Project 119: Mark 11:1-11
| Project 119 | Dr. Kely Hatley
“The Messiah Enters Jerusalem”
Holy Week is one of the richest weeks in the Christian Calendar. While we are yet still one week away from it, our reading today is the one that starts Holy Week: Jesus’ entrance into Jerusalem the week before His arrest and crucifixion. This day is called Palm Sunday for the Christian church and believer.
One of the things that intrigues me in this story is the use of the word “Hosanna.” You may know the story–how the people in Jerusalem lined the streets waving palms or branches and 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!” But what did they mean when shouting this?
The word “hosanna” is derived from a blending of two Hebrew words, “yasha” and “na.” “Yasha” is translated as “save.” “Na” may be translated in several ways, but most likely it is meant to be an opening such as “Oh!” So put together “hosanna” can be translated as “O save!” In this translated context, it is right for the people to shout this. As Jesus entered the city He was on His mission to save each of us from our sins. The people were right to cry “Hosanna” to Jesus: “O save us, Lord!”
Today, I fear that this meaning of the word has been replaced with a more generalized concept of a word expressing praise to God. Don’t get me wrong! I am definitely not opposed to giving God the praise He deserves, but to forget the original meaning of this word cheats us out of the deep, faith-forming knowledge that we are praying to God to save us from ourselves, from our sins, and from the weights of this life that so easily entangle and drag us down.
The next time you hear the word “hosanna,” take a moment to be sure what you are hearing are the words “O save!” and make that your heart’s cry to the Lord. Romans 3:23 states, “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” Each and every one of us needs the Savior to be saved! Call on Him today and shout aloud to Jesus in your own mind and life, “Hosanna! Blessed are You who comes in the name of the Lord! Save me Lord, Save me!”
Mark 11:1-11 (ESV):
Now when they drew near to Jerusalem, to Bethphage and Bethany, at the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two of his disciples 2 and said to them, “Go into the village in front of you, and immediately as you enter it you will find a colt tied, on which no one has ever sat. Untie it and bring it.3 If anyone says to you, ‘Why are you doing this?’ say, ‘The Lord has need of it and will send it back here immediately.’” 4 And they went away and found a colt tied at a door outside in the street, and they untied it.5 And some of those standing there said to them, “What are you doing, untying the colt?” 6 And they told them what Jesus had said, and they let them go. 7 And they brought the colt to Jesus and threw their cloaks on it, and he sat on it. 8 And many spread their cloaks on the road, and others spread leafy branches that they had cut from the fields. 9 And those who went before and those who followed were shouting, “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! 10 Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David! Hosanna in the highest!”
11 And he entered Jerusalem and went into the temple. And when he had looked around at everything, as it was already late, he went out to Bethany with the twelve.