Hosanna
Daily Devotion for Holy Week | Palm Sunday, April 14
Out of the mouth of infants and nursing babies You have prepared praise.
Matthew 21:16
After Jesus cleared the temple of the people who were selling animals, people who were blind or lame started coming to Him there to be healed. There were little children in the temple that day, too, probably there with their parents to worship. The little ones began shouting praise to Jesus: “Hosanna to the Son of David!”
This got the religious leaders upset. “Do You hear what they’re saying?” they asked Jesus. Apparently they wanted Him to stop the children. But Jesus quoted from the book of Psalms, asking, “Have you never read, ‘Out of the mouth of infants and nursing babies You have prepared praise’?”
The second “You” Jesus mentioned is God Himself, who has called even babies and children to praise Him. It seems strange that God would want praise from the weakest and lowliest of people—from children. But He does. He treasures it. In God’s eyes, “the last will be first, and the first last” (Matthew 20:16).
This is good news for us, too, because if we admit the truth about ourselves, we are just as weak and lowly as little children are. More, perhaps, because we are more experienced in wickedness. We may have more years than they do, but we have not used those years wisely. We desperately need a Savior.
And so with the little children we cry out “Hosanna!” The word “hosanna” has become an expression of praise, but in Hebrew it literally means, “Please save us.” Jesus hears our cry. Through His suffering, death, and resurrection, He has become our Savior. And now we cry out in glad joy, praising Him along with the children—and with all creation.
THE PRAYER
Lord God, we praise You for being our Savior. Amen.
REFLECTION QUESTIONS
- What is the most recent thing you recall praising God for?
- Can you recall a time when you were deeply impressed by a child’s praise or words about God? If so, tell the story.
- Why do you think praise is part of what Christians do?
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About These Devos
PEOPLE OF THE PASSION Lenten Devotions 2019
Centuries before Christ, God was preparing the way for His Son’s arrival. From mankind’s original sin through the children of Israel’s on-again, off-again obedience, God was faithful, honoring His promise to Eve (Genesis 3:15), which first pointed to Jesus. In People of the Passion, we see God working through the lives of ordinary people to achieve His ultimate aim: our salvation. There are prophets, priests, and kings, servants, soldiers, and civilians—each with a role in the high drama of Christ’s passion. Readers may see themselves in some of these people—ordinary individuals who, like us, need a Savior.
Lutheran Hour Ministries (LHM) is a Christian outreach ministry supporting churches worldwide in its mission of Bringing Christ to the Nations—and the Nations to the Church.