They took palm
branches and went
out to meet him,
shouting, “Hosanna!
Blessed is he who
comes in the name of
the Lord! Blessed is
the king of
Israel!” John 12:13
There were two crowds
who greeted Jesus on
that first Palm
Sunday. The first
crowd were Passover
celebrators who came
out from Jerusalem to
meet Jesus as he
approached from
Bethany (John 12:12). The second
crowd was made up of
those accompanying Him
from Bethany who had
witnessed the recent
miraculous
resurrection of
Lazarus (John 12:17). Both
crowds loudly
proclaimed praises to
Jesus as he rode into
town on a donkey on
the road leading Him
to Calvary.
John’s account of
this day also
indicates there were
two types of responses
to Jesus as he rode
into Jerusalem. One
outspoken group
“continued to spread
the word” about Jesus
causing many people to
look for Him. It even
caused the Pharisees
to say, “Look how the
whole world has gone
after him” (John 12: 19).
A second group
believed in Jesus but
would not publicly
confess their faith
because of fear of
losing their status in
the local synagogue.
They loved praise from
men more than praise
from God, John
concluded (John 12:42-43).
Palm Sunday is thus a
challenge to us about
how outspoken or not
we are about King
Jesus. Do we continue
to loudly proclaim Him
as our King or are we
so fearful of
consequences that we
hold back and
hesitate, losing every
opportunity to make
Him known.
A pastor friend of
Rev. Joseph Tson in
Romania was told by an
interrogating officer,
“We know that Mr Tson
would love to be a
martyr, but we are not
so foolish as to
fulfill his wish.”
Pastor Tson said:
Now that I had placed
my life on the altar
and decided I was
ready to die for the
Gospel, they were
telling me they would
not kill me. I could
go wherever I wanted
in the country and
preach whatever I
wanted knowing I was
safe. As long as I
tried to save my life,
I was losing it. Now
that I was willing to
lose it, I found it…
Jesus taught us long
ago: with Him, the
road down leads
upward. With Him, the
path of suffering ends
in victory. The road
to Calvary does not
stop until resurrection.
RESPONSE: Today I
commit to joining
the group of
disciples who
“continue to spread
the word.”
PRAYER: Lord, help
me walk the Calvary
road with You right
through to
resurrection!