Hosanna!

I just recently discovered this! The meaning of the word “hosanna” has changed over the years. Originally, in the Hebrew, it is “hoshiya na” and is only found in Psalm 118:25. The King James says, “Save now, I beseech thee, O LORD: O LORD, I beseech thee, send now prosperity.” Hosanna means to “save now” or “please save.” It was a cry for deliverance and salvation. John Piper says that hosanna in the Old Testament is what you would say if you were unable to swim and fell off a diving board. It is a desperate cry for help.

In the New Testament we see the meaning of hosanna morph into something deeper. When the people waved palm branches and cried “hosanna” in the streets as Jesus was led on a donkey, they weren’t just crying “save now.” They were also offering up a declaration of praise because Jesus was Messiah and he was their only hope.

The Jews in that day were primarily interested in being set free from the harsh rule of the Romans. They didn’t understand that Jesus was there to set them free from something much deeper: the entanglements of sin and death. God’s story of restoration always goes much deeper than the human mind can grasp at first glance.

Still, as they cried “Hosanna,” they were declaring that salvation had arrived. They knew that the Messiah could save and their voices became one large outpouring of vocal faith. Piper says that it is the “bubbling over of a heart that sees hope and joy and salvation on the way and can’t keep it in.” He says that they were sinking and yet could see the lifeguard coming to save them.

Hosanna Savior! We sometimes feel like we are sinking in this sin-filled world, but we can see you at a distance. We long for your return; we can almost see you coming to save us.