Monday Musings

Yesterday was Palm Sunday.  Here are a few interesting historical and story facts.  Remember, every detail in a story should support its overall theme.

Lead Us!

The children in the crowd shouted “Hosanna” as Jesus entered Jerusalem.  This is a Hebrew word, not a New Testament Greek word. The literal translation of “Hosanna” is “lead us!” The Romans were constantly worried about armed Jewish rebellion. Jesus’ entrance and the crowd’s reaction was a politically charged situation. The entrance to the Temple was closely guarded by the Roman garrison. The children were actually the ones in the crowd shouting “lead us!” This was a shrewd move because children could not be arrested under the Roman law.

Jesus riding a young donkey has a historical significance:

It was an Ancient Eastern tradition for a conquering hero to ride into a defeated city on a horse. A returning King riding into his recaptured and rescued city, in peace, rode in on a donkey. By riding a donkey Jesus symbolically enters as a rightful King, returning to reclaim what was His.

Palm Branches have two symbolic significances:

Palms were a Jewish symbol of independence from the time the Maccabees drove out the Greeks. In Jesus’ time palms were used as a nationalistic and anti-Roman sign.  It was not uncommon for a palm leaf to be subversively stamped over the portrait of Caesar on coins from Jerusalem.

The modern name for palm, phoenix dactylifera, refers to the palm as the “phoenix tree” The palm has the ability to grow new foliage even after being burnt. Early Christians continued to use the Phoenix (plant and mythic bird) as a symbol of the resurrection. On the occasion of Jesus’ entry to the city, however, He was the only one who fully realized how significant this symbol was.

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