Hosanna

[Bible verses]

Mark 11:9-10

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!"

Psalm 118:25-26

O LORD, save us; O LORD, grant us success.

Blessed is he who comes in the name of the LORD.

Leviticus 23:39-42

So beginning with the fifteenth day of the seventh month, after you have gathered the crops of the land, celebrate the festival to the LORD for seven days; the first day is a day of rest, and the eighth day also is a day of rest. On the first day you are to take choice fruit from the trees, and palm fronds, leafy branches and poplars, and rejoice before the LORD your God for seven days. Celebrate this as a festival to the LORD for seven days each year. This is to be a lasting ordinance for the generations to come; celebrate it in the seventh month. Live in booths for seven days: All native-born Israelites are to live in booths.

Zechariah 14:16

Then the survivors from all the nations that have attacked Jerusalem will go up year after year to worship the King, the LORD Almighty, and to celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles.

[My reflections]

When Jesus entered Jerusalem on the back of a young donkey, it was just a few days before he was to die on the cross. People spread their cloaks on the road and greeted Jesus with palm branches and other branches (John 12:13) and shounted "Hosanna." "Hosanna" or "Hoshana" in Hebrew means "Save us", but since Jesus' triumphal entry, the term has also been used as a cry of praise, like "Hallelujah."

The scene of people waving palm branches and shouting Hosanna is usually recreated during the Feast of Tabernacles (also called the Feast of Booths), one of the three Feasts of Israel along with the Passover and the Feast of Weeks. It was not a scene usually seen before the Passover, as was the time of Jesus' entry into Jerusalem. During the 8 days of the Feast of Tabernacles, people praise the Lord with the words of Psalm 118:25. The Feast of Tabernacles has several meanings. First, it is an occasion to remind the Israelites of their days in the wilderness when they stayed in booths (Leviticus 23:43). Second, the tabernacle that symbolized the Lord dwelling among Israel in the wilderness also symbolizes God Incarnate, Immanuel, Jesus Christ who came to dwell among us (John 1:14, Matthew 1:23). Third, the Feast of Tabernacles foresees the day when all the nations and peoples will submit to the power of the Lord and the eternal kingdom of God is established (Zechariah 14:16-21). I think the cry of Hosanna at the time of Jesus' triumphal entry into Jerusalem is most akin to the third meaning. The cry represented the yearning and passion of the people for the eternal kingdom of David's descendant Messiah. However, they did not know how Jesus was to establish that kingdom, since they were anticipating a political kingdom, rather than a spiritual kingdom.

In the present days, when we praise Hosanna, what meaning do we intend to convey? Different people may have different ideas. At the least, however, our praise of Hosanna should include our acknowledgement that Jesus is our savior and the ruler of the eternal kingdom of God. Jesus, reign in me.