The Hosanna Shout
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Text: Luke 19:41-44; Luke 19:28-40
As he approached Jerusalem and saw the city, he wept over it and said, “If you, even you, had only known on this day what would bring you peace—but now it is hidden from your eyes. The days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment against you and encircle you and hem you in on every side. They will dash you to the ground, you and the children within your walls. They will not leave one stone on another, because you did not recognize the time of God’s coming to you.”
After Jesus had said this, he went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem. As he approached Bethphage and Bethany at the hill called the Mount of Olives, he sent two of his disciples, saying to them, “Go to the village ahead of you, and as you enter it, you will find a colt tied there, which no one has ever ridden. Untie it and bring it here. If anyone asks you, ‘Why are you untying it?’ say, ‘The Lord needs it.’ ”
Those who were sent ahead went and found it just as he had told them. As they were untying the colt, its owners asked them, “Why are you untying the colt?”
They replied, “The Lord needs it.”
They brought it to Jesus, threw their cloaks on the colt and put Jesus on it. As he went along, people spread their cloaks on the road.
When he came near the place where the road goes down the Mount of Olives, the whole crowd of disciples began joyfully to praise God in loud voices for all the miracles they had seen:
“Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!”
“Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!”
Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Jesus, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples!”
“I tell you,” he replied, “if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out.”
Today is Palm Sunday. It’s the week before the crucifixion of Christ happened.
Palm Sunday marks that Easter is a week away. It is the beginning of Holy week. The week where so much happens. This day signifies such a celebration for Christianity.
Why celebrate Palm Sunday?
Why celebrate Palm Sunday?
It marks a great Christian feast that is celebrated the Sunday before Easter. It marks Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem.
There is so much symbolism marked by this great event and this morning we will look at what these symbols mean and the significance.
Prior to entering Jerusalem on Palm Sunday we look at Luke’s account of in
As he approached Jerusalem and saw the city, he wept over it
We see Jesus’ humanity in the weeping, knowing what is to come will be painful, difficult, overwhelming.
But then we get another look at how He is fully God in that he sees these things but knows there is no other way to fulfill the will of the Father. He must proceed with the plan.
As Jesus looks over the city of Jerusalem He weeps because He knows the events that are yet to come. He knows right know there is triumph but there will be great suffering ahead.
Use your imagination here to try to understand the amount of betrayal in the suffering and pain Christ will endure and knowing this he proceeds with the events of the day despite the knowledge of the future. He embraces the events and the shouts of Hosanna, the waving palm branches. Can you think of what a pill that was to take?
As we look into this account of the triumphal entry I want to draw your attention to three symbols that are present:
1. The Donkey
2. Palm Branches
3. Hosanna!
1. The Donkey
1. The Donkey
This was the mode of chosen transportation that Jesus rode in on. He told the disciples to specifically to get this for him to use to ride on.
“Go to the village ahead of you, and as you enter it, you will find a colt tied there, which no one has ever ridden. Untie it and bring it here. If anyone asks you, ‘Why are you untying it?’ say, ‘The Lord needs it.’ ”
Those who were sent ahead went and found it just as he had told them. As they were untying the colt, its owners asked them, “Why are you untying the colt?”
They replied, “The Lord needs it.”
Why?
To fulfill the prophecy in
Rejoice, O people of Zion!
Shout in triumph, O people of Jerusalem!
Look, your king is coming to you.
He is righteous and victorious,
yet he is humble, riding on a donkey—
riding on a donkey’s colt.
where it talks of the coming Messianic king, who enters the city riding on a donkey.
As Jesus gave the disciples these instructions and as he made the entry this prophecy is fulfilled. Yet another example of how He is the chosen one and God’s plan is being fulfilled from way back in the Old Testament. Proving to us that God’s plan goes beyond our thinking. His plan is ultimate, divine and shows He is in control.
Jesus riding in on a donkey is symbolic because a donkey is an animal of peace.
Some may think that Jesus should have followed the plan of a King and ride in gallantly showing that He is noble. A horse represents war and some may say that this would be a correct example to portray because God is waging war on sin.
It goes to show God’s way of doing things is not our way of doing things. Once again Jesus shows His humility even in the use of a donkey.
Jesus rode in on a donkey, who represents peace because He is the prince of peace.
Riding in on the donkey is Jesus’ way of fulfilling the Zech. Prophecy and declaring that He is the King of Israel.
2. Palm Branches
2. Palm Branches
The waving of Palm branches is a way that the people celebrated Jesus being the King of Zion.
The people waved palm branches and this was a form of honor. They threw down coats, cloaks and palm branches to show respect.
We throw out the red carpet for royalty in their day this was the equivalent of that.
Palm branches were carried in a Jewish funeral procession which represented eternal life. How appropriate it, because the one riding on the donkey enabled eternal life through His death! Such powerful symbolism!
Palm branches are a symbol of triumph and victory. Foreshadowing the victory that Christ would have in the end.
We have seen over and over throughout scripture that God allows foreshadowing to happen and it is no different in this instance. They used a symbol of triumph and victory.
This foreshadows victory and triumph showing the people without them even knowing that Jesus is the victor over sin, death and Hell. Although the people don’t know the events that will unfold in the week ahead the people are yielding the result with these palm branches.
