Honored with Palm Branches

"The next day the great crowd that had come for the Feast heard that Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem.  They took palm branches and went out to meet him, shouting,

"Hosanna!"
"Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!"
"Blessed is the King of Israel!"
Jesus found a young donkey and sat upon it, as it is written,

"Do not be afraid,
O Daughter of Zion;
see, your king is coming,
seated on a donkey's colt."

At first his disciples did not understand all this.  Only after Jesus was glorified did they realize that these things had been written about him and that they had done these things to him."
John 12:12-16

I know that next Sunday is Palm Sunday but I wanted to study these verses today so that we can meditate on this Bible passage throughout the coming week.

After reading these verses I couldn't remember what the historical significance was behind the Palm Branches - so I looked this up in my Bible Commentary.  During Biblical times, the common practice was to honor a victorious person by carrying Palm Branches.  It's amazing that this "great crowd" knew that Jesus was the Messiah.  Even the disciples were confused by this greeting that Jesus had received.  The disciples were confused because "Easter" had not yet happened and in their minds Jesus was not "victorious."  It wasn't until after Jesus had risen from the tomb that the disciples understood the meaning of this event.

It is also important that Jesus rode on a donkey - fulfilling the prophesy in Zechariah 9:9.  Every single little detail was significant.....from the Palm Branches......to the chant: "Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Blessed is the King of Israel!.......to Jesus riding on a donkey.  God is in control of every tiny aspect in all of our lives.  

Let's not ignore the little things in our lives.......God has a wonderful purpose for everything.