EASTER WEEK | Palm Sunday

This Sunday marks the start of our Easter celebration. We link arms with believers across the globe to remember Jesus’s death and rejoice in His Resurrection. Palm Sunday begins our journey to Calvary, where Jesus defeated sin and death once and for all. Take some time this weekend to read through Mathew 21 (The Triumphal Entry). The creator of the universe, came to earth as a man and lived a life that would change the course of humanity forever.

Why do we start with Palm Sunday?

Near the end of Jesus’s time on earth, He entered Jerusalem on a back of a donkey. This was prophesied in the Old Testament in Zechariah 9:9. People laid down coats off their back and placed palm branches (a symbol of victory) on the road so that Jesus would have a sort of red carpet welcome. The people shouted “Hosanna!” “Hosanna in the highest!” Save us! Save us now! They were recognizing Jesus as a king. They wanted him to become their earthly king – the King of the Jewish people…..But that was not the kind of king Jesus came to be. They wanted a king who would take over power here on earth, one who would overthrow the Roman empire and rule over their nation. But Jesus’ Kingdom was much greater than that of an earthly king over one nation. He would later explain to his Roman prosecutor that his kingdom was not of this world (John 18:33-37). He wasn’t denying lordship over the Jewish people; he was implying his lordship over all of creation! Jesus was explaining that He was King of Kings and Lord of Lords. That all authority in heaven and on earth belonged to Him. It was indeed fitting to call him King, but there was a misconception about the kind of king he would be.

In the days following his entrance into Jerusalem, Jesus’ triumphal entry began to look anything but triumphal.

To be continued….