It was Palm Sunday and a little boy was feeling kind of sick.  So he stayed home from church with his mom. 

When the rest of the family returned home, the little guy's brother and sister were waving palm branches they had received in Sunday School.  The little boy asked his dad, "What are those branches for?"

"Well, when Jesus came into town, everyone waved palm branches to honor him, so all the kids at church today got palm branches."

The little boy replied, "Oh great!  The one Sunday I miss is the Sunday that Jesus shows up!"

IF YOU HAD BEEN A KID IN JERUSALEM ON THE ORIGINAL PALM SUNDAY, DO YOU THINK YOU WOULD HAVE HAD YOUR PALMS UP FOR THE SAVIOR WHO SHOWED UP? 

picture courtesy images.google.com

The Triumphal Entry

¹²The next day, the news that Jesus was on the way to Jerusalem swept through the city. A huge crowd of Passover visitors ¹³took palm branches and went down the road to meet him. They shouted,
      "Praise God!
      Bless the one who comes in the name of the Lord!
      Hail to the King of Israel!"

    ³⁹But some of the Pharisees among the crowd said, "Teacher, rebuke your followers for saying things like that!" ⁴⁰He replied, "If they kept quiet, the stones along the road would burst into cheers!"

WHAT IS THE STORY OF PALM SUNDAY REALLY ABOUT AND HOW CAN WE RESPOND?

Palm Sunday is an event that we celebrate!  As Christians in the 21st century, we have the privilege of reading the eye-witness accounts of Jesus riding into Jerusalem the week before His death.  Jesus had chosen this time to announce that He was the Messiah!  He knew that Israel would be gathered together in Jerusalem for their traditional celebration.  Jesus also knew that He would be crucified for the sins of the world in just a few days.

The Jewish people threw a parade!  But most of them had the wrong idea about Jesus Christ.  They were going wild because they thought their liberation from the Roman empire was at hand.  They were deaf to the words of their prophets and did not recognize that Jesus was the Messiah.  In one week's time, they would go from waving palm branches and cheering to joining in the parade of crucifixion toward Christ's cross.

The Pharisees wanted Jesus to tell the crowd to stop their worship of Him.  But Jesus told them that if they did, God would throw a "rock concert" in honor of Himself!  The leaders didn't want Jesus to replace religion with a personal relationship with God through His Son.

CELEBRATE JESUS IN YOUR LIFE!   LIFT THE PALMS OF YOUR HANDS TO JESUS AS A SYMBOL OF WORSHIP AND SURRENDER TO HIS WILL.

• Every day between now and Easter, take two minutes to meditate on the story of Jesus riding into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday.  In your heart, throw a parade of worship in honor of the Lord.
• Pick up a palm branch at a floral shop and keep it in your room as a reminder to worship Christ with all of your heart, strength and mind.
• Use today's Devo to encourage another friend by sharing your intent to really focus on worshipping Jesus this Holy week.

Daily Devos is published Monday through Friday. Archives can be found at YFC.ORG.  Its purpose is to help you apply truths from God's Word every day.

Our writer, Byron Emmert, has been involved with Youth For Christ for 30 years. He's served as Campus Life Staff, as a writer, and in leadership for the DCLA Conferences. Byron is married to Linda and their family includes two married sons and daughters-in-law, and a daughter in college.  He loves sports, deep dish pizza, and spending time with his family.