Joy Of Palm Sunday

As we all know, today is Palm Sunday. Today is the day that Jesus Christ made His triumphal entrance into Jerusalem. And today marks the beginning of the last week our Lord was on the earth. At this point in time, Jesus was very well known. Many people spoke of His popularity and fame. In other words, many of these people had either witnessed or heard about His miracles and signs. He healed numerous people; restoring sight to the blind, making the lame walk, casting out demons, healing the lepers, and perhaps the most powerful of all the signs, how He brought Lazarus back to life after four days of being dead. His reputation and ministry had a great impact in the world back then. People poured out into the streets to receive Him. The people came to receive the one that they saw as the Messiah. But something happened that changed the minds of these people. They had originally received Him joyfully. But what happened? And why did it happen? These are the questions that we'll be exploring today. (Read John 12:12-19).

They took branches of palm trees, and went forth to meet him, and cried, Hosanna: Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord! The King of Israel! -John 12:13

Joy of the Passover

The first thing that we see here is the multitude of people in Jerusalem. The people had come for the celebration. What celebration was this? The celebration was the “Passover.” Understand that this is not a straightforward concept. Here is a small explanation. [What does Passover mean in Hebrew?] The name "Passover" comes from the Hebrew word Peg-Samech-Chet, meaning to pass through or to pass over. God "passed over" the Jewish houses when he was slaying the firstborn of Egypt. The root of this word is seen for the first time in Exodus 12:23 when we read “For the Lord will pass through to strike the Egyptians; and when He sees the blood on the lintel and on the two doorposts, the Lord will pass over the door and not allow the destroyer to come into your houses to strike you.” [Why were the Israelite not affected by the plague?] The Israelite were not affected by this plague because they had done as God had instructed to Moses and Aaron. Therefore, this date marks the birth of the Jewish nation as they were freed from their enslavement. And they were made servants of God. For this reason, God made this day of celebration. (Read Exodus 12:14-17)

This celebration continues to be very special to the Jewish people. It was a family gathering with great feasts, prayers, and much more. In Israel the Passover is a seven-day holiday. The first and last day are celebrated with a grand festival. (With this explanation of the Passover,) let’s now continue our study for today.

Joy of the Spirit

As we can all see, these people had a joyful spirit, but unfortunately this was only temporary. These people were under the dominion of the Roman Empire. The Roman Empire governed them with an iron hand. These people felt weak and oppressed because Rome took their money, had very strict rules; and crucifixions (the cruel method of execution by the Empire). Many others said that the Jewish people were waiting for the Messiah to arrive. [Why were the people so anxiously awaiting the Messiah’s arrival?] The people were anxiously waiting for the king to arrive. He would free them from their suffering. When Jesus rode into Jerusalem riding on a donkey, these people all saw it as a prophecy coming true. The people saw it as the prophet had said in Zechariah 9:9 when we read “Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your King is coming to you; He is just and having salvation, Lowly and riding on a donkey, A colt, the foal of a donkey.”

As I said, they were anxiously waiting for this prophecy to come true, they were anxiously waiting for the arrival of the king who would defeat the Roman Empire. Due to all of this they were convinced that He would fulfill the prophecy, and that they would finally be free.

In Matthew 21:8-9 we read “And a very great multitude spread their clothes on the road; others cut down branches from the trees and spread them on the road. Then the multitudes who went before and those who followed cried out, saying: “Hosanna to the Son of David! ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!’ Hosanna in the highest!”

The multitude was praising Jesus and they were lifting their voices in joyful celebration, but most importantly, they were lifting their hearts to Him. They were doing this because they felt that in their hearts, the Messiah had arrived. Dear brothers and sisters, How many of us here today would do the same thing? Who can lift their voice right now and shout ‘Hosanna to the son of David’ with the same joy? Who can lift a shout of joy right now and say blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord? Who can lift up their voice and shout Hosanna in the highest? Wake up the person next to you and say, PRAISE GOD!