Jesus saved us from a far greater enemy: sin. Below I’ve compiled some Palm Sunday Bible verses to celebrate that God answered our call of, “Hosanna!” (Save us now). He did, in fact, rescue us from the worst enemy of all.
Many of us have a familiarity with Palm Sunday. For those who don’t, we recognize the events that took place one week prior to Resurrection Sunday. On Palm Sunday, Jesus rode into Jerusalem and the people of Israel waved palm branches cried out for him to rescue them. They meant rescue from the Romans. But Jesus saved us from a far greater enemy: sin. Below I’ve compiled some Palm Sunday Bible verses to celebrate that God answered our call of, “Hosanna!” (Save us now). He did, in fact, rescue us from the worst enemy of all.
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Palm Sunday Scriptures about Palm Trees
Palm trees signify a number of things in Scripture. They tend to mean victory. Jerusalem was so full of palms that it became known, in other regions, for this specific tree. One of Israel’s most famous judges, Deborah, sat underneath a palm tree when she ruled.
Leviticus 23:40: “And you shall take on the first day the fruit of splendid trees, branches of palm trees and boughs of leafy trees and willows of the brook, and you shall rejoice before the Lord your God seven days.”
Deuteronomy 34:3: “and the Negev and the plain in the valley of Jericho, the city of palm trees, as far as Zoar.”
Judges 4:5: “She used to sit under the palm tree of Deborah between Ramah and Bethel in the hill country of Ephraim; and the sons of Israel came up to her for judgment.”
1 Kings 6:32: “He covered the two doors of olivewood with carvings of cherubim, palm trees, and open flowers. He overlaid them with gold and spread gold on the cherubim and on the palm trees.”
Psalm 92:12: “The righteous man will flourish like the palm tree, He will grow like a cedar in Lebanon.”
nel 1:12: “The vine dries up; the fig tree languishes. Pomegranate, palm, and apple, all the trees of the field are dried up, and gladness dries up from the children of man.”
Palm Sunday Bible Verses
I’ve highlighted each of the Gospel accounts below, that talk about Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem. Sadly, although the people of Israel greeted him with praises, less than a week later, they called for his execution. Jesus also fulfills Old Testament prophecy when he rides into Jerusalem on a donkey, probably something unsuspected by the disciples or the people of Israel. But later they recall the words of the prophets after Jesus resurrects.
Matthew 21:1-3: “As they approached Jerusalem and came to Bethphage on the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples, saying to them, “Go to the village ahead of you, and at once you will find a donkey tied there, with her colt by her. Untie them and bring them to me. If anyone says anything to you, say that the Lord needs them, and he will send them right away.”
Mark 11:4-6: “They went and found a colt outside in the street, tied at a doorway. As they untied it, some people standing there asked, “What are you doing, untying that colt?” They answered as Jesus had told them to, and the people let them go.”
Luke 19:35-37: “They brought it to Jesus, threw their cloaks on the colt and put Jesus on it. As he went along, people spread their cloaks on the road. When he came near the place where the road goes down the Mount of Olives, the whole crowd of disciples began joyfully to praise God in loud voices for all the miracles they had seen.”
John 12:12-13: "The next day the great crowd that had come for the festival 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!”
Bible Verses about Ashes and Dust
On Ash Wednesday, many churches will use the ashes of the previous year’s Palm Sunday branches to place a cross on the foreheads of the congregation. Ash Wednesday reminds us that we are but dust and that we need a Savior to rescue us since we cannot save ourselves. Ashes throughout the Bible tend to symbolize repentance, cleansing, and pleading with God to come and rescue (in the case of the verse found in Esther).
Esther 4:3: “And in every province, wherever the king's command and his decree reached, there was great mourning among the Jews, with fasting and weeping and lamenting, and many of them lay in sackcloth and ashes.”
Job 42:6: “Therefore I despise myself, and repent in dust and ashes.”
Ecclesiastes 3:20: “All go to one place. All are from the dust, and to dust all return.”
Daniel 9:3: “Then I turned my face to the Lord God, seeking him by prayer and pleas for mercy with fasting and sackcloth and ashes.”
Jonah 3:6: “The word reached the king of Nineveh, and he arose from his throne, removed his robe, covered himself with sackcloth, and sat in ashes.”
Luke 10:13: “Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty works done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago, sitting in sackcloth and ashes.”
Bible Verses about God Rescuing Us
Hosanna means “save us, now.” Throughout the Bible, God has saved his people. Not only in a literal sense from enemies such as the Philistines or the Ammonites, but he also rescued them from their sin and circumstances. When they spent 400 years in slavery in Egypt, God heard their cries and provided a way out. In the same way, the Israelites (and the whole world) succumbed to the enemy of sin for thousands of years. Nevertheless, God hears our cries and groanings and provides a way to bridge the divide between ourselves and him through the cross of Jesus. Little did the Israelites know that when they asked Jesus to rescue them, he very much planned to do so that week. Just not in the way they expected.
Daniel 6:26-27: “I make a decree that in all the dominion of my kingdom men are to fear and tremble before the God of Daniel; For He is the living God and enduring forever, And His kingdom is one which will not be destroyed, And His dominion will be forever. “He delivers and rescues and performs signs and wonders In heaven and on earth, Who has also delivered Daniel from the power of the lions.”
Matthew 1:21: “She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.”
Acts 2:21: “And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”
Ephesians 2:8: “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God.”
1 Timothy 1:15: “The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost.”
Further Reading
5 Things about Palm Sunday That Remind Us Christ Is King
What Is Palm Sunday? - Bible Story and Meaning Today
Palm Sunday in the Bible - The Significance and Purpose of Its Celebration
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Hope Bolinger is an acquisitions editor at End Game Press, book editor for hire, and the author of almost 30 books. More than 1500 of her works have been featured in various publications. Check out her books at hopebolinger.com for clean books in most genres, great for adults and kids. Check out her editing profile at Reedsy.com to find out about hiring her for your next book project.
This article is part of our larger Holy Week and Easter resource library centered around the events leading up to the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. We hope these articles help you understand the meaning and story behind important Christian holidays and dates and encourage you as you take time to reflect on all that God has done for us through his son Jesus Christ!
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