The Meaning of Hosanna

Here is a little misunderstood word.

Hosanna – it means “liberate us!”. Or “Set us free”, “save us”.

Shocking? Lots of people think that it just a praise word, but it is actually more than that. So picture Jesus making his entry into Jerusalem on the back of the donkey and the Jews were shouting”Hosanna!”.

The Jews were acknowledging Jesus as the promised Messiah, whom they thought would free them from the Romans. They were asking Him to liberate them from the Romans (which they thought the promised Messiah was going to do). Imagine their shock when Jesus went instead to clean out their religion.

We of course know that Christ has done much more than the Jews thought He would. He has liberated us from sin and death. He has set us free from legalistic religion. So next time we sing”Hosanna!”, remember the meaning and remember what Christ has done for us.