What a weird day.Quick, grab some big branches from that palm tree and put it on the road, Jesus is coming! He had been just on the other side of the ridge in the town of Bethany and had brought his friend Lazarus back to life, why didn't they do the palm branch thing then?
And what script were they reading from? How did they all know what to shout, was it just one person that screamed something catchy that others joined in on, like the chants at a hockey or soccer game?
Maybe there was more...
It seems like they had been reading the Psalms. Who can ascend the hill of the Lord? Who can stand in Zion? Who is the messiah/king that the Lord has appointed in Psalm 2? And now we have Jesus healing the sick, raising people from the dead on his way 'to ascend' to Jerusalem, could this be the one?
"This is the day that the Lord has made let us rejoice and be glad in it (Ps. 118:24)"
What day is that? The day that the king is revealed and ascends the hill of the Lord, what the book of Psalms has been leading up to. And what should they do to rejoice? What should they say or do? Just keep reading...
"Save us, (Hosanna) we pray, O LORD! O LORD, we pray, give us success! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the LORD! We bless you from the house of the LORD. The Lord is God,and he has made his light shine upon us. With big boughs in hand (could be palm branches), join in the festal procession up to the horns of the altar. (Ps. 118:25-27)"
A festal procession with big branches that ends in sacrifice! They weren't simply creating a new holiday, they were proclaiming that Jesus is the King who is worthy to ascend the throne. This is it, this is the day that the Lord had made 1,000s of years ago, it was taking place!
So as you may prepare to join that celebration this week, to welcome the long awaited Messiah, may the palm branches remind you of the Psalms. Jesus 'triumphal entry' into Jerusalem is the ascension of Jesus to the 'horns of the altar' where he would lay down his life in sacrifice for you and me.
