Revelation 7
On the Sunday before Jesus was crucified, He rode into Jerusalem triumphantly on a donkey. It was the week of Passover, the highest Jewish feast of the year. Jewish pilgrims came to Jerusalem from all over the world to celebrate this feast. But this year was different. There was a lot of talk about this rabbi called Jesus of Nazareth wondering if he could be the Messiah. On that Sunday, news spread that he was about to ride into Jerusalem on a donkey.
This action in itself carried great significance. People expected their Messiah to ride into Jerusalem triumphantly one day. They also longed for release from the oppressive rule of the Romans. So the large crowd took branches of palm trees and went out to meet him. Palm leaves often symbolized victory or hailed a king. They shouted the word “Hosanna” which means “the Lord saves” or “Lord save us.” They also shouted “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, even the King of Israel!” The impact of Jesus’ entry on that Palm Sunday shook the religious establishment. They spent the next couple of days trying to trip Him up with questions so they could arrest Him and keep Him away from the people. But they could not trap Him. So they decided to kill him and they would get the Romans to do it for them in the event we now commemorate called Good Friday.
But what happened to the Palm Sunday crowd?
