Happy Palm Sunday!

John 12:12-19, Matthew 27:50-54

Today, Christians can remember reading about how King Jesus rode into Jerusalem accompanied by an excited crowd with palm branches. Later, Matthew 27:50-54 says, “⁵⁰ And when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, he gave up his spirit.⁵¹ At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook, the rocks split ⁵² and the tombs broke open. The bodies of many holy people who had died were raised to life. ⁵³ They came out of the tombs after Jesus’ resurrection and[a] went into the holy city and appeared to many people.⁵⁴ When the centurion and those with him who were guarding Jesus saw the earthquake and all that had happened, they were terrified, and exclaimed, “Surely he was the Son of God!”

According to Christianity Today’s 12/21/21 article,  Biblical Archaeology’s Top 10 Discoveries of 2021, “A luxurious public building located next to the Temple Mount has been excavated…Now that the excavation is complete, archaeologists have dated its construction to A.D. 20—during the lifetime of Jesus. The building contained two identical chambers, separated by an elaborate fountain. The luxurious nature of the facility and its adjacency to the Temple Mount indicates it was probably used by the elite members of the first-century Jewish community, the families of the high priests, and other leading religious figures. Archaeologists say it was damaged by an earthquake in A.D. 33, then later rebuilt and reconfigured into three vaulted halls. The destruction date suggests possible evidence of the earthquake recorded in the Gospel accounts at the crucifixion of Jesus.”

We Christians already know Jesus is real, but it feels satisfying to watch the evidence roll in.  Happy Palm Sunday!