The Significance of Palm Sunday in Our Faith Journey (PODCAST)
A podcast episode of Palm Sunday Blessings that examines Jesus crucified and the beautiful meaning of Palm Sunday.
Significance of Palm Sunday in Your Faith Walk – Episode Transcript
We are a little over a week away from Palm Sunday. This is one of the major Christian holidays, in addition to Christmas and Easter, but I just wanted to share some quick thoughts and reflections about how Palm Sunday can really help with your faith journey, like celebrating the day but really understanding what was happening on this day.
Now, obviously, we don’t celebrate the actual day. We don’t know the actual day of Palm Sunday. We’ve just chosen a day to observe, just like we have done with Christmas and Easter. So essentially, Palm Sunday is the day that we are commemorating Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem. He was preparing for his death. Obviously, at that time, they probably didn’t know it, but what’s really interesting is that people were cheering for him.
Shouts of Hosanna
They were waving Palm branches and shouting out “Hosanna, Hosanna in the highest.” What’s beautiful about that is “Hosanna,” it means in Hebrew “save us,” we pray or “save now.”
How did they know that Jesus was the Savior? The One who was bringing the salvation – only God can give that sort of revelation to another person. Hosanna is such a powerful expression of praise and worship and adoration to God.
What is Palm Sunday?
So, Palm Sunday is the day that we celebrate Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem. He is riding in such a humble way on a donkey of all things.
Why not a horse? Why not chariots? I don’t even know if they had chariots back then. But it’s so interesting that he chose to ride into Jerusalem on an animal that was not highly esteemed, and the Bible tells us in more places than one, how Jesus was such a humble person.
Jesus’ Humility
And, I think as an example to us that to live this life, this Christian life, we need to be humble.
He is our example and I believe it’s in Isaiah. Yes, I know it’s in Isaiah. I think it’s chapter 53. It talks about how Jesus was someone that wasn’t very pleasant to look upon. He wasn’t what you would consider extremely attractive to people. It doesn’t mean he wasn’t attractive, but as what people would consider him, he just appeared average-looking.
Prophecy about Jesus
in Isaiah chapter 53 and this is a prophecy about Jesus. Starting at verse 1 it says:
“Who has believed our message to whom has the Lord revealed his powerful arm? My servant grew up in the Lord’s presence like a tender green shoot, like a root in dry ground. There was nothing beautiful or majestic about His appearance, nothing to attract us to Him.
He was despised and rejected, a man of sorrows acquainted with deepest grief. Returned our backs on Him and looked the other way. He was despised and we did not care. Yet it was our weaknesses He carried. It was our sorrows that weigfhed Him down.
And, we thought His troubles were a punishment from God, a punishment for His own sins. But He was pierced for our rebellion, crushed for our sins. He was beaten so we could be whole. He was whipped so we could be healed.
All of us like sheep have straight away. We have left God’s paths to follow our own. Yet the Lord laid on Him the sins of us all.”
This shows us all that Jesus carried for us.
And like I said, He was not considered someone in physical appearance that people would consider Him attractive. But little did they know that this potentially average-looking man was coming to town to save their literal lives, save their souls, save their entire beings.
The True Blessing of Palm Sunday
And when we take palms on Palm Sunday, we wave, we are also giving praise to God for Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem. But not just Jerusalem. For us, it’s not really Jerusalem. Jesus came to save all of us, not just the people back then. Let me just be clear about that.
But, Jesus’ entry into the world is something to be celebrated, something to be praised, because if you think about your life today, think about the things that you have. You may not have everything you want. But if Jesus had not come, you would not have access to much of the blessings and the benefits that you have now.
Commemorating It All
That’s why it’s really very important to not just commemorate Easter, His resurrection or commemorate Christmas, His birth, but also to commemorate His death, which we celebrate on Good Friday.
But celebrating Palm Sunday in a way, we will understand that after His birth, when He entered this earth, the next thing other than the miracles and the things that happened, the things that led up to His sacrifice of His life for us, was occurring on Palm Sunday.
He was on His way. He was in the process of getting closer than ever before for Him to approach the cross on our behalf.
So we’re celebrating His entry into the world on His birth, but also His entry into Jerusalem because that is the place where he was going to give His life.
When you observe Palm Sunday, you are taking time out to not just praise God, but reflect on Holy Week, that is what’s leading up to the day where Jesus actually gives His life.
Palm Sunday Blessings: Free Reflection Cards
I have some scriptures for Palm Sunday to reflect on that I would like to share and I will leave a link in the show notes where you can obtain them, but I really want Palm Sunday to be more than a day where we’re just waving palms and just praising God and then we forget about it the next day.
It needs to be a time of true observation and true reflection upon the steps that Jesus is taking that are leading up to his death.
So that’s all I have for you today. It’s really a day of preparation, in my opinion. It’s a day of preparation, a day of reflection, and a day to give God praise for His incredible gift that He gave to mankind. Thank you so much for listening. God bless you.
In this episode, I’m sharing reflections on the significance and meaning of Palm Sunday. Mentioned in the episode are some free scripture reflection cards with powerful Bible verses for Palm Sunday that I want to share with you. You can download them for free here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1O2_cdHgSBtRoMj_P-sg3V0jOZua4daHH/view?usp=drive_link
Palm Sunday Blessings: A Prayer of Intention
Father God in Heaven, may every person reading this podcast transcription or listening to the message come to realize the beautiful sacrifice that Jesus made when He willingly rode into a town where people were torn between praising Him and hating Him. Lord, thank you for showing us humility and choosing to be crucified to redeem us from sin.
Allow the meaning of Palm Sunday to be deeply revealed and implanted within our hearts. Let this be more than a day of palm waving and then moving on. Let it be a day of revelation, reflection, and reverence. In Jesus’ Name I pray. Amen.
