Once again we are entering the wonderful season of Pesach/Passover. The remembrance of the Exodus from Egyptian bondage when the children of Israel left slavery behind; and the blood of an innocent lamb was smeared on the lintel and dalet/door posts, so the angel of death would see it and Pass-over that home. The firstborn of every household that had no blood applied died that night. The first Passover was a prophetic picture of the Messiah Yeshua haMashiach/Jesus Christ, Who came and was Himself the Passover Lamb and became the firstborn from the dead. He called Himself the Door/Dalet and His blood was shed so that when we apply it to our lives we have passed over from spiritual death to life.

There is so much prophetic symbolism and deep meaning in these events, much of which has been covered over the years in previous posts. However there are always pearls hidden for us to discover and as we often call the weekend prior to Passover Palm Sunday, let’s take a look at some things we may have missed.

Why do we call it Palm Sunday?

No doubt it is in reference to John 12:13:  “Took branches of palm trees, and went forth to meet him, and cried, Hosanna: Blessed [is] the King of Israel that cometh in the name of the Lord.”  

Some call this day the Triumphal Entry.

The people cried Hosanna which is really a Greek transliteration of the

Aramaic word Hoshanna, 

which means:

to save, rescue or help

and in this form it can be easily translated as 

Salvation has come. 

So when we read in the gospels that Messiah Yeshua/Jesus entered Yerushalayim/Jerusalem a week before His crucifixion, He was greeted with a crowd who were joyfully shouting: 

Salvation has come.

Picture this, that they were shouting salvation has come, as the road to Yerushalayim /Jerusalem was lined with thousands of the pilgrims who were commanded to present themselves every year at one of the 3 Shalosh Regalim, required Appointed Times/moedim. This moed was rehearsed annually by the Israelites believing that one day Messiah would come and this year He did!

In order to fulfill the prophecy in Zechariah 9:9, He purposely entered riding a donkey, and not only that but also to show that He was coming in peace/shalom. In those days when someone rode into a city on a horse it was usually to announce the presence of royalty and it could also indicate an intention to make war; so when the people saw Yeshua/Jesus ride in on a donkey everyone immediately understood that He was not there to set Himself up as a king nor to declare His intention to overthrow the existing government.  Again we miss so much when we are unaware of cultural symbolism and their significance, often misinterpreting the picture presented to us in scripture. Most of us have probably heard sermons which criticize the Jews of that time, saying that one week they were cheering Yeshua/Jesus and then the next week they were shouting demanding for his death; claiming that this change in attitude by the Jews is due to their disappointment when He didn’t lead the overthrow of the Roman government.

Here we should look at the situation where the crowd called for Barabbas to be set free and for Messiah to be crucified. There is no evidence, other than church tradition, that supports that all the people were wanting Messiah dead. In fact the court that Jesus/Yeshua was tried in when people cried out for His crucifixion could only hold 30-50 people. In the film The Passion of the Christ we are shown the most accurate scene where only a select few were allowed to be in the inner court and there was a small crowd of supporters pushing to gain access but were forced out. In Matthew 27:25 the scene before Pilate is known as the Pavement of Judgment and was part of the famous Antonio Fortress complex which served as a military barracks for the Roman soldiers guarding the Temple Mount and was large enough for only 300 people.

These were individuals gathered by and stirred up by the Cohen haGadol/High Priest, Sanhedrin and religious hierarchy. The Role Of The Sanhedrin Mark 15:11 notes, “the chief priests stirred up the crowd to have him release Barabbas instead.” The Sanhedrin had already convicted Yeshua/Jesus of blasphemy (Luke 22:67-71) but lacked authority to enforce capital punishment (John 18:31).So it was not the thousands who had lined the road to Yerushalayim/Jerusalem but approx. between 50 – 300 people who demanded His death and declared his blood be upon us and our children, accepting guilt for His death. This means that it was confined only to those present and not to all of Israel; and further, Messiah Himself forgave them from the cross in Luke 23:34 and therefore it should not be viewed or used as a reason to fuel flames of anti-Semitism.

