Reflections for Holy Week:

Palm Sunday

By Jacob McRae

Holy Week begins with a parade. Crowds gather along the road into Jerusalem, laying branches and cloaks in the dust as a rabbi from Galilee rides toward the city gates. They shout words of welcome and praise: “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!”

Christians have remembered this moment for centuries on Palm Sunday, commemorating Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem just days before his crucifixion (Matt. 21:1-11; Mk. 11:1-10; Lk. 19:29-44; Jn. 12:12-19), and as the beginning of Holy Week. It is therefore not uncommon to see palm branches decorating modern church sanctuaries on this day, as believers around the world echo the cry of that first crowd, “Hosanna!”

Yet what can easily feel like a simple celebration, or perhaps a curious reenactment play in our church calendar, was a moment charged with political tension, prophetic symbolism, and dangerous expectations.

Setting the Scene

It’s roughly 30-33 B.C. and all in Jerusalem have heard of this strange man Jesus. An itinerant rabbi and purported healer who speaks with unheard-of authority--even greater than that of the Pharisees and scribes, they say! Stories have been spreading lately that he has even caused dead men to live again. Surely a rumor! But could it be true? Some are calling this man the Messiah that will finally bring judgment upon the Roman overlords. Others are calling for his death--saying this Jesus is an imposter, a scourge of the devil himself! As Jesus and his followers make their way toward the city, one thing alone is clear: all of Jerusalem is abuzz with excitement, anticipation, fear, and perhaps even hope. The city is a powder keg awaiting a spark.

As we read and reflect upon this moment in the Gospels, it’s easy to gloss over details that might otherwise seem insignificant, like the use of palm branches or Jesus’ choice of a donkey to carry him--or the parade of people that came out to greet him upon his entry. But these details (and more) spoke to a multitude of expectations and hopes within a 1st century Jewish/Roman worldview. So let’s explore some of these symbols together.

Jesus and the Donkey

Some have looked at Jesus’ choice of the donkey as an act of humility (i.e., why ride a stubby-legged donkey instead of a big, majestic stallion?). Jesus does of course at many points in his ministry subvert cultural expectations through acts of humility, and perhaps there is an element of this at play here (for a donkey is certainly no chariot of war!). Instead, I think this choice was part of a different kind of subversion--one that spoke more boldly of Jesus’ kingly identity. Despite what our modern minds may think, in ancient times the donkey was often considered to be a mount designating royalty or leadership (Judges 5:10; 10:4; 12:14). It was also notably Solomon’s chosen mount for entering Jerusalem as he was declared king (1Kings 1:32-40).

But perhaps the most significant Scriptural references for Jesus’ choice of mount come from: (1) Gen. 49:11, where the image of a long foretold ruler from the house of Judah is pictured with a donkey, and (2) Zech. 9:9, where amidst the oppression of God’s people, a mighty and victorious King is prophesied to come mounted on a donkey, bringing salvation with him. The question on everyone’s mind is what this man, who enters the city of Jerusalem like its king, will now do with this kingly authority?

The People, Palms, and Praises

As Jesus rides into Jerusalem, the people perform two important acts: (1) They lay down palm branches and garments before Jesus (2) They cry out “Hosanna!” and “blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!” (which are lines taken from Psalm 118).

Palm branches carried symbolic significance for both Jews and Romans. For the Jews, palm branches were most commonly associated with the feast of Tabernacles (see Lev. 23:40), a feast that commemorated the saving acts of God through the Exodus and His provision for the Israelites amidst the wilderness. Within a Roman context, the palm branch was commonly used in military triumphs and celebrations of victory. The laying down of palm branches and garments during the entry of Jesus was therefore a powerful and symbolic act of welcoming a ruler (see also 2 Kings 9:13), and in Jesus’ case, the people were welcoming their long-anticipated Davidic king (or Messiah). The term “Hosanna!” is translated as “save us!”

Psalm 118:25-26:

Save us, we beseech thee, O Lord!
‍ ‍O Lord, we beseech thee, give us success!
Blessed be he who enters in the name of the Lord!
‍ ‍We bless you from the house of the Lord.

A Subversion of Expectations

This scene in the Gospels is often termed “the Triumphal Entry.” This is an allusion to the well known Roman Triumph ceremony. This was a lavish Roman victory parade, commonly held after a great battle--where captives of a battle would form a train behind the victorious Roman general/leader and be paraded around the city amidst the aroma of spices and incense. But for the captives--this was ultimately a parade toward death. Is this perhaps how the Jews want to see Jesus entering their city? With Romans soon trailing behind the Jews’ Messiah in chains?

This is where one of many elements of subversion comes in Jesus’ ministry. Whereas the Jewish expectations for their messianic ruler (and even the Roman practice of triumphal processions) came with the imagery of a victorious war-tested general, the victory of Jesus upon entering Jerusalem would not come through the shedding of enemy blood, but His own. And what they thought was a joyful scene of welcoming their political liberator and Messiah becomes a far more subversive and haunting scene when we consider the next few lines of Psalm 118, from which the people are crying out as they welcome Jesus.

Psalm 118:25-27:

Save us, we beseech thee, O Lord!
‍ ‍O Lord, we beseech thee, give us success!
Blessed be he who enters in the name of the Lord!
‍ ‍We bless you from the house of the Lord.
The Lord is God,
and he has given us light.
Bind the festal sacrifice with branches,
up to the horns of the altar!

The imagery in v. 27 of this Psalm is that of a sacrificial offering being bound and taken to the horns of the altar, a place where the blood of the sacrifice was sprinkled for the atonement of sins and for the consecration of priests (see Lev. 4:7; Exodus 29:10-12). The unexpected reality of the moment is that the same voices crying out “Save us!” will soon be crying out “Crucify him!” (Mark 15:12-14). Little did they know that these cries would ironically bring about the same end, as God’s light to the world offered up His life upon the altar for the sake of their salvation.

Palm Sunday remembers the triumphant entry of the King of Kings, who then “humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.” (Phlp. 2:8)

In the Footsteps of Our Savior

In 2 Corinthians, it seems possible to me that Paul had the imagery of this ”triumphal entry” in mind when he said:

“But thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumph, and through us spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of him everywhere. For we are the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing, to one a fragrance from death to death, to the other a fragrance from life to life.” (2 Corinthians 2:14-16)

Again, those within the Roman empire would have been familiar with the imagery and aroma of the Roman triumphal procession. The interesting and offensive part of Paul’s words are that he seems to be picturing believers--not in the position of victorious soldiers parading captives and spoils of war around the city--but as the captives themselves, being led toward death. Paul states that as we follow our Savior amidst the aroma of his victory, to those who are “dead,” it will be like the aroma of death–(how foolish to follow a crucified Savior!). But to those who are being saved, it is the very aroma of life.

Conclusion

Palm Sunday leaves us with the example of a Savior who leads us into a profoundly subversive kind of victory. It is not a victory won by crushing enemies or dominating those who would oppose us, or even crucify us. Instead, it is the victory of a King who conquers through sacrifice, humility, and love.

To follow Jesus, then, is not to march in triumph as conquering soldiers, but to walk in the procession behind our crucified Lord. And yet this strange parade toward suffering is, in the end, the only road that leads to true life

To learn more about Jacob and his family follow his blog: https://jacobandsamantha.org/