Today is Palm Sunday. This is the day we celebrate the “triumphal entry” of Jesus into the City of Jerusalem. He rode into the city on a donkey. Many hundreds of thousands were gathered in Jerusalem for the coming Passover. John tells us that people gathered in expectation of seeing Jesus because of the word that he had raised a man (Lazarus) from the dead days before. (John 12:17-18)
As Jesus entered the City, people lined the streets with palm branches. They threw their cloaks on the road in front him, and they hailed him with. This is Luke’s account:
As he went along, people spread their cloaks on the road.
Luke 19:36-38
When he came near the place where the road goes down the Mount of Olives, the whole crowd of disciples began joyfully to praise God in loud voices for all the miracles they had seen:
“Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!”
And here is John’s account:
The next day the great crowd that had come for the festival heard that Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem. They took palm branches and went out to meet him, shouting, “Hosanna!” “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the LORD!” “Blessed is the king of Israel!”
John 12:12-13
As we celebrate Palm Sunday today, we know the story of Jesus is about to take a very dramatic, tragic turn for the worse. The triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem is not the precursor of celebratory times. Ominous clouds are looming on the horizon.
The incongruity of this joyous moment days before Jesus will be crucified is sobering. He was hailed King of the Jews by an adoring crowd days before a jeering crowd yelled, “Crucify him!” Most sobering of all is the likelihood that many people in those crowds were the same people.
What happened?
Continue reading “Palm Sunday: the Prelude to the Crucifixion”
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