The Significance of Palm Sunday

Palm Sunday marks the beginning of Holy Week, or the week leading up to Easter Sunday. Most of us know the importance of Easter as one of the most foundational days of our faith when Christ victoriously rose from the grave defeating sin and death, but what is the significance of Palm Sunday and how can we effectively communicate it to the girls in our sphere of influence? I’d like to break down three features of the Palm Sunday story found in Matthew 21:1-11 for you to easily share with your girls as well: the donkey, the crowds, and the palm branches.

• A donkey marks the beginning of the account of Jesus’s Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem as we see Jesus instruct His disciples to find a donkey for Him to enter the city on. (Matt. 21:1 – 7). I can’t help but recall the last time a donkey was chosen as a vessel—when Mary rode on the back of a donkey carrying baby Jesus in her womb. This time we see Jesus Himself entering into the city of Jerusalem on a humble donkey. A seemingly small detail that takes up the first seven verses actually serves to beautifully tie the Old Testament into the New Testament. Matthew 21:5 reveals this as a fulfillment of a prophecy found in Zechariah 9:9. This connection to the Old Testament is just another example of how the whole Bible points to Jesus; He is on every page.
  
  
• The crowd is another key detail to look closer at in discussing Palm Sunday with your girls. Jesus was leading a crowd of His followers and disciples, many who had possibly been following Him since He began His earthly ministry in Galilee. These people had seen Jesus preform many miracles and wondrous acts firsthand. They were some of the first to begin to see Jesus for who He really is, the Son of God (Mark 10:47).
  
  
• The palm branches and cloaks the crowd lay on the road before Jesus are signs of an overflow of joyous praise. The people shout, “Hosanna! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord.” Hosanna means “O save us” in Hebrew and I loved discovering this detail. It gives so much more insight to the meaning of this event. Like many of us before we came to know Jesus as our Savior, this crowd does not know just how desperately they need Jesus to save them (Rom. 3:10 – 12).

Jesus’s time and life on Earth had all been leading up to the cross, and His entrance into the city on Palm Sunday began the final steps in the plan for salvation that God decreed before the ages and promised to Adam and Eve in the garden (Genesis 3:15). Jesus came to die for the crowd of sinners that followed Him as well as the crowd of sinners that would shout “Crucify Him.” Both crowds regardless of their actions were in need of salvation, like us, and both crowds were given an incredible gift of grace that we too partake in (Romans 6:23).

This week going forward challenge your girls to think about who they see Jesus as? Is He merely a problem solver in hard times? A moral teacher with good advice? Or do they see Him as Lord of their life and rescuer from sin? Then who do they see themselves as in light of Him? Do they see a good girl who follows the rules, a girl seemingly too far gone to be redeemed? Or a girl humbly broken in sin, but looking to Jesus as Savior?

As we remember the significance of Palm Sunday and Easter Sunday, let us not forget that we are nothing more than redeemed sinners ourselves and let us proclaim the truths we discover through Scripture with the good news of the gospel as we teach those around us.

Amalee Bingham currently lives in central Texas with her husband, Marshall, who is in the military. She is ever thankful to the Lord for those who have come alongside her to share not only the gospel, but their lives as well. In whatever context the military takes her, she desires to do the same for those around her. Amalee also enjoys writing, studying the bible, baking, and loving on her chocolate lab pup! Connect with Amalee: Instagram