What is the meaning of hosanna in the highest?

Answer

The phrase “Hosanna in the highest” appears only twice in the Bible, once in Matthew and again in Mark, during the triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem. The people were crowded around the gate watching Jesus enter the city, celebrating and calling out, “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!” «And the multitudes that went before, and that followed, cried, saying, Hosanna to the Son of David: Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord; Hosanna in the highest. », (Matthew 21:9, ESV). Mark 11:10 records the crowd saying, “Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David! Hosanna in the highest!” (ESV). The NIV translates their shout as “Hosanna in the highest heaven!”

The word “hosanna” comes from a Hebrew word meaning “save now” or “save us, we pray.” The first word of Psalm 118:25 is “hoshiya-na,” translated as “Save us!” and the crowd’s use of this word at the triumphal entry was significant—especially as they waved palm branches (Psalm 118 was associated with the Feast of Tabernacles). By saying “hosanna” as Jesus passed through the gates of Jerusalem and referring to David and David’s kingdom, the Jews were acknowledging Jesus as their Messiah. The Jews had been waiting a long time for the fulfillment of the Davidic Covenant (2 Samuel 7;1 Chronicles 17:11-14;2 Chronicles 6:16), and their shouts of “hosanna in the highest” indicated the hope that their Messiah had finally come to set up God’s kingdom then and there see Luke 19:11.

By saying “in the highest,” the crowd was invoking heaven’s blessing on them and the salvation that the Messiah was bringing. The phrase also echoes the song of the angels in Luke.E 2:14: “Glory to God in the highest” (ESV). To rephrase the exclamations of the crowd: “Rescue us, our Messiah, who arrives to fulfill God’s purpose! Deliver us, we implore you, as you ascend to your rightful throne and offer heaven’s deliverance to us!”

Regrettably, the deliverance sought by the people of Jerusalem on that day was political, not spiritual. They were solely concerned with a temporary, worldly realization of the messianic predictions. They opted to overlook the prophecies foretelling that the Messiah would be “a man of sorrows” who would carry the burdens of His people and be crushed for their transgressions. His suffering and death were clearly foretold in Isaiah 53. Indeed, Jesus was the awaited Messiah, and He acknowledged their cries of “hosanna in the highest.” He was truly Immanuel, God with us, as stated in Isaiah 7:14. However, the political triumph and ultimate fulfillment of the Davidic Covenant must await His second coming, as referenced in Acts 1:11; Zechariah 14:4; Matthew 24:30; Titus 2:13. Before addressing the political issues of His people, Jesus had to address the issue of sin.

While the crowd shouted “hosanna in the highest,” they were unaware of its true significance. Jesus had come to rescue, as mentioned in Luke 19:10, but not in the manner they anticipated. “Without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness,” as Hebrews 9:22 states. Their cr

Desires for deliverance and their insistence that it arrive “now” were met with the cross. God offered a spiritual deliverance from the captivity of sin, purchased at a significant price by the Lord Jesus. However, the wonderful outcomes of that deliverance reach into eternity and surpass by far any fleeting advantages we might encounter in this world.