Hosanna

As they approached Jerusalem and came to Bethphage on the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples, 2 saying to them, “Go to the village ahead of you, and at once you will find a donkey tied there, with her colt by her. Untie them and bring them to me. 3 If anyone says anything to you, say that the Lord needs them, and he will send them right away.” 4 This took place to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet: 5 “Say to Daughter Zion, ‘See, your king comes to you, gentle and riding on a donkey, and on a colt, the foal of a donkey.’ ” 6 The disciples went and did as Jesus had instructed them. 7 They brought the donkey and the colt and placed their cloaks on them for Jesus to sit on. 8 A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, while others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. 9 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!” 10 When Jesus entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred and asked, “Who is this?” 11 The crowds answered, “This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth in Galilee.” [1]

I. The Lord Has Need of Them

A. The disciples will act as if they are servants of the donkey’s owner. If anyone becomes suspicious of their behavior, their reply need mean nothing more than that the owner has asked them to bring him the animals. But Matthew undoubtedly sees Jesus as the true Master, not only of the donkeys but of all people’s property, which he can rightfully demand at any time.[2]

B. Verse 5 can easily be taken as implying that Jesus rode only on the young donkey, appropriate symbolism for his purity and holiness. “Daughter of Zion” refers to the people of Jerusalem. The “king” will be the Messiah. But an unarmed, plainly clad civilian riding a donkey contrasts sharply with an armed soldier astride a war horse. This Messiah comes in humility, gentleness, and peace. [3]

C. It is unlikely that a stranger might walk into a village, untie an animal, and walk off with it without being challenged. So Jesus tells them what to do should anyone question them. You will say is a future with imperative force (Mark in fact has an imperative). The password is “The Lord has need of them.” “Lord” is patient of more than one meaning. It could mean the owner of the animals, but against this is the fact that, though Luke has the same expression at this point, a little later he says that the owners (“lords”) questioned the disciples when they came for the animal; there was more than one owner, and the owners were with the donkey, not where the donkey was to go. It could mean God, for the animal was to be used in God’s service, but it is not easy to see how those standing near the donkey could have understood this.[4]

D. The plan goes off without a hitch as the two disciples do as they have been told. They place their cloaks on the animals while the crowd paves the road with theirs, adding tree branches to their festive carpet. refers specifically to palm branches appropriate for a trip from Jericho, “the City of Palms.” , also enables one to identify this as the Sunday before the Friday Passover on which Jesus will be crucified, hence, the liturgical tradition of referring to this day as Palm Sunday. The whole picture conveys celebration and honor, reminiscent of the victory parades with which triumphant kings and generals in Old Testament and intertestamental times were welcomed (cf. ; ). The strewing of garments and branches further demonstrates how the crowds have the wrong messianic concept. There will be no victory party when they arrive in Jerusalem.[5]

E. The king comes riding into Jerusalem on a borrowed donkey. The man rides like an apology, a slapstick parody of power, a send-up of pomp & circumstance. The man rides under the weight of all our collective loneliness, as well as his own. With no stallion, no army, and no pretension, Love himself rides solo in the parade of powerlessness. Royalty, at last, has no entourage.

II. Hosanna to the Son of David

A. “Hosanna” originally meant God save us but by the first century was probably just a cry of praise to Yahweh. The “He who comes in the name of the Lord,” like the “coming one” of whom John the Baptist spoke (recall under 3:11), refers to the Messiah, and the entire beatitude echoes . On “hosanna in the highest,” see also .[6]

B. His verb were shouting is in the imperfect tense, which indicates that the shouting kept on for quite some time. The picture we get is one of great excitement. Evidently there were many Galileans who had thought of Jesus as the Messiah and were disappointed that in his own area he made no public declaration of who he was and of his determination to establish a kingdom that would throw the mighty Romans out of the land. But they had heard his teaching and they had seen him do miracles. As a result they had hoped that he would proclaim himself King, and they were prepared to follow him if he did. Now they thought he was going to fulfil their hopes, and they were ecstatic at the prospect. They took no notice of the significance of the lowly animal on which he was riding nor of the prophecy he was fulfilling.[7]

C. They cried “Hosanna” once again, and this time added “in the highest.” It is an enthusiastic cry and probably means that Jesus is to be praised everywhere, right up to heaven itself.

