What Does Hosanna Mean? A Biblical Definition of Hosanna

What does “hosanna” mean? How does the Bible define the word hosanna?

Hosanna’s Meaning

The word “hosanna” is from the Hebrew word “Hoshana” which means “to save, rescue” or “savior.” This word was only used when referring to Jesus and particularly to “the Son of David.” Something very similar is used in Psalm 118:25 which says “Save us, we pray, O Lord! O Lord, we pray, give us success!” and this fits nicely with the way it is used in the gospels as we shall see. In the Hebrew, the word “save” is “yasha`” and means “to save, be saved,” or “to be delivered” and this might explain why they chanted this when Jesus arrived in Jerusalem in the final week of His earthly ministry before dying on the cross. Yasha` is very close to Joshua which means “Yahweh is salvation” or simply put “God is salvation” and this is precisely what the name Jesus means “God is Salvation” and in the Aramaic form is “eshu’a” which is pronounced “Yah SHOE uh.” By the way, Yeshua is the Hebrew name for the Lord.

Jesus as King

When Jesus came to this earth for His earthly ministry of seeking the lost and preaching repentance and belief (Mark 1:15) many thought He came to overthrow the Roman Empire and restore the nation of Israel as a nation power at that time. Jesus will do just that but it will be the kingdom of God that will reign over all the earth’s inhabitants. They sought Him out to do this many times and once they tried to take Him by force to make Him their king. One time “Perceiving then that they were about to come and take him by force to make him king, Jesus withdrew again to the mountain by himself” (John 6:15) because it was not yet time for His servants to fight for Him and His kingdom but that time is coming. Almost every time “Jesus saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside” with a few exceptions like when He preached the Beatitudes (Matt 5:1) or went somewhere to be alone with His disciples. Today, for those who have believed in Him and made Him their Lord, He is their King. In reality, He is already over all the earth but most of the world doesn’t acknowledge Him as such, even though He actually is. Governments might rule but Christ overrules.

The Triumphant Entry

On the last week of Jesus’ earthly ministry, He entered Jerusalem in what is often called the “triumphant entry” and after finding a donkey to ride on he rode it into Jerusalem “to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet. 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” (Matt 21:4-5). This prophecy was written by Zechariah hundreds of years before Christ was even born and the prophet Zechariah wrote “Rejoice greatly, Daughter Zion! Shout, Daughter Jerusalem! See, your king comes to you, righteous and victorious, lowly and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey” (Zech 9:9). At that same time “Most of the crowd spread their cloaks on the road, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road” (Matt 21:8) which was the customary way that a king would be welcomed and indeed, He was (and still is) king.

Hosanna Son of David

When Jesus came riding into Jerusalem on the donkey during the triumphant entry, then “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” (Matt 21:9) “And when he entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred up, saying, “Who is this?” And the crowds said, “This is the prophet Jesus, from Nazareth of Galilee” (Matt 21:10-11)! This angered the religious rulers and “when the chief priests and the scribes saw the wonderful things that he did, and the children crying out in the temple, “Hosanna to the Son of David!” they were indignant, and they 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 infants and nursing babies you have prepared praise’” (Matt 21:15-16). This verse about the mouths of infants and babes is from Psalm 8:2 which says “Out of the mouth of babies and infants, you have established strength because of your foes, to still the enemy and the avenger.” The scribes and the chief priests were likely more jealous than anything but some Bible scholars believe that they were concerned that the Romans would not like it because Jesus was being proclaimed as King while the Roman’s had only one king and that was Caesar.

Conclusion

When the people of Jerusalem saw that Jesus was going to die on the cross and that He didn’t come this time or reign over the nation is power, they quickly turned on Him. Perhaps they were disenchanted with Jesus and became disillusioned when He didn’t overthrow the Roman rulers but whatever the reason, they turned on Him and began calling for Him to be crucified. How tragic that just a week earlier they had been praising Him and asking Him “Hosanna in the Highest” and “Hosanna to the Son of David” for “Save us, rescue us” but now screamed for His death. Someday Jesus will come again but this time not on a donkey but on a white horse with a sword and will come and vanquish all who oppose Him and will set up His kingdom which shall have no end.

Article by Jack Wellman

Jack Wellman is Pastor of the Mulvane Brethren church in Mulvane Kansas. Jack is also the Senior Writer at What Christians Want To Know whose mission is to equip, encourage, and energize Christians and to address questions about the believer’s daily walk with God and the Bible. You can follow Jack on Google Plus or check out his book Blind Chance or Intelligent Design available on Amazon.