Waving Palms

When Jesus entered Jerusalem on a donkey, the people recognized His claim to be King.

They cheered at His arrival and spread their cloaks out before Him.  

They also cut down branches and laid them in the road. Listen to what the book of Matthew says:

Most of the crowd spread their cloaks on the road, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. And the crowds that went before him and that followed him were shouting, “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!” (Matthew 21:8-9, ESV)

The book of John tells us that the branches the people used were palm branches. The book of John does not, however, say they spread them in the road. It’s not a contradiction, but it leaves open the possibility that they used them for another purpose, as well.

As we saw yesterday, the biblical writers often include details that provide incredible insights but are easy to gloss over.

Why does it matter that they used palm branches?

God instructed the nation of Israel to celebrate seven festivals throughout the year. One of those festivals was called Sukkot – or the Feast of Shelters.

On the feast of Sukkot, the Jews would gather and remember how God had sheltered them (and sheltered with them) in the desert after He’d led them out of their slavery in Egypt.

Sukkot took place at the beginning of the rainy season. So, they would gather together and pray for rain, waving palm branches, and shouting, “Hosanna!” which means, “God, save us!” Even as they remembered God’s salvation in the past, they would pray for God’s salvation in the future.

But we’re in Passover week (another festival that we’ll get to in a later post) – not Sukkot week.

This is like putting up a Christmas tree at Easter. It doesn’t fit.

So, why are there palm branches? Why are the people crying out ‘Hosanna’?

Indulge me in a little bit of history.

About 200 hundred years before Jesus’s time, Israel was controlled by the Greeks. The Greeks defiled God’s house. They sacrificed pigs in the Temple and slept with prostitutes in the Temple courts. A priestly family called the Maccabees rose up in revolt, defeated the Greeks, and cleaned out the Temple. They later realized that in the chaos of war they had missed Sukkot. So, they decided to celebrate it late that year.

There’s a real chance that Easter is going to look different this year. We may not be able to gather together as a church. We may have to delay egg hunts for the sake of social distancing. We may have to hold off on giving baskets of treats. What if we can’t celebrate Easter together until July?

We would never forget the year we postponed Easter.

Well, the Jews never forgot the year they postponed Sukkot either. And, consequently, the palm branches and the shouting of “Hosanna” took on a new significance. They came to represent victory. “Hoshana” (as its pronounced in Hebrew) came to mean not only “God save us from starvation by sending rain,” but “God save us from our enemies by destroying them.” It took on a political meaning, not just a religious one.

Let’s come back to Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem. Israel was not free. They were occupied by Rome. This time around, it is not Maccabees revolting, but another Jewish sect. The Zealots.

The palm branch became the Zealot flag and “Hoshana” became the war cry.

So, when Jesus enters Jerusalem and is greeted by a crowd waving palm branches and shouting “Hoshana,” what are the people hoping for? Revolt. “Come on, Jesus! Let’s overthrow Rome! Let’s triumph over our enemies!”

The book of Luke tells us that as Jesus wept as He approached the city. “How I wish today that you of all people would understand the way to peace. But now it is too late, and peace is hidden from your eyes.” (Luke 19:42, NLT)

They interpreted Jesus’ mission through the lens of the Zealot mission.

They waved the Zealot flag.

We all wave a flag. We all interpret Jesus through the lens of our own pre-commitments – to political parties, to media outlets, to cultural customs, to, well, just about anything.

The problem is that we all have it backwards.

Our pre-commitments do not shape Jesus. Rather, Jesus must be the pre-commitment that shapes everything else.

“Then Jesus said to his disciples, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross, and follow me.” (Matthew 16:24, NLT)

This is what it means to follow Jesus. It means to take up the cross.

But before we can take up our cross, we must lay down our palm branches.

Read John 12:12-16 (preferably in the English Standard Version, since it retains the use of the word “Hosanna”). Reflect on your “palm branches” – the pre-commitments you bring into your relationship with Jesus. What do you need to lay down?