Every year we sing and shout on Palm Sunday, “Hosanna!” Even weekly during the communion service, we sing the Sanctus prayer, “Hosanna in the highest! Blessed is the one who come in the name of the LORD! Hosanna in the highest!” We hear it in our praise songs and hymns. We hear it on Broadway in Jesus Christ Superstar, “Hosanna, hey-sanna, sanna, sanna, ho-sanna, hey-sanna, ho-san-na.” We know it comes from scripture, but what does it mean? Why do we sing it? Where does it come from? Hosanna originally comes from Aramaic, ܐܘܿܫܲܥܢܵܐ osha’nah, and Hebrew הוֹשַׁע נָּא hosha-na, meaning “save, save us, save now, rescue, savior, we beseech you.” The Greek is a transliteration, ὡσαννά hosanna. It was used in the Old Testament in the Psalms as a plead for help. Psalm 118:25 says, “We beseech Thee, O LORD, save now! We beseech Thee, O LORD, make us now to prosper!”
When the crowd shouted to Jesus as he was riding on a donkey, they were shouting, “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the LORD! Hosanna in the highest heaven!” (NRSV Matthew 21:9). The language is suddenly changing here. Not only are they asking Jesus to save them from the Romans, but they are now using it to represent joy and welcome. The language changed by the time of Jeremiah, where we see, “Sing with joy for Jacob; shout for the foremost of the nations. Make your praises heard, and say, ‘LORD, save your people, the remnant of Israel’ (Jeremiah 3:7). When we shout Hosanna, we are glorifying God, expressing our joy for our salvation from the one who saves us.
Suzie Hager, MDiv
Music Coordinator