Palm Sunday

Anthony and I spoke at church on Palm Sunday about the Atonement. We were given the topic the Atonement and 2 talks given by church leaders and 15 minutes to speak. I very much dislike public speaking but usually you don't get ask to speak very frequently. Here is a little I learned about Palm Sunday from my talk.

Palm Sunday is the anniversary of the occasion nearly two thousand years ago when Jesus of Nazareth entered the holy city of Jerusalem as the promised Messiah. Riding on a young donkey He fulfilled Zechariah’s ancient prophecy. His pathway was lined for him with palm leaves, flowering branches, and some of their own garments, thus carpeting the way properly for the passing of a king. He was their king; these were his subjects.

In Matt. 21:9 is reads And the multitudes that went before, and that followed, cried, saying, Hosanna to the Son of David: Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord; Hosanna in the highest. And in John 12:12-13 it reads, "Much people that were come to the feast, when they heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem, Took branches of palm trees, and went forth to meet him, and cried, Hosanna: Blessed is the King of Israel that cometh in the name of the Lord." A simple tradition could be reading those two scriptures on Palm Sunday to remind us that Easter is coming.

I found interesting information about palm trees in the Friend Magazine an article called Palms for the Lord (By Dorothy D. Warner) it teaches about palms. Many people think that palm branches were used because there were so many palm trees in that part of the world, but there were more reasons than that for choosing them. The palm branch was the emblem of Judea and appeared on the coins of that land, thus symbolizing one of the riches of that country. When Jesus entered Jerusalem, it was when the trees were in bloom, so in covering the way with palm branches, the people were offering a symbol of luxury.

It was a symbol of necessity too. To the Jews, palm branches represented a gift from God because of its many uses in their lives. The palm was so important in that area that when countries there went to war, the first thing they did was cut away the palm branches, causing their enemy to suffer the loss of food and livelihood (jobs).

This important tree has many different species. The different species supply dates, coconut, coconut milk, sap is made into fine sugar, leaves as a vegetable, the trunk supplied a strong starch that was ground into flour, coarse fiber was used to make brooms, mats, and baskets; their fine fiber was used to make sewing thread, and their heaviest fiber was used to make strong ropes for ships. Palm oils have been made into both butter and soap. Flowers used as perfume and decorations. Spreading palm branches at Jesus’ feet was, then, a symbol of the giving up of worldly goods, both necessities and luxuries.

Palm trees, who knew!