Sadly in some cases the church has portrayed the Jews as blood thirsty killers of the Messiah who demanded that He be put to death.  It should be remembered that the average Israelite had no desire for anyones execution, they had lived through wars and captivity and with the government of Rome using crucifixion the last thing they wanted was to see an execution of a holy man, a prophet and miracle worker. The sages had so many rules and regulations and appeals that had to be made recorded in their Oral Tradition, that it was almost impossible to execute someone because execution was hated so much. Even today Israel has outlawed capital punishment and apparently the Nazi war criminal Adolf Eichman was the only person ever executed in Israel.

Another explanation of their rejection of Yeshua/Jesus as Messiah is that they turned on Him when he failed to set Himself up as King and yet, culturally and historically, the very fact that He rode in on a donkey and not a horse was clearly a signal of His true intentions. As Mary’s firstborn child He would be redeemed according to Torah requirements, Luke 2:22-24 (Numbers 3:47-48, 18:15-16.) and it is interesting that the Torah Exodus 13:13 further states that in firstborn livestock, a lamb would be sacrificed in place of the male donkey. A firstborn donkey may be purchased back from the Lord in exchange for a lamb or baby goat;

The Lamb rode a donkey,

the significance of Messiah Yeshua/Jesus riding on a firstborn donkey colt highlights Him as being the firstborn for humanity.

It is important to see that the people still cheered Him even though they realized He was coming in peace/shalom, and it was very likely that this display of love and adoration was what panicked the power held by the religious order of Orthodox Judaism and made them decide on a course of action resulting in their determination to put Yeshua/Jesus to death. 

But why specifically branches of the Palm tree?

In Hebrew the word for Palm Branches is

Lulav – לוּלָב 

spelled: Lamed Vav Lamed Vav

In Europe and the Middle East, palm branches symbolize many things, for example in ancient Greece, a palm branch was awarded to the victorious athlete because the palm leaf or even the tree itself was the most common symbol in Rome for Victory.  

To many it symbolized peace.

To the Assyrians it represented a connection between earth and heaven and it was associated with the goddess Ishtar (Easter) and the Mesopotamian goddess Inanna.  

To the ancient Egyptians it symbolizes eternal life. It was the sacred symbol for Apollo. 

So why were the crowds cheering? 

Is it possible that the people were not looking for a king or someone to overthrow the Roman Empire? They were well versed in the scripture of the TaNaKH and of the prophecy of a Messiah who would save them from their sins; One Who would bring them eternal salvation and they recognized Jesus/Yeshua as their Messiah.

The words they cried out: Hoshanna “Salvation has come” is exactly the same cry we have today as we declare our love and devotion to our Savior, Lord and King.

As for the palm branches? They mean a lot of things to different people in the Middle East, but to the Jews, the Hebrew word itself explains what it meant to them, Lulav. (Also used in the celebrations of the moed Sukkot/Feast of Tabernacles.)

The Hebrew word Lulav:

Lu means: to or unto, and

Lav means: heart.

What they were showing by waving the palms was in other words…

We give you our hearts.

By the crowds greeting Him with Palm leaves was a clear sign that they accepted Him as their Messiah. 

This year, when we celebrate during Passover/Pesach week, we may not have a palm branch to wave, but we can cry out with great joy and thanksgiving… Hoshanna/ Hosanna – to you we give our hearts, Yeshua/Jesus our Messiah.

The Day of the Lulav – the Day of our heart cry!

Shalom, shalom mishpachah/family

and cheverim/friends!

It’s all about Life and Relationship,

NOT Religion.

You are greatly loved and precious in His sight.

NOT SURE?

YOU CAN BE..

SAY THE FOLLOWING FROM YOUR HEART RIGHT NOW…

Heavenly Father I come to you in the Name of Jesus/Yeshua asking for forgiveness of my sins for which I am truly sorry. I repent of them all and turn away from my past.

I believe with my heart and confess with my mouth that Jesus/Yeshua is your Son and that He died on the cross at calvary to pay the price for my sin, so that I might be forgiven and have eternal life in the kingdom of Heaven. Father I believe that Jesus/Yeshua rose from the dead and I ask you to come into my life right now and be my personal Savior and Lord and I will worship you all the days of my life. Because your word is truth I say that I am now forgiven and born again and by faith I am washed clean with the blood of Jesus/Yeshua. Thank you that you have accepted me into your family in Jesus’/Yeshua’s name. Amen