“Hosana” from What?

And they brought the colt to Jesus and threw their cloaks on it, and he sat on it. And many spread their cloaks on the road, and others spread leafy branches that they had cut from the fields. And those who went before and those who followed were shouting, “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David! Hosanna in the highest!” And he entered Jerusalem and went into the temple. And when he had looked around at everything, as it was already late, he went out to Bethany with the twelve. –Mark 11:7-11

Jesus arrival draws people to him. Most of the people would have already heard about what he had done in Galilee, and the excitement over this would have been stirred to a fever pitch by the report of his raising Lazarus from the dead a few days before. The people who welcomed him as he entered Jerusalem did not want to see him to satisfy their curiosity; they wanted to anoint him as their king. The people wanted Jesus to be their ruler, but unfortunately this meant they were not prepared to accept him as their minister.

The shouts of “Hosanna” reveal the people recognized Jesus as the Messiah. “Hosanna” means “save now;” the crowd’s use of this word demonstrates their knowledge of their need of rescue. They correctly hoped Jesus would be their savior; their problem was they failed to recognize what they needed saving from.

Luke tells us that as Jesus drew near to the city he wept for its inhabitants (Luke 19:41). The peoples joy is in sharp contrast to Jesus own feelings on the occasion. He knows the people’s hopes are misplaced, and that they have failed to truly comprehend the situation. They hail him as a king, but he comes riding a donkey. They quote Psalm 118, “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord,” but fail to remember the rest of the Psalm, “The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone.” They fail to see that the problems of this world are not to be compared to the problem of sin. And, they fail to comprehend the only solution to that problem is the death of the Savior.

We think we are able to see what those in Jerusalem did not. We know Jesus was riding to his death when he rode into the city that day. But, our actions reveal our understanding of Jesus work on earth is not as advanced as we think. We often go running to him, but not because of our sins. Like the crowd who so jubilantly welcomed him, our hope is that he will deliver us from our worldly needs, and fail to recognize our greatest need is to be delivered from the bondage of sin. Jesus did not ride into Jerusalem to establish a prosperous earthly kingdom for his followers; he came to do the bloody work of redemption. The cry of “Hosanna” must still go up from our lips, but it must do so in the context of repentance. Unless we remember what we need saving from, our joy at our Savior’s arrival will fade away, just as it did for those who rejoiced that Sunday afternoon.