Hosanna to the Son of David

And they that went before, and they that followed, cried, saying, Hosanna; Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord: Blessed be the kingdom of our father David, that cometh in the name of the Lord: Hosanna in the highest.—Mark 11:9, 10

By Ernest Kuenzli

One of the most stirring episodes in our Lord Jesus’ brief life and ministry occurred just four days before his death. On the tenth day of Nisan (called Abib before the Babylonian captivity), Jesus, the Son of God, came in triumphal procession to Jerusalem and to the Jewish people as their Messiah, their king and savior. While our Lord’s followers and a number of the Jews rejoiced at his arrival, the nation and its leaders rejected him; as a result, the nation lost its opportunity to then become the spiritual seed of the Abrahamic promise, the kingdom of priests and holy nation promised by Moses (Gen. 22:17; Exod. 19:5-6; John 1:11).

The Passover

The first scriptural mention of the tenth day of Nisan occurs with another stirring event— the Passover. The Passover took place more than one thousand years before our Lord Jesus’ death, and yet the Scriptures link these two events together as type and antitype. Prior to the Passover, the descendants of Jacob had been dwelling in Egypt for nearly 430 years, the last years under bitter servitude and bondage to the Egyptians (Exod. 1:14). God raised up Moses and sent him unto the Israelites as their deliverer. Through Moses God poured upon the Egyptians nine different plagues to force Pharaoh to release the Israelites, so they could serve him in the wilderness. Nine times Pharaoh saw the plagues removed and refused to release the Israelites. It would take one more plague, the slaying of the first-born, to release them. In preparation for the tenth and final plague, God established the religious calendar for the Israelites. He decreed Abib (Nisan) as the beginning of months and instructed that, on the tenth day, they were to select a male lamb of the first year, without blemish, and separate the animal from the flock until the fourteenth day; then between the two evenings, they were to kill the lamb, sprinkle its blood upon the lintel and doorposts of their dwelling place, roast the lamb and then consume the entire animal that night (Exod. 12:1-14).

On the tenth day the lamb whose blood would protect the first-born was chosen, separated from the sheep and goats, and brought into the household where it was kept until slain. From a practical standpoint, the lamb taken into the household was given only water to purge its digestive system. This was necessary so that the entire lamb including its entrails could be roasted with fire and then fully consumed during the passover night. The Lamb of God

All of this pictured what was to happen many years later, when Jesus would present himself to the same nation as their savior, the lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the world (John 1:29). The perfect man Christ Jesus, holy, harmless and undefiled, separated from sinners was pictured by the unblemished Passover lamb (Heb. 7:26). He is the antitypical passover lamb, slain not only on our behalf, but on behalf of the whole world of mankind (1 Cor. 5:7; 1 John 2:2).

On the tenth day of Abib, A.D. 33, Jesus approached Jerusalem. The scriptures tell us about our Lord and his disciples got to Bethphage from Bethany, at the crest of the mount of Olives, approximately 2 miles from Jerusalem, "then sent Jesus two disciples, saying unto them, Go into the village over against you, and straightway ye shall find an ass tied, and a colt with her: loose them and bring them unto me" (Matt. 21:2). The disciples followed Jesus’ instruction, found the animals and untied them. When questioned by the owners of the animals, the disciples responded with Jesus’ words, "the Lord hath need of him" and they were allowed to take the animals (Luke 19:33-34).

Zechariah’s Prophecy

This special entrance into Jerusalem fulfilled a prophecy found in Zechariah 9:9: "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 a colt the foal of an ass." Zechariah’s prophecy described the tradition of the kings of Israel riding to their coronation on an ass. Previously, our Lord had resisted the disposition of some of the people to take him by force and make him king (John 6:15). Now, however, under the divine plan, the due time had come for Jesus to offer himself as king to the Jews and thus fulfill God’s promise to that people that his favor should be to the Jew first (Rom. 1:16).

Our Lord Jesus fulfilled every element of Zechariah’s prophecy. He came unto the Jews as a just, or righteous, perfect man, having kept the law, doing only those things which pleased his heavenly Father (John 8:29). As the Apostle Paul states in Hebrews 4:15, our Lord was without sin. Jesus also came to the Jews with salvation. Jesus plainly declared to the Jews that he was the bread of life, that he would give his flesh for the life of the world; and except they would eat of the flesh of the Son of man and drink his blood, they would have no life in them (John 6:51, 53-54). Finally, Jesus was meek and lowly of heart (Matt. 11:29). He humbled himself, first to give up his glory as a spirit being and be made flesh and then further became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross (Phil. 2:7, 8). He did not present himself as the Jews expected, a conquering general to liberate them from the Roman yoke. Instead, he presented himself as their passover lamb to liberate them from their bondage to sin and death.

Once the animals were found, the disciples accompanying Jesus (and a number who had come up from Jericho and had witnessed our Lord’s power and teachings enroute to Jersualem) took a more active role in the day’s activities. The disciples placed their garments upon the animals, set our Lord upon the ass and then the entire group began to pay our Lord homage as a king in the customary manner for their day. They spread their outer garments in the way for his beast to tread upon and began plucking grass, flowers, and branches of palm trees and strewing these also in the way (Luke 19:36; Mark 11:8).

