We will start today with a new Message Series on the Letters to Timothy. But today is also celebrated as Palm Sunday. Let’s take a look at the actual event about 2000 years ago of what led to Palm Sunday Celebrations! Let us note that before Palm Sunday, Jesus already had been teaching and performing many miracles. Open your Bibles to the Gospels, starting with Matthew 21:1-11…..
We note from The Gospel of Matthew: Jesus and His disciples went to Jerusalem, donkeys were miraculously found and taken, Jesus sat on a colt (as prophecied in the Old Testament), a large crowd of people welcomed Jesus into Jerusalem as they laid their cloaks and waved branches and shouted "Hosanna to the Son of David!" "Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!" "Hosanna in the highest!", and the crowd professed “This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth in Galilee."
We can note that Mark 11:1-10 describes a similar story as Matthew.
Let’s look at the story in Luke 19:29-44….
We note the same things mentioned in Matthew with a couple of other things to note:
V37: the crowd praised God for all the miracles Jesus performed
V41: Jesus wept when they entered the city; why?
V42-44: Jesus expressed that the people really didn’t know what they were doing and that they will be persecuted even more because they did not see who Jesus truly is!
The crowd in Jerusalem 2000 years ago actually were just looking for more miracles on Palm Sunday! What do we look for when it is worship time?
Let’s look at the story in John 12:9-16….
Again, we note many of the same things stated in the other Gospels but v16 is important to note: The disciples themselves did not understand what happened on Palm Sunday until Jesus suffered, died, resurrected, then ascended back to heaven!
And so, why did Palm Sunday happen? Palm Sunday happened to fulfill God’s prophecies in the Old Testament and to set up the eventual suffering and death of God Jesus Christ for the sins of people!
Like the First Disciples, we can note this significance of Palm Sunday because God tells us even one of the first disciples betrayed Jesus after Palm Sunday and the same crowd who proclaimed “Hosanna, Hosanna” to Jesus cried out 5 days later “Crucify Him, Crucify Him”!
And so, how should we handle Palm Sunday? We are not to celebrate Palm Sunday like the initial crowd 2000 years ago who were ignorant and focused only on a fast and quick deliverance from their troubles! We are to remember and celebrate Palm Sunday but it is only a part of the full story of Jesus Christ who had to die for our sins!
Now, we will come back to this Palm Sunday celebration after we look at our initial study of our new message series on the Letters to Timothy. Please open your bibles to 1st Timothy 1. Read along with me 1 Timothy 1:1-4…..
We will note more of Paul and Timothy in future messages but let us just note that Paul was called by Jesus Christ to be an apostle to the Gentiles (Non-Jews) as we note in 1 Timothy 1:1 - Paul, an Apostle!
Timothy was discipled by Paul (1 Tim. 1:2a). Paul and Timothy went all over the Mideast to proclaim the Good News of Salvation! In the Book of Acts we read that Paul and other disciples went to Ephesus and led many to Jesus Christ who brings grace, mercy, and peace (1 Tim. 1:2b).
V3-4: Timothy was called to Minister in Ephesus! What were the specific instructions?
a. command certain men not to teach false doctrines any longer
b. to stop devoting themselves to myths and endless genealogies
c. prevent controversies and promote God’s work by faith
We will discuss each one in more detail in a few weeks. Let us focus today on not devoting on “myths” as it relates to what we call Holy Week, starting today.
If we look up the original Greek word for myth, it is “muthos” meaning an idle tale, fable, fanciful story. Don’t you think Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny are “muthos”?
Christians are to avoid idle tales, fables, and fanciful stories but follow God’s Word by faith.
How are people celebrating Holy Week today?
As we noted earlier, we are not to celebrate Palm Sunday like the initial crowd 2000 years ago who were ignorant and focused only on a fast and quick deliverance from their troubles! We are to remember and celebrate Palm Sunday but it is only a part of the full story of Jesus Christ who had to die for our sins!
