We had hoped he was the one to redeem Israel
Luke 24:21
The Great Disappointment—Then and Now
In the 1830s, fiery preacher William Miller boldly predicted that Jesus Christ would return in 1844. When his prediction failed, Miller and his followers were so devastated that the event came to be known as The Great Disappointment.
Similarly, the Israelites joyfully chanting “Hosanna” (meaning “save us”) on Palm Sunday were primed for a disappointment of their own. Their hopes for political liberation would not be fulfilled in the way they imagined.
The Palm Branch: Symbol of National Zeal
If Israel had a national flag during the Second Temple period, it might have featured a palm branch. Much like the American flag today, the palm branch stirred national pride and hope.
After the Jews reclaimed the temple from the Seleucid Greeks in 164 BC, they celebrated with palm branches. The apocryphal book of 2 Maccabees tells us:
“Carrying…beautiful branches and palms, they sang hymns of praise…”[1]
Later, during the final defeat of the Greek oppressors, palm branches appeared again:
“The Jews entered the citadel with shouts of praise and the waving of palm branches…because a great enemy of Israel had been destroyed.”[2]
Such was the power of this symbol that it even appeared on coins during the Bar Kochba revolt against Rome in 132 AD.
Palm Sunday: A Political Misreading?
When Jesus entered Jerusalem to the waving of palms and shouts of “Hosanna,” the symbolism was unmistakable. The crowds were not merely welcoming a spiritual leader—they were hoping for another Judah Maccabee, a political savior who would expel the Romans.
As scholar Raymond Brown writes:
“The action of the crowd…seems to have political overtones, as if they were welcoming Jesus as a national liberator.”[3]
A Messiah They Didn’t Expect
But Jesus confounded their expectations. There was no military campaign, no rallying cry against Rome. Instead:
“The only anointing Jesus receives,” Brown notes, “is an anointing of death; the only crown he will wear is the crown of thorns; the only robe he will wear is the cloak of mockery.”[4]
The disciples’ lament on the road to Emmaus captured the crushing disillusionment:
“But we had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel.”[5]
What We Want vs. What We Need
My late grandfather often said that wisdom lies in knowing the difference between what you want and what you need. The Jews wanted a national liberator. But what they needed—and what they received—was a Savior who would do far more than defeat Rome. They received the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.
They didn’t expect too much from the Messiah; they expected far too little.
They longed for someone to slay Rome. Instead, they received someone who made them impervious to Rome, granting a
“peace that surpasses all understanding.”[6]
The Redemption That Truly Saves
The American poet Henry David Thoreau once wrote:
“If we will be quiet and ready enough, we shall find compensation in every disappointment.”[7]
Palm Sunday is not the celebration of a military victory. It is a remembrance of a great disappointment—and the even greater compensation that followed.
In Jesus Christ, we find the one who truly saved Israel—not merely from Rome, but from sin, death, and hell. We find the one who truly saves us.
Hosanna in the Highest
So we wave our palms not as political symbols, but as signs of the upside-down Kingdom where the greatest enemy—death—is defeated. The King has come, and He has saved us in ways we never dared hope.
Hosanna in the highest.
2nd Maccabees 10:7
[2] 1st Maccabees 13:51
[3] Raymond E. Brown, The Gospel According to John (XIII–XXI), Anchor Bible, Vol. 29A (New York: Doubleday, 1970), 461.
[4] Ibid 463
[5] Luke 24:21
[6] Philippians 4:7
[7] Henry David Thoreau, Journal, March 11, 1859, in The Writings of Henry D. Thoreau: Journal, Vol. XII: 1859–1861, ed. Bradford Torrey and Francis H. Allen (Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1906), 42.
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