Day 1 – Palm Sunday.
OK, so here are the facts (in the words of Elder Uchtdorf) “Today is the day the Christian world traditionally calls Palm Sunday. You will remember that it was on that Sunday nearly 2,000 years ago that Jesus Christ entered the city of Jerusalem during the final week of His mortal life. In fulfillment of Zechariah’s ancient prophecy, He rode in on a donkey, and as He did so, a great multitude came out to greet the Master and carpeted the path before Him with palm leaves, flowering branches, and even their own garments. As He approached, they cried, “Blessed be the King that cometh in the name of the Lord” and “Hosanna to the Son of David.” “
And now here is what I think, this was an AWESOME day. Christ’s disciples were probably ecstatic; finally Christ was receiving the praise they knew he deserved! The Jews were probably stoked because they thought Christ was coming to deliver them from bondage and lead them into victory. Daniel H. Ludlow explains, “All of these acts [placing their garment and palm leaves in the street] were symbols of respect, and the use of the title ‘Son of David’ indicated that the multitude accepted the Savior as the long-awaited Messiah, for this was the sacred title reserved for the Messiah. No wonder the common people followed him in great multitudes, greeting him as the Messiah, the ‘Son of David.’ Evidently many of the people expected him to now go into the city and fulfill some of the other prophecies stated about him, including his taking possession of the armies of Israel and leading them to victory over their enemies and then establishing a reign of peace and justice and righteousness upon the earth.”
To fuel their hope, Christ rides into town and clears out the temple of the moneychangers. To a people who are seeking peace, Christ first gives it to them in their temples. And as if that isn’t enough, he continues to heal the blind and the lame, performing miracles as if to show his power to their enemies. Christ even verbalizes what they were probably feeling when in John 12:23 he states, “The hour is come, that the Son of man should be glorified.” The people were so excited that the chief priests start to get nervous about the power Christ has (Matt 21:15).
But I think there was more than just a jubilant party. If you think more about Christ’s words, “glorified” could mean a whole lot more than simply “praised.” Christ explains in John right after this phrase concerning glorification, “Verily, verily I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit.” Christ knew long before this day what his fate was, and perhaps even knew what this act set in motion. In John 12:27 Christ says, “Now is my soul troubled; and what shall I say? Father, save me from this hour: but for this cause came I unto this hour.” I am not claiming that Christ by any means was not thrilled to see his followers, but I think He understood much more concerning the situation. I think he knew that by riding into Jerusalem, He was declaring Himself as Messiah, and setting Himself up for crucifixion.
Christ came into Jerusalem praised and glorified on only one day. He cleaned the temple and spoke to the people. The voice of God was even recorded. But my understanding was that Christ saw and knew this to be a start to a greater hope. I think He knew what declaring Himself as the Messiah would mean, and I am grateful he took that dangerous ride into Jerusalem.
So on Palm Sunday a lot of religions put up branches etc to celebrate His entrance (in reality to celebrate the recognition of his role as Messiah). The LDS religion doesn’t DO anything special but they do preach an important message:
He is the Messiah.
