Palm Sunday – Paschal Lamb

Exodus 12

1 The Lord said to Moses and Aaron in Egypt, 2 “This month is to be for you the first month, the first month of your year. 3 Tell the whole community of Israel that on the tenth day of this month each man is to take a lamb for his family, one for each household. 4 …. 5 The animals you choose must be year-old males without defect, and you may take them from the sheep or the goats. 6 Take care of them until the fourteenth day of the month, … 7 Then they are to take some of the blood and put it on the sides and tops of the doorframes of the houses where they eat the lambs. 

Palm Sunday

Even if you have not gone to church much or at all, there’s a chance you will have seen children carrying palm leaves and branches just before Easter. This series, ‘Jesus and the Jewish Pilgrimage Festivals’, Passover, Pentecost, and Tent are the cores.

Palm Sunday is the day the Paschal Lamb was brought to Jerusalem for the Passover.

The Paschal Lamb

The 10th of Nisan was the day the Israelites were commanded to choose an unblemished lamb for the Passover sacrifice on the 14th of Nisan. This lamb is the lamb refered to as the Paschal Lamb.

The Paschal Lamb to be the offered offered to God, roasted, and eaten for Passover Seder. Being able to eat the meat roasted was a rarity when it came to sacrificial meat, usually sacrificial meat was boiled.

Another exception during Passover, or Pesach, was the inclusion of those who would otherwise be considered unclean at the time and therefore excluded from forms of worship.

Numbers 9:10  If any one of you or of your generations becomes unclean because of a dead person, or is on a distant journey, he may, however, observe the Passover to the Lord.

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Ut elit tellus, luctus nec ullamcorper mattis, pulvinar dapibus leo.

Jesus, the Paschal Lamb
Enter Jerusalem

As Jesus entered Jerusalem, the people chose Him, crying out, “Blessed is the king of Israel!” 

During the four days leading up to  the Passover, the chosen Paschal Lamb was to be observed and tested for any defects.

In the same manner the Paschal Lamb, Jesus, is also observed and tested by the rulers, priests, and leaders for four days leading to His crucifixion.

Jesus is Presents Himself
in the Temple Daily

At the same time Jesus put the priests, Sadducees, and leaders subject to Rome on trial.

Upon entering Jerusalem, Jesus went straight to the temple, His Father’s House. Not only did He go to the temple upon entering Jerusalem, but the Gospels says that Jesus went to the temple daily. Every day Jesus went to the temple to teach anyone who would hear Him.

More will be said about Christ’s rebuke of these leaders later in this series. When Jesus was in the temple He proclaimed that the temple was the house of God. Jesus said His Father’s house was to be a house of prayer and not a den of thieves. The phrase “den of thieves” is related to the money changers who had set up their stalls in the temple, and the necessity of specific coins to be used in the temple.

Changing currency to the acceptable currency for the Temple offering was skimming off the top, like uneven scales. Worshipper lost value before they could even present an offering to the Lord.

Entering the Temple, these money changers and their corruption would have front and center as worshippers enter the House of God.

Jesus Triumphantly
Enters Jerusalem

In antiquity, a king would enter a conquered city on a donkey to show that he entered the city in peace. This is just what Jesus did as He entered Jerusalem.

It is interesting to note that Jesus had already made preparations for the Paschal Feast as well as a donkey He could ride into Jerusalem. So when he told his disciples to go and get the donkey for him, it was ready. His kingly aspect is related to the Davidic kingdom and coming Messiah. Riding into Jerusalem on a donkey was a fulfilment of the prophecy from Zechariah.”

Zechariah 9:9 Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout in triumph, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your king is coming to you; He is just and endowed with salvation, Humble, and mounted on a donkey, Even on a colt, the foal of a donkey.

Hosanna, save us! Hosanna, save us! The salvation purchased by the blood of the Messiah Jesus would much deeper and riches than they could have hoped!

The scriptures lists many other events that took place on the four days Palm Sunday before the crucifixion. I list a few of the events, by day, in the next column.

Jesus Enters Jerusalem
as a Victorious King

Entering Jerusalem,
Jesus Fulfilled Prophecy

Entering Jerusalem
Jesus Went to the Temple

  • Pharisees Are Reproved for Trying to Stop the Disciples from Praising Jesus
  • Market Use of the Temple Rebuked – God’s House is a House of Prayer
  • Jesus Taught in the Temple Daily

Prescribed Four Day
Observation Prescribed in the
Books of the Law

The Israellites were to bring a Paschel Lamb to Jerusalem four days prior to the passover. This four day period was ment to rule out blemish. For Jesus, this observastion for blemish, would have been an observation looking for sin before He was sacrificed on the cross.

Exodus 12:1 Now the LORD said to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, 2 “This month shall be the beginning of months for you; it is to be the first month of the year to you. 3 “Speak to all the congregation of Israel, saying, ‘On the tenth of this month they are each one to take a lamb for themselves, according to their fathers’ households, a lamb for each household. 4 ‘Now if the household is too small for a lamb, then he and his neighbor nearest to his house are to take one according to the number of persons in them; according to what each man should eat, you are to divide the lamb. 5 ‘Your lamb shall be an unblemished male a year old; you may take it from the sheep or from the goats.6 ‘You shall keep it until the fourteenth day of the same month, then the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel is to kill it at twilight

and

Exodus 12:21 Then Moses called for all the elders of Israel and said to them, “Go and take for yourselves lambs according to your families, and slay the Passover lamb. 22 “You shall take a bunch of hyssop and dip it in the blood which is in the basin, and apply some of the blood that is in the basin to the lintel and the two doorposts; and none of you shall go outside the door of his house until morning. 23 “For the LORD will pass through to smite the Egyptians; and when He sees the blood on the lintel and on the two doorposts, the LORD will pass over the door and will not allow the destroyer to come in to your houses to smite you. 24 “And you shall observe this event as an ordinance for you and your children forever

The next section in this series will look at this observation period day by the day.

Pesach - Passover – Physical Salvation
Shavuot - Weeks – Spiritual Salvation
Sukkot - Tents – Living in Joy Under God

Sources and Further Reading

Biblical Sources

In general this includes:

Specific to this post:
  • Text 1
  • Text 2
  • Text 3
  • Text 4
  • Text 5
  • Text 6
  • Text 7
Source Texts and Commentary

In general this includes:

Specific to this post:
  • Text 1
  • Text 2
  • Text 3
  • Text 4
  • Text 5
  • Text 6
  • Text 7
Articles, Books, and Reflections

In general this includes:

Specific to this post:
  • Text 1
  • Text 2
  • Text 3
  • Text 4
  • Text 5
  • Text 6
  • Text 7