What is the Significance of Palm Sunday?

 

*What is the Significance of Palm Sunday?* 

“Joyful acclamations at Jesus’ entrance into Jerusalem, followed by his humiliation. Festive cries followed by brutal torture. This twofold mystery accompanies our entrance into Holy Week each year, as reflected in the two characteristic moments of today’s celebration: the initial procession with palm branches and the solemn reading of the Passion.” – Pope Francis 

Palm Sunday is celebrated on the Sunday before Easter each year and marks the start of Holy Week. 

But what is the actual significance of this Holy Day, and how does it play a part in the greater story of Christ’s life, death, and resurrection?

 *The Palm Sunday Account* 

Jesus was on His way to Jerusalem with His disciples to celebrate Passover. When they reached the Mount of Olives, He sent two of the disciples to retrieve a donkey colt for Him to ride. He instructed them to untie it, and if anyone asked them why they were doing so, to tell them that the Master has need of it. They did as He instructed, and brought the colt to Him, laying their cloaks over it for Him to sit on it.

As He rode into the city, people spread their cloaks and palm branches in the road, proclaiming, “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!” The spectacle attracted the attention of those in the city, and many wondered who He was.

The entry into Jerusalem is documented in all four gospels, with slight variations in each account.

Christ’s Entry to Jerusalem Was Prophesized in the Old Testament

The triumphal entry was predicted in Zechariah, as Matthew and John note in their gospel accounts.

Exult greatly, O daughter Zion!

    Shout for joy, O daughter Jerusalem!

Behold: your king is coming to you,

    a just savior is he,

Humble, and riding on a donkey,

    on a colt, the foal of a donkey. – Zech9:9

Christ Comes in Peace

The donkey symbolizes His peaceful coming; He is coming to seek and to save the lost. He is coming as the sacrificial lamb, to atone for our sins. In Luke’s account, we see Him weeping over Jerusalem, demonstrating His sorrow for its coming destruction, as well as for those who reject Him and the salvation that He brings.

This is a great contrast to His second coming, when He will come on a horse, bringing judgement:

Then I saw the heavens opened, and there was a white horse; its rider was [called] “Faithful and True.” He judges and wages war in righteousness. His eyes were [like] a fiery flame, and on his head were many diadems. He had a name inscribed that no one knows except himself. He wore a cloak that had been dipped in[i] blood, and his name was called the Word of God. The armies of heaven followed him, mounted on white horses and wearing clean white linen. Out of his mouth came a sharp sword to strike the nations. He will rule them with an iron rod, and he himself will tread out in the wine press the wine of the fury and wrath of God the almighty. He has a name written on his cloak and on his thigh, “King of kings and Lord of lords.” —Rev 19:11-16

Christ Is Honored

In all accounts, Christ is shown great honor. The onlookers lay their garments down in front of Him, and wave palm branches – a demonstration of victory, usually reserved for royalty. The onlookers shout “Hosanna,” an expression of praise and adoration, which is also related to the Aramaic word for Savior and echo Psalm 118, which was part of the Hallel, a song traditionally sung at the temple during Jewish festivals.

This victorious entry reminds us that although Christ endured great sorrow and suffering, ultimately, He is victorious over sin and death. 

 *What Palm Sunday Means to Latter-day Saints* 

Though many of Jesus’s followers thought He would save them from Roman oppression, He came to earth for a more eternal purpose — to save all humankind from sin and death. Through the Atonement of Jesus Christ, all God’s children “may be saved, by obedience to the laws and ordinances of the Gospel” (Articles of Faith 1:3).

 

“As Zechariah and the Psalmist prophetically foretold, our Lord entered Jerusalem riding a colt as multitudes knowingly cried, ‘Hosanna in the highest’ (Matthew 21:9). Hosanna means ‘save now,’” Elder Gong said. He noted that from Old Testament times, the waving of palm branches accompanied the chanting of “Save now, I beseech thee, O Lord” 

One week following Palm Sunday is Easter Sunday. “At Easter, we sing hallelujah. Hallelujah means ‘praise ye the Lord Jehovah,’” 

 “Hallelujah.”

 Hosanna is our plea for God to save. Hallelujah expresses our praise to the Lord for the hope of salvation and exaltation. In hosanna and hallelujah we recognize the living Jesus Christ as the heart of Easter and latter-day restoration.”

  “It is fitting that during the week from Palm Sunday to Easter morning we turn our thoughts to Jesus Christ, the source of light, life and love. The multitudes in Jerusalem may have seen Him as a great king who would give them freedom from political oppression. But in reality He gave much more than that. He gave us His gospel, a pearl beyond price, the grand key of knowledge that, once understood and applied, unlocks a life of happiness, peace and fulfillment. …

“Let us remember on this Palm Sunday, during this Easter season, and always that the restored gospel of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ has the power to fill any emptiness, heal any wound, and bridge any vale of sorrow. It is the way of hope, faith, and trust in the Lord” (“The Way of the Disciple”).

 

“I invite you to make this coming week truly holy by remembering — not just the palms that were waved to honor the entrance of Jesus into Jerusalem — but by remembering the palms of His hands,”

 

The Savior’s promise in Isaiah 49:16: “Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands” — a promise 

Jesus Christ “will never forget you.”

“After all that Jesus Christ did for you, I invite you to do something this week to follow His teachings,” 

 “You might make your prayers more earnest. You could forgive someone or help a friend in need. You can start today on a new spiritual quest.”

 

“As our resurrected and atoning Savior, He stands ready to help us grow from the dramatic, unexpected events in our lives. And this Easter season, let us worship and praise Him for the peace, hope, light and truth He brings to us.amen.