28 March - Palm Sunday
"The next day the great crowd that had come for the festival heard that Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem. They 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!” Jesus found a young donkey and sat on it, as it is written: “Do not be afraid, Daughter Zion; see, your king is coming, seated on a donkey’s colt.” At first his disciples did not understand all this. Only after Jesus was glorified did they realize that these things had been written about him and that these things had been done to him."
John 12:12-16
Today the church worldwide, celebrates Palm Sunday. Palm Sunday commemorates the triumphant arrival of Christ into Jerusalem days before he was to be crucified.
Crowds of people followed him waving palm branches and praising him as king. What was running through Jesus’ mind’s as he saw this public acclamation of him. Was he deceived by this popular outpouring and acclaim? Did he suppose that at last, after their rejection of him for so long—they were now going to accept him as their Messiah? No! he knew it was only the outburst of a day. He knew this was but the first stage of his last journey to the cross and as he heard the shouts of the crowd, “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! The King of Israel!” there was an undertone ringing in his ear, and the words of the undertone were –
“Ride on, ride on in majesty, in lowly pomp—ride on to die!”
To Jesus the triumphal entry set the scene for the prophecy fulfilment of Zechariah 9:9. It meant going to a cross, not an earthly throne. It was a declaration of his Messiahship.
As we participate this morning in the ritual of waving palm branches, processing and praising God, seeing in our mind’s eye the procession that took place nearly 2000 years ago and Jesus ride into Jerusalem on a donkey, there are many things that stand out. Of these there are three we must bear in mind: -
First, Jesus himself was setting his crucifixion in motion. Remember this is the first time Jesus allowed the people to praise him as King. In allowing the people to praise him, he had angered the Jewish and Roman leaders thus orchestrating the situation and setting things in motion for the Passion Week. He was coming to save us as prophesied by Zechariah.
Secondly, Jesus was being selected as the Passover Lamb. As Jesus was riding in and the people were crying “Hosanna blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord,” unknown to them they were selecting the paschal lamb for sacrifice; the one and only sacrifice that could take away the sin of the world.
Finally, Jesus was marching to his death, and he knew it. And as he rode, Jesus’ mind would have first been focused on glorifying his Father. Then, his thoughts would have been directed on those he had come to save. He would have seen our faces, knowing that without his death, he would have to watch us die, for we were born sinners, hopeless, and condemned already. Whatever Jesus was thinking that day, he was not going to let anything stand between him and his beloved children.
PONDER
When Christ hung, and bled, and died, it was God saying to the world, 'I love you.' – Billy Graham
PROMISE
“…lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:20)
PRAYER
Merciful Father, as we enter Holy Week, turn our hearts again to Jerusalem, and to the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Stir up within us the gift of faith that we may not only praise him with our lips, but may follow him in the way of the cross. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
Article by Ms Esther Richards, Editor of the Diocesan Anglican Messenger. She is currently involved in coordinating the Community Bible Study in St Paul’s Church, Petaling Jaya.