The curious, the cheerful and the crotchety

Today Palm Sunday will be celebrated in thousands of Christian churches across the world. Palm Sunday marks the beginning of the Easter week and is specifically the day when Jesus entered the city of Jerusalem and, six days later, would be crucified.

This event, often called the triumphal entry, is one of the few that are found in all four of the New Testament gospels.

The title comes from the way in which Jesus was welcomed into the city of Jerusalem by a crowd waving palm branches.

There were, though, three types of people in the crowd that day.

There were the curious. After three and a half years, Jesus' reputation had widely spread. People from all over the region were looking for him.

Another celebrity was there that day as well. John 12 tells us the crowd came not only because they had heard Jesus was going to be there, but also to see Lazarus. Jesus recently had raised Lazarus from the dead.

It is not very often you see a previously dead man eating lunch. There were many curious.

The crowds were also cheerful. They laid out palm branches and their cloaks for Jesus, who was riding on a colt, to step on. Each of these elements carried its own symbolism.

The colt was a fulfillment of the prophesy found in Zechariah 9:9, " ... your king is coming, sitting on a donkey's colt!" The symbolism of a coming king -- but not just any king, a humble king -- would not have been lost on the crowd.

Palm branches were a symbol of victory, often used in welcoming a hero home from war.

They cried "Hosanna," which means "save us now." A fulfiller of prophecy. A victorious conqueror. A humble king.

Everything they saw and expressed fueled their cheer.

There were also the crotchety. A group of religious leaders were opposed to Jesus and the influence he had. They bitterly complained, "Look, the world has gone after him" (John 12:19). A plot already had been set in motion to put him and Lazarus to death.

As enthusiastic as the crowd was -- whatever size the crowd happened to be -- the resentment, bitterness and even jealously emulating from the chief priests toward Jesus was toxic.

Eventually, the leaders influenced another crowd to set a criminal free in exchange for Jesus' death by crucifixion.

Palm Sunday is more than a historical remembrance. It is a challenge that can be found in one of these groups.

The curious, the cheerful or the crotchety; which group will you be in?