D. The pilgrims preceding him and those following him constitute a kind of royal procession, and their repeated cry proclaims Jesus as the messianic king. The repeated word “Hosanna” (ὡσαννά) represents a Greek transliteration of the Aramaic הוֹשַׁע נָא (hôs̆aʾnāʾ), which means literally “O save” (cf. the LXX, which rather than transliterating the word, translates it σῶσον δή, “save now”). The word became in common liturgical usage a cry of jubilation, and in the present passage it amounts to “God save” or more probably “praise be” to the messianic king (see Fitzmyer; cf. Luke’s translation, δόξα, “glory,” in ).

E. To the first “Hosanna” is added the dative phrase τῷ υἱῷ Δαυίδ, resulting in the meaning “praise/glory be to the Son of David” (cf. 20:30–31), i.e., the Davidic king (cf. ; on the title in Matthew, see Comment on 9:27). Children continue this cry in the temple area according to v. 15. To the second “Hosanna” is added the phrase ἐν τοῖς ὑψίστοις, “in the highest,” thus “praise/glory in the highest” (cf. , ). The word “Hosanna” is drawn from the Hebrew text of , since the middle line εὐλογομένος ὁ ἐρχόμενος ἐν ὀνόματι κυρίου, “Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord,” is drawn verbatim from the LXX text of that same verse (i.e., Ps 117:25 LXX).

F. In this Psalm, as in the crowds’ acclamation here, there is a note of triumph and of eschatological salvation. This made the psalm, which was in the pilgrims’ minds with the approaching Feast of Passover, appropriate for an application such as the present one. With the entry of the king into Jerusalem, eschatological salvation (conceived of in national-political terms) was about to be experienced (cf. b. Pesaḥ. 119a; Midr. [242a]).

G. Here the one “who comes in the name of the Lord” is not simply a pilgrim approaching the temple during a festival (as the language was normally used) but none other than that promised descendant of David who would bring the promised blessing of that kingdom.[8]

H. Hosanna is the Greek transliteration of a Hebrew imperative phrase meaning “save now,” used in . Its literal meaning was sometimes forgotten, however, it was used like “Hallelujah, as a statement of exuberant praise.

I. “Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord” is not explicitly messianic. This line from was employed as a greeting by pilgrims attending temple festivals. It was inevitable, however, that Christian imagination would perceive a greater depth of meaning in the cry. Of all the pilgrims attending that Passover festival only Jesus was “the Coming One” (see 11:3), and only he truly came “in the name of the Lord,” that is, fully empowered and authorized by God. [9]

J. This phrase was employed as a greeting by pilgrims attending temple festivals. It was inevitable, however, that Christian imagination would perceive a greater depth of meaning in the cry. Of all the pilgrims attending that Passover festival only Jesus was the “coming one” and only he truly came “in the name of the Lord.”

The New International Version Chapter 21

As they approached Jerusalem and came to Bethphage on the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples, 2 saying to them, “Go to the village ahead of you, and at once you will find a donkey tied there, with her colt by her. Untie them and bring them to me. 3 If anyone says anything to you, say that the Lord needs them, and he will send them right away.”

4 This took place to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet:

5 “Say to Daughter Zion,

‘See, your king comes to you,

gentle and riding on a donkey,

and on a colt, the foal of a donkey.’ ”

6 The disciples went and did as Jesus had instructed them. 7 They brought the donkey and the colt and placed their cloaks on them for Jesus to sit on. 8 A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, while others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. 9 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!”

10 When Jesus entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred and asked, “Who is this?”

11 The crowds answered, “This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth in Galilee.”

The New International Version Chapter 21

As they approached Jerusalem and came to Bethphage on the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples, 2 saying to them, “Go to the village ahead of you, and at once you will find a donkey tied there, with her colt by her. Untie them and bring them to me. 3 If anyone says anything to you, say that the Lord needs them, and he will send them right away.”

4 This took place to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet:

5 “Say to Daughter Zion,

‘See, your king comes to you,

gentle and riding on a donkey,

and on a colt, the foal of a donkey.’ ”

6 The disciples went and did as Jesus had instructed them. 7 They brought the donkey and the colt and placed their cloaks on them for Jesus to sit on. 8 A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, while others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. 9 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!”

