True Meaning Of Palm Sunday

“A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, while others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. The crowds that went ahead of him and those that followed shouted, “Hosanna to the Son of David!” “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!” “Hosanna in the highest heaven!”

Matthew 21:8-9

Hosanna means “save now” so when we cry out Hosanna we are saying “Lord, save us right now!” In Psalm 118 this is where Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John talk about Jesus’s triumphant entry into Jerusalem. This entry is where the large crowd spread out their cloaks on the road and laid down palm branches. It was their celebratory invitation to the King into their city and a reminder of their exodus from Egypt.

1. Lord, Save Us–Now!

“I will give you thanks, for you answered me; you have become my salvation.  The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; the Lord has done this, and it is marvelous in our eyes.  The Lord has done it this very day; let us rejoice today and be glad.  Lord, save us!  Lord, grant us success!  Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.  From the house of the Lord we bless you.”

Psalm 118:21-26

The implications of the word save are rich with spiritual fruits of something saved, deliverance, freedom, and victory. We have all had a need of these fruits in our life whether it is from depression, addiction, bondage, generational curses, or a sickness. Whatever it is, when we proclaim those powerful words, Lord, save me now, we are asking for victory, freedom, and deliverance from those bondages. 

The word save means aid; God will aid us and help us, heal and restore us.  It also means victory and, believe when you call out God save us, that victory will soon follow.  You will also have victory in your prosperity, your provision, and you will have success. These are all covenant promises! 

2. Unconditional Mercy and Forgiveness

God doesn’t wait until we clean up our life; He saved us the moment we called out to Him and believed in Him! Look at the woman in the Bible, caught in adultery. Religion said stone her and kill her but Jesus accepted her as she was. First, he asked religion “he without sin throw the first stone” and they threw down their stones and walked away. Jesus then gave the woman mercy and forgiveness and told her to go her way and sin no more. Look at the thief on the cross. Who knows what crimes he had committed but when he believed in Jesus he received his ticket to eternal paradise on his cross.  

3. Nonnegotiable

“They replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved—you and your household.”

Acts 26:31

We are going to cry out hosanna (Lord, save us now) for our friends and our family and God is going to save them.  He’s not going to clean them up first then save them. He’s not going to fix them then save them.  No!  They are going to come just as they are.

Hosanna in the highest! There is no other higher than the highest. God is the highest of the highest and when He saves us we are saved! It does not matter if anybody believes you. It won’t matter if they don’t like you.  Because when God saves you, you are saved. We are saved all the way to the top and when we die and slip into eternity we end up at the throne of God!

We need to be vigilant with our prayers for our family and friends because there is always spiritual warfare before salvation–all hell will break loose. Satan does not like losing territory and our friends and our family represent territory. It will look like nothing is going to happen and our prayers will end up in shame, when the warfare hits. This is a war and we are taking souls from the enemy.  Fear not, we have God Almighty going before us! We just have to be steady in our faith and trust His perfect timing for our loved ones. 

God is faithful, dependable, He is reliable, and when we cry out Hosanna, our cry for help will become our praise because God WILL answer our Hosanna–our cry for help!

4. Compel Them

“And the lord said unto the servant, ‘Go out into the highways and hedges and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled.”

Luke 14:23

When we take a closer look at the word compel it actually means to drag someone.  When we go into the highways and the hedges we are to compel/invite people to church so that God’s house will be filled.  This invitation goes hand-in-hand with all our prayers, our cry of hosanna for them.  Our prayers push back the darkness so people can come into the light of Jesus!  We are asking God to save, to deliver, to make a way for our friends and our family.

“Save others by snatching them from the fire; to others show mercy, mixed with fear—hating even the clothing stained by corrupted flesh.”

Jude 1:23

When we reach out to people with the gospel we have to use caution.  We have to be strong in our faith, strong enough to resist the wiles of the enemy.  The last thing we want is to reach out to people and they reach out and pull us back into our sin. We use wisdom and the fear of the Lord. This is not an anxiety ridden fear, this is fear of not getting burned as we pull them out of the fire!  Our highest purpose as a Christian is to save souls and make disciples.

Final Thoughts

Today’s cry will be tomorrow’s testimony–tomorrow’s shout of praise and victory.

Prosperity without purpose will only bring emptiness; our prosperity needs purpose to spread the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Our highest purpose is to save souls and make disciples.