John 12:12-13 – “The next day a great multitude that had come to the feast, when they heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem, ¹³took 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!”

Hosanna is a Greek transliteration of the Aramaic hoshanna which means “to save, rescue or help.” It can also be translated “salvation has come.” To many of the Jews, the Hebrew word itself explains what palm branches meant to them: “We give to you our hearts.”

This makes me think of the worship song that includes the chorus, “Lord, I give You my heart, I give You my soul, I live for You alone; Every breath that I take, Every moment I'm awake, Lord, have Your way in me.”

The shout of Hosanna expresses the desire to reverentially honor Jesus Christ as Lord. It’s a desire prompted by a love that longs to have their very lives be an expression of their love and worship of Him.

During this season leading up and through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, may we His people, be found singing out of praise, “Hosanna, blessed is He who came in the Name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest,” as in Matthew 21:9.