Holy Week
The Sunday of the Passion (Palm Sunday)
Palmarum · March 29, 2026
Overview & Insights
“Behold, your king is coming to you, humble, and mounted on a donkey.” (Matthew 21:5)
Jesus enters Jerusalem in kingly fashion (21:1–11), opening a new section of Matthew focused on Jesus’ ministry to crowds and confrontations with Jewish leaders in Jerusalem (chaps. 21–23). Matthew ties the preceding healing of two blind men (20:29–34) and this Jerusalem entry together by emphasizing Jesus as the “Son of David” in both (20:30–31; 21:9). After an extended section featuring Jesus and his disciples (16:21–20:28), the crowds reappear in these passages (20:29; 21:9, 11). Matthew distinguishes the Jerusalem crowds that ask about Jesus’ identity from the Galilean crowd that accompanies Jesus into the city. In terms of that identity, Matthew emphasizes that Jesus’ kingship (explicated by Zech. 9:9) promotes a peaceable and humble reign (21:5).
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Commentary
Matthew 21 Commentary: The King Comes to Jerusalem Enduring Word · David Guzik
David Guzik walks the triumphal entry verse by verse with an evangelical eye on the Zechariah fulfillment.
Matthew 21:1-11 - Center for Excellence in Preaching Center for Excellence in Preaching
A Reformed preaching commentary that presses the tension between the crowd's Hosannas and the cross ahead.
Matthew 21 Commentary Precept Austin
A deep study hub gathering Greek notes, cross references, and many older commentators on the entry.
Matthew 21:1 Commentaries BibleHub
Classic verse-level commentaries (Barnes, Gill, Ellicott, and more) stacked for the opening of the passage.
Victory, Palm Sunday (A) Sermons That Work · Episcopal Church
An Episcopal sermon reading the palm as the sign of Christ's costly victory.
Palm Sunday of the Lord's Passion, Cycle A Loyola Press · Sunday Connection
A Catholic Sunday Connection with background and reflection questions for the procession gospel.
Background & Word Study
The 'triumphal' entry on Palm Sunday in Matthew 21 Psephizo · Ian Paul
Ian Paul offers an Anglican scholarly reading of Matthew's two donkeys and the prophecy he cites.
Matthew - Enter the Bible Enter the Bible
Luther Seminary's book overview supplies the outline, authorship, and themes behind the entry scene.
Matthew 14-28 Overview BibleProject
An animated walk through Matthew's second half places the Jerusalem entry in the gospel's arc toward the cross.
Matthew 21:1 Interlinear BibleHub
The Greek interlinear lets preachers check the wording of the sending and the colt.
The Church Fathers
Sermons & Reflections
Worship & Prayers
Questions preachers ask
Why does the one-year lectionary open Advent with Palm Sunday's text?
The historic Advent 1 Gospel is the Triumphal Entry, setting the season's theme at the start: the King comes to his people gently, fulfilling Zechariah's prophecy, and the church cries Hosanna to welcome him.
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