Hosanna

Matt 21:9b "Hosanna to the Son of David! 'Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!' Hosanna in the highest!"

 

Here is the picture. Two of Jesus' guys grab a donkey from a guy in a city opposite of Bethphage. It may have been Bethany, we really are not sure. Anyway, Jesus was close to the Mount of Olives, a short distance outside of Jerusalem. These two bring the donkey to Jesus and Jesus mounts it and rides into Jerusalem on it. As Jesus is riding into the city a crowd gathers. They are yelling. They are cheering. They are excited. They are so excited, they are taking off their coats and laying them on the road for the donkey to walk over. If they did not have a coat, or if they already used their coat, they cut down branches from the trees around them and put them on the road in front of Jesus. They basically were giving Him the "red carpet treatment". As they were doing this they were yelling out: "Hosanna to the Son of David." And they were quoting the first part of Ps 118:26 – "Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord." But they didn't stop there. They kept saying: "Hosanna in the highest." I think that it would be an understatement to say that these people were really into greeting Jesus.

 

The word Hosanna basically means: Propitious. It means Favor. It was a greeting that these people were giving to Jesus which basically said: "Long live the King." They didn't just say: Hosanna, they also said "Blessed". This means: "Praise". It means: "Prosper". May God's prosperity and favor rest upon You. Then they followed it up with another Hosanna but they added "in the highest: which means "most high, in the rank of God." Look out. Here is this crowd, giving Jesus the red carpet treatment, saying "Long live the King", saying "May God's prosperity rest upon You." Saying: "Long live the King who is as high as God." Yikes! Dangerous, but true words exiting the mouths of the people. Dangerous because this was the beginning of the end. This is all the religious leaders could stomach. This was the straw that broke the donkey's back. This was it. But true because "Out of the mouths of babes and nursing infants You have perfected praise." V16.

 

As I think through this, I wonder what my praise is like? I know who Jesus is. I have seen Him work in my life. He is my Savior, my Lord, my Rescuer, my Forgiver, my Healer, my King…and how excited do I get? Would I lay my coat down? Would I climb a tree to cut down branches? What words come out of my mouth? Are they fit for a King? Are they fit for the Lord in the highest…the Lord most high? Do I shout out "Hosanna…Blessed"? Or am I too reserved? Am I afraid of what people would think? It's just not my personality? I shout at stadiums rooting for the Browns or Indians…what should I be like when I root for my Savior? I should be loud sometimes, and I should be silent at other times. Something to think about.