Messiah in Yom HaBikkurim Chapter 111
Miracle #41. Many healed in Jerusalem.
- The Fortieth Miracle of Messiah
- The Eleventh Corporate Miracle of Messiah
- Usage in Jewish Tradition
- Hosanna over the centuries
- The Deeper Significance: Institutional Defiance
- The Sukkot-Pesach Connection
- The Pesach Connection
The Forty-first Miracle of Messiah:
Mattai 21:14-17
וַיִּגְּשׁוּ אֵלָיו עִוְרִים וּפִסְחִים בַּמִּקְדָּשׁ וַיִּרְפָּאֵם׃ וַיְהִי כִּרְאוֹת רָאשֵׁי הַכֹּהֲנִים וְהַסּוֹפְרִים אֵת הַנִּפְלָאוֹת אֲשֶׁר עָשָׂה וְאֵת הַיְלָדִים הַצֹּעֲקִים בַּמִּקְדָּשׁ וְאֹמְרִים הוֹשַׁע־נָא לְבֶן־דָּוִד וַיִּחַר לָהֶם׃ וַיֹּאמְרוּ אֵלָיו הֲשֹׁמֵעַ אַתָּה אֶת־אֲשֶׁר אֹמְרִים אֵלֶה וַיֹּאמֶר יֵשׁוּעַ אֲלֵיהֶם שֹׁמֵעַ אָנֹכִי הֲכִי לֹא קְרָאתֶם מִפִּי עוֹלֲלִים וְיוֹנְקִים יִסַּדְתָּ עֹז׃ וַיַּעַזְבֵם וַיֵּצֵא אֶל־מִחוּץ לָעִיר אֶל־בֵּית־עָנְיִי וַיָּלֶן שָׁם׃
נִגְּשׁוּ אֵלָיו עִוְרִים וּפִסְחִים בְּבֵית הַמִּקְדָּשׁ וְהוּא רִפֵּא אוֹתָם. כִּרְאוֹת רָאשֵׁי הַכֹּהֲנִים וְהַסּוֹפְרִים אֶת הַנִּפְלָאוֹת אֲשֶׁר עָשָׂה וְאֶת הַיְלָדִים הַצּוֹעֲקִים בַּמִּקְדָּשׁ, “הוֹשַׁע־נָא לְבֶן־דָּוִד!”, נִתְמַלְּאוּ כַּעַס וְאָמְרוּ לוֹ: “אַתָּה שׁוֹמֵעַ מַה שֶּׁאֵלֶּה אוֹמְרִים?” הֵשִׁיב לָהֶם יֵשׁוּעַ: “כֵּן, הַאִם מֵעוֹדְכֶם לֹא קְרָאתֶם, ‘מִפִּי עוֹלְלִים וְיוֹנְקִים יִסַּדְתָּ עֹז’?” לְאַחַר מִכֵּן עָזַב אוֹתָם וְיָצָא אֶל מִחוּץ לָעִיר, אֶל בֵּית עַנְיָה, וְלָן שָׁם. פ
The blind and lame approached him (Yeshua) in the Temple, and he healed them. When the chief priests (kohanim) and scholars (soferim) saw the wonders he performed and the children crying out in the Temple and saying, “Hoshea-na (הוֹשַׁע־נָא-Save [Israel] now!) to the [Messiah] ben David!” they became filled with anger. They said to him, “Do you hear what they are saying?” Yeshua said to them, “I hear it. Have you never read, ‘From the mouths of children and nursing infants you have founded (established) strength?’ He left them, went outside the city to *Beit-Ani (Bethany), and spent the night there.”
*Beit-Ani (בֵּית־עָנְיִי) near Jerusalem, in Aramaic means “House of My Misery, Affliction, and Poverty.” This village previously known to be a sanctuary for lepers was the home of Lazarus, Miryam, Marta, and Shim’on the Leper (שִׁמְעוֹן הַמְצֺרָע). The Messiah raised Lazarus from the dead and he healed many who were afflicted with leprosy. This village of the House of My Misery, Affliction, and Poverty testifies to th spiritual plight of all of us. For according to Moses, the prophets, and the Messiah Yeshua our entire human race suffers from a spiritual condition of impurity (leprosy), poverty, and death due to the fact that we have “all sinned” come short of the moral perfection that is required by God. Fortunately, this universal condition of sin and our estrangement from God can only be remedied by the redemptive help of His Messiah Yeshua (יֵשׁוּעַ-“Salvation of Adonai”).
