Happy Palm Sunday! As we continue to look at and examine the images and symbols we associate with Easter, and where we see them throughout the Bible, we will dive into the Palm Branches this morning, which is appropriate since it is Palm Sunday.
But let’s remember the symbols we’ve examined already. We started with the Lamb, who we know is Jesus, and we’re reminded that the Lamb represents sacrifice, the debt paid for our sin. We remember the Cross, that for us it represents victory over sin and death, for once and for all. We remember the Crown of Thorns, that it represents humility, a willingness to surrender to the Lord. We remember the Bread and Cup, which represents God’s faithfulness and His covenant promises to us.
I find it really amazing that even though these symbols we’ve looked at have to do with the suffering, Crucifixion, and Resurrection of Christ, we see how the symbolism goes all the way back to the Old Testament, in many cases even back into Genesis. I find the continuity of the Bible, the way it all connects, to be really incredible, and to me it speaks volumes about God’s character and love for us, that He wove all these pieces together in His story.
Let’s look at the Palm Branches on this Palm Sunday. It’s another symbol that has Jewish roots that I want us to understand so we can understand just how significant it was when the crowds waved Palm Branches for Jesus during His triumphal entry. So, what do Palm Branches signify in the Old Testament?
Look at Judges 4:5. In the time of the judges, before the Israelites demanded that God give them a king, there was a judge named Deborah. She was set by God over the whole nation, all the Israelites, to guide them and protect them and lead them. Here’s what that verse says, “She used to sit under the palm tree of Deborah between Ramah and Bethel in the hill country of Ephraim; and the sons of Israel went up to her for judgment.” (NASB)
So Deborah would sit under a palm tree, which even came to be known as the palm tree of Deborah, and it was her job, her God-given role, to judge for the people what was right. She judged the RIGHTEOUSNESS of the people, not in the sense that we might think of judgment, as passing judgment on someone for doing something wrong, but rather in the sense of helping others judge what was righteous or not in their own lives. From very early on, palms and palm branches begin to be associated in the Bible with righteousness, specifically, God’s righteousness because He’s the one who called and appointed Deborah to judge the people and guide them in righteousness.
Then we get to Leviticus. All throughout Leviticus, we see God prescribe what the Law requires for His people to be considered holy before Him. There’s ritual cleansings, sacrifices, festivals. It’s a lot. But the entire book of Leviticus is about holiness before the Lord and God’s righteousness. One of the festivals commanded is the Feast of Tabernacles. This feast was to remind them of how they had lived in tents when they were in the wilderness, wondering around the desert for 40 years, and ultimately, a reminder of God’s protection and care for them during that time. This is what Leviticus 23:40 says, “Now on the first day you shall take for yourselves the foliage of beautiful trees, palm branches and branches of trees with thick branches and willows of the brook, and you shall rejoice before the Lord your God for seven days.” (NASB)
In this Feast of Tabernacles, God’s people were meant to take palm branches and use them in their worship of the Lord, to rejoice before Him what He had done for them in the wilderness. Much like the Bread and Cup and the Lamb remind us of how God delivered His people from slavery in Egypt, the palm branches being used in the Feast of Tabernacles were meant to remind His people of how His righteousness triumphed over the evil and false gods of the Egyptians. His righteousness judged Egypt and His sovereignty prevailed over its cruelty.
Then we have Ezekiel 40. In Ezekiel 40, Ezekiel has a vision given to Him by the Lord. In the vision, He sees the Temple in Israel, and he sees a man measuring the Temple. He sees its measurements and he sees how the Temple was meant to look. One of the things that Ezekiel sees is carvings of palm branches used in the Temple decorations, which was exactly how 2 Chronicles describes the Temple being decorated. The palm branches used in the Temple were carved to represent God’s righteousness, dwelling amongst the people as they came to seek Him where His presence was.
So the Temple in Jerusalem as described in 2 Chronicles had carved palm branches, and the vision of the Temple that Ezekiel is given in Ezekiel 40 has carved palm branches in the Temple. If you’ve ever read through any of the chapters in the Old Testament that give the details of what the Temple looked like, maybe you’ve asked yourself why exactly God gave those specific instructions for how the Temple ought to look. Why was it this many cubits long, and this many cubits high? Why was God so specific about the colors and the decorations?
