On Palm Sunday, Jesus went to the temple, Jerusalem's spiritual center, not to the palace. He was not on a political mission. Why would He have wanted a palace? He left one in Heaven.
Jesus went to the temple. He was always conscientious about attending the synagogues and temple, places of public worship. The book of Hebrews reinforced this by saying we are not to forsake the assembling of ourselves together (10:25).
Jesus cared about the public expressions of worship. Some believers say they don't need church gatherings, and can be spiritual on their own. They evidently see themselves as stronger than John the Baptist, the second greatest man who ever lived. When isolated from other believers, John doubted (MT 11:3).
"The man who neglects private devotion may often attend public; but it is very seldom, I think, that the man who customarily neglects public, attends private worship. I confess to have little faith in the private devotions of those who systematically neglect the social devotions of God's people" (David Thomas).
What is your valuation of public worship? I fear many of us attend public worship only if we happen to have no other commitments on our calendar. It can become easy to let all other excuses, however trite, cause us to okay our absence from church.
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