Dear Christian friends:

We call this Sunday PALM Sunday. Palms are symbolic for this day. They have a very important meaning. There is another important symbol for this Sunday, the donkey. On the first Palm Sunday, Jesus rode on a donkey into the Holy City and the people who went ahead of Him and those who followed waved palm branches.

The palm branches and the donkey have important meanings for our faith.


Why did Jesus ride on a donkey into the Holy City that first Palm Sunday? Other times when He came into the Holy City, He walked. He never before rode on a donkey. But this time, He rides a donkey. Why?

Jesus rides on the donkey because He wants to fulfill an old prophecy about Himself. That prophecy can be read in Zechariah 9:9, It is the first verse of the Old Testament lesson for today. It says, "Rejoice with heart and soul, O daughter of Zion. Shout with joy, O daughter of Jerusalem. See now, your king comes to you. He is victorious, but He is humble, riding on a donkey, on a young donkey."

Jesus, by riding on the donkey, is saying to all Jerusalem and to all the world and to you and me: "I am the Son of God, the promised Savior, see the old prophecy about the Savior happens exactly in Me."

Another reason why Jesus rides on the donkey is that He wants to impress upon our hearts that He comes in peace to give us peace. Long ago, in Palestine when a king went out to war, he rode on a horse. A horse is a war animal. But when the king came in peace, he rode on a donkey. A donkey is a peace animal, meek and humble, not proud like a horse.

Jesus comes from God, King of heaven and earth, to make peace with the world, us sinners who are God's enemies. Jesus does not come in anger to punish and destroy us. It is true that we deserve God's anger and punishment, but God shows His great love and mercy. He sends His Son riding on a donkey, not on a horse, to make peace and to give peace. In the Old Testament lesson for today, we read the same idea; "I will stop war-chariots, and war horses will not enter Jerusalem. The bow for war shall be destroyed. He (Jesus) will proclaim peace for the nations. His rule shall stretch from sea to sea, from the river to the ends (far places) of the earth." (Zechariah 9:10)

How does Jesus make peace between the holy, perfect God and sinners? The donkey also answers that question. We notice that Jesus rides on a young donkey, a "colt upon which no one has yet ridden." (verse 2) Why does Jesus choose a donkey which has never been ridden? Because He means to use the donkey for a holy purpose.

In Bible times, animals for use in church for sacrifice could not be used for any other purpose. They were separated and used only once for their holy purpose. Therefore, Jesus rides on a colt and impresses upon us a one way ride, a ride to His death. Jesus is the offering for sin, not the donkey. He is "the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world." (John 1:29) On Friday, He will be nailed to the cross as an offering to God to take away all sins. That is why Jesus on Palm Sunday rode into the Holy City on a "colt", a young donkey, "upon which no one had ridden before." Now we can see how important the donkey is. The donkey means very precious things to us.

Also, the palms are important. Why? They show praise and celebration to Jesus our dear and wonderful Savior. The people sang, "Hosanna," as they waved the palm branches. (verses 9-10). "Hosanna" means glory and praise to God!

The people sang glory and praise to God and waved the palms because they believed in Jesus. They accepted Jesus for their Savior and King. (verses 8-10) (Read it!)

Let us today, at the beginning of this Holy Week, almost 2,000 years_later, like the people in our text, accept Jesus for our Savior and King. Let us confess our sins unto God and believe that He loves us and forgives us in Jesus. When Jesus died on the cross that first Good Friday He also died for you and me. This should make us very happy and eager to celebrate in worship. Let us also accept Jesus for our King. Let Him come into our hearts and live and rule over us. Then we shall have true peace in our hearts and we will have God's love rule our thinking, our talking and our doing. Others will see that we are same as Jesus.

If Jesus is really your King, your Ruler, you will show it by your life. You will no more live and do like the unbelievers in our world. They have much anger, hate, jealousy, and envy. They are proud and greedy. They love only themselves. If Jesus is really your Savior and King, you will show His love, His kindness and His mercy to others, even to those who are not kind to you. You will be ready to forgive those who do wrong against you as Jesus did for us and as He now commands us to do to others. You will make peace, not trouble for yourselves and others.

Also, you will live and die with hope because Jesus is an everlasting King and His kingdom is forever. Trouble, sickness, pain and death will not destroy your hope, because Jesus gives us eternal life. When Jesus died on the cross, He prayed for His enemies, "Father, forgive them." (Luke 23:34) With His help, we, too, can die with love and hope and in peace.

So let us on this Palm Sunday, give ourselves again to Jesus, our dear Savior and our wonderful King. Let us join with the people of the past and with Christians all over the world today and wave the palm branches as we sing, "Hosanna! Blessed is He who comes in the Lord's name!

During this Holy Week we need to remember both the donkey and the palms: the donkey impresses that Jesus is our beautiful Savior. The palms impresses that we celebrate and serve Him, our King eternal.

Amen.