Hosanna 

As we know the old testamentwas originally written in Hebrewwhile the New Testamentwas originally written in Greek.  So, when you seek to know the meaning of a word in scripture it is necessary to go to the original meaning. Most of the times you will find a word that is neither spelled like nor sounds like the sought-out word.  That’s because Greek and Hebrew are completely different languages than English. 

However, when you look up the word Hosanna, it is spelledthe same and soundsjust like the original word in the Greek.  (Pronunciation Ho-sah-nah)

The more interesting thing about the word Hosanna is that the people who wrotethe New Testament in Greekbasically did the same thing as those who translated it in English.  They used Greek lettersto match the sound of the Hebrew phrase“Hoshiya na”

Again, Hebrewwas the originallanguage of the Old testament.  The one and only place this word is found in the old testament is

Psalms 118:25-26

²⁵ Save us, we pray, O Lord!  O Lord, we pray, give us success! ²⁶ Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! We bless you from the house of the Lord.

It was a plea, a cry for help.

Hosanna-the original Hebrew word means “Oh save.”

Like when someone is drowning, and they are crying for help they need a savior.

Matthew 21:1-11

¹ Now when they drew near to Jerusalem and came to Bethphage, to the Mount of Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples, ² saying to them, “Go into the village in front of you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her. Untie them and bring them to me. ³ If anyone says anything to you, you shall say, ‘The Lord needs them,’ and he will send them at once.” ⁴ This took place to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet, saying,

⁵ “Say to the daughter of Zion,
‘Behold, your king is coming to you,
    humble, and mounted on a donkey,
    on a colt, the foal of a beast of burden.’”

This is just one of manyexamples of old testament prophecieswhich point to a Messiahwho was to come.  The original prophecy could be found in the book Zechariah 9:9. 

Some of the key facts about this prophecy:

It was directed to the daughterof Zion.  Who was that? Zion was the holy hillon which the temple was built upon. The term generally referred to Jerusalemand the people of Jerusalem. 

To be a daughter in Jewish tradition meant the daughter was the property of her father, if you hurt her then you must deal with the father. 

Being a daughter in the kingdom of God means that you have a father in Heavenwho is dependableand strong, who will not leave youor forsake you, even if you disappoint Him time and time again. Being a daughter of Christ means He is the headover all things and that you have the greatest love one could ever provide.

The prophecy states that “your king is coming” and even describes how he will come.  He will come humbly and ridingon a donkey.

The donkeywas an animal used by the common manfor traveling.  Whereas the horse was reserved for warand for men of greatstatus.   Jesus, though He was the Son of God, chose to take the humble approachby coming on a common beastlike donkey. 

This was done to fulfill the prophecyspoken by the prophet Zechariah. 

But at the time this prophecy was written, it was just that, a prophecy. It was a foretellingof the future events that would take place.  The book of Zechariah was written 518 B.C. afterthe Babylonian exile. The exile was a punishment for the sinsof both Israel and Judah.

Zechariah writes this prophecy during a time in which they were given permission to rebuildthe temple.  He foretells of a coming kingwe now know to be Christ Jesus. 

Judah, the southern kingdom, hasn’t had a “good king,” one who did what was pleasing in the eyes of God, since King Josiah 608 BC, nearly a hundred years prior.  Israel, the northern kingdom, hasn’t had a “good king”since King David 970 B.C. more than 450 years before the kingdom had split.  They would not haveanother king untilthe fulfilled prophecy of Jesus.

It has been a while, since they had a stable leaderwho had did what was pleasingto God.

Upon hearing this prophecy, the Jews would then anticipate the fulfillmentof that prophecy. 

The mentality of the Jews at this point would have been Hoshiya na “Oh Save.” They would wait for the fulfillment of this promiseof a king for over 500 years.  

