8 Most of the crowd spread their coats in the road, and others were cutting branches from the trees and spreading them in the road. 9 The crowds going ahead of Him, and those who followed, were shouting, “Hosanna to the Son of David; Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord; Hosanna in the highest!” 10 When He had entered Jerusalem, all the city was stirred, saying, “Who is this?” 11 And the crowds were saying, “This is the prophet Jesus, from Nazareth in Galilee.”
Word had gotten out, something big was about to happen! Prophetic hopes were stoked to a near fever pitch. The reception Jesus received along the way to Jerusalem from the Mt. of Olives was surprisingly large. Although the NASB translation renders verse 8 as, “Most of the crowd…,” it has been better translated, “A very large crowd,” by other English translations—the emphasis being on the overwhelming size of those meeting Christ. The fickle crowd which had abandoned Jesus before because of His hard sayings (see John 6:66) was now out in force in support of Him—at least for the moment.
The people apparently saw this as the beginning of the consummation of long standing prophecies to Israel, pointing to the restoration to full prominence in the world. Soon all the nations would go up to Jerusalem to celebrate the Feast of Booths in worship of the “King, the Lord of Hosts” (Zechariah 14:16). So, the people in celebration and preparation put branches down in the road and laid their coats across the path that Jesus was taking. That feast was a Jewish celebration marking the time when their ancestors set up temporary shelters after leaving Egypt before entering the promised land. For 40 years, while they had lived in huts made of tree branches, God provided for them. That experience was to be celebrated while in the land of promise as a reminder of their wilderness wanderings. Zechariah’s prophecy foretold that the Feast of Booths would also be celebrated in the restored kingdom. No wonder the people brought branches and laid them down before the Lord—they were expecting wonderful things, things they had hope for and dreamed of all their lives. God was about to act in a decisive way!
Their exclamation was taken fromPsalm 118:25-26. The term “hosanna” is transliterated from the Hebrew word and means, “O Lord, save!” This Psalm had probably, by that time, become a regular part of the Jewish liturgy and connoted Messianic expectations. Further, the crowd called Him the “Son of David,” another reference to Messiah.
Every messianic expectation was now at the point of realization.
Lord, as I consider that You will one day return again as King, help me to live in anticipation with faithfulness and loyalty to You.
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