John 12:12-19: The Symbols of Palm Sunday: Part 1 Triumphal Entry

Palm Sunday is a significant day in the Christian Church. Any of us who have grown up in the church or who have been going to church for a few years have inevitably been to a few Palm Sunday services. Do we know what the big deal is about Palm Sunday?

John in his gospel does a great job of telling us the meaning of Palm Sunday in his record of the triumphal entry. He uses a lot of symbolism – not unlike Shakespeare in ‘Julius Caesar’. This week we are going to pull out five pieces of that imagery and then put it back together for a full picture of what Palm Sunday looks like in our life today. In this entry we are going to look at Triumphal Entry and Jerusalem. First, let’s re-read John 12:12-19:

The next day the great crowd that had come for the festival heard that Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem. They took palm branches and went out to meet him, shouting,

“Hosanna!”

“Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!”

“Blessed is the king of Israel!”

Jesus found a young donkey and sat on it, as it is written: “Do not be afraid, Daughter Zion; see, your king is coming,

seated on a donkey’s colt.”

At first his disciples did not understand all this. Only after Jesus was glorified did they realize that these things had been written about him and that these things had been done to him.

Now the crowd that was with him when he called Lazarus from the tomb and raised him from the dead continued to spread the word. Many people, because they had heard that he had performed this sign, went out to meet him. So the Pharisees said to one another, “See, this is getting us nowhere. Look how the whole world has gone after him!”

1. THE TRIUMPHAL ENTRY

Image number one: Palm Sunday is about the Triumphal entry. What is a triumph? It is victory. These days we have victory parades when teams win championships. In Regina, they officially called part of one of their busiest streets ‘the Green Mile’ for Roughrider fans paraded down there when they won the championship. Many teams have official parades when they win championships. What about Toronto? When the Argonauts or the Blue Jays won the championship, did they have a parade, a triumphal return to the city after winning the championship? Can you imagine if the Maple Leafs win? What kind of a celebration would happen then? This is what is happening here. Jesus is riding into the city and it is celebrated as a triumph. But it is before the game that Jesus' triumph is being celebrated. It is in advance of the Great Cup or Game 7, it is in anticipation of the coming victory.

Comments

Psalm 147:7-11: Does God Prohibit the Kilt?

7 Sing to the Lord with grateful praise; make music to our God on the harp. 8 He covers the sky with clouds; he supplies the earth with rain and makes grass grow on the hills. 9 He provides food for the cattle and for the young ravens when they call. 10 His pleasure is not in the strength of the horse, nor his delight in the legs of a man [or ‘the warrior’]; 11 the Lord delights in those who fear him, who put their hope in his unfailing love. Psalm 147:10 : “His pleasure is not in the strength of the horse, nor his delight in the legs of a man.” I thought this was an appropriate passage to look at on Robbie Burns Day. For Christmas one year Susan bought me some Bible Commentaries on Psalms. In one of these books the author, Peter C. Craigie, from Scotland, writes: …. It was the custom in Scotland for boys to ...

Resurrection and Frankenstein's Creation (2 Corinthians 5:17 and Revelation 21 3b-4)

2 Corinthians 5:17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! We went to see Frankenstein the Ballet last night. If anyone knows that story. The beginning is like the book. Dr. Frankenstein makes a creation out of the parts of corpses who had had terrible things happen in their lives - and then he brings life to the new creation and it becomes whole - with a whole new lease on life. A new chance to live. No matter all the awful stuff that had happened before. Now - the book actually ends poorly after that but the ballet does not. The ballet includes a story of Giselle. This bride, who herself suffered a horrible fate, learned forgiveness and is resurrected. She meets Frankenstein's creation; they fall in love - and start off again, this time living a transformed life. Revelation 21:3b-4: God himself will be with them and be their God. 4 ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or ...

Low Saturday (Genesis 3, Revelation 21)

Hello, I am Major Michael Ramsay from TSA. As well as running The Salvation Army, the Bread of Life soup kitchen, shelter and The Salvation Army thrift store, I am a Christian pastor / teacher. This weekend is Easter. That is the most important time on the Christian Calendar. Christians acknowledge Jesus as God. Our teachings tell us that God, as creator, created the whole world. And when He did it was perfect. Not only did we not harm each other, ourselves or the earth; but we never got sick, we never got injured; and the earth itself – the trees did not fall to the ground and die. Animals did not eat animals. All of creation was in perfect harmony. The Creator even walked in this Garden He created with people He created. Then something happened. The first people created made a choice. Because of this choice, death, decay, harm and hurt entered the world. Where there was none before, now there was illness, injury and death for all of creation. Plants, animals and al...

Salvogesis

Search This Blog