The Palm Parade

Every person has emotional ups and downs. We have our good days and bad. Sometimes what is happening in the world around us can impact our feelings. One moment we can be doing and feeling well and then suddenly our mood and thoughts change for the worse. Imagine what it must have been like for Jesus as he entered the home stretch of his earthly ministry. Of course, his home stretch would lead him back home and guarantee that believers would be with him in that eternal home one day. The days leading up to him accomplishing his mission had more “downs” than “ups.” The familiar event early in John 12 was at least on the surface a more positive experience.

Many churches celebrate Palm Sunday, as it is called. Few incidents in the life of Christ are recorded in all four gospels as this one is. It is a familiar story, though not really something that has anything comparable in our modern world. Parades feature a number of elements and people. This summer at the big Martinsburg parade I was excited to get a wooden nickel for a free slice of pizza. Things got even better when the kid beside me gave me another token since his family was not local. The thrill of getting something other than cheap candy did not last. I have yet to cash in my valuable nickels. The focus of this parade was a singular person. Who exactly was Jesus? If you were to have asked four people in that crowd, you may have gotten four different answers as to whom or what Jesus really was.

After Jesus’ feet were anointed and Judas was scolded, the chief priests planned to kill Lazarus and Jesus. As we know, you can’t keep either of them down anyway. But the next day we find Jesus among a great crowd for the first time in a while (John 12:12-19). Remember that Jesus was lying low and spending time with the disciples because his time had not yet come to be delivered up to die on the cross. When the festival crowd heard that Jesus was triumphantly traveling to Jerusalem, there seemed to be an immediate, spontaneous response. They might have found stray palm branches on the ground or tore some off of trees. Maybe it was a combination of both. For several centuries, the waving of palm branches was a symbol that pointed to the hope that the Messiah would soon come. The wait was now over for those who truly recognized him as the anointed one.

Some may have initially waved branches because of the tradition or just joining the crowd. Many of those who had been with Jesus, witnessed his miracles, and heard his teaching must have believed and understood what was happening. For them it was a true cause for celebration. The words they shouted could not be mistaken as to their meaning. John MacArthur states: The term “hosanna” is a transliteration of a Hebrew worth that means “give salvation now.” It was a term of acclamation or praise occurring in Psalm 118:25, which was familiar to every Jew, since that Psalm was part of the Hallel sung each morning by the temple choir during the feast of Tabernacles and the Passover. He was seen as a Messianic leader who “comes in the name of the Lord” and was “the King of Israel (13).” Maybe some saw Jesus as the savior from Roman tyranny because they had seen his power. Others viewed him as the one who would save his people from their sins.

Jesus came on a young donkey, not because his feet were tired but to fulfill the prophesy (one of many) of Zechariah 9:9 – Fear not, daughter of Zion; behold, your king is coming, sitting on a donkey’s colt (15)! The words “fear not” but were not in the OT verse but added here from Isaiah 40:9. Perfect love casts out fear. Jesus, who is God, is love. He was driven by love and now his time had come. I wonder if Jesus had a smile on his face as he received praise from the crowd. It was one of those bittersweet moments. The journey to the cross has, in a sense, begun. There was no need to hide. This was an intentional, very public appearance. The Lamb was to be sacrificed during Passover. Yet, the disciples would not fully understand the significance of this one-man palm parade until Jesus would ascend to heaven (16). Most churches probably have people in them who sing about Jesus and even celebrate him. However, they may not understand who he is and therefore do not know him. They may blend in with the crowd and like a lot of what Jesus offers, but have not accepted his offer of salvation.

Part of the crowd was impressed with Jesus raising Lazarus. They continued to testify about what he did that day (17-18). Miracles do not get much bigger or better. Soon Jesus would be on the receiving end of the ultimate miracle when God the Father would provide salvation by raising his Son from the tomb. From the Pharisees’ perspective, “the world has gone after him. (19)” MacArthur notes, “The world means the people in general, as opposed to the world in particular. Clearly most people in the world did not even know of Jesus at that time, and many in Israel did not believe in him.” As Warren Weirsbe said, “It is easier to shout in a parade than stand at a cross.” Sadly, the world still has not gone after him. So many people have not heard of Jesus. And those who have do not realize who he is and why he came. They certainly do not know that he will come again. That will be a triumphal entry that the whole world will know about!