John Calvin Commentary John 12:13

"took the branches of the palm trees, and went forth to meet him, and cried out, Hosanna: Blessed [is] he that cometh in the name of the Lord, even the King of Israel." — John 12:13 (ASV)

Took branches of palm trees. The palm was the emblem of victory and peace among the ancients; but they were accustomed to employ branches of palm trees when they bestowed kingly power on anyone, or when they humbly supplicated the favor of a conqueror. But those persons appear to have taken into their hands branches of palm trees as a token of gladness and rejoicing at receiving a new king.

Shouted, Hosanna. By this phrase they testified that they acknowledged Jesus Christ to be the Messiah, who had anciently been promised to the fathers, and from whom redemption and salvation were to be expected. For Psalm 118:25, from which that exclamation is taken, was composed in reference to the Messiah for this purpose: that all the saints might continually desire and ardently long for his coming, and might receive him with the utmost reverence when he was manifested. It is therefore probable, or rather it may be inferred with certainty, that this prayer was frequently used by the Jews and, consequently, was on everyone's lips; so that the Spirit of God put words into the mouths of those men when they wished the Lord Jesus a prosperous arrival, and they were chosen by him as heralds to attest that Christ had come.

The word Hosanna is composed of two Hebrew words and means, Save, I beseech you. The Hebrews, indeed, pronounce it differently, (הושיע-נא) Hoshianna; but it usually happens that the pronunciation of words is corrupted when they are transferred to a foreign language. Yet the Evangelists, though they wrote in Greek, purposely retained the Hebrew word. They did this to express more fully that the multitude employed the ordinary form of prayer, which was first used by David. This prayer was afterwards, throughout an uninterrupted succession of ages, received by the people of God and peculiarly consecrated for the purpose of blessing the kingdom of the Messiah. To the same purpose are the words which immediately follow: Blessed be the King of Israel, who cometh in the name of the Lord. For this is also a joyful prayer for the happy and prosperous success of that kingdom, on which the restoration and prosperity of the Church of God depended.

But as David appears to speak of himself rather than of Christ in that psalm, we must first of all solve this difficulty; nor will the task be hard. We know for what purpose the kingdom was established in the hands of David and his posterity; its purpose was that it might be a sort of prelude to the everlasting kingdom which was to be manifested at the proper time. And, indeed, it was not necessary that David should confine his attention to himself; and the Lord, by the prophets, frequently commands all the godly to turn their eyes to a different person from David. So then, all that David sang about himself is justly referred to that king who, according to the promise, was to arise from the seed of David to be the redeemer.

But we should derive a profitable admonition from it. For if we are members of the Church, the Lord calls upon us to cherish the same desire He wished believers to cherish under the Law. This desire is that we should wish with our whole heart for the kingdom of Christ to flourish and prosper. Not only so, but we should also demonstrate this by our prayers.

In order to give us greater courage in prayer, we should observe that He prescribes the words to us. Woe then to our slothfulness if we extinguish by our coldness, or quench by indifference, the ardor that God excites. Yet let us know that the prayers which we offer by the direction and authority of God will not be in vain.

Provided that we are not indolent or grow weary in praying, He will be a faithful guardian of His kingdom, defending it by His invincible power and protection.

True, indeed, though we remain drowsy and inactive, the majesty of His kingdom will be firm and sure. But when—as is frequently the case—it is less prosperous than it ought to be, or rather falls into decay, as we perceive it to be fearfully scattered and wasted at the present day, this unquestionably arises from our fault.

And when only a small restoration, or almost none, is to be seen, or when at least it advances slowly, let us ascribe it to our indifference. We daily ask from God that his kingdom may come (Matthew 6:10), but scarcely one in a hundred earnestly desires it. Justly, therefore, are we deprived of the blessing of God, which we are weary of asking.

We are also taught by this expression that it is God alone who preserves and defends the Church, for He does not claim for Himself, or command us to give Him, anything but what is His own.

Since, therefore, while He guides our tongues, we pray that He may preserve the kingdom of Christ, we acknowledge that for this kingdom to remain in a proper state, God Himself is the only bestower of salvation.

He employs, indeed, the labors of men for this purpose, but of men whom His own hand has prepared for the work. Besides, while He makes use of men for advancing or maintaining the kingdom of Christ, still everything is begun and completed through their agency by God alone through the power of His Spirit.

Who cometh in the name of the Lord. We must first understand what is meant by this phrase, to come in the name of the Lord. He who does not rashly put himself forward, or falsely assume the honor, but, being duly called, has the direction and authority of God for his actions, cometh in the name of God. This title belongs to all the true servants of God.

A Prophet who, guided by the Holy Spirit, honestly delivers to men the doctrine which he has received from heaven—cometh in the name of God. A King, by whose hand God governs His people, cometh in the same name.

But as the Spirit of the Lord rested on Christ, and He is the Head of all things (Ephesians 1:22), and all who have ever been ordained to rule over the Church are subject to His authority, or rather, are streams flowing from Him as the fountain, He is justly said to have come in the name of God.

Nor is it only by the high rank of His authority that He surpasses others, but because God manifests Himself to us fully in Him; for in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily, as Paul says (Colossians 2:9), and He is the lively image of God (Hebrews 1:3), and, in short, is the true Immanuel (Matthew 1:23).

It is therefore by a special right that He is said to have come in the name of the Lord, because by Him God has manifested Himself fully, and not partially, as He had formerly done by the Prophets. We ought therefore to begin with Him as the Head when we wish to bless the servants of God.

Now since false prophets arrogantly boast of the name of God and shelter themselves under this false pretense, we ought to supply an opposite clause in the prayer, that the Lord may scatter and utterly destroy them. Thus we cannot bless Christ without cursing the Pope and that sacrilegious tyranny which he has raised up against the Son of God.

He huffs his excommunications against us, indeed, with great violence, as if they were thunderbolts, but they are mere air-bladders, and therefore we ought boldly to despise them. On the contrary, the Holy Spirit here dictates to us a dreadful curse, that it may sink the Pope to the lowest hell, with all his pomp and splendor.

Nor is it necessary that there should be any Bishop or Pontiff to pronounce the curse against him, since Christ at one time bestowed this authority on children, when He approved of their crying in the temple, and saying, Hosanna to the Son of David, as the other Evangelists relate (Matthew 21:15, 16).