When Jesus rode into Jerusalem on the never-ridden foal of a donkey, people shouted and waved palm fronds.
A large crowd of Passover visitors took palm branches and went down the road to meet him. They shouted, “Praise God!Blessings on the one who comes in the name of the Lord!Hail to the King of Israel!” (John 12:12b-13).
This had all been prophesied around 500 years before Jesus had been born. Look at what Zechariah writes:
9 Rejoice, O people of Zion! Shout in triumph, O people of Jerusalem! Look, your king is coming to you. He is righteous and victorious,yet he is humble, riding on a donkey—riding on a donkey’s colt.
10 I will remove the battle chariots from Israel and the warhorses from Jerusalem.I will destroy all the weapons used in battle, and your king will bring peace to the nations.His realm will stretch from sea to sea and from the Euphrates River to the ends of the earth.
11 Because of the covenant I made with you, sealed with blood,I will free your prisoners from death in a waterless dungeon. (Zech. 9:9-11) There is a lot of information here in Zechariah that is not always looked at when we come to Palm Sunday.
The palm fronds and rejoicing were certainly associated with a triumphal entry and victory and the people, living under Roman oppression, were hopeful that here was the King they had long awaited who they trusted would overthrow their cruel overlords.
Their enthusiasm for instant deliverance was misplaced and had they been familiar with the words of Zechariah, they would have seen Jesus’ ride into Jerusalem in a far more solemn and significant light.
Jesus is prophesied as bringing peace, yes, but it was all based on a covenant that was ”sealed with blood”, the precious blood of their Saviour. Only the blood of Jesus could free the captives from “a waterless dungeon” and “proclaim liberty to captives and freedom to prisoners” (Isa. 61:1).
All mankind is held captive to sin and death and all are destined for eternal imprisonment unless we identify with the blood covenant Jesus has provided for us and call Jesus our Lord and Saviour. Paul explains it very clearly here:
Because God’s children are human beings—made of flesh and blood—the Son also became flesh and blood. For only as a human being could he die, and only by dying could he break the power of the devil, who had the power of death.
Only in this way could he set free all who have lived their lives as slaves to the fear of dying. (Heb.2:14-15).
So this Palm Sunday, think about all the ancient prophecies that came together to prove to all those expecting the Messiah to appear, that this really was the promised Messiah. Know that recognising the Messiah demands a response from us.
It demands that we throw down our branches, our bows, our weapons of warfare, our rebellion against God, and yield ourselves to Him as our Lord and Saviour.
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All quotations are from the NLT.