Palm Monday

When Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey, it was just the beginning of another typical week.

Okay, this is Palm Sunday, but given that Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem riding that donkey happened about 2,000 years ago, how do we know that it actually took place on a Sunday?  

You might assume that the gospels tell us so, but they don’t. All we have is a single clue in John, and that comes from putting the events in two verses together. John 12:1 says that six days before Passover, Jesus came to Bethany, to the home of Lazarus, and John 12:12 says that “the next day” Jesus came into Jerusalem.  

But the start of Passover is always on the same date on the Hebrew calendar, meaning that it could have been any day of the week, depending on what year the crucifixion took place. 

So to say that Jesus entered Jerusalem on a Sunday is largely tradition based on assumptions about the year Jesus died (some say A.D. 30) and the fact that all four gospels agree that the crucifixion took place on Friday...