The full moon, the original olive trees of war and why Jesus entered Jerusalem on a donkey: secrets and mysteries of Palm Sunday

When we speak of the Bible – both the New Testament and the Old Testament – accounts from several hundred years are discussed. The circumstances in which the texts were written have obviously changed, so it is often confusing for us. I will clarify this with an example that the vast majority will understand: if I comment to a young man between the ages of 20 and 30 the following: “we went with the Falcon while listening to a Sabú magazine because the Spica was not working”, I doubt the young man knows what I’m talking about. Imagine yourself with writings from hundreds of years that refer to events and places that have already been covered by the passing of the centuries. This is why a lot of things escape us and we ignore them. And to explain this data, it is the biblical scholars, people who break down the texts and put into context the stories and events told in the Bible.

This introduction is valid because Easter and its events are coming, ending at Easter, which varies each year and there is a reason for that. For Jews, it is customary to celebrate Passover each year on the 15th of the Hebrew month of Nisan, which begins with the first full moon in spring. Since the days and dates of Jewish religious ceremonies are determined by the phases of the moon, according to the Gospels, it was precisely during a Passover seder that Jesus met his disciples at “The Last Supper”. It is for this reason that each year Holy Week and Easter change date, because it must coincide with the full moon. The calculation for the celebration of Christian Easter since the I Ecumenical Council of Nicaea in 325, is that it is to be celebrated on the first Sunday of the full moon after the spring equinox. Because on this day there are 24 hours of light, both from the sun and the moon.

For the great majority of Christians, tomorrow will be “Palm Sunday”, that is, the commemoration of the moment when Jesus entered Jerusalem and was acclaimed by the people.

Before doing so, Jesus had stopped in Bethany and Bethphage. The Gospel of John adds that he dined with Lazarus and his sisters Mary and Martha. There, it is said that Jesus sent two disciples to the nearby village with orders to retrieve a donkey that had been tied up but never ridden. Let us see what the text of the Gospels tells us in reference to Matthew 21: 1-11: “When they approached Jerusalem and came to Bertphage, on the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples, saying to them: ‘Go on. in the village which is in front of you, then you will see a donkey tied and another with it. Untie it and bring it back. And if anyone says anything to you, say, The Lord needs you, and then He will restore you. All this happened to fulfill what was said by the prophet, when he said: “Say to the daughter of Zion: ‘Behold, your king is coming to you, gentle and sitting on an ass, son of a beast of sum'”.

And the disciples went and did as Jesus commanded them. And they brought the donkey, and put their coats on them, and he set on it. And the multitude, which was very numerous, spread their coats on the road, and others they cut the branches of the trees and spread them out on the road. And the people who came before and those who followed clapped, saying, “Hosanna to the Son of David, Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna at the top! “

When he entered Jerusalem, the whole city was moved, saying: “Who is it?” And the people said, “This is Jesus the prophet, of Nazareth in Galilee.”

In the Middle East, it was traditional to walk the path of someone who was deemed worthy of the highest honor. Palm leaves were a Jewish symbol of triumph and victory (Leviticus 23:40; Revelation 7: 9). In Second Kings 9:13, Jehu, son of Jehoshaphat, received the king’s customary proclamation with coats lying on the ground. Jesus, the Messianic King, received a similar honor. “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna at the highest! (Matthew 21: 8).

The location of this entry is not specified, but It is assumed that it took place in the “golden door”, built by Suleiman the Magnificent in the 16th century, from where it was believed that the Messiah would enter Jerusalem.

They cry out to Jesus with the voice “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord” and “Hosanna” in Hebrew, which means “save us now!”, and it became an exclamation of triumph but also of joy and confidence.

But, Why enter on a donkey? with a modest mount, a beast of burden. Because like that another of the prophecies should be fulfilled, in this case is Zacarías. In which we read in his book chapter 9 verse 9: “Behold, your king comes to you: just he and victorious, humble and riding a donkey, son of a beast of burden”, as we quoted above.

It was probably palm leaves rather than olive trees, which were very valuable for olives to make oil. But here, the symbolic is also suitable: the palm is the traditional symbol of martyrs represented with a palm leaf in their hands as a symbol of their surrender, since they obtained “the palm of martyrdom”. This martyrdom that Jesus will undergo in the coming days. The olive tree is a symbol of peace due to a fact of war, when a city devastated another, the first thing they burned were the olive trees, because they take a long time to grow; so if one ruler presented himself to another with an olive branch with olives, it meant that in his kingdom there had been peace for a long time. So he was a trustworthy person. From where Jesus could have been received with olive branches, because of him he was the “king of peace”, and the coats on the ground, might warn them of how his tunic would end at the time of his crucifixion: on the ground, trampled by the guard and playing dice.

Jesus knows where he is going and what he is going. He goes to Jerusalem on the holiest days, during the celebration of the Passover. He knew he would be watched at every turn and that anything he said would be used against him. But he had to fulfill a mission, and this mission could not be fulfilled on any day, but on the feast of the Jewish Passover, that is, the great solemnity in which she remembered. the liberation of the people of Israel from the hands of the Pharaoh of Egypt by Moses.

Christian Churches with the celebration of Palm Sunday give rise to “Holy Week” and for Catholic Christians, the two liturgical traditions intersect: that of Jerusalem and that of Rome. In the liturgical tradition of the Eastern Churches, the prophetic gesture of Jesus being acclaimed on entering as the messiah is recalled.

The faithful who take part in the procession in remembrance of Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem – a tradition dating from the 4th century -, they usually carry palm branches or other trees in their hands and sing appropriate songs. Priests and ministers, also carrying bouquets, are to walk in front of the faithful and the subsequent Eucharist is based on the reception of the Lord in Jerusalem. The blessing of the bouquets and palm trees takes place before the procession. And it is a day of joy and rejoicing. This is the case with all Eastern Rite Catholic churches.

In exchange, The liturgical tradition of Rome is diverse. Although Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem is narrated, and before the celebration of the Eucharist, there is a procession in memory of this entry. But the liturgy of the Mass aims to make the faithful aware of what is going to happen, This is why the “passion according to Saint Matthew” is read in the masses, and in the readings which precede it, he speaks of the “suffering servant”.

Palm Sunday is a public holiday and this leads us to think of a very current saying: “From hosanna to the crucifixion, it only took four days”, It is the people who on Palm Sunday applauded Jesus as he entered Jerusalem as king of Israel, four days later these same people were shouting at him: “kill him”, that is to say “Crucify him” out loud. Human beings are so fickle in their conceptions and so easy to change their beliefs, and much more now with the means of technology. Let’s stay tuned.

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