Video Transcript
Alright, we have to clear something up regarding the Jewish people in the New Testament. We’re standing right here at the Southern Steps, which is very likely the place that Jesus would have ridden on his donkey. And the Jewish people cried ‘Hosanna,’ which means save us, you know, recognizing he is the Messiah. And then a few days later, they are having Jesus’ trial and the religious leaders are stirring up the crowd saying, crucify him and crucify him, and give us Barabbas — you know that whole picture. And I’ve heard so many sermons over the years talking about how one week they yell, Hosanna, and the next week they yell, crucify him. One week they’re saying, you’re the Messiah. And the next week they completely turned on him as if the Jewish people were just flip-flopping. They were being swayed by the wind. But we need to clear something up. Those are different people. Yes, they’re Jewish because almost everybody in the story in the gospels is Jewish. Jesus himself, the disciples, nearly everyone he’s preaching to. He literally says, I came only for the lost sheep of the tribe of Israel. So everyone here is Jewish primarily. So when these people are saying Hosanna, they mean it. They understand he’s the Messiah.
Now, a week later when he’s getting tried, we have to remember he gets arrested in the middle of the night. The Sanhedrin try him probably around 1, 2, 3 AM They make the final decision right before daybreak is what the scripture says. We’re looking at 4:00 or 5:00 AM in the morning. The Hosanna crowd is sleeping. Yeah, this isn’t the same people. They’re all Jewish. But that’s like me going to California and saying, wow, I saw a lot of people that had Kamala signs. And then I went to Texas. I saw a lot of Trump signs. Wow, how quickly the Americans change. You’d be like, I think you experienced different Americans. Yeah, they’re all Americans. But to say one day the Jews were crying, Hosanna, and the next day they were saying, crucify him. Maybe they were different Jewish people. Maybe the Sanhedrin was afraid of the Hosanna crowd, which is why they held the trial at like 3:00 AM.
So no, this is not the flip floppiness of the Jewish people. There were Jewish people who loved Jesus, who gave their life for Jesus, the disciples and many others. And yes, there were people from the Jewish community that didn’t like Jesus, that didn’t think he was the Messiah. And it’s the same thing today. We can’t so clearly just say the Jews. The Jews did this. The Jews did that. There are lots of Jewish people, some who believe and follow Yeshua and some who don’t. And guess what? God loves them all. In Romans 11, he says, even the ones that are opposed to the gospel are beloved for the sake of the ancestors. So let’s just clear that up.