Look at Hebrews 9:24, “For Christ did not enter a holy place made by hands, a mere copy of the true one, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us;” and Hebrews 8:5, “who serve a copy and shadow of the heavenly things, just as Moses was warned by God when he was about to erect the tabernacle; for, “See,” He says, “that you make all things by the pattern which was shown to you on the mountain.” (NASB)
The earthly Temple in Jerusalem, we’re told, was a copy of the true Temple, the one in Heaven where the Lord dwells. We can’t know for sure, because the Bible doesn’t specifically say it, but perhaps there are Palm Branches that decorate the heavenly Temple as well, declaring God’s righteousness and His sovereignty over sin, death, and evil, for all eternity.
And then we have Psalm 92:12, and many other verses in the Psalms that say something similar, “The righteous person will flourish like the palm tree, He will grow like a cedar in Lebanon.” (NASB) The palms that grew in that area we learned when we talked about the Crown of Thorns are date palms. Date palms are pretty hearty, they have to be to grow where they grow. They send down deep roots and they grow really high. It’s no wonder then that palms are used to represent those who are RIGHTEOUS. Those who are righteous will have deep roots, they’ll be unshakeable, not because they are strong in of themselves, but because they are resting on God’s righteousness.
Let’s look at the story of Jesus entering into Jerusalem before the Crucifixion, during the Triumphal entry in John 12:12-13, “On the next day, when the large crowd that had come to the feast heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem, 13 they took the branches of the palm trees and went out to meet Him, and began shouting, “Hosanna! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord, indeed, the King of Israel!” (NASB)
When Jesus came into Jerusalem and the people were shouting Hosanna! for His entry, and waving palm branches, they were hailing Him as King, yes, and that is true, He is the King. But they were, by using the palm branches, praising the King for His righteousness, praising Him that His righteousness was going to defeat the evil Roman Empire…or so they thought.
In reality, Jesus’s righteousness didn’t defeat the Roman Empire, but His righteousness did have victory over evil, sin, and death. When we look at the Palm Branches, we need to remember that all throughout the Bible, they symbolize God’s righteousness, so as we look at the Palm Branches on Palm Sunday, we can be assured that God’s righteousness triumphs over sin, death, and evil. Regardless of how dark the week would become for Jesus as He suffered and was Crucified, His righteousness had the final word. It’s a reminder to us too, that no matter how dark this world might seem like it’s getting, even if it seems like evil is winning…God’s righteousness still triumphs!
When we look at the Palm Branch, we know this too, Philippians 3:9 says, “and may be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own derived from the Law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith,” (NASB) which is similar to Isaiah 64:6, “For all of us have become like one who is unclean, And all our righteous deeds are like a filthy garment; And all of us wither like a leaf, And our wrongdoings, like the wind, take us away.” (NASB)
None of us has any righteousness of our own. All of our attempts to do righteous things isn’t enough. So when we see the Palm Branches of Palm Sunday and Easter time, we’re reminded of a simple truth: Christ is our righteousness.
This is a truth that’s present all throughout the New Testament. 1 Corinthians 1:30 says this, “But it is due to Him that you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption,” (NASB) Christ is to us, our righteousness, sanctification, and redemption.
Romans 1:17, “For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written: “But the righteous one will live by faith.” (NASB) By placing our faith in God through Christ Jesus, His righteousness is revealed to us, given to us, since we have no righteousness of our own.
And 1 Peter 2:24, “and He Himself brought our sins in His body up on the cross, so that we might die to sin and live for righteousness; by His wounds you were healed.” (NASB) He became sin for us, even though He had no sin, so that we could die to sin and live for righteousness.
So when we see the Palm Branch during Easter, we know that it is a symbol of God’s righteousness, that God’s righteousness has victory over sin, death, and evil, and that it is because of His righteousness that we can also live a life of righteousness. And that is what the Palm Branches mean throughout the Bible, and to us who believe.
Questions to form your quiet times this week:
Romans 3-6 are the “righteousness” chapters of the New Testament. Take some time this week to read through these chapters and see what Paul says about the nature of righteousness.