{Prayer}
So as you can tell, today is Palm Sunday. Today is the day in which commemorate or celebrate Jesus’ great procession into Jerusalem at the beginning of Holy Week. It’s called Palm Sunday simply because the people used palm branches to welcome and honor Jesus as He entered into the city. John tells us that the many people in Jerusalem “took palm branches and went out to meet him shouting, ‘Hosanna!’ ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!’ ‘Blessed is the King of Israel!’” (12:13). Other accounts of this event tell us that the people spread the palm branches on the road before Jesus to honor him (Matt. 21:8; Mark 11:8).
So what is the significance of palm branches for the entering into Jerusalem? Well, almost two hundred years before this event, palm branches had become associated with triumphal celebrations. In 164 B.C., palm branches were used to celebrate the rededication of the temple which had been occupied by enemies but now was reclaimed by the Jews. In 141 B.C., the Jews celebrated victory over their enemies by honoring their liberator, Simon the Maccabee. They did so with the waving of palm branches. The palm branch had become a symbol of Jewish nationalism in the centuries leading up to the ministry of Christ. So at this event, at Jesus’ triumphal ride into Jerusalem, the people use palm branches to signal their hope that a new liberator had arrived.
If we take this event and place into today’s time, we might compare the Palm Sunday event to a celebration parade in a big city. It might look like a victory parade following the successful conclusion of a war, with military bands marching while confetti and ticker tape or streamers float from the sky. Or it might look like the victory celebration of an athletic team which has just won the national championship, such as the Kansas City Chiefs with their recent Super Bowl win or a hockey team like the St. Louis Blues when the won the Stanley Cup in 2019. People from all over gather to celebrate their heroes and to rejoice in their team’s victory.
In the ancient world, triumphal processions were also quite impressive. The conquering general would lead the parade in a golden chariot pulled by strong stallions straining at the reins. He would be dressed in a royal robe and would smile with great satisfaction over his military forces. This lead warrior would be followed up by his officers in polished armor, who would be followed by the ranks of soldiers carrying banners and flags. Last of all would come the captives of the conquered land pulling the wagons filled with the spoils of war. All the while, the crowds lining the street called out “Hail!” to their heroes. The message of this pomp and ceremony is very clear … the victors deserve the glory for their military conquest.
But the triumphal entry which took place on that first Palm Sunday in Jerusalem looked very different than that. The center of attention was not a conquering general but an ordinary looking man dressed in everyday clothes, in the dirty ragged clothes of a commoner. Far from riding in a chariot or on a strong stallion, Jesus sat on a borrowed young donkey with a borrowed cloak as a saddle. Luke’s gospel tells us that as he approached the city, Jesus began to weep bitterly. Instead of celebrating a national victory, Jesus foretells the future demise of Jerusalem (Luke 19:41-44). Those who welcomed Jesus into the city were the blind, the lame, and little children who sing songs to him. The crowd lining the street don’t cry out “Hail to the Chief!” but rather “Hosanna!” which means “save us!”
Just picture this parade. A sorrowful, weeping figure rides in on a lowly donkey followed by a disorganized array of lowly folk. Can you have any more of a dramatic contrast with that of the grand military processions of Rome?
What is the meaning of this unconventional procession? What is the message behind this pathetic parade? It communicates that although Jesus is a king … He is unlike any of the other kings of the world. He comes not in military power and conquest, but rather He comes in humility and compassion. His weeping indicates that this is a pathway to sorrow and sacrifice.
Why is Jesus entering the city? Ironically, it’s to accomplish the very thing the people are crying for. The crowds call out “Hosanna!” meaning “save us!” And Jesus has come to do that very thing, to save them. He comes to bring salvation. He comes to sacrifice His life at the city where ritual sacrifices are made. He has come at Passover to offer up His life as the ultimate fulfillment of the Passover sacrifice. Jesus comes to save humanity from its ultimate enemies of sin, death, and hell.
The palm procession took place on the Sunday of that Holy Week. But there would be another procession which would take place five days later on that Friday. Again, the focus is on Jesus, but this time He is not carried by a donkey, but rather He is doing the carrying. Jesus bears the burden of a heavy wooden cross. He wears only the lacerations of a brutal scourging and a crown of thorns. This time He isn’t going into the city of Jerusalem but is rather going out of it. He is going to Golgotha; He’s going to the place of execution. There are soldiers in this procession, but they serve as Jesus’ executioners. Along this path there are many tears from the women, for it is the Via Dolorosa, the way of sorrows. Yet Jesus, who had wept for Jerusalem when he entered it, now sets his face on where he needs to go as he exits it. His face is set to meet his death. Instead of the shouts of “Hosanna!”, the crowd cries out “Crucify Him!” It’s quite a different procession on Friday compared to that of the previous Sunday.
And what is the meaning of Friday’s procession? What is the message of this journey to crucifixion? It is that Jesus will not save Himself but that He gives Himself up as a sacrifice to save others, to save the world, to save you and me. He is the sacrificial Lamb who gives His life as a ransom for many. Sunday’s cry of “Hosanna!” is fulfilled in Friday’s cry of “It is finished!” Palm Sunday’s summons to “Save us!” is accomplished in Good Friday’s sacrifice that brings salvation.
Palm Sunday is not only an event of the past … it is also a promise for the future. The Bible envisions a day in which people from all over the world will one day honor the One who died and rose for them with palm branches in their hands. John writes in Revelation 7, “After this I looked and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people, and language, standing before the throne and in front of the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands. And they cried out in a loud voice ‘Salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!’” (7:9-10).
It’s because of the Lamb who was slain that we have salvation. It’s because Jesus went the way of the cross for us that we have been rescued from sin. It’s because our Lord died the death we deserve that we will now live eternally.
Today, on this Palm Sunday, we too cry out “Hosanna! Save us!” Because Jesus walked the path from Jerusalem to the cross for us and then rose from the dead, he did that so that one day, we will join with those in heaven to cry out: “Salvation belongs to our God!” And when we do, we will be holding palm branches in our hands to honor the One who has saved us eternally. Amen.
The peace of God, which surpasses all human understanding, guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus our Lord, now and forever. Amen.
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