Sunday, March 24, 2013

The first Palm Sunday


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!”
John 12:12-13, New International Version

A king’s welcome. The humble teacher who had been traveling the countryside arrives in Jerusalem riding on a donkey. The crowd goes crazy! They are so happy to see this man, so willing to greet him with all the accolades they can.

But as we know, this week those accolades are going to spiral downward. In just five days those cheers turn to jeers. And much worse. And Jesus knows what’s coming.

How do you think he reacted to all that attention on that first Palm Sunday? Waving and smiling to the crowd, basking in the limelight? Or with head turned down, studying his hands as they grasped the donkey’s mane? Maybe he shook his head ever so slightly, thinking, “people, you have no clue”. 
From my own PALM tree collection. 

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