What is Palm Sunday all about? Why did Jesus organise for his disciples to get him a baby donkey to ride on as he entered Jerusalem? Palm Sunday is Jesus sending a message; ‘I am here, and I am your king’.
The donkey was from the town of Bethany, which was the village where Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead. The whole village had heard of Jesus’ power. So when the disciples told the townsfolk that ‘the Lord needs them’ (i.e. needs the donkeys), they would have come running. Jesus is purposefully building a crowd in which to announce ‘I am here’ to Jerusalem.
Yet he is also announcing ‘and I am your king’. By riding on a donkey, Jesus was purposefully fulfilling the prophesy of Zech 9:9, which is about the Messiah. Jesus was declaring himself to be the promised forever king of the universe; perhaps the most grandiose claim ever made by a human.
Yet the donkey is probably the lowest of steeds. So in riding on a donkey, Jesus was announcing that he is not a triumphant military king, but a humble king; one who is vulnerable and defenceless. Why? To declare that he was not there to defeat the Romans, but to defeat Israel’s real enemy; Sin. Sure, Jesus could have called forth ten legions of heavenly soldiers (Matt 26:53) to defeat Israel’s earthly enemies. But that wouldn’t deal with Israel’s real problem; their alienation from God. Only his death could do that.
So why did Jesus send this message? To elicit a response from the people of Israel; ‘either crown me as king, or kill me as a criminal’. Sadly the Jewish leaders coerced enough people into killing Jesus a week later. But on Palm Sunday, the people cried ‘Hosanna’ (Lit: ‘save us please’) and rejoiced that their king had arrived. And Jesus calls people still today to respond in the same way.
