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๐๐๐ฅ๐ฆ ๐๐ฎ๐ง๐๐๐ฒ marks the beginning of Holy Week, or the week leading up to Easter Sunday. Most of us know the importance of Easter as one of the most foundational days of our faith when Christ victoriously rose from the grave defeating sin and death, but what is the significance of Palm Sunday and how can we effectively communicate it to the girls in our sphere of influence? Iโd like to break down three features of the Palm Sunday story found in Matthew 21:1-11 for you to easily share with your girls as well: the donkey, the crowds, and the palm branches.
โข A ๐๐จ๐ง๐ค๐๐ฒ marks the beginning of the account of Jesusโs Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem as we see Jesus instruct His disciples to find a donkey for Him to enter the city on. (Matt. 21:1 โ 7). I canโt help but recall the last time a donkey was chosen as a vesselโwhen Mary rode on the back of a donkey carrying baby Jesus in her womb. This time we see Jesus Himself entering into the city of Jerusalem on a humble donkey. A seemingly small detail that takes up the first seven verses actually serves to beautifully tie the Old Testament into the New Testament. Matthew 21:5 reveals this as a fulfillment of a prophecy found in Zechariah 9:9. This connection to the Old Testament is just another example of how the whole Bible points to Jesus; He is on every page.
โข The ๐๐ซ๐จ๐ฐ๐ is another key detail to look closer at in discussing Palm Sunday with your girls. Jesus was leading a crowd of His followers and disciples, many who had possibly been following Him since He began His earthly ministry in Galilee. These people had seen Jesus preform many miracles and wondrous acts firsthand. They were some of the first to begin to see Jesus for who He really is, the Son of God (Mark 10:47).
โข The ๐ฉ๐๐ฅ๐ฆ ๐๐ซ๐๐ง๐๐ก๐๐ฌ ๐๐ง๐ ๐๐ฅ๐จ๐๐ค๐ฌ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐๐ซ๐จ๐ฐ๐ lay on the road before Jesus are signs of an overflow of joyous praise. The people shout, โHosanna! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord.โ Hosanna means โO save usโ in Hebrew and I loved discovering this detail. It gives so much more insight to the meaning of this event. Like many of us before we came to know Jesus as our Savior, this crowd does not know just how desperately they need Jesus to save them (Rom. 3:10 โ 12).
