Holy Week Sunday

Today marks the first day of Holy Week, which is the final week of Jesus’ earthly ministry. Each day something important happened leading up to the crucifixion of Christ and, ultimately, His incredible resurrection which we will celebrate on Sunday. I think it’s important to understand all that happened this week, so I will be posting some interesting information about each day.
Fun Fact…25% of Luke’s gospel, 33% of Matthew’s, 40% of Mark’s, and 50% of John’s are all about these last 7 days of Jesus’ life. Isn’t that incredible?!

Today is Palm Sunday.

In Matthew 21 and Mark 11, there is a story about how Jesus sent 2 disciples to fetch him a colt. He tells them exactly where it will be and what to say when they are questioned. The disciples went into the village, and it happened exactly as Jesus had said. They brought Him the colt and Jesus rode it into Jerusalem. Jesus knew the religious leaders were going to arrest and condemn Him, but He boldly and willingly went. I love that! As He rode into town a large crowd started to follow him. They laid their cloaks on the road as an act of recognition, loyalty, and support while shouting “Hosanna the Son of David. Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord. Hosanna in the highest heaven!” Hosanna means “to save” and was addressed to kings. By shouting this they were acknowledging that Jesus was the Messiah. People were waving palm branches, which were symbols of victory and success, a token of rejoicing. I can just imagine the joy and excitement!

This event is called the triumphal entry. It was prophesied about in Zechariah 9:9 almost 600 years earlier and was fulfilled on the exact day of Daniel’s 70 weeks prophecy in Daniel 9.