Palm Sunday is one of the rare days in the Church Calendar when most churches, regardless of the denomination, manage to get in the spirit of things (at least in my limited Catholic-Presbyterian-Anglican experience). Who doesn’t love a good parade of children waving palm fronds at the beginning of a service? Even Baptists can get on board with that, right? All light-hearted ecumenical banter aside, Palm Sunday, the beginning of Holy Week, and the last Sunday of Lent before the celebration of Easter, traditionally marks the start of the rising action of the drama of Jesus’ final days before the cross (also known as Jesus’ Passion). The waving of palm branches at the beginning of Sunday worship, of course reenacts the Triumphal Entry at the gates of Jerusalem where he is heralded as the long-awaited Messiah. The return of the king.
Yet this event on that Sunday two thousand years ago was no mere accident of history. As we see in what Jesus told Cleopas and an unnamed disciple on the road to Emmaus, all of the scriptures point to him (see Luke 24:13-15). Particularly in the case of the Emmaus walk, “beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he (Jesus) interpreted to them the things written about himself in all the Scriptures” (Luke 24:27, NET). One of those scriptures discussed that day was most certainly Zechariah 9:9-10, which states:
Rejoice greatly, daughter of Zion! Shout, daughter of Jerusalem! Look! Your king is coming to you: He is legitimate and victorious, humble and riding on a donkey—on a young donkey, the foal of a female donkey. I will remove the chariot from Ephraim and the warhorse from Jerusalem, and the battle bow will be removed. Then he will announce peace to the nations. His dominion will be from sea to sea and from the Euphrates River to the ends of the earth. (NET)
All four gospel writers include the Triumphal Entry in their accounts (see Matt 21:1-11, Mark 11:1-11, Luke 19:28-40, and John 12:12-19). With slight variations, each gospel writer shows that Jesus borrows a colt or the foal of a donkey and makes his way into the city of Jerusalem. As he makes his way, people line the street and throw palm branches on the path all while shouting “Hosanna, Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord”, itself a quote from Psalm 118:26. What are the people doing? Only Matthew and John quote from the prophet Zechariah, indicating that this event is a direct fulfillment of prophecy. Yet all four gospel accounts provide the quote from the crowd, shouting “Hosanna” (from Psalm 118). Whether they know it at the moment or not, the people in Jerusalem, that day, certainly believe that Jesus is a king who is making his way into the capital city to reclaim the throne of David. This reclamation, however, will not go as they may think. The way of victory for the son of David will come through suffering and even death. The rightful king of Israel has certainly come to claim his throne, but first he has to come and suffer and die for his people. In just a few short days, another crowd of people in Jerusalem will be shouting, “crucify him!” A stark warning for us all.
The Synoptic Gospels (Matthew, Mark, and Luke) indicate that Jesus’ purpose in coming to Jerusalem that day was more than an announcement of his kingship, but also his lordship. They record for us the cleansing of the temple, where Jesus overturns tables of money changers and swindlers who are taking advantage of God’s people who have come to worship. Jesus himself then quotes from Isaiah 56:7 and Jeremiah 7:11, “It is written, ‘My house will be called a house of prayer,’ but you are turning it into a den of robbers.” The inbreaking kingdom of God that has come as a result of the incarnation, has also reoriented our worship (see John 4:21-26). The gospel of John records this event in John 2:13-22, probably for theological purposes. It is most likely, however, that the event occurs chronologically on Palm Sunday, because it leads to his arrest and crucifixion.
So as we consider Jesus, and as we think about what it looks like to follow him, to believe in him, to have a relationship, ask this question: is he worthy of our worship and praise? Is he worthy of our “Hosanna?”. On the other hand, do we merely see him as a kind of a life coach where he gives us helpful advice? Is he simply a motivational speaker or self help guru, who gives us strategies for a better life, and all we really need to do is dig deeper within, and pull more latent powers and resources out of ourselves to just believe more, or be more disciplined? Or is he our king? Our ruler. When he commands something, it’s not a suggestion, or a negotiation, it’s a command. The king doesn’t share his throne. We either serve him, or we serve something else. Period. Full Stop.
Reflecting again on the prophecy from Zechariah one interesting fact about this messianic prophecy is the name of the prophet himself. I hope this is not getting too deep into the weeds, but allow me a moment to explain. The Hebrew name is Zechariah means, “The LORD/Yahweh remembers.” Let that wash over you for a moment the Lord has not forgotten his people. When Jesus rode into Jerusalem that day, he was reminding his people that the Lord had not forgotten his people and what he will accomplish that week will be the climax of God’s plan of redemption.
As we celebrate Palm Sunday today and commemorate the passion of our Lord this week, may we not forget that the Lord remembers no matter what you may be going through in this season, the Lord remembers. He proved this on Friday of this week that we commemorate. He is our rightful king and deserves all our worship and praise. May we, like the crowd in Jerusalem that day, declare today and every day “Hosanna, Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord” for he has not forgotten the plight of his people.
Collect (Prayer) of the Day
Almighty and everlasting God, in your tender love for us you sent your Son our Savior Jesus Christ to take upon himself our nature, and to suffer death upon the Cross, giving us the example of his great humility: Mercifully grant that we may walk in the way of his suffering, and come to share in his resurrection; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. (taken from the Book of Common Prayer, 2019).
Bible Reading
John 12:12-16 (ESV)
The next day the large crowd that had come to the feast heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem. So they took branches of palm trees and went out to meet him, crying out, “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, even the King of Israel!” And Jesus found a young donkey and sat on it, just as it is written, “Fear not, daughter of Zion; behold, your king is coming, sitting on a donkey’s colt!” His disciples did not understand these things at first, but when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that these things had been written about him and had been done to him.
Editor’s Note: Zach Kendrick also contributed to this article.
Photo Credit Unsplash.com
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