http://www.saintedwardbrotherhood.org/0310/shepherd2.html
“ONE MUST BEAR in mind that all the Apostles expected that their Teacher was coming to Jerusalem to be glorified there, to be glorified as an earthly king. To them it seemed that the moment had come when Christ would enter Jerusalem in royal glory, precisely so that He could take the throne and rule, and they joyously cried out, ‘Hosanna, blessed is He that cometh in the name of the Lord.’ The rejoicing of the multitude was so great that people threw their garments in the way, upon which the Saviour was to pass; they cut down branches from date palms and other trees, covering His path with them, holding them in their hands, as symbols of festival and rejoicing. Great was the delight of the Apostles and of the people. But the most holy Perpetrator of the festivity Himself did not share in this jubilation. On the contrary, as the holy Evangelist Luke relates, when He drew near to Jerusalem, and the beauty of that holy city was revealed to Him, despite the jubilation of all those around Him, and as if He did not see or hear that rejoicing, Christ the Saviour wept as He looked upon the city, and said, ‘Would that thou knewest at least in this thy day, the things which serve for thy salvation! but now they are hid from thine eyes, for the day shall come upon thee, that thine enemies shall surround thee, compass thee about, and destroy thee, and they shall not leave in thee one stone upon another, because thou knewest not the time of thy visitation….’ The Lord knew, that the people were inconstant, and like a changeable mob. In His omniscience, He foresaw that a week would not pass before the cries of ‘Hosanna to the Son of David,’ would be changed to ‘Away with Him, away with Him, crucify Him!’ And that these terrible words would be screamed out by the very same people who were now greeting Him jubilantly. This filled His most holy soul with deep sorrow.”
Saint Philaret the New Confessor of New York, + 1985 A.D.
