“Rejoice greatly, Daughter Zion! Shout, Daughter Jerusalem! See, your king comes to you, righteous and victorious, lowly and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.” — Zechariah 9:9 (NIV)

Have you ever heard of Palm Sunday, but never really knew what it meant? Yeah, that was me. All I knew was that Jesus would ride into the city of Jerusalem on a Donkey, and a bunch of people would shout “Hosanna”! (ref: Matthew 21:1-11)
This is a story of a humble King, and a hopeful crowd–but it goes beyond that.

Palm Sunday marks the beginning of the “Holy Week”. It’s a picture of who Jesus is, why He came, and how He invites us to respond. When I first heard the story, I thought to myself, “Why did Jesus ride a donkey of all animals?”

Then I read the symbolization behind it. A donkey represents humility and peace. A stallion/war horse on the other hand represents war–and Jesus did not come to start a war. Not only did He come in peace, but He came to bring peace for us.
“Hosanna” means “save us now”. So imagine, a large crowd of people shouting “Hosanna! Hosanna” to Jesus–they knew He was the Savior, but they didn’t know the full picture of how He was going to save them.

Jesus receives their praise–but then in Luke 19:41 (NLT), it says, “But as he came closer to Jerusalem and saw the city ahead, he began to weep.” I prayed that God would give me a greater understanding of why Jesus began to cry as He looked at these people and He gave me one word: compassion.

What Jesus saw was a people who were in desperate need spiritually, however the people thought that Jesus would come to save them through political, natural-minded ways. He wept because there were many people who were going to suffer a horrible fate for rejecting Him. The people wanted a king who would help them politically, but Jesus came to overthrow sin and death. The people wanted temporary relief, but Jesus came to bring us eternal salvation.

Palm Sunday is a reminder that Jesus sees beyond our surface-level needs. Yes, we may need help in the natural. Today, that can look like needing help to pay the bills, finding a job, putting food on the table–these are all situations any of us can face, yet there was only one solution for us to receive a radically different life (despite the hardships we face), and that’s through Jesus’ sacrifice.

Palm Sunday is not just a historical event, but it’s an invitation for you and I! Remember that Jesus has manners! He will not force His way into our lives. We have to make that intentional decision to invite Him into our hearts; to truly receive Him and all that He has for us. Palm Sunday reminds us that PRAISE and SURRENDER is needed. That we need to praise God even through our darkest moments, and to surrender it all to Him. The crowd shouted “Hosanna,” but many didn’t understand the kind of salvation Jesus came to bring. Palm Sunday invites us to praise Him not just for what we want, but for who He is.

REFLECTION: Where in your life do you find yourself crying out ‘Hosanna—Lord, save me now,’ and how might Jesus be inviting you to trust His timing and His way of bringing peace?