The first Sunday of Holy Week is commonly called Palm or Passion Sunday.
PALM SUNDAY: a focus on Christ’s entry to Jerusalem amid shouts of the people, “Hosanna! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!” (John 12:13), the waving of palm branches and the lying down of cloaks.
PASSION SUNDAY: a focus on the fact that Jesus’ entry to Jerusalem marked the beginning of the last week of His life culminating in His suffering and death.
There is much irony on this first day of Holy Week. This is the day in which Jesus entered the city in triumph, yet this event was part of His journey to the cross. He entered Jerusalem to the praises of the people. Yet those very same cries of hosanna would turn to cries of “crucify Him” just a few days later; as the people unknowingly send Jesus to fulfill the actions it would take to do what they earlier asked of Him.
Luke 19:28–44:
And when he had said these things, he went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem. When he drew near to Bethphage and Bethany, at the mount that is called Olivet, he sent two of the disciples, saying, “Go into the village in front of you, where on entering you will find a colt tied, on which no one has ever yet sat. Untie it and bring it here. If anyone asks you, ‘Why are you untying it?’ you shall say this: ‘The Lord has need of it.’” So those who were sent went away and found it just as he had told them. And as they were untying the colt, its owners said to them, “Why are you untying the colt?” And they said, “The Lord has need of it.” And they brought it to Jesus, and throwing their cloaks on the colt, they set Jesus on it. And as he rode along, they spread their cloaks on the road. As he was drawing near—already on the way down the Mount of Olives—the whole multitude of his disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works that they had seen, saying, “Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!” And some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples.” He answered, “I tell you, if these were silent, the very stones would cry out.”
And when he drew near and saw the city, he wept over it, saying, “Would that you, even you, had known on this day the things that make for peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes. For the days will come upon you, when your enemies will set up a barricade around you and surround you and hem you in on every side and tear you down to the ground, you and your children within you. And they will not leave one stone upon another in you, because you did not know the time of your visitation.”
This day was the “beginning of the end” of Jesus’s earthly work. As Jesus entered Jerusalem, he neared the culmination of a long journey toward the cross. Now was the time, beginning in this place, to secure that salvation. It is within the events of this day that we see the “passion” (suffering) and the “palm” (praise).
For more on Holy Week, see The Week That Changed The World: Daily Reflections for Holy Week.