Read: Matthew 21:9 |
A little boy was ill and had to skip church on Palm Sunday. When his dad came home from church, the little boy noticed he was carrying a huge palm branch in his hand. The boy was curious and asked, “Dad, what’s up with that palm branch?”
His dad said, “It’s Palm Sunday, son! You see, when Jesus came into town, everybody waved these Palm branches to honor him and shouted Hosanna. So we all got Palm Branches today.”
The boy was upset because he missed the celebration and he said, “Just my luck, dad! The one Sunday I miss is the Sunday that Jesus shows up!”
Jesus will show up when we shout Hosanna as a proclamation, praise and prayer.
This week we continue our series on words of Praise and their origin and meaning by examining Hosanna. The Hebrew phrase Hosanna only appears once in the Old Testament in Psalm 118 as “Save us now”. Interestingly, the Hebrew translation yasha’na uses the same Hebrew root word as the name Savoir for Jesus – yasha. Thus, we see in Psalms this plea for deliverance or salvation, and the immediate answer is of a Savior.
Hosanna is transliterated (Greek spelling of the Hebrew word) in the New Testament from the original Hebrew words.In the New Testament, The setting for the usage of the word on that blessed Palm Sunday is especially important. Josephus the Jewish historian, reports that over three million people were in and around the Jerusalem that day. In week(s) leading up to Palm Sunday when Jesus came into the city to celebrate with the others, He had resurrected Lazarus and done many great miracles around the city. At this point in His mission, the people and the city were abuzz and in awe of what He had done. They had a three-fold purpose for saying Hosanna:
Proclamation
Jesus never pursued praise and preferred to avoid it, because He knew it would only incite the religious rulers. He wanted to wait until it was time. Now, was the time! In our lives, the time to proclaim Him as Savior of our soul is now as well. Proclaim loud and proud that He Reigns and repent because He is coming back soon and very soon.
Praise
I imagine the crowd’s contagious praise rattled buildings near and far. For the Jews, the term Hosanna was a familiar refrain because the seventh day of Tabernacles was the “Hosanna Day.” Notably, the crowd at Jerusalem praised Jesus for the right purpose but the wrong reason. The purpose of their praise was correct because they identified that He was worthy of praise and is the Son of David, the King of Kings and their Savior. However, the reason they praised Him was that they thought He would deliver them from Rome right away. Today as we praise God, our purpose and reason should be on point. We purposefully praise Him to lift up His name as our Lord and Savior. We also rationally recognize that He is our provider, protector and keeper of all His promises.
Prayer
Within their gleeful proclamation and zealous praise, the people also echoed a fervent prayer for Jesus to let His Kingdom come. They beckoned for an invocation of blessing. Bless us now Lord and Thank You for saving my soul!
Now, we shout Hosanna to proclaim Him as Savior and Lord of our lives. We shout Hosanna to praise His love that can never be fathomed; His peace that can never be broken; His joy that can never be soured; His hope that can never be disappointed. We shout Hosanna in prayer that He continues to give us strength and guidance to follow His Word each day.” [some phrases borrowed from H. G. Bosch]
As C. H. Spurgeon says, “May this day be to your spirits a day of palms and psalms, of prayers and praises, of Hallelujahs and Hosannas.”
Questions:
1.Discover –
A. What gets us enthusiastic enough to shout and praise?
2.Develop –
A. Most of us have learned the acronym A.C.T.S for praying A-Adoration, C-Confession, T-Thanksgiving, S-Supplication. How can you biggie sizing the “A’ in your prayer session to give God the proper amount of time in Hosanna Praise?
3.Demonstrate –
A. Review the below acrostic and pray about share it with your Prayer Partner or group. Would you change or update anything within it?
Reprinted from Robert Morgan – interesting acrostic for “Hosanna” which summarizes the various elements of worship and praise to the Lord…
H — Heart. Real worship must bubble up from a sincere heart.
O — Offering. Worship should be rendered sacrificially as an offering. The Bible talks about the sacrifice of praise.
S — Singing. Worship in the Bible was often accompanied by song.
A — Appreciation. Real worship involves thanksgiving and gratitude.
N — Now. Every moment of life is an opportunity for praise.
N — New. The Bible tells us to sing to the Lord a new song. This means that our worship should always be fresh. Every time we sing to Him, it should be as though we were singing that song for the first time.
A — Adoration. Only those who are in deepest love with Jesus can richly worship Him.