Let me share with you some of the interesting things people do today all over the world during Palm Sunday:
In Belgium, 12 men portray to be the Apostles carry a wooden statue of Christ around the town, while children go door to door offering the palm branches for money.
In Bulgaria, Palm Sunday is celebrated as Flower's Day, neglecting the significance of Christ.
In the Coptic Orthodox Church and Orthodox Ethiopia, Palm leaves will be blessed and distributed then used to create crucifixes, rings and other ornaments to be kept as “holy” items.
Here’s a really weird one: In Finland, it is popular on Palm Sunday for children to dress up as witches and go door to door in neighborhoods and trade decorated pussy willow branches for coins and candy.
In India, flowers are strewn about the sanctuary on Palm Sunday during the reading of the Gospel, "Hosanna! Blessed is he who is come and is to come in the name of the Lord God"; these words are read to the congregation 3 times, then congregation repeats, and the flowers are scattered. This is adapted from the older Hindu custom of scattering flowers on festive occasions, as well as the honor shown to Jesus upon his entry into Jerusalem. Hinduism is incorporated into Palm Sunday?
Here’s another very interesting one; in Latvia, Palm Sunday is called "Pussy Willow Sunday", and pussy willows – symbolizing new life – are blessed and distributed to the faithful. Children are often awakened that morning with ritualistic swats of a willow branch.
In Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine, and Syria, Palm Sunday Is perhaps the best-attended liturgy in the Christian Calendar, among the Orthodox, Catholic (Latin and Eastern), and Anglican Churches, perhaps because it is notably a family occasion. On this day, children attend church with branches from olive and palm trees. Also, there will be carefully woven crosses and other symbols made from palm fronds and roses and a procession at the beginning of the liturgy, during which at some point, the priest will take an olive branch and splash holy water on the faithful.
In the Netherlands, crosses are decorated with candy and bread, made in the form of a rooster.
Many of us of course knows what happens in the Philippines: a statue of Christ riding a donkey, or the presiding priest on horseback, is brought to the local church in a morning procession. Congregants line the route, waving palaspás (ornately woven palm branches) and spreading tapis (heirloom "aprons" made for this ritual) in imitation of the excited Jews of old. Children dressed as angels scatter flowers as they sing. Once blessed, the palaspás (palm branches) are brought home and placed on altars, doorways, and windows. The Church teaches that this is a sign of welcoming Christ into the home, but folk belief holds that the blessed palaspás deter evil spirits, lightning, and fires. Another folk custom is to feed pieces of blessed palaspás to roosters used in sabong (cockfighting). In other provinces, the flowers strewn by the angels during the procession are added to the rice seeds being planted, in the belief that these will ensure a bountiful harvest.
In Poland, many towns and villages actually organize artificial palm competitions. May the best Palm Branch creation win, not Christ?
There are many more traditions and myths all over the world which are done missing the point of Palm Sunday in Scriptures; and America is of course a melting pot of many myths and traditions. There are of course also many myths and traditions still done today for Good Friday and Resurrection Sunday (which the world actually calls Easter Sunday). You may want to research those myths and traditions done during Good Friday and Resurrection Sunday; perhaps were doing some of them which go against what God wants us to do and we must always honor our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ!
Christians are warned in 1 Timothy 1:3-4 not to devote themselves to myths but devote themselves to God’s Word! How are we doing, personally and as a church?
We are to remember and celebrate Palm Sunday but it is only a part of the full story of Jesus Christ who had to die for our sins! Always remember and believe the complete Gospel: Jesus Christ is God who became a man, suffered and died on a cross for people’s sins, was buried dead, but rose from the dead after 3 days, revealed His resurrected body to over 500 people, ascended back to heaven, but will soon return to earth to finally judge all!
Jesus Christ will soon return to earth from heaven, no longer as a “baby” but King of kings and Lord of lords, riding on a glorious white horse not a donkey! We Believers of Christ will be with our Lord for that True Triumphal Entry to this earth!
Take a moment now to quietly think about these things and pray to God….
Benediction: Revelation 19:11-16….
