Holy Week: Palm Sunday

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Close your eyes, and bring your attention to your breath. Inhale deeply, hold for two seconds, now breathe out all the tension, stress, or negativity in your body. One more time. Breathe in deeply, hold, exhale slowly all the way. 

As your breathing returns to normal, gently turn your thoughts and attention toward the last week of Christ’s life, celebrated in many Christian traditions as the “Holy Week.” Although a precise chronology of Christs’ final days of mortality is not clear, most traditions place certain significant events on each of the days of the week.

Elder Gong describes the Holy Week this way: “The sacred events between Palm Sunday and Easter Sunday are the story of hosanna[, meaning “save now,”] and hallelujah[, meaning “praise ye the Lord Jehovah”]. Hosanna is our plea for God to save. Hallelujah expresses our praise to the Lord for the hope of salvation and exaltation. In hosanna and hallelujah we recognize the living Jesus Christ as the heart of Easter and latter-day restoration.”

Today we will be pondering the Sunday before Easter, known as Palm Sunday, when Jesus made his triumphal entry into Jerusalem.

Jesus and his disciples were traveling to Jerusalem to prepare for the Passover. When they got to Bethany, Jesus sent two disciples into a village, directing them to a colt (a young male donkey) tied up in the village. He told them to untie it, and to say to anyone who tried to stop them that the “Lord hath need of him.”

So they did as Jesus asked and when they got back, they laid their garments on the colt, set Jesus on it, and started again for Jerusalem.

Imagine you have come to the large city of Jerusalem with all of your family, and you are getting ready to celebrate the big Passover holiday. Everyone is buzzing with the story of a man named Jesus who has been doing incredible things. Most recently, he raised a man named Lazarus from the dead. Everyone is talking about it. “He is more than a man.” They say. “He must be here to save us from the Romans!” “If he can raise a man from the dead, imagine what he can do to the Roman army!” “He’s going to save us!”

Suddenly you hear a commotion in the streets. There are shouts of “That’s him!” and “Here he comes!” And people are rushing around.

You follow the crowd and see a figure sitting on a donkey entering the city. You hear from those around you that it is Jesus. He has come to Jerusalem for the Passover!

There are people with him. They are praising Jesus and rejoicing, loudly.[1] People in the city around you join in, cutting branches from palm trees[2] and grabbing clothing and laying it all down on the street for Jesus to ride on, so clouds of dust from the donkey’s hooves don’t leave dirt on him.[3]

As he passes, you hear the procession yelling out, “Hosana, blessed is the King[4] of Israel[5] that cometh in the name of the Lord. Hosana in the highest.”[6] Others are calling him the son of David[7] and saying that the kingdom of David has come.[8] You realize that people are expecting him to deliver the Jews from the Romans. “Save us now!”[9] they are saying. You watch in wonder as this Jesus, riding on a donkey, passes you in the street. He meets your eye just for a second, and a jolt of recognition and power courses through your body. The shock of it makes you quickly bow your head in surprise and respect.

Then another voice cries out. Some pharisees in the crowd yell to Jesus, “Master, rebuke they disciples!”[10] Maybe they think that the crowd is being blasphemous. Or maybe they are worried that the Romans will think the Jews are inciting a rebellion; that’s clearly what some people are hoping for. You look at Jesus, eager to see how he will respond. He looks around at the crowds of people and slowly turns to the pharisees, saying “I tell you that, if these should hold their peace, the stones would immediately cry out.”[11]

The pharisees are at a loss for words, and the procession, which is growing by the minute, continues through the street toward the temple 

You are left to ponder what just happened.

A verse from Zechariah comes to mind: “Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold, thy King cometh unto thee: he is just, and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass.” Could this Jesus be that King?

Donkeys were common conveyances of Old Testament kings, especially King David.[12] And Palm fronds were used during the festival of Tabernacles, which commemorated the wandering of the children of Israel in the wilderness, and were associated with the coronation of the Israelite king.[13] Could the crowd possibly believe that Jesus is the King that Zechariah prophesied about, and the same being who delivered the Israelites anciently?[14]

As you return to your Passover preparations, you ponder the things you have heard about Jesus. He has healed physical ailments, forgiven sins, cast out devils, and even calmed stormy seas, allegedly.

People call him all sorts of different names—Jesus of Nazareth, Master, Teacher, the Messiah, the Christ, Lord, the Son of God, and the Lamb of God.[15] The last name stops you in your tracks as you realize what day it is—the day when your family must choose a lamb for the Passover feast.[16] And the crowd just chose the Lamb of God as their king. You aren’t exactly sure what that means, but it seems significant somehow. This Passover just might be one you will remember forever.

When you are ready, take a final deep breath and slowly turn your awareness back to your body. As you open your eyes and return to your surroundings, take a moment to jot down any thoughts, promptings, or questions that came to mind while you were pondering. Continue to ponder the things that have come to your mind and your heart as you prepare for and celebrate the upcoming Easter Holiday.

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[1] Luke 19:37 (“the whole multitude of the disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works that they had seen.”)

[2] John 12:13.

[3] Matthew 21:8; Mark 11:8; Luke 19:

[4] Luke 19:38.

[5] John 12:13.

[6] Matthew 21:9; Mark 11: 9-10.

[7] Mathew 21:15.

[8] Mark 11:10.

[9] Gerrit W. Gong, “Hosanna and Hallelujah—The Living Jesus Christ: The Heart of Restoration and Easter,” General Conference, April 2020; “Hosana,” Bible Dictionary; “Hosana,” Guide to the Scriptures.

[10] Luke 19:39.

[11] Luke 19:40.

[12] Eric D. Huntsman, “Palm Sunday,” huntsmanseasonal.blogspot.com, https://huntsmanseasonal.blogspot.com/2017/04/palm-sunday.html (last accessed Mar 3, 2023).

[13] Eric D. Huntsman, “Palm Sunday,” huntsmanseasonal.blogspot.com, https://huntsmanseasonal.blogspot.com/2017/04/palm-sunday.html (last accessed Mar 3, 2023).

[14] “Hosana,” Guide to the Scriptures.

[15] John 1:29.

[16] Eric D. Huntsman, “Palm Sunday,” huntsmanseasonal.blogspot.com, https://huntsmanseasonal.blogspot.com/2017/04/palm-sunday.html (last accessed Mar 3, 2023).