Jesus Remembered: Christianity in the Making, vol. 1

515.3 Who Did They Think Jesus Was?
Hosanna in
the highest!'
10 And when he
entered Jerusalem, all
the city was stirred,
saying, 'Who is this?'
11 And the crowds
said, 'This is the
prophet Jesus from
Nazareth of Galilee'.
is coming! Hosanna in
the highest!'
11 And he entered
Jerusalem, and went
into the temple; and
when he had looked
round at everything, as
it was already late, he
went out to Bethany
with the twelve.
in heaven and glory in
the highest!'
39 And some of the
Pharisees in the
multitude said to him,
'Teacher, rebuke your
disciples'. 40 He
answered, 'I tell you, if
these were silent, the
very stones would cry
out'.
19 The Pharisees then
said to one another,
'You see that you can
do nothing; look, the
world has gone after
him'.
Despite various doubts to the contrary, it is likely that the episode is rooted in disciples'
memories of Jesus' entry into Jerusalem. (1) Noteworthy are the local details
at the beginning (Bethphage, Bethany, and the Mount of Olives in Mark
11.1). 130 (2) The acclamation itself evidences the characteristics of oral transmission:
the core is constant in all four Gospels ('Blessed is he who comes in the
name of the Lord'), but in each individual performance the core has been elaborated
differently. (3) 'Hosanna' (hosa'-na) is firmly embedded (in John too), but
appears nowhere else in the NT. 131 (4) Mark's account is surprisingly low-key: it
is unclear how many beyond the immediate disciples were involved; 132 the acclamation
is restrained (the other three Evangelists make it an acclamation of 'the
son of David', 'the king'); the details are consistent with Zech. 9.9 but do not
seem to have been derived from it; 133 and the story ends somewhat lamely, without
any implication of a momentous event (as in Matthew) or hostile reaction (as
in Luke and John). 134
So most of the messianic implications in the story belong to the elaborated
130. Taylor characteristically points to these and other features as typical of 'the eyewitness
rather than the artist' (Mark 452); see also Pesch, Markusevangelium 2.187-88.
131. Hosa'-na was a liturgical shout, probably derived from the Hebrew of hosi'a-na =
'save now' (Ps. 118.25); but probably the Aramaic had developed the sense of 'praise', as suggested
by Matthew's usage, echoed also in Did. 10.6 ('Hosanna to the Son of David'), and by
Luke's talk of the disciples' 'praise' while omitting the 'Hosanna' (see further E. Lohse,
'Hosianna', Die Einheit des Neuen Testaments [Göttingen; Vandenhoeck und Ruprecht, 1973]
104-10; Davies and Allison, Matthew 3.124-25).
132. Contrast Matthew — 'the crowds'; John 12.12 — 'the great crowd coming for the
feast'.
133. Contrast Matt. 21.5-7; John 12.14-15.
134. The absence of a formal welcome in contrast to the parallel stories cited by
Catchpole ("Triumphal" Entry' 319-21; Catchpole's treatment is warmly applauded by
Räisänen, Messianic Secret 232-34) calls in question his conclusion that the story has been determined
from the first by later Christology set in the shape of such 'triumphal entry' stories.
See further B. Kinman, Jesus' Entry into Jerusalem in the Context of Lukan Theology and the
Politics of His Day (Leiden: Brill, 1995), conclusions on 173-75. Cf. Witherington: 'it can be
argued that Jesus is simply being accompanied by various pilgrims who are singing the pilgrim
songs, one of which is based on Ps. 118:26ff.' (Christology 104-105).
641