Hosanna: what it means and why we sing it

Every Palm Sunday, in churches all over the world, thousands of voices repeat an ancient word while waving palm branches: “Hosanna!” We also sing it in hymns and worship songs, and many Christian liturgies speak it every week in the “Holy, holy, holy”. Yet few people know exactly what it means, where it comes from and why the crowd shouted it when Jesus entered Jerusalem. In this article we explain the origin, meaning and spiritual richness of the word Hosanna.

“And the multitudes that went before, and that followed, cried, saying, Hosanna to the Son of David: Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord; Hosanna in the highest.”

Matthew 21:9

A Hebrew word that reached every language

Hosanna is not an English, Greek or Latin word. It is the transcription of a Hebrew expression: hoshi'a na, meaning “save, we pray!”, “save us now!” or “grant salvation!”. It is formed from the verb yasha, “to save”, the same root as the name of Jesus (Yeshua, “the Lord saves”), and the particle na, which expresses entreaty or urgency: “please”, “now”.

The gospels, written in Greek, kept the word in its Hebrew form, hosanna, just as they kept other expressions such as “Amen” or “Hallelujah”. From Greek it passed into Latin and then into almost every language in the world. So when a believer in Colombia, Nigeria, Korea or Norway says “Hosanna”, he or she is using literally the same syllables the pilgrims shouted in Jerusalem two thousand years ago.

The origin: Psalm 118

The expression appears in the Old Testament in Psalm 118, one of the best-loved psalms of the people of Israel:

“Save now, I beseech thee, O Lord: O Lord, I beseech thee, send now prosperity. Blessed be he that cometh in the name of the Lord: we have blessed you out of the house of the Lord.”

Psalm 118:25-26

Where our English Bibles say “Save now, I beseech thee”, the Hebrew text says precisely hoshi'a na: Hosanna. And the next verse contains the other phrase the crowd would shout before Jesus: “Blessed be he that cometh in the name of the Lord.”

Psalm 118 is a song of thanksgiving for the victory God gives his people. It contains very familiar lines: “This is the day which the Lord hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it” (verse 24) and “The stone which the builders refused is become the head stone of the corner” (verse 22). Jesus quoted this last verse about himself (Matthew 21:42), and Peter applied it to the risen Christ (Acts 4:11).

Hosanna in Israel’s feasts

Psalm 118 was part of the Hallel (“praise”), a group of psalms (113 to 118) that Israelites sang at the great feasts: Passover, Pentecost and especially the feast of Tabernacles or Booths (Sukkot). At that autumn feast, pilgrims carried branches of palm, willow and myrtle, and processed around the temple altar singing “Hosanna!”.

In Jewish tradition, the seventh day of the feast of Tabernacles came to be called Hoshana Rabbah, “the great Hosanna”, because these pleas for salvation, rain and blessing were repeated many times on it. So for a Jew in Jesus’ time, the word Hosanna was associated with the joy of the feasts, with branches in hand and with the hope that God would send his salvation and his Messiah.

Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem

All four gospels relate that, a few days before his crucifixion, Jesus entered Jerusalem riding on a colt, a young donkey. It was no accident. Jesus was deliberately fulfilling a prophecy of the prophet Zechariah:

“Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold, thy King cometh unto thee: he is just, and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass.”

Zechariah 9:9

Kings and generals usually entered cities on warhorses. Jesus entered as a humble, peaceful king. The crowd, made up of his disciples and many pilgrims who had come to Jerusalem for the Passover, spread their garments on the road, cut branches from the trees and began to shout the words of Psalm 118.

Each gospel preserves the scene with its own nuances. Matthew records: “Hosanna to the Son of David.” Mark adds: “Blessed be the kingdom of our father David, that cometh in the name of the Lord” (Mark 11:10). Luke recalls that they cried: “Blessed be the King that cometh in the name of the Lord: peace in heaven, and glory in the highest” (Luke 19:38). And John specifies that they were palm branches:

“Took branches of palm trees, and went forth to meet him, and cried, Hosanna: Blessed is the King of Israel that cometh in the name of the Lord.”

John 12:13

Plea or praise?

