Palm Sunday

Palm Sunday, sometimes called Passion Sunday, is the Sunday before Easter Sunday. It marks the day that Jesus entered Jerusalem and the first day of Holy Week. Palm Sunday is sometimes celebrated with the blessing and distribution of palm leaves to represent the palm branches the crowd scattered in front of Jesus as he rode into Jerusalem. Often, these branches are then woven into crosses.

In Luke 19:41 as Jesus approaches Jerusalem, He looks at the city and weeps over it, foreshadowing the coming suffering and destruction.

The symbolism of the donkey may refer to the Eastern tradition that it is an animal of peace rather than war. A king would ride a horse when he was engaging in a war and ride a donkey to symbolize his arrival in peace. Christ’s entry to Jerusalem symbolized His entry as the Prince of Peace.

In the book of Matthew, it is said that this happened to fulfill a prophecy.
Zechariah 9:9 “The Coming of Zion’s King – See, your king comes to you, righteous and victorious, lowly and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey”.

When He arrived, the people celebrated and laid down their cloaks and palm branches in front of him as they sang part of Psalm 118: 25–26 “Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord. We bless you from the house of the Lord” and “Hosanna to the Son of David!” Hosanna means save us, liberate us, and give us favor. Their cry was for salvation and to recognize that Jesus is able to save.

7 days later, He would do exactly that.