beyond His death. Jesus had warned that stones would cry out if His followers remained silent. Earthquakes accompanied His crucifixion and resurrection, with stone monuments — the tomb itself — declaring both His death and emergence.
Contemporary believers who shout "Hosanna" participate in a deeper understanding than the original crowd. This acclamation anticipates participation in His crucifixion and resurrection, leading to creation's ultimate declaration: Christ is risen from the dead, trampling down death by death.