This group, with our Lord at the head, proceeded toward Jerusalem and along the way met a multitude coming from the city, looking to meet Jesus and Lazarus, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. Upon meeting the Lord, this group turned and became a vanguard, shouting like the rest, "Hosanna to the Son of David." And so our Lord Jesus was preceeded and followed by a very great multitude of people crying, "Hosanna, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord, Blessed be the kingdom of our father David, that cometh in the name of the Lord; Hosanna in the highest" (Mark 11:9-10).

Hosanna!

The expression of those proclaiming our Lord’s entrance into Jerusalem, "Hosanna to the Son of David, . . . Hosanna in the highest," refers to Psalm 118:25, where the psalmist writes: "Save now, I beseech thee, O LORD." More than just an expression of adoration, it was a plea by those present that the Lord Jesus save them; save them from the oppression of the Romans and restore the kingdom to Israel (Luke 24:21; Acts 1:6). Our Lord’s followers had seen Jesus’ mighty works and were looking forward to the day when the Old Testament prophecies and our Lord’s statements concerning the kingdom would be fulfilled. No doubt they had in mind the glory Israel enjoyed at the height of their kingdom. Little did those individuals realize that our Lord Jesus’ salvation would far eclipse the glory of Israel under David and Solomon and would instead restore the earth and the human family to the glory of perfection enjoyed by our first parents before they sinned.

When the multitude cried "Hosanna to the Son of David," they were describing Jesus as their king, as one of the royal line of David. When the Pharisees present in the multitude heard this, they complained to Jesus to rebuke his followers for proclaiming him as king. Jesus, knowing Zechariah’s prophecy should be fulfilled, refused. He countered that if the multitude had not shouted and proclaimed him king, the very stones would have cried out to fulfill Zechariah’s prophecy (Luke 19:39, 40).

When the procession reached the top of the Mount of Olives and the city of Jerusalem came into view, Jesus halted the procession and wept over the city, saying "O, that thou hadst known, even thou, at this day, the things which are for thy peace! But now are they hidden from thine eyes . . . because thou knewest not the time of thy visitation" (Luke 19:41-44). While the multitude that accompanied him proclaimed him king, Jesus did not consider this group to represent the nation. Instead, Jesus clearly indicated that the Jewish nation, as represented in their leaders, would reject him.

Because of their blindness and failure to recognize the time of their visitation, the Jews were left desolate and cast off from divine favor for a "double," a period of disfavor equivalent to their earlier period of favor. Jerusalem was laid level with the ground and not one stone of their temple was left upon another (Luke 19:43, 44).

Only a remnant of the Jewish people were in the proper condition of heart to accept Jesus as their Messiah during his first advent. The remainder of the spiritual seed of the Abrahamic promise, church of the first-born, the body of Christ, would be selected from among the gentiles.

The goal of our Lord’s journey was Jerusalem, the Holy City. Once he arrived, Jesus did not go to Herod’s palace to take possession of his throne nor to Pilate’s palace to demand recognition from the Roman authorities for his kingdom. Instead, as the Messiah, he went to his Father’s house, the temple. No doubt the temple was crowded with Jewish pilgrims who had come to worship the Lord and observe the Passover. The appearance of Jesus and the multitudes who followed him crying "Hosanna in the highest" led to even greater commotion. The scribes and Pharisees, while full of anger, were powerless to stop our Lord. Later, at the temple, Jesus began to exercise his kingly authority. He expelled those who had violated the temple by selling doves for offerings, changing money, and making a profit by taking advantage of the Jewish pilgrims from other lands (Luke 19:45, 46). Rather than violating the law, our Lord was authorized under the Law, as was any Jew, to use as much force as necessary to maintain the sanctity of the temple.

Three Aspects

This triumphant procession into Jersualem can be viewed from three aspects. First, to the followers of Jesus and the multitude, it was a grand occasion, a moment of triumph. Here was the great prophet, who had the power to heal the sick and raise the dead, presenting himself to the Jewish nation as their Messiah, their king. The group was full of enthusiasm and hope, expecting that the longed-for blessings upon Israel were about to be realized. They had great faith that Jesus would make himself and them invincible against all enemies and fulfill all the glorious promises foretold by the prophets. The disciples did not understand and seemed to have forgotten our Lord’s words concerning his need to go to Jerusalem to be condemned by the scribes and Pharisees, to be scourged and crucified by the gentiles and then rise the third day (Matt, 20:17-19; Mark 10:32-34; Luke 18:31-34).

Second, to Herod, Pilate, the chief priests, scribes and Pharisees, this was merely a parade of a fanatical leader and his ignorant followers. Herod and Pilate had no fear that Jesus and his unorganized followers were any challenge to their authority and power. However, the Jewish religious leaders were concerned that the fanaticism of Jesus’ followers would spread and bring down upon them and their nation the wrath and further oppression of the Roman authorities. They were concerned that Romans would come and take away both their place and their nation (John 11:48). And so they counseled together to apprehend our Lord and have him killed. Despite his many miracles and the words of God which he spoke, none of the chief rulers accepted him as the Messiah. These who boasted in God and the law, who considered themselves a light to them which are in darkness and a guide to the blind, crucified their Messiah—in ignorance (Rom 2:17-20, 23; Acts 3:17).

Third, Jesus and all the holy angels rejoiced in the procession as an important step in the outworking of God’s divine plan of the ages. It was the prelude to our Lord’s greater triumph through the sacrifice of himself: his resurrection from the dead, being highly exalted by God, given a name above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth (Phil 2:9-10). As a child of God, we share this view of our Lord’s triumphal entry into Jerusalem.