Grow Guide | April 2, 2023
Palm Sunday
Matthew 21:12-17 (Processional Gospel: Matthew 21:1-11)
Connecting Questions
What do you remember from Palm Sunday worship services throughout your life? Have you experienced different styles and traditions on Palm Sundays?
What is your favorite part of Holy Week and Easter?
Context
This Sunday, we begin our walk through Holy Week with a procession of palms and remembering Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem; yet the sense of triumph soon turns to humiliation on the cross. Jesus is both a glorified king and a suffering servant. We wave palms in celebration during worship yet also fear the coming days when we witness Jesus’ arrest and crucifixion.
The worship theme for Holy Week and Easter 2023 is “Remember These Things.” Jesus reminds us that whenever we remember him during communion, he is present with us. As we remember the events of Holy Week, we trust Jesus is present with us and transforms our hearts. As we focus on the readings for Palm Sunday, we remember the reactions of the crowds. They move quickly from praise and celebration to hostility and calls for Jesus to be crucified. How do we, too, pivot from praise to persecution in our faith and in our lives?
Look at the Book
Read Matthew 21:1-11. This will be our processional Gospel reading on Palm Sunday, as we wave palms and remember Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem.
What stands out to you in this text today?
Look at Isaiah 62:11, Zechariah 9:9, and 1 Kings 1:32-37.
How are these verses from the Old Testament referenced in this reading from Matthew? (The writer of Matthew quotes the Old Testament far more than the other Gospel writers.)
How is Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem a dangerous political act?
Why do you think the crowd refer to Jesus as a prophet in vs. 11?
Read Matthew 21:12-17.
What stands out to you in this text today?
What do you think about the movement from Jesus’ triumphant entry directly into the cleansing of the temple?
What does this order say about Jesus’ interpretation of his role as he faces his arrest and crucifixion?
What is Jesus saying with his actions in this text? Why does he overturn the tables of the money changers and drive out all who were selling and buying?
What does Jesus think the temple should be? How does he live that out in this text?
What does this tell us about our churches today?
How do children appear in Matthew 21:1-17 (both our processional Gospel and our reading)? Where do you expect them to appear? What does Jesus’ treatment of children teach us in this text?
If you have time, compare and contrast the ways all four Gospels tell the story of Jesus cleansing the temple (Mark 11:11, 15-19; Luke 19:45-46, John 2:13-17).
Taking it Home
As you prepare for Easter, please consider participating in Easter’s Holy Week worship offerings. Experiencing Holy Week gives new meaning and power to Easter morning. You won’t regret it.
Reflect on the ways our human nature leads us to praise in one moment and persecute in the next. Where have you experienced that in your own life? In the lives of others?