From Palms to Power: Reclaiming the Radical Meaning of Palm Sunday

All four gospels tell the story we remember on Palm Sunday (Mt. 21:1-9; Mk. 11:1-10; Lk. 19:29-38; Jn. 12:12-15). Palm Sunday begins Holy Week, which commemorates Jesus sharing the Passover and crafting the Lord’s Supper, his prayer in Gethsemane, the arrest, trials, crucifixion, burial, and resurrection.

According to Luke, Jesus sent two disciples into Bethphage to get a colt. They brought it to him, and he rode it into Jerusalem. The crowd hailed him as king, shouting, “Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!” (Luke 19:38). However, some religious purists objected to this praise, prompting Jesus to say that even if the people were silent, the stones would cry out (Luke 19:40). As Jesus approached Jerusalem, he wept over the city, prophesying its destruction due to its failure to recognize God’s visitation (Luke 19:41-44).

Palm Sunday as a holiday challenges me. As a teenager, I heard a message that the crowd who shouted “Hosanna!” on Sunday was the same crowd who shouted “Crucify him!” on Friday. The goal of that message, it seems, was guilt. We were meant to identify with the crowd—to see ourselves in them—and remember the times when we thought Jesus was great but turned away when the demands of faith became tough. We were meant to imagine that we might have been among those shouting "Crucify him," feel guilty, and... I’m not sure what we were meant to do after feeling guilty.

There's little to no biblical evidence to suggest that the crowd shouting "Hosanna" on Palm Sunday was the same crowd shouting "Crucify him" later in the week.

I heard that message growing up in a denomination that often fixated on guilt. The Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), by contrast, focuses more on grace and on what we are called to do. Yet even in this context, Palm Sunday has often become a children's Sunday, where kids are given palm branches and encouraged to join a procession—usually without much rehearsal or preparation. Hopefully, someone kind will guide them on how to wave their palms and where to place them afterward. The messages we hope children receive on Palm Sunday are: "You're important," "You're valued," and "You're welcome." And that’s a wonderful message for children.

Still, I'm not sure it’s the message of Palm Sunday.

The challenge I feel is largely self-imposed, rooted in something I’ve been reluctant to say aloud. I believe Palm Sunday is about declaring Jesus' authority over both the religious and civil authorities of his day—and ours. Unlike what I heard growing up—that the crowd was responsible for Jesus' crucifixion—I now believe it was the Roman government that caused his crucifixion. Jesus wasn't crucified despite being welcomed into Jerusalem with shouts of "Hosanna," but because he entered Jerusalem declaring an authority above both the temple and Rome.

We cannot merely assert the authority of Jesus as a spiritual figure in our lives. Yes, Jesus asserted God's authority—the sovereignty of God over the empire of Rome. But we must also focus on the character of the commonwealth Jesus proclaimed. Jesus’s vision for our shared life was radically inclusive. Those considered foreign, immigrant, or outsider were welcomed and embraced as equals, with a place they could call home. This inclusivity is reflected in parables such as the Good Samaritan (Luke 10) and stories like those involving the Samaritan woman at the well (John 4), or the Samaritan healed by Jesus who returned to thank him (Luke 17).

Jesus declared priorities for God's Kingdom that include feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, providing clean drinking water for those who thirst, visiting the sick and imprisoned, and caring for society's most vulnerable members (Matthew 25:31-46—the last major teaching of Jesus before the Passion narrative). I believe this is what Palm Sunday should declare—but often doesn't—because it's a controversial message.

It was controversial then; it's controversial now—especially in today's political climate, with Christian nationalism presenting a distorted version of Christianity based on power rather than compassion. Governments co-opt religion or criminalize acts of compassion while spreading fear toward communities Jesus would have embraced. Palm Sunday's message remains controversial because it challenges us to think deeply about Jesus' vision for a world of welcome and thriving for all people—not just those deemed acceptable by societal norms or political agendas.

I hope Palm Sunday continues to be a day of welcome and joy for children. That we teach them to wave their palm branches and shout, "Hosanna! Blessed is the One who comes in the name of the Lord!"

But also, that we take a moment to whisper in their ears: God’s vision for us is so much bigger than this.

Andy Mangum

Regional Minister and President