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: Blessed is the kingdom that cometh, the kingdom of our father David: Hosanna in the highest.

They that went before, and they that followed ... Here are the two great multitudes, one following Jesus from Bethany, many of them being eyewitnesses of the raising of Lazarus and all of them shouting that fact as they followed, and another coming out from Jerusalem, having heard that the man who raised Lazarus was coming, and hastening out to greet him. Thus, Mark's brief words here give the basic fact of those two great masses of people converging upon Jesus.

The balance of these two verses are rich with messianic implications, the mention of David, so long dead and buried, having no other possible meaning except as a reference to the Son of David, Israel's long-expected Messiah.

For comment upon the fulfillment of Zechariah 9:9, and with regard to many of the spiritual overtones of this wonderful entry, see my Commentary on Matthew, Matthew 21:1-11. No triumphal entry ever known at any time or place could be compared with that of the world's true Light on the last Sunday preceding his resurrection from the dead; and the truly wonderful thing about Jesus' triumph is that it is still going on!

The exclamations of the multitudes hailing Jesus' entry into the city are variously reported by the four gospels: Matthew has "Hosanna to the Son of David; blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord: Hosanna in the highest" (Matthew 21:9); Mark has "Blessed is the kingdom that cometh, the kingdom of our father David: Hosanna in the highest" (Mark 11:9,10); Luke has "Blessed is the King that cometh in the name of the Lord; Hosanna in the highest" Luke 19:38); and John has "Hosanna: Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord, even the King of Israel" (John 12:13). Such accounts are exactly what one should have expected in view of the undeniable truth that such multitudes would have shouted MANY THINGS. The four samplings which have come down to us outline quite clearly the nature and intent of their exclamations. Critics who select the least extensive of these four records and then shout that "this is all that was said by those multitudes" betray not merely their lack of knowing the Scriptures but also their phenomenal ignorance of crowds such as that which hailed the Lord.