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Pass the Palms
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Pass the Palms by Phil The next day the great crowd that had come for the festival “Hosanna!” “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!" “Blessed is the king of Israel!” - John 12:12-13 What an amazing sight it must have been to watch Jesus's triumphal entry into Jerusalem! We often see our kiddos reenact this historic event with a palm branch parade on Palm Sunday, but do we really know the significance of what took place that day? Let's do us some learnin'! Date palm trees grow abundantly in the Holy Land. They have huge leaves that sprout from the top of a single trunk, sometimes reaching 50 feet in height. In fact, Jericho (where Joshua fit the battle) was know as the city of palms because some of the finest specimens grew there. In ancient times, palm branches symbolized goodness, well-being, grandeur, steadfastness, and victory. The Greeks and Romans rewarded champions of the games with palms, and they were often used to honor royalty, both kings and conquerers. They could frequently be found on coins and in architecture. 1 Kings 6 tells us King Solomon had palm branches carved on the walls and doors of the temple. In both Leviticus and Nememiah, palm branches were associated with festive occasions. By waving palm branches before Jesus, the people were honoring Him as King and Conquerer. In the Jewish festival of Sukkoth, also known as the Festival of Tabernacles or Booths, worshippers paraded through Jerusalem and the temple waving a lulab (a bouquet of willow, myrtle, and palm leaves) while reciting words from Psalm 118. Verse 25 of that psalm pleads "Please, Lord, save us; please, Lord, give us success." Our word "Hosanna" comes from this verse in the original Hebrew - hoshi'a (to save) and na (please). Originally a cry for deliverance, the phrase grew into an exclamation of adoration. Isn't it interesting that earlier in that same psalm, verse 14, "He has become my salvation," in the original Hebrew is hāyâ 'ănî yᵊšûʿâ. Yᵊšûʿâ (Yeshua) when translated into English is Jesus. Who better to cry out to for salvation than the Savior himself? In their accounting of Jesus's triumphal entry, Matthew, Mark and Luke mention people also laying their cloaks in the road. Many believe these clothes were their tallits, or prayer shawls. Either written on the neckband or said before putting on the tallit is the phrase "Blessed are you Lord our God..." When the crowd laid their clothes at Jesus feet they were acknowledging Jesus truly was their Lord and God, the long-awaited Messiah! There you have it. Our Palm Sunday celebration is not a pageant but a proclamation that Jesus Christ is King of Kings, Lord of Lords, our God, our Messiah, and our only hope for salvation. He is worthy of our deepest adoration and our highest praise. Jesus is not only the one who "comes in the name of the Lord," He is the very Lord in the flesh!! Let's join the celebration... Hosanna in the Highest, Click Here to Check our Concert Schedule! Check us out on Facebook! - http://www.facebook.com/PhilandPamMorgan |
Phil & Pam Morgan
We're authors and musicians who loves to talk about faith & spirituality, arts & crafts, and music. Subscribe and join over 2,000+ newsletter readers every week!
Welcome to May! So much has been happening around Morganville, let's jump right to it! Phil's mom is home from the hospital and rehab and making slow and steady progress. For those of you just tuning in, back in March a neighborhood dog knocked her down in the street. No broken bones but she was pretty banged up. She had to get home and healed up in time for her first great-grandbaby... Which brings us to our oldest daughter and son-in-law who are expecting their first child late this month....
Donkey Day by Phil Today I'd like to pay homage to the humble donkey, whose unfortunate ancient name has caused much derision and more than a few chuckles. In fact, this poor animal was replaced by a lamb in modern renditions of the classic Christmas song "What Child is This?" If you were ever teased because of your name, you'll empathize with our friend, the donkey. The donkey was domesticated in Africa between 5,000 and 7,000 years ago. They were probably first used as pack animals in Nubia...
Mid-Month Check in Wow, life has been busy around the Morgan household! Not only with Holy week (which is always packed), but on several fronts. Here are the highlights plus an exciting new opportunity! On March 12th, Phil's mom was walking down to get her mail when a neighborhood dog excitedly knocked her down in the road. Fortunately no broken bones, but she hit her head, shoulder, side and hip. She was very bruised, swollen and skinned up. She was in the hospital for just over a week, then...