Hosanna and Hallelujah—The Living Jesus Christ:

12 ¶ "On the next day much people that were come to the (Passover)feast, 

when they heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem,

13 took branches of palm trees, 

and went forth to meet him, 

and cried, 

Hosanna: Blessed is the King of Israel 

that cometh in the name of the Lord.

14 And Jesus, when he had found a young ass, sat thereon; 

as it is written,

15 Fear not, daughter of Sion: 

behold, thy King cometh, 

sitting on an ass’s colt.

16 These things understood not his disciples at the first: 

but when Jesus was glorified, 

then remembered they that these things were written of him, 

and that they had done these things unto him.

John 12:12-16

Palm Sunday

Traditionally, palms are 

a sacred symbol 

to express joy in our Lord, 

as in Christ’s Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem, 

where “much people … took branches of palm trees, 

and went forth to meet him.” 

 In the book of Revelation, 

those who praise God and the Lamb do so 

“clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands.” 

9 After this I beheld, 

and, lo, 

a great multitude, 

which no man could number, 

of all nations,

 and kindreds, 

and people, 

and tongues, 

stood before the throne, 

and before the Lamb,

Revelation 7:9

Of course, 

the significance of Palm Sunday 

goes beyond crowds greeting Jesus with palms. 

On Palm Sunday, 

Jesus entered Jerusalem 

in ways the faithful recognized as 

fulfillment of prophecy. 

As Zechariah and the Psalmist prophetically foretold, 

our Lord entered Jerusalem riding a colt 

as multitudes knowingly cried, 

“Hosanna in the highest.” 

Hosanna means “save now.” 

9 ¶ "Rejoice greatly, 

O daughter of Zion; 

shout, 

O daughter of Jerusalem: 

behold, thy King cometh unto thee: 

he is just, and having salvation; 

lowly, and riding upon an ass, 

and upon a colt the foal of an ass.

Zachariah 9:9

Then, as now, we rejoice, 

“Blessed be he that cometh in the name of the Lord.”

A week following Palm Sunday is Easter Sunday. 

President Russell M. Nelson teaches that 

Jesus Christ

 “came to pay a debt He didn’t owe 

because 

we owed a debt 

we couldn’t pay.” 

Indeed, through the Atonement of Christ, 

all God’s children 

“may be saved, by obedience to the 

laws and ordinances 

of the Gospel.” 

At Easter, we sing hallelujah. 

Hallelujah means “praise ye the Lord Jehovah.” 

The “Hallelujah Chorus” in Handel’s Messiah 

is a beloved Easter declaration that He is 

“King of Kings, and

Lord of Lords.”

The sacred events between Palm Sunday 

and Easter Sunday 

are the story of 

hosanna and hallelujah. 

Hosanna is our plea for God to save. 

Hallelujah expresses our praise to the Lord 

for the hope of salvation and exaltation. 

In hosanna and hallelujah 

we recognize the living Jesus Christ 

as the heart of Easter. 

1 And when they drew nigh unto Jerusalem, 

and were come to Bethphage, 

unto the mount of Olives, 

then sent Jesus two disciples,

2 Saying unto them, 

Go into the village over against you, 

and straightway ye shall find an ass tied, 

and a colt with her: 

loose them, 

and bring them unto me.

3 And if any man say ought unto you, 

ye shall say, The Lord hath need of them; 

and straightway he will send them.

4 All this was done, 

that it might be fulfilled 

which was spoken by the prophet, saying,

5 Tell ye the daughter of Sion, 

Behold, thy King cometh unto thee, meek, 

and sitting upon an ass, 

and a colt the foal of an ass.

6 And the disciples went, 

and did as Jesus commanded them,

7 And brought the ass, and the colt, 

and put on them their clothes, 

and they set him thereon.

8 And a very great multitude 

spread their garments in the way; 

others cut down branches from the trees, 

and strawed them in the way.

9 And the multitudes that went before, 

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.

10 And when he was come into Jerusalem, 

all the city was moved, saying, 

Who is this?

11 And the multitude said, 

This is Jesus the 

prophet of Nazareth of Galilee.

Matthew 21:1-11

All Glory, Laud, and Honor

Text: Theodulph of Orleans
Music: Melchior Teschner

Excerpts from taken the talk:

Hosanna and Hallelujah—The Living Jesus Christ: The Heart of Restoration and Easter

By Elder Gerrit W. Gong

Of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles

2020