John 12:12-16 (NIV)

 ^{Hosanna! We Celebrate Jesus our Savior-King}

¹² The next day the great crowd that had come for the Feast heard that Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem.  ¹³ They took palm branches and went out to meet him, shouting, "Hosanna!" "Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!" "Blessed is the King of Israel!"  ¹⁴ Jesus found a young donkey and sat upon it, as it is written, ¹⁵ "Do not be afraid, O Daughter of Zion; see, your king is coming, seated on a donkey's colt."  ¹⁶ At first his disciples did not understand all this. Only after Jesus was glorified did they realize that these things had been written about him and that they had done these things to him

The word Hosanna is from the Hebrew, which the New Testament writers did not translate, and also the English Bible translators have not translated it. In Hebrew it is Hoshiya na!" which means “ Save me, please” or “save now!” In the Old Testament, it was a cry of anticipation. It was a longing for a savior. But when the people saw Jesus, it was no longer anticipation; their savior-king was there. It was no longer “save us now!” but it was salvation is here! Salvation is here! Here comes Israel’s king! Imagine that excitement. They had been without a king for over 400 years. They had had no one to lead them to battles, no one to grant them favors, no one to protect them against their enemies.

The Bible lets us know that scriptures were being fulfilled: verse 15 "Do not be afraid, O Daughter of Zion; see, your king is coming, seated on a donkey's colt." At last your king is coming, you savior, your messiah. Hosanna!

But more that their political and social wellbeing, Jesus had come to deliver the people from their spiritual bondage. His mission was to restore the broken relationship between humanity and God. It is still His mission today.

I would like to invite you today to sing with the heavens, “Hosanna” to King Jesus. Salvation – our salvation is here! We do not only cry save us! We say thank you for saving us. You’re our Messiah our true deliverer. We renounce our false hopes; our false messiahs. Things that the world thinks can save us whether it’s money, science, politics, relationships, even counterfeit spirituality. Anything that is not You. Only You are our savior. Hosanna, blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. We can cry out to him and he will deliver us. He will deliver us from our sin and problems.

He wants that broken relationship with God restored. He will certainly respond to all our needs, our pains, our fears. When we call on his name, He hears us and answers us. May see and experience Jesus for who he is.  Hosanna; salvation is here!