Every year we come to Palm Sunday and we hear the same story. It runs the risk of becoming common and familiar in a way that loses its impact on our lives. Furthermore, the Gospel of Mark withholds certain details about this first day of Jesus final week so that it leaves even less information to meditate on for the sake of our identifying with Christ.
Mark records for us that as Jesus approached Jerusalem He sent His disciples into the city to find a colt for Him to ride. As Jesus enters Jerusalem people are flocking to Him, laying out their coats and leafy branches as they proclaim, “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David! Hosanna in the highest!” But Mark seems to rush through these details and concludes this section by declaring that after Jesus made it to the temple, He looked around for a little while and then left.
Mark’s account of this story is rather anticlimactic, yet we have to realize that these sections were not meant to be read individually and Mark includes an important detail that the other Gospel accounts leave out. Notice, that it says they were using ‘leafy’ branches. This minor detail might go overlooked unless we read the next section. “On the following day, when they came from Bethany, he was hungry. And seeing in the distance a fig tree in leaf, he went to see if he could find anything on it. When he came to it, he found nothing but leaves, for it was not the season for figs. And he said to it, ‘May no one ever eat fruit from you again.’ And his disciples heard it.” (Mark 11:12-14)
Mark is not rushing through the events to downplay the majesty of Jesus in His triumphal entry. Mark is drawing our attention away from all of the details of the event to a metaphor which shows us what was actually happening under the surface.
This fig tree is a representation of Israel. While the tree was full of leaves, there was no fruit. From a distance, as Jesus and the disciples were approaching it, they might have anticipated figs, but it wasn’t the season for fruit. Jesus cursed the tree because it failed to recognize that its creator was present. In the Gospel of Luke, Jesus declared that if the people hadn’t praised HIm then the rocks themselves would have cried out in worship. Yet this tree, for all of its leafy branches, did not please Jesus.
This metaphor shows the reality of what was taking place in Jerusalem during Jesus triumphal entry. While the people were praising Jesus as their messiah, they all had there own idea of what that meant and they had failed to see the true meaning of what Christ had come to do. Jesus didn’t seem to be impressed with the worship He received on that day because the fruit of the gospel had not yet taken root in their hearts.
As we come to worship on this Palm (Leafy Branch) Sunday, we ought to examine our hearts and see if we are worshipping Jesus as He has declared Himself to be the savior of the world or are we just looking for Jesus to make our lives a little better. Jesus sacrificed His life for us. Our worship ought to be marked by sacrifices of thanksgiving. We need to search our hearts and determine if our worship is pleasing and honoring to God and if the gospel has taken root in our lives and produced real fruit through faith, hope, and love.