For the liturgical church, Palm Sunday often begins on the lawn outside the church building. The parishioners stand huddled and quiet until the celebrant, standing amongst them, boldly proclaims, "Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord!" The people of God respond in earnest, "Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!" (Luke 19:38) Thus begins the "Liturgy of the Palms," a reenactment of Christ's triumphant entrance into Jerusalem and a collective expression that Jesus is the King and the Saviour we have been longing for.(1) Palm Sunday also ushers in the beginning of Holy Week and for centuries, churches around the world have marked this day clutching palm fronds, waving in exaltation and praise, "Hosanna!" (Matt. 21:9).

It is estimated that the church in Jerusalem began reenacting what we now recognize as Palm Sunday as early as the 4th century. As the custom spread throughout Europe, the ritualization of waving palm branches alongside a dramatic procession seems to have gained particular significance during the reign of the Roman emperor, Charlemagne and became a common practice in Europe by the 11th century.(2)

In the Biblical text, all 4 Gospel writers give an account of Jesus entering the city of Jerusalem on the cusp of the Jewish Passover festival (Matt. 21, Mark 11, Luke, 19, and John 12). Individually, they seem to provide different nuances, colours, and textures to the dramatic unfolding - Palm Sunday holds significance at every turn. Jesus arrives at the city limits sitting atop a homely donkey while the assembled masses cheer and shout, throwing their cloaks and garments down onto the path, palm branches flail. Bodies press and shove, the text suggests that crowds followed ahead and behind and on every side of the procession, multitudes jostling along in a city that was filled to the gills (Matt. 21:9).

I don't think it is an overestimation to say that Jerusalem was bursting at the seams. Scholars differ on the exact numbers of pilgrims that would make their annual journey to Jerusalem over Passover. Some early church historians estimated that it was easily 1 million or more but, regardless of particulars, there is a consensus that during Passover the city's population surged to 5-8 times its normal occupancy. The text in Matthew reads that the entire city was, "stirred," at Jesus' entrance with many bewildered and perplexed wondering, "Who is this?" (Matt. 21:10) The Pharisees and religious leaders scoff at the sight and reprimand Jesus, "rebuke your followers!" (Luke 19:39) There is so much happening simultaneously, the city air seems to bubble and churn with chaos, intrigue, anticipation, questions, confusion, and political desperation.

The Gospel writers express that Jesus' entrance into Jerusalem sitting on a donkey, was the fulfillment of the prophecies of Zechariah.(3) The Jewish people were pining for a conqueror who would free them from their oppressors, they were desperately longing for an earthly victor. The language of Luke suggests that the atmosphere was riddled with an emotional longing, crying for expression. "If they keep quiet, the rocks will cry out" (Luke 19:40).

In all of the Gospel accounts of Christ's entrance into Jerusalem the word, Hosanna, is significant. Three out of four of the writers include it (Matt. 21:9, Mark 11:9-10, John 12:13) and Luke quotes its origin within an ancient Old Testament text, the only other place the same word is used in all of Scripture. Hosanna is rooted in Psalm 118, a text that lies at the end of a larger collection of Psalms known to the Jewish people as the "Hallel Psalms." (4) These words formed the songs that were most commonly chanted and recited throughout Passover and the Feast of Tabernacles and they would've been very familiar to the steady flow of pilgrims descending upon Jerusalem:

Here, palm fronds in hand and crying aloud, "Save us," Hosanna seems to express adoration and desperate invocation simultaneously. 'Jesus, you are the One who saves us, so save us now!' Hosanna holds in tandem the visceral cries of human longing right alongside the reality that our Redeemer is riding right into the midst of our deepest aching needs. Hosanna exalts our Saviour as Lord and calls for his immediate intervention into our current reality. Hosanna both proclaims and pleads for Christ to be King.

Today, as our hands stretch out to welcome and announce our Messiah's arrival, may our Hosannas give expression to our heart's honest cries, "Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord."

And Lord, come swiftly.
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1. The Online Book of Common Prayer
2. Robert E. Webber, "Ancient-Future Time: Forming Spirituality through the Christian Year" (Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 2004), 117.
3. Zechariah 9:9-10
4. Psalms 113-118 are regarded as the "Hallel" (Praise) Psalms.

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(1) Luke 19:38
(2) Matt. 21:10
(3) Zechariah 9:9, 10

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Erika Britt Kobewka is a wife, mum, writer, worship leader, spiritual director, and violinist from St. Albert, Alberta. As a long-time creative contributor within the Vineyard Canada family, 'setting the table' for others to experience the love of God continues to be a profound joy and privilege. Erika is an avid reader, music-maker, hiker, and (amateur) flower gardener. She loves to be at home with her family or finding new trails in the Rocky Mountains. She and her family attend and serve at Avenue Vineyard in Edmonton. You can follow some of her written work at www.erikabritt.ca.