Expositor's Bible Commentary Commentary Mark 11:9

"And they that went before, and they that followed, cried, Hosanna; Blessed [is] he that cometh in the name of the Lord:" — Mark 11:9 (ASV)

“Hosanna” (GK 6057) literally means “save now,” but it had become simply an exclamation of praise. “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord” is an accurate quotation of Ps 118:26, one of the Hallel Psalms (Pss 113– 18), which were used liturgically at the feasts of Tabernacles and Passover. This quotation was a customary religious greeting or blessing pronounced on pilgrims who had come to Jerusalem for the feast. Mark, however, seems to imply a messianic fulfillment of this passage in Jesus. In v.10, the kingdom blessed is the “kingdom of our father David,” clearly the messianic kingdom promised to David’s son.