People are often remembered by remarkable discoveries, critical innovations, or monumental achievements because of their impact on human history and society. Those accomplishments are typically summarized in a person’s epitaph. For example, the epitaph of Thomas Jefferson reads:
HERE WAS BURIED THOMAS JEFFERSON, AUTHOR OF THE DECLARATION OF AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE, OF THE STATUTE OF VIRGINIA FOR RELIGIOUS FREEDOM, AND FATHER OF THE UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA.
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Death cannot praise you…… the living man, he shall praise you, as I do this day; the father shall make known your truth to the children.
Isa 38:18-19
King Hezekiah was no stranger to God’s works. His zeal for God had restored true worship in Judah, and God had delivered him from the king of Assyria with an extraordinary miracle. But when he was sick and near death, he must have felt unprepared and even filled with bitterness. In a little passage in Isaiah 38, he wrote down what was in his heart: “In the prime of my life, I shall go to the gates of Sheol”, he lamented, “I am deprived of the remainder of my years”.
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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)
As crowds gathered in Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover feast, they heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem. They went out to meet Him. The multitude shouted, “Hosanna!”, which means “save, I pray” (Psa 118:25). They welcomed Him as their king and savior. They took palm branches, which were symbols of victory among the Jews. They followed Him and cried out with shouts of praise. What a glorious and joyful moment it was for His triumphal entry into Jerusalem!
Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name. (Philippians 2:9)
Jesus Christ’s life provides the perfect example of humility. Though He was and is an eternal deity, Jesus humbled Himself to become a servant of all, taking the form of man and became obedient to the point of death. Therefore, God has highly exalted Him and given Him the name above all names. This is exactly what God did with Jesus at the completion of His work in accordance to Jesus’ prayer. In His prayer, Jesus asked the Father to restore to Him the glory that He had with the Father from the beginning (John 17:4-5).