Here something interesting appears. Originally, Hosanna was a plea: “Save us, please!” But at the triumphal entry it also seems to work as a shout of joy, like “long live!” or “glory!”. Phrases such as “Hosanna to the Son of David” and “Hosanna in the highest” show that the word had become a cry of jubilation directed to God and to his anointed one.

Both senses come together beautifully. The crowd praised Jesus precisely because they saw in him the one who was coming to bring the salvation Israel had begged for over centuries. “Hosanna in the highest” can be understood as a call for praise to reach heaven, or as a plea to God who dwells on high: “Save, O you who are in the highest!” Hosanna is both prayer and worship: we ask for salvation from the One we praise as Saviour.

The children in the temple

Matthew records a moving detail. After entering Jerusalem, Jesus cleansed the temple and healed the blind and the lame. Then children began to cry out in the temple: “Hosanna to the Son of David.” The chief priests and scribes were indignant, but Jesus answered them quoting Psalm 8:

“And when the chief priests and scribes saw the wonderful things that he did, and the children crying in the temple, and saying, Hosanna to the Son of David; they were sore displeased, And said unto him, Hearest thou what these say? And Jesus saith unto them, Yea; have ye never read, Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings thou hast perfected praise?”

Matthew 21:15-16

While the religious leaders, experts in the Scriptures, rejected Jesus, the children recognised him with joy. Jesus taught on another occasion that the kingdom of God belongs to those who receive it like children. The purest Hosanna was that of the little ones.

From “Hosanna” to “Crucify him!”

Many preachers have noted a dramatic contrast: a few days after the cries of Hosanna, another crowd shouted before Pilate: “Let him be crucified!” We do not know whether they were exactly the same people; the Palm Sunday crowd, largely made up of pilgrims from Galilee, was probably different from the one the chief priests gathered in front of the praetorium. Even so, the contrast confronts us with the fragility of human enthusiasm.

Many expected a political Messiah who would drive out the Romans and restore David’s kingdom by military power. Jesus instead came to bring a deeper salvation: deliverance from sin and death. The paradox is astonishing: the crowd cried “Save us!”, and Jesus answered that cry not by taking an earthly throne but by going up to the cross. The true Hosanna was fulfilled at Calvary.

Hosanna in the Church’s worship

From the earliest centuries, Christians incorporated Hosanna into their prayer. The Didache, one of the oldest Christian writings outside the New Testament, includes in its prayers the expression “Hosanna to the God of David”.

To this day, in the liturgy of the Catholic, Orthodox, Anglican, Lutheran and other churches, the Sanctus joins Isaiah’s vision with Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem: “Holy, holy, holy Lord, God of power and might, heaven and earth are full of your glory. Hosanna in the highest. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. Hosanna in the highest.” Each time it is sung, the Church joins the pilgrims of Jerusalem and the angels of heaven in one praise.

In evangelical and Pentecostal churches, Hosanna is also a word very present in praise and worship songs. And Palm Sunday, which opens Holy Week, is celebrated around the world with processions, palms and the singing of Hosanna.

Interesting facts

What does it mean to say Hosanna today?

It is acknowledging that we need salvation. No one cries “save us!” if they think they can save themselves. Saying Hosanna is a confession of humility.

It is proclaiming Jesus as King. The crowd called him Son of David and King of Israel. Today we acknowledge him as Lord of our lives.

It is praying with urgency. The na of Hosanna expresses a “now”. We can bring our urgent needs, and those of our nations, to God.

It is praising with joy. Like the pilgrims and the children, we can celebrate that the Saviour has come.

It is staying faithful. May our Hosanna not be passing enthusiasm, but a commitment that endures in hard days too.

It is awaiting his return. Jesus told Jerusalem: “Ye shall not see me henceforth, till ye shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord” (Matthew 23:39). Every Hosanna anticipates the day of his glorious coming.

Prayer

Lord Jesus, Son of David, humble King who entered Jerusalem riding on a colt: Hosanna! Save me, I pray. I acknowledge that I need you. You answered your people’s cry by giving your life on the cross and rising on the third day. Receive my praise as you received the children’s in the temple. May my Hosanna not be fleeting, but faithful all the days of my life. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. Hosanna in the highest! Amen.