After this I looked, and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands.
There is an interesting cross reference for us to note here:
After this I saw a vast crowd, too great to count, from every nation and tribe, and people, and language, standing in front of the throne and before the Lamb. They were clothed in white robes and were shouting with white robes and held palm branches in their hands.
This verse shows the importance of waving those palm branches in triumph and victory. John used it in his vision in the revelation. God allows us to see these symbols to speak of His ultimate truth, triumph, and victory revealed to us!
The prayers in
Lord, save us!
Lord, grant us success!
Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.
From the house of the Lord we bless you.
Jesus came in the name of the Lord. He came to fulfill His Father’s plan, therefore his entry was a time of rejoicing there is triumph and victory because of this what better way to celebrate it than waving those palm branches.
3. Hosanna
3. Hosanna
The people were shouting “Hosanna, Hosanna in the highest!”
What does this mean? What does this symbolize?
We sing on Palm Sunday, Hosanna, Hosanna, Hosanna, Hosanna in the highest.
Let’s break this down in the Greek and Hebrew this morning.
The OT is written in the Hebrew and the NT is written in Greek. The word Hosanna is used in both the OT and NT.
In the NT Hosanna is used in three places:
The crowds that went ahead of him and those that followed shouted,
“Hosanna to the Son of David!”
“Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!”
“Hosanna in the highest heaven!”
Those who went ahead and those who followed shouted,
“Hosanna!”
“Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!”
They took palm branches and went out to meet him, shouting,
“Hosanna!”
“Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!”
“Blessed is the king of Israel!”
Our English word “hosanna” comes from the Greek word “hosanna” which comes from a Hebrew phrase “hoshiya na”.
That Hebrew phrase is found in one solitary place in the whole OT.
Lord, save us!
Lord, grant us success!
where it means “Save, please” .
It is a cry to God for help. Like when someone pushes you off the diving board before you are able to swim and you come up to the surface of the water gasping for air yelling: “Help, save me… Hoshiya na!”
But over the years the meaning of that phrase hoshiya na changed. In the Psalm it was immediately followed by an exclamation: “Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord”.
The cry for help - hoshiya na, was answered.
Hosanna means “Save, Rescue, Savior”
The people recognize Jesus as the Messiah as their Savior only one week to condemn the one they were rejoicing over to death and a cruel, heartless, brutal death.
Those who went ahead and those who followed shouted,
“Hosanna!”
“Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!”
You see once again Mark is quoting the
Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.
From the house of the Lord we bless you.
Christ came to fulfill His Father’s plan.
The people recognized that Jesus was coming in the name of the Lord, his Father.
Shouting Hosanna is a shout of jubilation – a shout of celebration!
Blessed is the kingdom of our father David
That comes in the name of the Lord!
Hosanna in the highest!”
Then the multitudes who went before and those who followed cried out, saying:
“Hosanna to the Son of David!
‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!’
Hosanna in the highest!”
Conclusion:
As I said earlier the word hoshyia na changed over the years.
The cry for help, hoshiya na, was answered almost before it came out of the psalmist's mouth. And over the centuries the phrase hoshiya na stopped being a cry for help in the ordinary language of the Jews. Instead it became a shout of hope and exultation. It used to mean, "Save, please!" But gradually, it came to mean, "Salvation! Salvation! Salvation has come!" It used to be what you would say when you fell off the diving board. But it came to be what you would say when you see the lifeguard coming to save you! It is the bubbling over of a heart that sees hope and joy and salvation on the way and can't keep it in.
So "Hosanna!" means, "Hooray for salvation! It's coming! It's here! Salvation! Salvation!"
And "Hosanna to the Son of David!" means, "The Son of David is our salvation! Hooray for the king! Salvation belongs to the king!"
And "Hosanna in the highest!" means, "Let all the angels in heaven join the song of praise. Salvation! Salvation! Let the highest heaven sing the song!"
There are two kinds of Hosannas.
Picture a Hockey game - Stanley cup last game of the season. Both teams want to win that cup. They are nearing the end of the period the game is tied. The fans are going wild, the team takes off down the ice on a breakaway only seconds remain on the clock. The only hope for the other team is good defense and great goalie. One set of fans are yelling “Catch Him! Catch Him! (That’s the old Hosanna). The other part of the crowd is yelling “You got it! You got it! (That’s the new Hosanna)
The word moved from a plea to a praise, from cry to confidence.
This word is used as a shout of praise or adoration made in recognition of the Messiah-ship of Jesus.
They recognized He is the Messiah, the Savior, He is the one who came to make a way for eternal life but in only one short week later they forget it and yell shouts to crucify him. You see these Hosanna shouts are short lived but forever celebrated because of what was accomplished in the end.
God is in control, why do we doubt, forget or fear. We need to shout a loud praise that He is in control! Hosanna in the highest, glory to the King of kings and Lord of Lords.
So when we sing "Hosanna" now, let's make it very personal. Let's make it our praise and our confidence. The Son of David has come. He has saved us from guilt and fear and hopelessness. Salvation! Salvation belongs to our God and to the Son! Hosanna! Hosanna in the highest!
Sing: Hosanna, Hosanna, Hosanna in the Highest!
