Charles Ellicott Commentary Matthew 21:9

"And the multitudes that went before him, 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." — Matthew 21:9 (ASV)

Hosanna — By comparing the four Gospels, we can understand the full nature of the mingled cries that burst from the multitude.

1. As seen here, Hosanna. The word was a Hebrew imperative, “Save us, we beseech you,” and had come into liturgical use from Psalm 118. That Psalm belonged especially to the Feast of Tabernacles (see Perowne on Psalm 118) and, as such, was naturally associated with the palm branches. The verses from it now chanted by the people are said to have been those with which the inhabitants of Jerusalem were accustomed to welcome the pilgrims who came up to keep the feast. The addition of “Hosanna to the Son of David” made it a direct recognition of the claims of Jesus to be the Christ. The addition of “Hosanna in the highest” claimed that heaven was in accord with earth in this recognition.
2. “Blessed be He that cometh in the name of the Lord” (in St. Luke, it is “the King”). These words, too, received a special personal application. The welcome was now given not to the crowd of pilgrims, but to the King.
3. As in St. Luke, one of the cries was an echo of the angels’ hymn at the Nativity: “Peace on earth, and glory in the highest” (Luke 2:14).
4. As in St. Mark, “Blessed be the kingdom of our father David.”

We must imagine these shouts filling the air as He rode slowly on in silence. He would not check them at the command of the Pharisees (Luke 19:39), but His own spirit was filled with entirely different thoughts than theirs. Those who watched Him saw the tears streaming down His cheeks as He looked on the walls and towers of the city and heard what the crowds clearly did not hear: His lamentation over its coming fall (Luke 19:41).