Question:
Is Palm Sunday pagan?
Certainly anything can become idolatrous if you let it. Even your pastor can be come an idol to you. But Palm Sunday is not a pagan celebration.
About a week or so before Jesus was crucified, he entered Jerusalem for the last time. His intention was to make a final confrontation with the Jewish "gatekeepers" (the chief priests and teachers of the law) and condemn their hypocrisy. He knew in advance what was going to happen to him, so what he was doing was also intended as fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy.
A colt of a donkey, never before ridden, was brought to him, cloaks were placed upon the animal, and Jesus was set on it to ride into the city. The donkey is symbolic of peace. It would be appropriate to see the High Priest ride a donkey. In a sense, the High Priest on the donkey was a constant reminder to the people of the covenant peace of God with His people. The High Priest of course being the intercessor of the people before God. Jesus was revealing his role as the new High Priest of a new Covenant.
Cloaks were dropped along the path he traveled. Even palm branches were cut down and strewn along the road as he headed toward Jerusalem. We get the term "Palm Sunday" from the use of the palm branches during Jesus' entry into Jerusalem.
Over the centuries, Church tradition has codified the last week into a set time frame of Sunday to Sunday, Palm Sunday through Easter Sunday, naming it Holy Week. The most significant days in that tradition are Palm Sunday, when Jesus entered the city; Holy Thursday, when in the evening Jesus and the disciples shared the Last Supper; Good Friday, when Jesus was crucified, and Easter Sunday, when He was resurrected.
Whether or not the time-frame of the tradition is accurate does not matter. The point is that the Church is celebrating the last days of Jesus Christ, from His entry into Jerusalem through His Resurrection.
Rev. Pat Reynolds
Wayne Parks Ministries