What does Hosanna mean?

JOHN 12 BIBLE STUDY ◄
John 12:8-11 Jesus And The Poor

John 12:12-15 What Does Hosanna Mean?

JOHN 12:12-13 12 The next day a great multitude that had come to the feast, when they heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem, 13 took branches of palm trees and went out to meet Him, and cried out: “Hosanna! ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!’ The King of Israel!”

Who was this "great multitude" (John 12:12) and why did it go out to meet Jesus?
They were the people who had come to Jerusalem for the Passover "feast" (John 12:12). Since Jerusalem was only 1.7 miles (2.7 kilometers) from Bethany, the word had spread that the man who had the power to raise the dead is coming to town, so they went out to welcome Him, crying out, "Hosanna!" (John 12:13).

What does Hosanna mean?
"Hosanna" means, “Save us!”

What did the "branches of palm trees" (John 12:13) that they "took" signify in those days?
Victory and conquest.

What did they call Jesus?
"The King of Israel!" (John 12:13)

So, as what are they welcoming Jesus?
A military leader who will save them by defeating the occupying Roman army and become the new king of Israel.

JOHN 12:14-15 14 Then Jesus, when He had found a young donkey, sat on it; as it is written: 15 “Fear not, daughter of Zion; behold, your King is coming, sitting on a donkey’s colt.”

On what do military leaders ride into town?
Stallions.

What's peculiar about the scene above?
Jesus is riding in on a baby donkey.

Why?
To express that instead of being a military leader for Israel, He is the prophesied "King" of "peace" for the "earth": " 9 Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your King is coming to you; He is just and having salvation, lowly and riding on a donkey, a colt, the foal of a donkey. 10 I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim and the horse from Jerusalem; the battle bow shall be cut off. He shall speak peace to the nations; His dominion shall be ‘from sea to sea, and from the River to the ends of the earth’ " (Zechariah 9:9-10).

How many days before the Passover did this take place?
John 12:1 says "Then, six days before the Passover, Jesus came to Bethany," and John 12:12 says, "The next day ...," so this happened five days before the Passover.

What did the people do five days before the first ever Passover?
They picked the lamb "without blemish" (Exodus 12:5) to be sacrificed. See Passover.

From a spiritual perspective, what was the multitude doing?
Unbeknownst to them, they were picking Jesus as their sinless sacrificial Passover lamb.