Dear Friends,
Imagine the excitement. Five days before the Passover celebration, word had spread through the crowd that Jesus was coming to town. For the past three years this humble man had been the miracle worker. Some in the crowd may have been there when he performed that first miracle — changing water to wine at the wedding in Cana. Others may have been among the thousands who had been fed with the loaves and fishes. Perhaps some had been healed or freed from demons.
Many in the crowd had seen Jesus call Lazarus from the tomb, raising him from the dead, and they were telling others about it. That was the reason so many went out to meet him—because they had heard about this miraculous sign.
John 12:17-18 (NLT)
How would they lay out the “red carpet” for him?
Many in the crowd spread their garments on the road ahead of him, and others spread leafy branches they had cut in the fields. Jesus was in the center of the procession, and the people all around him were shouting, “Praise God! Blessings on the one who comes in the name of the LORD! Blessings on the coming Kingdom of our ancestor David! Praise God in highest heaven!” John 11:8-10
Have you ever wondered why the crowd chose palm fronds as part of the celebration? I found an article on the internet in which André H. Roosma, a professor of Hebrew History, explained the rich biblical symbolism related to the palm tree:
“The Bible presents a lot of symbolism featuring the palm tree.
God refers in His Word to a number of characteristic aspects of the palm tree:
• an abundance of especially refreshing fruits;
• its growth: rather fast, and straight up;
• the ever-green leaves at its top;
• with its raised branches/leaves (the official term is: fronds) at its top it seems to worship God the way it was done in Biblical times: with raised arms;
• to that end, those fronds let themselves easily moved by the wind (compare: the Spirit of God);
• by its example and by its fruits it stimulates men to look up and to listen to God.
The most widely used Biblical Hebrew word for ‘palm tree’ is תמר – tamar. In the old pictographic script this is: … ‘the sign of water/abundance of … (God)1!”
In the Old Testament, Palm fronds were part of the artwork in Solomon’s Temple. They were also included in the list of articles the Jews were to use as part of the celebration of the Feast of Tabernacles, one of the seven holy days introduced in Leviticus 23.
On the first day you are to take choice fruit, palm fronds, thick branches and river-willows, and celebrate in the presence of ADONAI your God for seven days.
Leviticus 23:40 Complete Jewish Bible (CJB)
In Psalm 92, the righteous man — the one who is right with God is compared to the palm tree. This Palm Sunday, I encourage you to take time to examine your life with the palm tree as a measure. We are all, to varying degrees, beneficiaries of God’s abundance. When we allow ourselves to be guided by the Holy Spirit, we will, like palm trees, flourish, bear fruit, stay green, and stand as examples that stimulate others to celebrate the presence of God in our lives.
The righteous will flourish like a palm tree,
they will grow like a cedar of Lebanon;
planted in the house of the LORD,
they will flourish in the courts of our God.
They will still bear fruit in old age,
they will stay fresh and green,
proclaiming, “The LORD is upright;
he is my Rock, and there is no wickedness in him.
Psalm 92:12-15 (NIV)
Blessings,
Your Friends in Christ
Because He Loves Us Press 