The Eleventh Corporate Miracle of Messiah:
Today’s corporate miracle of “Many healed in Jerusalem,” is the Eleventh corporate miracle of Twelve corporate miracle events (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12) that occur in the testimony and witness of the 7 Signs and 50 Miracles of Messiah. The number Twelve is a symbol of the “governance” of the nation of Israel and its people and “everything” else that exists in creation.
In this passage, right after cleansing the Temple, Yeshua opens the doors to the blind and the lame and heals them. This event serves as his last corporate miracle before his resurrection. Rabbi Yeshua’s final 12th corporate miracle occurs on the day of his resurrection: For on that very day (kedoshim) many holy ones were resurrected as well.
A Public, Mass Demonstration: Unlike private miracles performed for individuals or small groups, this took place out in the open, in the crowded Temple courts during Passover week.
Community-Wide Transformation: Yeshua did not just cure physical ailments; he systematically restored a marginalized corporate group (the disabled) to their community, identity, and dignity.
Save us Now: The corporate nature of the miracle is proved by its immediate effect: it prompts an outbreak of public, corporate worship from children shouting, “Hosanna to the Son of David!”
Hoshiah: Hosanna comes from the Hebrew phrase Hoshiah na (הוֹשִׁיעָה נָּא) found in the Tanakh. It breaks down into two parts: Hoshiah – This comes from the root verb yasha, which means to save, rescue, deliver, or liberate:
The name Yeshua comes from this exact same root verb.
Na: This is a particle of entreaty, translating to “please,” “we pray,” or “now,” adding urgency to the request.
Usage in Jewish Tradition:
Sukkot and Hoshannot: In traditional Judaism, forms of the word (Hoshana) are prominently used during the fall festival of Sukkot.
The Willow Branches: During the daily synagogue processions called Hoshannot, worshippers circle the reading platform while holding the lulav (palm branch, myrtle, and willow) and etrog (citron), chanting poetic prayers that explicitly ask God for deliverance, rain, and help.
A Plea, Not a Cheer: In its original Jewish context, hosanna is never a casual greeting or a joyful cheer like “hooray”; it remains an earnest, emotional prayer for divine intervention and rescue.
Hosanna over the centuries:
The Cry of Sukkot: In Psalm 118:25, the writer cries out, “Save us, we pray, O Lord!” During the Jewish festival of Sukkot (the Feast of Booths), the people would march around the altar waving branches while chanting this psalm. Over time, the branches themselves and the specific day of the festival became known as Hoshanas.
The Brit Ha Chadasha Transition: By the time Yeshua entered Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, the word had shifted from a desperate cry for help into a joyful shout of expectation. As crowds lined the streets waving palm branches, they shouted, “Hosanna to the Son of David!.” They were both begging for deliverance from Roman rule and celebrating Yeshua as the long-awaited Messiah King who had finally arrived to answer that prayer.
The Deeper Significance: Institutional Defiance
To fully grasp why this mass healing shook Jerusalem, it helps to contrast what Yeshua did with the religious status quo of the day.
The Ultimate Impact: By performing this corporate miracle inside the Temple area, Yeshua was effectively redefining the Temple itself. He bypassed the chief priests, overrode their exclusionary rules, and demonstrated that the presence of the Messiah brings ultimate access to God.
The Sukkot-Pesach Connection:
Palm Sunday. This is deeply rooted in both Pesach and Sukkot, serving as a plea for the global fulfillment of the former and a “praise” for the spiritual redemption of the latter. While the events historically took place right before Pesach the crowd’s actions and prayers borrowed heavily from the messianic hope and faith that is rooted in the observance of Sukkot.
The Pesach Connection:
The Habesorot (הַבְּשׂוֹרֹות), Goood News (Gospels), place Yeshua’s triumphal entry into Jerusalem during the run-up to Pesach, one of the three major Jewish pilgrimage festivals.
The Timeline: [Sunday, Nisan 9] On this date Yeshua entered Jerusalem alongside hundreds of thousands of Jewish pilgrims traveling to the Temple to celebrate God’s deliverance of Israel from Egypt.
The Pesach Sacrifice: The entry set the stage for Holy Week, culminating in Yeshua’s last supper (a Passover Seder) and his subsequent crucifixion [Friday, *Nisan 14], which fulfills the ultimate meaning of the Pesach sacrifice.
*Hebrew Year 3790 (30 C.E.)