Daily Devotions
Hosanna!
Hosanna!
By Joshua Carter
When Jesus entered Jerusalem the Sunday before His crucifixion, He was met with an overwhelming reception. In a poignant display of humility and in perfect fulfillment of prophecy, the Messiah rode through the city gates on a colt, the foal of a donkey. Among the great crowds that had assembled to witness this scene, many spread their cloaks on the road, while others placed palm branches before the King. Suddenly, everyone began to cry out together, “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!” (Matthew 21:9).
Although the New Testament was originally written in Greek, “hosanna” is not a Greek word at all. Our English Bibles simply transliterate the Greek word, “hosanna” because the Greek New Testament transliterated a Hebrew word, or more specifically, a pair of Hebrew words, “hoshiya na.” In other words, “hosanna” is an English word transliterated from Greek, which was transliterated from Hebrew. So where can you read that original Hebrew phrase? It’s only found one time in the Old Testament.
“Save us, we pray, O Lord! O Lord, we pray, give us success!” (Psalm 118:25)
In this verse, the Hebrew phrase is translated, “Save us, we pray.” However, what’s interesting is that over time, Jews began to closely associate Psalm 118:25 with the following verse, Psalm 118:26, which reads, “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!” By the time the people cried out, “Hosanna!” at the triumphal entry of our Lord, they weren’t just crying out, “Save us, please!” but they were saying, “You are salvation!”
When we cry out, “Hosanna!” we can mean it both ways. Our cries are of both plea and praise; desperate need and fervent confidence. In fact, this scene in Jerusalem is mirrored and perfected in heaven, and one day all those who have been saved by the Lord will cry out with a loud voice together.
“After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, ‘Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne and to the Lamb!’” (Revelation 7:9-10)
God, there is no salvation apart from You. Through the perfect sacrifice of the Lamb who was slain, we place all our hope in You. Save us, we pray! Hosanna in the highest!
