Palm Sunday

Jesus is described as riding on a donkey in apparent fulfilment of a prophecy in Zechariah 9:9: "Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold, thy King cometh unto thee: he is just, and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass. "

Scholars say that Zechariah chapters 9-14 were written shortly after the Return from the Babylonian Exile. The author advocated a return to the monarchy that had been disrupted by the Exile, but other parties preferred a continuation of the theocracy that had developed during the Exilic years. Chapter 9 talks exultantly about the good things that will happen now that the exiles have returned, so the passage in verse 9:9 need not have been a prophecy of Jesus, especially as he is not actually mentioned. So, is there a prophecy that was fulfilled, or did the gospel author simply know the Book of Zechariah and write a scene around it? The answer may be in the crowd that suddenly appeared out of nowhere to cheer Jesus and bring him into Jerusalem.

Mark's Gospel was the earliest of the New Testament gospels and in this Gospel, the crowd spread leafy branches on the road, just as the Jews used leafy branches in the celebration of the Sukkoth festival held at a different time of year. Mark 11:8 says (NAB), "Many people spread their cloaks on the road, and others spread leafy branches that they had cut from the fields." The words used at the Sukkoth are reflected in Mark 11:9: "And they that went before, and they that followed, cried, saying, Hosanna; Blessed be he that cometh in the name of the Lord."

John Shelby Spong (Jesus for the NonReligious) says the story came from a Jewish festival actually held at an entirely different time of year:

The ]ewish eight day celebration of the harvest, known as Sukkoth, and also called the Festival of the Tabernacles or Booths, was probably the most popular holiday among the Jews in the first century. In the observance of Sukkoth, worshippers processed through Jerusalem and in the Temple, waving a bunch of leafy branches made of willow, myrtle and palm. As they waved these branches in that procession, the worshippers recited words from Psalm 118, the psalm normally used at Sukkoth. Among these words were "Save us, we beseech you, O Lord." Save us in Hebrew is hosianna or 'hosanna'. This is typically followed by "Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord. (Psalm 118:25-6).

Mark took the Sukkoth traditions and transferred them from autumn to the Passover season for the procession story. Because the Passover season is too early for 'leafy branches' (except palms), John changed this to 'palm branches', creating our modern tradition of Palm Sunday. In the earliest account of Palm Sunday, leafy branches were used, but these were not really available at that time of year, leading to the conclusion that this story was was a literary fiction. But if the story of the crowd strewing leafy branches and crying "Hozanna" was a literary fiction, then so also was the story of Jesus riding the donkey. The gospel tells of Jesus frequently walking quite long distances, so there is no suggestion that he needed to ride this final journey into Jerusalem; but by having Jesus ride a donkey, the author demonstrates his royal status and his telepathetic ability to know where a donkey could be found. And the evangelist most particularly wrote the entire account to create and apparently fulfil a prophecy of Jesus.