As Jesus entered Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover (for the last time) the Passover pilgrims shouted, 9… “Hosanna!” “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!” 10“Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David!” “Hosanna in the highest!”

The Passover Pilgrims shouted “Hosannas!” to Jesus. The word “Hosanna” is an interesting word that has a double meaning. Here the Passover pilgrims used the word in much the same way that we use it today. For the Passover pilgrims, Hosanna was an expression of joy and celebration; they used “hosanna” to show the admiration they had for their God. To many of the Passover pilgrims, “hosanna” meant “praise you!”

However, for many early Christians, and especially those of Jewish background, hosanna had a different meaning. Hosanna comes from the Arabic word יָשַׁע‎ (yāšaʿ). The root meaning of יָשַׁע is “make wide”; this root is in contrast to that which is “narrow,” or “restricted”. That which is wide implies freedom from restriction and the ability to pursue one’s own objectives. In the Old Testament people would cry out hosanna in all kinds of restriction. When their nation was surrounded by enemies and adversaries, they cried out, “Hosanna!” When their land was inflicted with famine and plague, they cried out, “Hosanna!” When they suffered the effects of sickness and disease, they cried out, “Hosanna!” To the people of the Old Testament, “hosanna” meant “help me!”

“Hosanna” went from a cry for help to a proclamation of praise because over time God’s people learned that when they cried out to the Lord for help, He answered them, rarely immediately and seldom in the way they expected, but He always answered in a way that was for their eternal good. As a result, the people grew increasingly confident in the Lord. They knew when they asked the Lord for help, He would give it and so their cries for help increasingly expressed a proclamation of praise for the help they knew was sure to come. That is how “hosanna” came to have the double meaning of both “help me” and “praise you”.

“Hosanna” is the perfect word for the Passover pilgrims to shout to Jesus. Let’s take a look at the context in which “hosanna” is used in Mark 11:1-10 and I will explain what I mean.

All day long pilgrims had been arriving at Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover meal. They came to the holy city to remember how the blood of an innocent lamb caused the angel of death to pass over them and the LORD had set them free from the slavery in Egypt. The roads to Jerusalem were packed with Passover pilgrims. Among the Passover pilgrims were Jesus and his disciples. When the people heard that Jesus had arrived at Bethphage and Bethany at the mount of Olives a crowd began to gather outside the east gate. All eyes were on the road that leads down from the Mount of Olives. You see, over the last three years Jesus had gained quite a reputation among the people. From the time he was twelve years old the Rabbis were amazed at his understanding and his answers.[1] As an adult, crowds were amazed because He taught as one who had authority, and not as their teachers of the law.[2] And not only could Jesus teach scripture like no one else, He could perform miracles that no one else could perform. One time He fed five thousand men, besides women and children[3] with only five loaves of bread and two fish. He had made the blind see, the crippled to walk, and the mute to speak.[4] He cast out 1000 demons at one time.[5] And very recently He had raised Lazarus back to life.[6] Of all the Passover pilgrims that were expected to arrive in Jerusalem none were more eagerly anticipated than Jesus.

When the crowd heard that a colt that had never before been ridden had been brought to Jesus I wonder if any of them recalled how God, in the Old Testament Scriptures, had given directions that when animals were going to be used for spiritual reasons, they should not have been previously used for any other purpose. Whether or not any of them recognized that this colt was being used for a spiritual purpose, it seems as if they at least recalled the words of the prophet Zechariah who called upon them to “9 Rejoice greatly, O Daughter of Zion! Shout, Daughter of Jerusalem! See, your king comes to you, righteous and having salvation, gentle and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.” I say that because when they saw Jesus ridding into Jerusalem “on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey” Mark tells us “8 Many people spread their cloaks on the road, while others spread branches they had cut in the fields.” This was a practice reserved for royalty. In 2 Kings 9:13 we are told the people “hurried and took their cloaks and spread them under him on the bare steps. Then they blew the trumpet and shouted, “Jehu is king!” By placing their cloaks and palm branches on the road in front of Jesus the people were acknowledging that Jesus was a king and as a king they recognized that Jesus had the power to help them. Therefore, they shouted to Jesus 9… “Hosanna!” “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!” 10“Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David!” “Hosanna in the highest!”