⁶ The disciples went and did as Jesus had directed them. ⁷ They brought the donkey and the colt and put on them their cloaks, and he sat on them. ⁸ Most of the crowd spread their cloaks on the road, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. ⁹ And the crowds that went before him and that followed him were shouting, “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!” ¹⁰ And when he entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred up, saying, “Who is this?” ¹¹ And the crowds said, “This is the prophet Jesus, from Nazareth of Galilee.”

We have already mentioned the old meaningof the word

Hosanna-the original Hebrew word means “Oh save.”

However, over the years the meaning began to changefor the phrase.  Hoshiya na stopped being a cry for help. Instead it became a shout of hope and exultation. It used to mean, "Save, please!" But gradually, it came to mean, " Salvation has come!"

Instead of crying out to be saved from drowning, it’s a praise or declaration which says the lifeguard is here.  My deliverer is here. 

That is the significanceof the word Hosanna in our passage today. 

The hope that they have been waiting for, was finally here.  The promised kingwas arriving just as the prophet Zechariahhad said.  Hosanna was no longer a pleafor help but a declarationthat their Help was already there.

Christ is Here. 

As they are saying Hosanna to the son of David, they recall the promisethat God had made to David, and thus the fulfillment of that promise through Jesus.

2 Samuel 7:16

¹⁶And your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before me. Your throne shall be established forever.’” 

They also proclaimed Hosanna in the Highest, which is to say let the angels join inwith singing praises to the king who has come.

Hosanna my deliverer is here, Hosanna my salvationis here, Hosanna the Lord is Here, our king has come.

• So, what does that mean for us in 2019?
• Why are we talking about King Jesus and not about baby Jesus for Christmas?

While His birth was an incredible miracle, Jesus ultimately came to be king over our hearts.  He came to establish His ruleover our lives.  He came to establish His kingdomhere on earth.

Notice what the people didas Jesus arrives in Jerusalem. They laid down their cloaks,

The cloak differedaccording to age, class, occupation.  As a person progressedin life so would their cloak.  The cloak was a representationof who a person was.  The scriptures say they werewilling to lay downtheir cloaks so that Christ would be seatedupon it.

They laid down branchesthat they had cut so that Jesus could sit upon them.  Cutting branches refers to their work, effort, abilities.

To render Hosannato Christ, meaning to pronounce that our King is here, is to accept His ruleover our livesand be willing to lay down our identityand our right to govern ourselves. So that ultimately, He would be exaltedin our lives.

If He is king, then we are not.  If He is king, then it is His ways not our own.  If He is King then He is in charge, He calls the shots.  We live our lives according to His standardsnot our own.

This Christmasas we celebrate the birthof Christ, let us take into consideration the reasonfor which He came.  He came to rule and reignin our hearts.

As we hear songs this Christmas season that use the word Hosanna, let us remember both sidesof the word. 

We are equally desperateas the Jews for Jesus to be our Kingand to ruleand reign over our lives.  Because ultimately, He is a good kingand knows what is bestfor our lives.

Secondly, Let’s remind ourselves that He has come, Christ is here.  He is the promised one, He is our hope of eternalglory.  We can sing Hosannabecause our redeemer is here,He is alive on the inside of us, our Salvation is here, our deliverer is here.

He may have made his first entrance as Kingriding into Jerusalem upon a donkey,

But, I’m looking forward to His second triumphantentrance.

Revelation 19:11

¹¹ Then I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse! The one sitting on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he judges and makes war. ¹² His eyes are like a flame of fire, and on his head are many diadems, and he has a name written that no one knows but himself. ¹³ He is clothed in a robe dipped in blood, and the name by which he is called is The Word of God. 

Hehas comeand He will come again.  We have the unique privilege of saying Hosannaas our deliver is here, with us in our spirit, a very present helpin time of trouble, but we also have the hopeas believers that we will sing Hosanna face to facewith our Lord and Savior to the one who is called faithful and true, who makes warwith and overcomes our spiritual enemies.

This Christmas season be sure to declare a confident Hosanna.