Matthew 21:9 - Printer Friendly

ESV: And the crowds that went before him and that followed him were shouting, "Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!"

NIV: The crowds that went ahead of him and those that followed shouted, "Hosanna to the Son of David!" "Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!" "Hosanna in the highest heaven!"

NASB: Now the crowds going ahead of Him, and those who followed, were shouting, 'Hosanna to the Son of David; BLESSED IS THE ONE WHO COMES IN THE NAME OF THE Lord; Hosanna in the highest!'

CSB: Then the crowds who went ahead of him and those who followed shouted: Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest heaven!

NLT: Jesus was in the center of the procession, and the people all around him were shouting, 'Praise God for the Son of David! Blessings on the one who comes in the name of the Lord! Praise God in highest heaven!'

KJV: And the multitudes that went before, and that followed, cried, saying, Hosanna to the Son of David: Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord; Hosanna in the highest.

NKJV: Then the multitudes who went before and those who followed cried out, saying: “Hosanna to the Son of David! ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!’ Hosanna in the highest!”

Matthew paints a vivid scene. Jesus, riding on a donkey into Jerusalem (Zechariah 9:9), is followed by a great crowd that has travelled the road with Him toward the city for Passover. People already in the city have heard that Jesus is coming, and another crowd emerges to meet Him as He enters (John 12:12–13).

It's a celebration. Matthew has already described how most of the people are taking off their cloaks and putting them in Jesus' path has He rides, as well as spreading branches in the road before Him. This is an act of submission to royalty (2 Kings 9:13). Here, he explains what it sounded like as Jesus made His triumphal entry.

The crowds shout words from Psalm 118:25–26. The word "Hosanna" literally means "save," as it is used in Psalm 118, but it came to be a cry of praise for the One who had done the saving. The crowds call Jesus "the Son of David," which is a name for the promised Messiah (Matthew 1:1). They also shout, "Blessed in he who comes in the name of the Lord!" And "Hosanna in the highest!" from those verses.

Some commentators point out that it is likely these verses were regularly shouted by the people to each other during the Passover season. That may be true, but in this case the words are clearly directed at Jesus, specifically. The following verse shows that the whole city was stirred up because of Him. Some want to know who He is. Others describe Him as the prophet of Nazareth. Still others clearly believed Him to be the Messiah in this moment, though they give up that hope later in the week when Jesus is arrested and condemned instead of taking the throne of Israel and overthrowing the Romans (John 18:4–12).

Matthew 21:1–11 follows Jesus on His final, "triumphal" entry into Jerusalem. He rides on a donkey for the final mile or so to intentionally fulfill a prophecy from Zechariah about the king arriving in Jerusalem. The crowds praise Him as the Messiah, lining His path with branches and their cloaks. They shout out, "Hosanna to the Son of David!" and "Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!" as seen in Psalm 118. The event we now call Palm Sunday stirs up Jerusalem with many people asking who Jesus is.

Jesus fulfills a prophecy from Zechariah about the coming of the king to Jerusalem by riding in on a donkey. The people celebrate and praise Him as the Messiah. Jesus drives the marketers and moneychangers out of the temple and heals some people. He curses a fig tree and tells the disciples nothing will be impossible for them with faith. Jesus forces cowardly and hypocritical religious leaders to back down with a question about John the Baptist. He then exposes their fraudulent spirituality with two parables about vineyards. Jesus applies to Himself a psalm about a rejected stone being made the cornerstone by the Lord.

Matthew 21 finds Jesus arriving near Jerusalem after leaving Jericho in the previous chapter. His triumphal entry is accomplished riding a donkey, and to raucous praise, fulfilling a prophecy about the Messiah. Jesus cleanses the marketplace from the temple, heals, and presents lessons about faith and Israel's failed leadership. This leads into further conversations which Matthew compiles from Jesus' interactions with the Pharisees.

The Gospel of Matthew clearly shows the influence of its writer's background, and his effort to reach a specific audience. Matthew was one of Jesus' twelve disciples, a Jewish man, and a former tax collector. This profession would have required literacy, and Matthew may have transcribed some of Jesus' words as they were spoken. This book is filled with references to the Old Testament, demonstrating to Israel that Jesus is the Promised One. Matthew also includes many references to coins, likely due to his former profession. Matthew records extensive accounts of Jesus' teaching, more than the other three Gospels.