The Passover pilgrims shouted “hosanna” to Jesus because they wanted Jesus to help them. As you know these people were no longer the proud nation of Israel but rather the involuntary subjects of the Roman Empire. Though they had a considerable amount of freedom, they felt restricted by the Romans; their king was a puppet of Rome, their income was taxed by Rome, and their worship was regulated by Rome. As far as many of the Passover pilgrims were concerned, the nation of Israel was no better off now than when they were enslaved by the Egyptians. What they wanted was the LORD to send another angel of death to deliver them from the Romans as He had delivered them from the Egyptians and so the Passover pilgrims shouted to Jesus, “hosanna!”; “help us!”

The Passover pilgrims were right to cry out to Jesus for help, but they failed to recognize it was not the Romans who truly restricted them, rather it was their sin. You yourself have felt the restricting and constricting effects of sin. Even though by the grace of the Holy Spirit you who once were not the people of God have become a holy nation, a royal priesthood, a people belonging to God; even though you are now citizens of the new Jerusalem you are still restricted by sin. Your thoughts are controlled by sin. Your words are contaminated with sin. Your actions are corrupted by sin. Think about your relationships with people. There isn’t a single relationship that is not restricted by sin. Your relationship with your coworkers or classmates, your relationships with your friends and neighbors, your relationship with your mom and dad, brother and sister, son or daughter are all have been affected by sin. Even when you tell yourself you are going to start doing that whole love your neighbor as yourself thing, you don’t do it. You might want to do it, but you don’t do it because you have been restricted by your sin. And what is really unsettling is, it is not just your relationship with people that is restricted by sin. Your relationship with your God has been restricted by sin. Even though the Holy Spirit has created faith in your heart; even though you are a believer who has the desire to live a God pleasing life; to pray, praise, and give thanks to God for all that He has done and will continue to do, you don’t do it because you have been restricted by your sin. In your relationships with people and in your relationship with your God you are forced to make the popular Pauline confession “18 I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. 19 For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing.”[7] Your problem isn’t with the Romans or Egyptians restricting you, your problem is with sin. You have as much reason as anybody to cry out to Jesus, “hosanna!”; “help me”.

The Passover pilgrims shouted “hosanna” to Jesus because they wanted to praise Jesus for the miraculous things He had done. They praised Jesus for His ability to heal people and were eager for Him to reunite the scattered Israelites into one nation. They praised Jesus for His ability to feed thousands and reasoned that a guy who could do that could make the nation of Israel prosperous once again. They praised Jesus for raising Lazarus back to life and anticipated how He would resurrect the nation of Israel back to her former glory. The Passover pilgrims were convinced that their lives were going to be better and so they shouted to Jesus, “hosanna!”; “praise you!”

The Passover pilgrims were right to give praise to Jesus, but they wanted to praise Him for far less than He was willing to give. You, on the other hand, have the benefit of looking at the events of Palm Sunday through the eyes of the gospel writers. When you read about Jesus telling His disciples “33 We are going up to Jerusalem,” … “and the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and teachers of the law. They will condemn him to death and will hand him over to the Gentiles, 34 who will mock him and spit on him, flog him and kill him. Three days later he will rise.”[8] You are not confused about what that means. As Jesus rides into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday you know that in 5 short days, He will be hung on a cross as the sacrifice for your sins and more than that you know that in 7 days’ time He will have risen from the dead as assurance of your salvation. You know that Jesus rode into Jerusalem not to restore an earthly nation, but to establish His heavenly Kingdom. You know that Jesus rode into Jerusalem not to make you prosperous, but to give you paradise. You know that Jesus rode into Jerusalem not to resurrect the glory days of the past, but to usher in a glory that will never end. You know that Palm Sunday is the beginning of a week in which your sins were forgiven, and your salvation was secured. You have as much reason as anybody to cry out to Jesus, “hosanna!”; “praise you!”

Hosanna has the double meaning of both “help me!” and “praise you!”. Today, as we celebrate Palm Sunday, Hosanna is the perfect word for us to shout to Jesus. Therefore, we join our voices with the voices of the Passover pilgrims and shout, 9… “Hosanna!” “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!” 10“Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David!” “Hosanna in the highest!” Amen.

[1] Lk 2:47

[2] Mt 7:29

[3] Mt 14:21

[4] Mt 15:31

[5] Lk 8:26-37

[6] Jn 11:43

[7] Romans 7:18b-19

[8] Mark 10:33-34