Sunday is Palm Sunday. What exactly is that? It is the day Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a little donkey, a foil, proclaiming himself to be the Messiah, the King. The people of Israel cut branches off of the palm trees and laid them in the road for the King to ride upon. Because of the “palm” branches it is designated as “Palm Sunday.” Why is this day important? It certainly is not because of the name designated by the Roman Catholic Church. There are names for the other days of the final week given by the RCC as well. Fig Monday, Holy Tuesday, Spy Wednesday, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and Dark Saturday are other names used in the past. We Baptist do not hang on these days as biblical mandates for certain behaviors during this passion week. We do not find examples in the New Testament churches where they celebrated Monday through Saturday, but we do find the early church honoring the first day of the week, Sunday. This is because Sunday was the day the Lord Jesus resurrected from the dead. These weekday titles are simply attributed to events that took place during this final week of Jesus’ public ministry.
Why is Palm Sunday important? It was the opportunity for the nation of Israel to accept Jesus as their Messiah. He offered himself as the King. Huge crowds seldom get things right. This throng of people, taking their coats off, laying them in the road, and others cutting branches from the palm trees laying those in the road also, had one major thought. The King is here and now he will lead us to victory over the Roman occupiers. These people knew about Lazarus being raised from the dead along with other miracles performed by Jesus. They reasoned with that kind of power that he must be our liberator. Many in that crowd would have remembered their Old Testament stories concerning how to honor a king at his coronation. II Kings 9 would have been one story they remembered about Jehu. That was 500 hundred years before they were even born but now, they have “their” King, and they will treat him with respect and royalty as well. However, they misunderstood! They wanted a King to throw off the yoke of Rome not a king that spoke of a kingdom of another world. They were thinking political not spiritual. The same people that made the road softer with branches and clothing in five short days, would be screaming “Crucify him, crucify him!” That hatred is 180 degrees from “Hosanna, blessed is he that comes in the name of the Lord.” Once they found out he was not ousting the Romans they turned on him with a vengeance.
There are many truths we can learn from the four gospels concerning the “Triumphal Entry” on Palm Sunday and the days that followed. Perhaps the major truth is this. The spiritual is always more important than the political, physical, societal, and cultural. There is coming a day when Jesus will indeed come, wielding power as a conqueror. Every knee will bow, and every tongue confess that Jesus is Lord (Philippians 2:10-11). The most important thing for the unsaved today is not to wait for that day or assume all will be as they dream, but to accept him now as Lord and Savior. The spiritual is paramount. Other things fall into place after this first step. Being born again is the highest on the list of important things. Let’s not get side tracked trying to behave a certain way according to the day of the passion week. Our focus is on the Lord Jesus each and every day.