Jesus’ Physical Experience of Palm Sunday

04-13-2025Weekly ReflectionJen Arnold, M.A.

Today is Palm Sunday — our Lenten journey is drawing to a close as we enter Holy Week and look forward to Easter. We have been meditating on how Jesus may have experienced his passion and crucifixion through each of his five senses. God, in his divine nature, does not have, nor does he need senses to experience things around him, so they are unique to Jesus’ human nature and can help us relate personally to him. Hopefully, this has been a fruitful meditation series for you, as you have imagined what it might have been like for your divine Savior to see, hear, taste, smell, and feel just as you do. Now, for Palm Sunday, we’ll do the same, covering all five senses for the single event.

Sight

As Jesus descended the Mount of Olives on a donkey, he would have seen the city of Jerusalem, the holy city of God, growing closer. Approaching the city gates, he perhaps saw the Roman guards, a reminder of the oppression the Jewish people endure. Inside the gates, the city was bustling with men, women, and children preparing for the Passover. Jesus saw the multitude of people gathering who had received word that he was coming. The streets were lined with palm branches and colorful cloaks as a sign of honor for their King. He saw their faces filled with hope and expectation, eyes shining with adoration as they gazed upon him, believing he was there to liberate them from their Roman oppressors. He knew this jubilant crowd he looked upon now would be the same crowd he would later see rejecting him with angry and mocking faces and gestures. Perhaps Jesus could see the Pharisees lurking behind the crowds with stern looks or even scowls on their faces, making plans to eliminate the perceived threat to their power. For us, busy sights like Palm Sunday are too much to take in every detail, but Jesus likely looked at each face with love, knowing which would accept and which would reject his coming sacrifice.

Hearing

Beginning his journey into Jerusalem, Jesus would have heard the soft plodding of the donkey’s hooves on the pathways and his disciples speaking with him as they walked beside him. As they approach the gates, the commotion of city life gets louder and louder — vendors selling their wares, mothers calling their children, coins being exchanged, the clatter of Roman armor, and animals making their various sounds. Once inside the city gates, perhaps Jesus heard the rustle of the waving palm branches and their crunch on the ground as his donkey walked over them. He may have been awed by the sounds of the crowd shouting “Hosanna!” and “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!” as the people joyfully declared him King while not fully comprehending the nature of his kingship. Then he heard some Pharisees tell him, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples,” to discourage them from praising him (Lk 19:39). Jesus responded, “I tell you, if these were silent, the very stones would cry out,” meaning that his glory should be so evident that even nature would sing songs of praise if the people were silent (Lk 19:40). While they did not know it at the time, the crowd’s jubilant cries reflected the truth of who Jesus was and still is, which is why we recite them at every Mass to this day.

Taste

While the Gospels don’t specifically mention Jesus eating during his entry into Jerusalem, he might have tasted the dryness in his mouth from the dust of the road and the emotion of the moment. However, perhaps more profound than the physical taste Jesus may have experienced is the metaphorical bittersweetness he likely
experienced as he entered the city. The taste of victory was in the air, but it was also laced with sorrow because he knew the same crowd that welcomed him with open arms would soon cry, "Crucify him!" The sweetness of the praise was tainted by the bitterness of betrayal. This bittersweetness is the flavor of love poured out for us. As Catholics, we taste this mystery in every Mass, where the Eucharist unites us to his sacrifice.

Smell

The air in Jerusalem would have been filled with the ordinary scents of the bustling city — dust, food, the sweat of the crowds, and the incense wafting from the temple. The smell of fresh palm branches, laid down by the people to honor Jesus, would have been a simple and humble fragrance. It was a symbol of victory and peace, as palm branches were often used to celebrate military triumphs. For Jesus, this fragrance might have had a deeper meaning. As he inhaled the scent of the palms, perhaps he thought about how his victory would not come through a military conquest but through the sacrificial love of the cross.

Touch

As Jesus rode into Jerusalem, he would have felt the coarse hair of the donkey, a symbol of his humility. His calloused hands would have gripped the reins, perhaps they were a foreboding of the leather straps that would soon be used to scourge him. Once inside the gates, he would have felt the palm branches waving, creating a soft breeze against his skin in the warm sun. Some of the branches and cloaks undoubtedly brushed against him as he moved through the crowds pressing in on him. People likely reached out to touch him, to make physical contact with the one they hailed as their Savior, and to perhaps experience a miracle or healing as they had seen or heard about so many times before.

As we contemplate Jesus’ sensory experience on Palm Sunday, we are reminded of his full humanity and divinity. He felt, saw, heard, smelled, and tasted the adulation of the crowd, all while carrying the weight of his impending sacrifice. Likewise, with his divine senses, he sees your needs, hears your cries, touches your wounds, smells the incense of your prayers, and tastes the sweetness of your sacrifices. As you move through Holy Week, be aware of your entire sensory experience and contemplate what a profound act of love it was for God to enter into humanity so completely in order for us to be able to relate to him and know that he understands us. May our senses be attuned to the full reality of Jesus’ love for us. May we see, hear, smell, taste, and touch his presence in our lives, and may we be moved to a deeper understanding of the sacrifice he made, out of his love for each one of us.