The phrase hosanna in the highest appears only twice in the Bible, once in Matthew and once in Mark, during Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem. People were crowding around the gate watching Jesus enter the city, and they were celebrating and shouting, “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!” (Matthew 21:9, NIV). Mark 11:10 records the crowd saying, “Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David! Hosanna in the highest!” (IS V). The NIV translates his cry 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 howosiah-na, translated “Save us!” and the use of this word by the crowd at the triumphal entry was significant, especially when 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 long been awaiting the fulfillment of the Davidic covenant ( 2 Samuel 7 ; 1 Chronicles 17:11–14 ; 2 Chronicles 6:16 ), and their cries of “hosanna in the highest” indicated the hope that their Messiah had finally come to establish the kingdom of God right there (see Luke 19:11).
By saying “on high,” the crowd invoked the blessing of heaven upon them and the salvation brought by the Messiah. The phrase also echoes the angels’ song in Luke 2:14: “Glory to God in the highest” (ESV). Paraphrasing the cries of the crowd: “Save us, our Messiah, who comes to fulfill God’s mission! Save us, we beseech you, as you take your rightful throne and extend to us the salvation of heaven!”
Sadly, the salvation that the people of Jerusalem wanted that day was political, not spiritual. They were only interested in a temporary and worldly fulfillment of messianic prophecies. They chose not to see the prophecies that said the Messiah would be “a man of sorrows” who would bear the pains of his people and be crushed for his sins. His oppression and death were clearly foretold in Isaiah 53. Yes, Jesus was the Messiah they had been waiting for, and he accepted their cries of “hosanna in the highest”. He was truly Immanuel, God with us ( Isaiah 7:14 ). But political conquest and the final fulfillment of David’s Covenant must await the second coming ( Acts 1:11 ; Zechariah 14:4 ; Matthew 24:30 ; Titus 2:13 ). Before Jesus could deal with the political problems of his people, he had to deal with the problem of sin.
As the people shouted “hosanna in the highest”, little did they know what that would actually mean. Jesus had come to save (Luke 19:10), but not in the way they wanted. “Without shedding of blood there is no forgiveness” ( Hebrews 9:22 ). His cries for salvation and his demand that he come “now” were answered with the cross. God provided a spiritual salvation from the bondage of sin, purchased at great cost to the Lord Jesus. But the blessed results of that salvation extend into eternity and far outweigh any temporal benefits we may experience in this world.