FAMOUS CHURCH LINGOS 3 – HOSANNA

HOSANNA is an appeal in adoration.

It is the Greek word ὡσαννά believed to be the transliteration of two Hebrew words— יָשַׁע- (yasha) which means “to save or deliver” and אָנּאָ (anna) which means “please; I beseech.”

Hosanna is an appeal for deliverance, which means, "save us please". This word is used on only two occasions in the Bible.

One was the triumphant entry of Jesus into Jerusalem.

Mark 11:9(NKJV)

Then those who went before and those who followed cried out, saying: "Hosanna! 'Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!'

This is believed to be culled from the book of Psalms.

Psalm 118:25-26(NKJV)

[25] Save now, I pray, O Lord; O Lord, I pray, send now prosperity.

[26] Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! We have blessed you from the house of the Lord.

Remember that his final journey with his disciples back to Jerusalem was to go and finally fulfil his purpose of coming to earth—to die for our sins.

Matthew 16:21(NKJV)

From that time Jesus began to show to His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised the third day.

Matthew 20:17-19(NKJV)

[17] Now Jesus, going up to Jerusalem, took the twelve disciples aside on the road and said to them,

[18] "Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and to the scribes; and they will condemn Him to death,

[19] And deliver Him to the Gentiles to mock and to scourge and to crucify. And the third day He will rise again."

This was before the triumphant entry in chapter 21.

The other occasion the word Hosanna was used was in this same chapter 21. After the triumphant entry into Jerusalem, he went to the temple.

Matthew 21:15-16(NKJV)

[15] But when the chief priests and scribes saw the wonderful things that He did, and the children crying out in the temple and saying, "Hosanna to the Son of David!" they were indignant

[16] And said to Him, "Do You hear what these are saying?" And Jesus said to them, "Yes. Have you never read, 'Out of the mouth of babes and nursing infants You have perfected praise'?"

The praise of these children was in the light of something to come—the salvation he would provide. Our praise today is in the light of the salvation he has provided.

The utterance of these children shows that they believed Jesus to be the Saviour the prophets had hitherto spoken about that would come and deliver them. So, when the multitude used such words like “in the highest,” it shows that they believed Jesus to have come from God—from heaven. The joyous angels used similar words in Luke 2:14.

It is worthy of note that the Jews who believed him thought his coming was to physically save Israel by overthrowing the Roman Empire, which was the world's ruling force in that dispensation. They thought Jesus' salvation was a political one; on the contrary, it was essentially spiritual.

What the Jews said in his triumphant entry may have been out of a wrong understanding but salvation—deliverance from sin and its concomitant aftermath—was given upon Jesus' resurrection from the dead.

So the believer today does not appeal for it anymore. We don't sing Hosanna, but rather Hallelujah, for we have received this great salvation. Glory be to God!

Victor Ibosiola © 2019

Edited (2022)