"Hosannas” Public Praises Series

“Hosannas” Public Praises

The Christian’s Public Praise

Under the preoccupy The Triumphal Entry in the Bible we read, “…the great crowd that had come for the Feast heard that Jesus was on His way to Jerusalem. They took palm branches and went out to meet Him, shouting ‘Hosanna!’ Blessed is he who has come in the name of the Lord!” “Blessed is the King of Israel!” (Mark 11:7-10) In Luke 19: 37 on the Triumphal Entry we read “…the whole multitude of His disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works that they had seen, saying, ‘Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest! The language here is very grand, intended to express a burst of admiration far wider and deeper than ever had been witnessed before. (Jamieson, R., Fausset, A. R., & Brown, D. (1997). Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (Vol. 2, p. 120). Logos Research Systems, Inc.; Keener, C. S. (1993). The IVP Bible background commentary: New Testament (Lk 19:36–37). InterVarsity Press.)

Our focus is the public praises of the people boldly proclaiming Jesus! I would propose to you that if there was any time when shouts of Hosannas should be raised, it is now. For Jesus Christ is still the Savior of the world and He is coming as the King to rule and reign over all who has received Him as their personal Savior and Lord.

A very loud declaration of the reason why Jesus came to earth was proclaimed at our Lord’s triumphal entry. In Jerusalem, Jesus would be wrongfully treated, brutally beaten, and experience the sting of death. While in Jerusalem, Jesus proclaimed beyond any question that He was the Pascal Lamb of God. And what a better place? Jerusalem was the capital of Palestine and the temple itself was there. Jerusalem was the hub and center of Jewish life and worship. In the temple was where the sacrifices were to be made. Therefore, Jerusalem was the place where Jesus would give His life as payment for the sins of the world. Just a few days earlier, our Lord had stated the reason for coming to earth; “For the Son of Man came to seek and save what was lost.” (Luke. 19:10) The word “Hosanna” means “save us now.” The crowd along the road was literally proclaiming the purpose of Jesus’ coming, knowingly or unknowingly God was using them to declare a truth which affects people’s lives for eternity. No doubt many of them had the wrong perspective on Jesus coming at that time, yet still God was proclaiming, the Son of God had come to save people from their sins. Regardless of where the people’s heart was at – a loud proclamation was made and everyone around them knew who was being praised.

The fact is, the Jesus who rode on the colt of the donkey, who worked the miracles, who healed the sick and raised the dead, is the same Jesus today. He still intervenes in the lives of people today. He is still capable of doing miracles, heal the sick, and he has raised many from the dead spiritually, to eternal life making them born again. God has given many a fresh clean start, because of what Christ did on the Cross of Calvary.

The mission of Christians is to publicly praise Jesus just as clearly as the people on the road did at the triumphal entry of Christ at Jerusalem. God has given Christians the privilege to praise Jesus in spoken word, printed word, or words in a song and especially in how you live your life under His guiding hand. Peter reminds us of what we are to do. He writes; “But you are a chosen people a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of Him who called you out of the darkness into His wonderful light.” (1 Peter 2:9)

In what ways can we praise Christ publicly?

1.) Put in a good word for Jesus. When the Lord brings someone into your life who is overcome by sin, you can tell that person, how Jesus will not only forgive repentant sin, but He can also cleanse their hearts of that sin. And by the power of the Spirit of Christ, He can break the dominion of all sin in a person’s life.

2.) You can say good things about Jesus, and tell what he has done for you. Remember what Jesus told the demon possessed man, of who He had cast out many demons. “Return home and tell how much God has done for you.” (Luke 8:29) It is exciting to tell people how God had delivered you from yourself, the world view, and the devil had on you.