The celebration of Palm Sunday which is also known as Passion Sunday marks the start of the holy week. This actually pays tribute and also the reenactment of Christ’s arrival in Jerusalem. In the Gospels, Jesus entered Jerusalem riding a donkey, and to the immense praise of the townspeople, cut palms or small branches, waved them up and then laid them in front of him as a sign of homage. This biblical event deeply symbolizes the acknowledgement of the people as Jesus is the true King but also ends up ironically being the same people to urge for His crucifixion later on. Presently, the palms are then blessed during the Eucharistic mass which will be kept for a year and dried palms are burned into ashes for the next year’s Ash Wednesday. With this celebration, here are some historical and biblical facts about Palm Sunday:
1. Palm Sunday actually contains two symbolical things that are interrelated to Jesus as the King and our salvation.
Palm branches are widely recognized symbols of peace and victory, and were symbolic of the final victory He would soon fulfill over death hence their preferred use on Palm Sunday. “Which He will bring about at the proper time–He who is the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords,”( 1 Timothy 6:15)
The use of a donkey instead of a horse is highly symbolic; it represents the humble arrival of someone in peace, as opposed to arriving on a steed in war. Jesus chose to ride in on a donkey, which directly fulfilled Old Testament prophecy of Zech. 9:9 “Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your king is coming to you; righteous and having salvation is he, humble and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.”
Both represent peace and tranquility, just as what a rightful King’s responsibility to inculcate in his sovereign.
2. During Jesus’ triumphal entry to Jerusalem, the crowds were crying out “Hosanna!” which typically means “save now.”
“Therefore he is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them.” (Hebrews 7:25) God sent down His one and only beloved son to bring salvation to the sinners and fulfill His evangelical mission.
3. The Bible says that Jesus actually wept for Jerusalem.
In the midst of the praise of the moment, Jesus already knew that it wouldn’t be long until these people who pay homage for Him would be the same people who will turn their backs on Him, betray Him, and demand for His crucifixion.
“As he approached Jerusalem and saw the city, he wept over it, and said, “If you, even you, had only known on this day what would bring you peace–but now it is hidden from your eyes.” (Luke 19:41-42)
Since the Palm Sunday initiates the beginning of the Holy week let us not only acknowledge God’s eternal love through Christ serving as our salvation but also set aside some time for great meditative reflection and prayer to share a moment with Him.
Mariele Aquino
Junior Writer, Website Team, Media Ministry
Mariele R. Aquino is a member and website writer of the NSDA’s Media and Public Information Ministry, an aspiring future medical specialist and currently a STEM senior high school student in the Royal and Pontifical University of Santo Tomas. Her principle in life is that genuine success is something achieved through a path and battlefield of dodging a thousand bullets without the course of self-centered desires and conducts for temporary existential accomplishment. As a form of simple youthful religious fervor, Mariele used her skills, talent and dedication in writing to serve her Lord but also to grow not only intellectually but more on spiritually.