10 When Jesus entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred and asked, “Who is this?”

11 The crowds answered, “This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth in Galilee.”

K. - Lord, save us! Lord, grant us success! 26 Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. From the house of the Lord we bless you. [10]

III. Who is This?

A. Matthew highlights for us the irony implicit in Jesus’ last pilgrimage to the holy city. The Son of David enters David’s city, but the only throne he finds is a cross. The city that should have welcomed him with its fullest homage refused to accept its gentle king. Shaken as at the news of his birth (2:3), the city sides again with the Herods of this world who maintain the established order. How easy it is for us to think that by celebrating Palm Sunday we acknowledge Jesus as king in a way that Jerusalem failed to do! We need constantly to be humbled by those harsh words that remind us of the superficiality of our Hosannas: “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven” (7:21, nrsv).[11]

B. Matthew further heightens the effect of the Messiah’s entry into Jerusalem by reporting that the whole city is shaken as if by an earthquake. The verb seiō, which is weakly translated “stirred” by the rsv and the niv, refers to the action of an earthquake (compare its use in 27:51). The corresponding noun seismos is used by Matthew in 8:24; 24:7; 27:54; and 28:2 to indicate a supernatural event. Perhaps Matthew means to suggest that the holy city is shaken to its foundations by the arrival of the Lord’s Anointed.[12]

C. The acclamation had evidently started some distance from Jerusalem as the procession wound its way to the city. The noisy group attracted so much attention that the whole city was stirred up (cf. 2:3). Though a large crowd was evidently involved, Matthew concentrates his attention on Jesus and says that he entered the city. And, of course, the Jerusalem mob was interested in the question, “Who is this?” Jesus had been in the capital city a number of times (as John in particular makes clear). But clearly Jesus was not as well known in that city as he was among the Galilean pilgrims. Those who made their homes in the metropolis would tend to take little notice of a “prophet” from the remote countryside even if he visited their city from time to time.[13]

D. Most call this scene “the triumphant entry,” but the man makes triumph into a joke, because the parade is the beginning of a death march. If this is triumph, this scene radicalizes the term—evidently, triumph must look an awful lot like being triumphed over. As his body jiggles on the donkey, fumbling through the stone streets of the holy city, the people wave palm branches, and shout “Hosanna in the highest!” Palm branches flail in rapid motion, a mid-eastern forest of Hallelujahs. Yet underneath it all, runs an ancient sadness.

E. God is on his way to die, as vulnerable to the elements as any other man or woman has been. His chest, like his heart, is open—the hen with her breasts exposed, her wings extended, longing to gather her chicks under her wing. But soon, her sacred breast will be wounded; her open chest taken as an invitation for her ripping.

F. But Love does not protect himself from spears or spit or swords. Rods and whips and nature itself will have their way with him, nails driving into dirt olive skin like an animal. His body will be bent and twisted like a rag doll, a puppet. Still he rides into Jerusalem, vulnerable. He keeps coming the way love always does: defenseless.

[1] The New International Version (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2011), .

[2] Craig Blomberg, Matthew, vol. 22, The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1992), 311–312.

[3] Craig Blomberg, Matthew, vol. 22, The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1992), 312.

[4] Leon Morris, The Gospel according to Matthew, The Pillar New Testament Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI; Leicester, England: W.B. Eerdmans; Inter-Varsity Press, 1992), 519–520.

Matthew The Triumphal Entry (21:1–11)

“Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord” is not explicitly messianic. This line from Ps. 118:26 was employed as a greeting by pilgrims attending temple festivals. It was inevitable, however, that Christian imagination would perceive a greater depth of meaning in the cry. Of all the pilgrims attending that Passover festival only Jesus was “the Coming One” (see 11:3), and only he truly came “in the name of the Lord,” that is, fully empowered and authorized by God.

[5] Craig Blomberg, Matthew, vol. 22, The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1992), 312–313.

[6] Craig Blomberg, Matthew, vol. 22, The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1992), 313.

[7] Leon Morris, The Gospel according to Matthew, The Pillar New Testament Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI; Leicester, England: W.B. Eerdmans; Inter-Varsity Press, 1992), 522–523.

[8] Donald A. Hagner, , vol. 33B, Word Biblical Commentary (Dallas: Word, Incorporated, 1998), 595–596.

[9] Douglas R. A. Hare, Matthew, Interpretation, a Bible Commentary for Teaching and Preaching (Louisville, KY: John Knox Press, 1993), 239.

[10] The New International Version (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2011), .

[11] Douglas R. A. Hare, Matthew, Interpretation, a Bible Commentary for Teaching and Preaching (Louisville, KY: John Knox Press, 1993), 240.

[12] Douglas R. A. Hare, Matthew, Interpretation, a Bible Commentary for Teaching and Preaching (Louisville, KY: John Knox Press, 1993), 239.

[13] Leon Morris, The Gospel according to Matthew, The Pillar New Testament Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI; Leicester, England: W.B. Eerdmans; Inter-Varsity Press, 1992), 523–524.