PALM SUNDAY The beginning of Holy Week The
PALM SUNDAY The beginning of Holy Week
The start of Jesus' final journey to the cross We are waiting during this last week of Lent for Easter and the celebration of the Resurrection. What does that waiting mean for us as human beings? Maybe we are waiting as Christians with our faith and belief. Maybe we are waiting to find our faith. Whoever we are, we can use this time to question what Palm Sunday means.
SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT • "Jesus knows what it means. It means debasement, revilement , persecution. It means being misunderstood. It means hatred, death, the cross. And he chooses this way from the very outset. It is the way of obedience and the way of freedom, for it is the way of God …. . . And we are going with him, as individuals and as the church. We are the church beneath the cross, that is, in disguise. Yet here as well, all we can do is realize that our kingdom, too, is not of this world. " • Dietrich Bonhoeffer devotional at Berlin, Technical Institute Passiontide 1932
WHAT KIND OF KING? On Palm Sunday we remember Jesus' triumphant arrival in Jerusalem. To his contemporaries Jesus was seen as the Messiah who would save Israel from Roman rule. As Christians we see his Kingship differently
SEE HOW YOUR KING COMES The next day the huge crowd that had arrived for the Feast heard that Jesus was entering Jerusalem. They broke off palm branches and went out to meet him. And they cheered: Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in God's name! Yes! The King of Israel! Jesus got a young donkey and rode it, just as the Scripture has it: No fear, Daughter of Zion: See how your king comes, riding a donkey's colt. The disciples didn't notice the fulfillment of many Scriptures at the time, but after Jesus was glorified, they remembered that was written about him matched what was done. John 12 12: 16 The Message/Remix
IS JESUS BEING WELCOMED AS GOD? When King Solomon built his Temple to God : "He then carved engravings of cherubim, palm trees, and flower blossoms on all the walls of both the Inner and Main Sanctuary. " 1 Kings 29 In Psalms 24 and 31 there are references to God coming in person to Israel. Jesus is welcomed into Jerusalem by a crowd carrying palm leaves John 12 12 – 13
TIME TO THINK What do the events of Palm Sunday mean to you? How does Palm Sunday relate to the rest of Holy Week? What kind of King is Jesus?
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