After two disciples brought Jesus a colt to ride upon, and the disciples (maybe more than just those two) added their cloaks as a makeshift saddle for Him, Jesus received quite a reception as He approached Jerusalem.
Many people spread their cloaks on the road, while others spread branches they had cut in the fields. Those who went ahead and those who followed shouted,
“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 heaven!”
Mark 11:8-10 NIV
https://bible.com/bible/111/mrk.11.8-10.NIV
If you’ve attended church for a while, you probably already know about this event: It’s what is often celebrated as “Palm Sunday”. Now, if a random person rode into Jerusalem, it probably wouldn’t have been a big deal. People probably rode into Jerusalem on a daily basis (maybe fewer on the Sabbath, though, since devout residents would have observed the day of rest). However, Matthew’s account (Matthew 21:1-11) directly connects this specific arrival to a prophecy about Israel’s king. (For more context on that, read Zechariah 9:9-10.)
As you may know, when Jesus began His ministry, the prevailing interpretation of Israel’s future savior seems to have been a military and political king. The people were looking for a messiah to save them from the Roman Empire. While Jesus is indeed the King of Kings, though, the primary form of peace that He brought was between God and human beings. There was also peace resulting from Christians loving each other and an eventual peace that we look forward to (when God provides a new, sinless world for those who trust in Him). However, Jesus did not free Judea from the Roman Empire during His first-century ministry on earth.
What is interesting to me, though, is that the people’s proclamation of “Hosanna” (which translates something like, “save us”) fits both the common misunderstanding about Jesus’ purpose, as well as His actual purpose. He indeed came to earth to save us. We just didn’t understand what was most important to be saved from, at least not at first. (Having said that, if you’re sinking in quicksand and need to be rescued, I suggest yelling “help me”, rather than “Hosanna”, even if they mean about the same thing.)
A commentator [Black, p.197] refers to Psalm 118 for a historical reference to the term “Hosanna”. However, if we back up a bit in that chapter, there’s even more that we’re likely to recognize. If we read Psalm 118:22-26., we can see how, at the “Triumphal Entry” (i.e., the events described above in Mark 11), the people were calling out with a word that appears in verse 25 and a phrase from verse 26, while the person who they were celebrating was the one who perfectly fulfilled verses 22-24. Jesus fulfilled many Old Testament prophecies, including quite a bit from this particular Psalm, and those outside Jerusalem this particular day got to experience some of that fulfilment first-hand!
That same commentator also describes this cry of “Hosanna” as “a shout of acclamation” [Black, p.197-198]. We don’t use the term “acclamation” much, but one site [ACCLAMATION Definition & Meaning – Merriam-Webster] defines it as “a loud eager expression of approval, praise, or assent” or “an overwhelming affirmative vote by cheers, shouts, or applause rather than by ballot”. Do you know (or remember) the last verse of the old hymn, “How Great Thou Art”?
When Christ shall come with shout of acclamation [emphasis mine]
and take me home, what joy shall fill my heart!
Then I shall bow in humble adoration
and there proclaim: “My God, how great thou art!”
(https://hymnallibrary.org/hymns/how-great-thou-art/)
Jesus was getting the ancient equivalent of a standing ovation, a ticker tape parade, and about anything else that we might do to celebrate someone we are proud of. When Jesus returns, I suspect that the angels will give an initial shout, but all of His followers will eventually join in. And, what better praise could we offer when He comes back, than a proclamation that He has saved us from our sins, and will save us from a broken world for eternity. While we, living in the 21st century, missed the first Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem, we can still look to the skies for Jesus’ Second Coming. While we wait for that, though, let’s proclaim that Jesus is our Savior, whether with the proclamation, “Hosanna”, or in our own words.
From Sunday School lesson prepared for November 16, 2025
References:
- Scripture taken from the Holy Bible, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
- The College Press NIV Commentary – Mark, by Allen Black. © 1995 College Press Publishing Co.
Those Who Sin Differently 