Palm Sunday

“As he approached Jerusalem and saw the city, he wept over it and said, “If you, even you, had only known on this day what would bring you peace – but now it is hidden from your eyes. The days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment against you and encircle you and hem you in on every side. They will dash you to the ground, you and the children within your walls. They will not leave one stone on another, because you did not recognize the time of God’s coming to you.” Luke 19:41-44

The Passover
For the Jewish people, Passover was more than a religious observance. It was the time of year when they celebrated liberation from Egyptian bondage.

During Jesus’ time, they also used this opportunity to express their longing for political freedom from Rome. Jews who claimed to be “messiahs” had so often caused riots during Passover that the Romans brought extra troops into Jerusalem during the Passover season. The Roman soldiers did not hesitate to shed blood to keep the peace.

Jesus on his way to Jerusalem
On the Sunday before Passover, Jesus came out of the wilderness on the eastern side of the Mount of Olives (just as the prophecy said the Messiah would come).

People spread cloaks and branches on the road before him. Then the disciples “began, joyfully, to praise God in loud voices for all the miracles they had seen” (Luke 19:37). The crowd began shouting, “Hosanna,” a slogan of the ultra-nationalistic Zealots, which meant, “Please save us! Give us freedom! We’re sick of these Romans!”

The Palm Branches
The people also waved palm branches, a symbol that had once been placed on Jewish coins when the Jewish nation was free. Thus, the palm branches were not a symbol of peace and love, as Christians usually assume; they were a symbol of Jewish nationalism, an expression of the people’s desire for political freedom.

Jesus as the Passover Lamb
Yet Jesus came to the people as the Lamb of God. Jesus, the sinless Messiah who would die on humankind’s behalf, appeared on the very day that people chose their spotless Passover lambs!

It’s almost as if God said to the world, “Here’s my Lamb. Will you choose him?” But instead of turning to Jesus as the Lamb of God, the crowds misunderstood the type of Messiah Jesus was. They wanted him to be their political-military deliverer.

Jesus Wept
In response, Jesus wept. The tears Jesus shed as the people cried out their political “Hosannas” were tears of grief for the hearts of his people.

Jesus foresaw the terrible devastation of Jerusalem that would result because the people did not recognize him as God’s Messiah. The people were looking for a messiah who offered political deliverance and a political kingdom. However, they would have nothing to do with the Messiah, who offered forgiveness and deliverance from sin. In his grief over their distorted beliefs, Jesus wept out loud.

Prayer
Heavenly Father – I hate to think how many times you have wept over me – seeing me go in directions that take me anywhere but to you and the source of my peace. Thank you for your forgiveness and the Peace that I have in you. In Jesus’ Name, Amen