Palm Sunday
Palm
Sunday
This week is the week of the triumphant entry. This event thus marked the beginning of the Holy
Week, the final week of Lent, according to our Christian calendar. The
significance of Palm Sunday particularly the waving of the palm branches must
never be forgotten. It is to remember the triumphant entry of Christ the King
in Jerusalem.
Here are some facts about Palm Sunday that I thought was very
interesting.
It was a significant event, not only to the people of Jesus'
day, but to Christians throughout history. We celebrate Palm Sunday to remember
that momentous occasion. Palm Sunday therefore was when Jesus was openly
declaring to the people that He was their King and the Messiah that they had
been waiting for. The book of Matthew says that the King coming on the foal of
a donkey was an exact fulfillment of Zechariah
9:9 "Rejoice greatly, O daughters of Zion! Shout, Daughter of
Jerusalem! See, your King comes to you, righteous and having salvation, gentle
and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey."
We are commemorating the triumphant entry of Jesus Christ into
Jerusalem as the King of Kings.
During
that time, palm branches were placed in his path as He rode into the city. But
it didn’t last long, because He was arrest on Holy Thursday and his crucifixion
on Good Friday. This event thus marked
the beginning of the Holy Week, the final week of Lent according to our
Christian calendar.
Why palm branches? In contemporary Christianity, the palm branches carried on
Palm Sunday originate in the triumphal entry of Christ into
Jerusalem. Early Christians used the palm branch to symbolize the victory of the
faithful over enemies of the soul, as in the Palm
Sunday festival celebrating the triumphal entry
of Jesus into Jerusalem. In western Christian
art, martyrs were often shown holding a palm frond as an attribute, representing the victory of spirit over flesh, and it
was widely believed that a picture of a palm on a tomb meant that a martyr was
buried there
In ancient Christianity, palm branches
symbolized goodness and victory. These palm branches were often
depicted on coins and important buildings. Solomon had palm branches carved
into the walls and the doors of his magnificent temple as a symbol of beauty
and elegance. 1 Kings 6:29 "On the walls all around the temple, in both the
inner and outer rooms, he carved cherubim, palm trees and open flowers."
The last book of the Bible, we read that people from every
nation raise palm branches to honor Jesus. Revelation
7:9 "After this I looked,
and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every
nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and before the
Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their
hands." That is what we will be doing in heaven. We will be wearing
white robes and waving palm branches before the Lamb.
People from every tribe and language. It was a sign of their
unity in never ending praises to the Lamb for his great love towards us. It is
always a Palm Sunday in heaven.
Even though many can’t be in church this Sunday we can wave our spiritual
Palm branches in praise to the one who became a martyr
for our sins.
Praise God from whom all blessing flow.
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