Palm Sunday

The lack of internet for the last 48 hours has been a time of celebration here in Jerusalem, as well as an opportunity to prepare for this mornings exam. I hope that you were bathed in celebration of the Triumphal entry of Yeshua yesterday. My day was full of festivities.

Now when they drew near to Jerusalem and came to Bethphage, to the Mount of Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples, saying to them, Go into the village in front of you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her. Untie them and bring them to me. If anyone says anything to you, you shall say, The Lord needs them, and he will send them at once. This took place to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet, saying, Say to the daughter of Zion, Behold, your king is coming to you, humble, and mounted on a donkey, and on a colt, the foal of a beast of burden. The disciples went and did as Jesus had directed them. They brought the donkey and the colt and put on them their cloaks, and he sat on them. Most of the crowd spread their cloaks on the road, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. And the crowds that went before him and that followed him were shouting, Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest! And when he entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred up, saying, Who is this? And the crowds said, This is the prophet Jesus, from Nazareth of Galilee.

I joined thousands of believers from across the globe in a parade from Bethpage to the Mount of Olives into the walls of Jerusalem. Drums, guitars, flutes, brass, and many different languages joined in joyful song. Crowd control officers with rubber bullets and body armor reminded us of those who were afraid of the crowds – expecting the violent revolt of a Messiah come to free Israel. As I walked along with different groups of the parade I was struck with a lack a communication between fellow believers. Yet along with that lack of communication was an abundance of “Hoshana!” for we were gathering to remember the same Lord and King. Along the way curious people poked their heads out of their windows and both Jewish and Arab children waved to the throng. The mile procession took over 2 hours, but not a dull moment was present.

Later that evening I went with a group to Samaria, where we observed the sacrificial activities of the Samaritan Passover (view summary here). Dozens of lambs were slaughtered in a ceremony that even Jews come to watch in remembrance of their own historical tradition. To be honest, it was a bit hard to see this as something God called a particular people to do at a particular time in history. One can dispute the correctness of the Samaritan version or discount the detailed and expansive tradition into a mere foreshadowing of Christ, but the gruesomeness of death as penalty for sin is ever present.

The activities of this week come together in a special way. It is not very often that Jewish, Christian, and Arab Passovers come together in the calendared year like this. To experience the meaning of so many remembrances and celebrations is a privilege and pleasure unparalleled.