Day One of Holy Week

After Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead, the account was told far and wide in Judea.  The people reasoned that this Jesus of Nazareth must be the promised Messiah.  However, the temple hierarchy were even more angry and sought earnestly to take His life. 

The prophet Zachariah wrote:

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. (Zachariah 9:9) This prophecy explains why Jesus chose to enter Jerusalem on a donkey and not a horse. In ancient Israel, horses were seen as animals of war.  Kings going to their crowning ceremony, therefore, rode on asses, which were seen as animals of peace. It is fitting that the King of Peace should choose to do so.

Jesus, therefore, sent two of his disciples to secure the animals. According to the Gospel of Mark:

And when they came nigh to Jerusalem, unto Bethphage and Bethany, at the mount of Olives, he sent forth two of his disciples, And said unto them, Go your way into the village over against you: and as soon as ye be entered into it, ye shall find a colt tied, whereon never man sat; loose him, and bring him. And if any man say unto you, Why do ye this? say you that the Lord has need of him; and straightway he will send him hither.

And they went their way, and found the colt tied by the door without in a place where two ways met; and they loosened him. And certain of them that stood there said unto them, What do ye, loosing the colt? And they said unto them even as Jesus had commanded: and they let them go.

And they brought the colt to Jesus and cast their garments on him; and he sat upon him.

And many spread their garments in the way: and others cut down branches off the trees and strew them in the way. And they that went before, and they that followed, cried, saying, Hosanna; Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord: Blessed be the kingdom of our father David, that cometh in the name of the Lord: Hosanna in the highest.

And Jesus entered into Jerusalem, and into the temple: and when he had looked round about upon all things, and now the eventide was come, he went out unto Bethany with the twelve.

The Significance of Palm Sunday

I ran   across a blog while looking for a picture of the triumphal entry.  It is called Faith Matters: Exploring the Christian Journey by Dr. David E. Ewan.  I found it thought provoking on this subject, from the perspective of a Protestant minister.

https://www.patheos.com/blogs/faithmatters/2024/03/the-revelation-and-understanding-of-palm-sunday/