Palm Sunday — Who is Jesus?

“Hosanna! Hosanna! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord!”

people shouted to Jesus riding on the donkey as they jubilantly waved palm fronds.

Who is this person called Jesus of Nazareth?

Jesus, riding on the back of this animal, had an unusual look on his face as he rode into town.

Although He was smiling, He had a look of determination that conveyed Nothing will prevent me from completing my mission.

Who is He?

Some say He was the illegitimate son of Mary and a Roman soldier. Some say He was the son of Mary and Joseph, born out of wedlock but became an occult master — a person in whom the cosmic spirits chose to dwell.

Yet others say He was a good man of high morals, a prophet and a rabbi.

In any of the above circumstances, He would have been a liar, a fraud, deluded, crazy, or demon-possessed, because Jesus claimed to be God.

In a few days, churches will have mini-dramas where children walk down the aisle waving palm branches (fronds) sweetly saying, “Hosanna to God in the Highest,” and pastors will preach about Jesus riding into Jerusalem on the donkey. And why not? It’ll be Palm Sunday.

But who is He? Jesus was the greatest dichotomy of all time: He is both God and man.

He was the greatest contradiction of all time: He is the creator of all that exists, yet he entered humanity through the lowly, natural birth of a human baby (John 1:1-4, 14).

He was the greatest controversy of all time: As the highest authority in the universe, He will judge our sin. Yet, He received judgment in our place as a criminal, thereby freeing us from the penalty of sin if we confess, repent, and live for Him.

Do we understand what took place on that historic day? The day we call Palm Sunday?

First of all, Hosanna! wasn’t a form of praise but was a political shout which carried the idea of Save us from our enemies!

Secondly, the palm frond was not a symbol of peace but was the political symbol of a free national Israel. It was equivalent to waving the nation’s flag.

Thirdly, the statement “Blessed is he (or ‘the King’) who comes in the name of the Lord” referred to the people’s hope for their long-awaited Messiah — a military messiah or prophet — who would send the Romans retreating back to Rome.

Fourthly, riding into Jerusalem on a donkey was symbolic of a king proclaiming victory and arriving to take the throne.

And fifthly, the commotion sounded like another rebellion or uprising, and the Pharisees wanted the people to hush up so the Romans wouldn’t come and kill them.

The populace didn’t understand the prophecy in Zechariah 9:10-11 which says, “Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem! Look, your king comes to you; triumphant and victorious, humble and riding on a donkey, on a colt the foal of a donkey. I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim and the war horse from Jerusalem; and the battle bow shall be cut off, and he shall establish peace throughout the nations; his dominion shall be from sea to sea, and from the River to the ends of the earth. As for you also, because of the blood of my covenant with you, I will set your captives free from the waterless pit.”

Although the people knew the prophecy, they missed the meaning.

The three concepts are: the Messiah would come in peace, not war; He would be king over the entire world, not just Israel; and He would free people from the bondage of sin and death, not from a political foe.

Jesus didn’t come to conquer Rome but to conquer sin and death. However, He could do this only by dying for us.

When Jesus asked His friends what people thought of Him, Matthew 16:18 tells us, “Some say that thou art John the Baptist; some, Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets. Then Jesus asked them who they thought He was. Peter blurted out, impetuously but truthfully, ‘You are Christ; the Son of the Living God.’”

Jesus agreed, affirming that He, Jesus, was and is God.

Palm Sunday. Jesus rode into town as a royal monarch arriving to establish His kingdom. But as He told Pilate several days later, His kingdom was not of this world.

We’ll continue next week.