A Palm Sunday Devotional

For years I missed the fact that when Jesus rode into Jerusalem on the back of a donkey He was making a legitimate offer to sit on David’s throne and be king. I had only thought of this as the prelude to the sacrifice He would make. But the context of that sacrifice is one of utter rejection and unimaginable blindness on the part of the people. 

For generations, the people of Israel had prayed fervently for God to send the Messiah. The Messiah came. He proved Himself with miracles. He rode into town on a donkey just as Zechariah 9:9 predicted. A few recognized Him, but most rejected Him. In the end, He wasn’t just rejected, the rulers turned to their hated overlords (the Romans) and had Him killed. 

Jesus wept for the city. It had not recognized the day God answered their prayer. Jerusalem had not recognized the long-awaited Messiah. In their utter blindness, they crucified the Lord of Glory (1 Cor 2:8).  

The result was catastrophic for the nation of Israel.

As we read in Luke 19:41-44 NIV,

As [Jesus] approached Jerusalem and saw the city, he wept over it and said, “If you, even you, had only known on this day what would bring you peace—but now it is hidden from your eyes. The days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment against you and encircle you and hem you in on every side. They will dash you to the ground, you and the children within your walls. They will not leave one stone on another, because you did not recognize the time of God’s coming to you.” 

Within one generation of that Palm Sunday, the Romans (who crucified Christ) destroyed the temple, set the city on fire, and killed tens of thousands of people. (Estimates suggest that as many as a million Jews were killed in the campaign against Rome.) 

At its core, Palm Sunday is about the opportunity God gives to each of us to accept His offer of Jesus Christ as our king.

Some people are spiritually blind and do not recognize this offer or are openly hostile to it. Others want Jesus to be king, but only if He is the kind of king who fixes all of their problems and makes their life easier. But faith in Jesus Christ means being loyal to Him even if it makes life harder. It is pledging allegiance to a king regardless of the sacrifices that pledge requires 

Too often the gospel is presented as a quick fix to all of our problems. People are told, “Invite Jesus into your heart and suddenly you will have a solution to all of your anxieties and all of the problems you face.” But this is offering people a counterfeit messiah like the messiah who was expected to rescue Israel from Rome.  

Our Messiah—our King—is one to whom we swear allegiance because we trust Him. To be saved by faith is not just accepting the gift of eternal life. It is trusting Jesus Christ enough to follow Him and obey even when we don’t understand where He is taking us and why the journey is so hard. 

So what does that look like on an ordinary afternoon? It may look like showing up to spend time with God in prayer, even though lately your prayer life feels hollow. It looks like choosing the path of integrity when the path of compromise would be much easier and cost you less. It might look like sticking out a hard marriage (not necessarily an abusive one) even though your flesh wants to cut and run. It might look like staying faithful in the midst of a difficult church situation, a hard season, or a tough relationship, not because you have the answers, but because you have a king. 

Loyalty is not the absence of doubt. It is the decision to keep following anyway.  

Dietrich Bonhoeffer understood this. When he was offered safe passage out of Nazi Germany, he turned it down. He returned to a country that was headed into a catastrophe and to a church that had largely capitulated to a regime that would eventually hang him. His reasons were simple: he had sworn allegiance to a king whose kingdom was not built on self-preservation. He did not know how the story would end. He went anyway. That is what it looks like to follow Jesus Christ when following costs something.

This Palm Sunday, the same question Jesus posed to Jerusalem is posed to you. The question is not, “Do you want your problem solved,” but rather, “Will you have this man as your king?”  The crowd that day wanted both the crown and the comfort. Jesus offered them the crown, but it came with a cross. 

This does not mean we have no doubts or must have a perfect faith before we can be saved.  It means that despite our doubts, we affirm the ancient declaration: “Jesus Christ is Lord!” and we submit to our king despite our misgivings and doubts, trusting that someday we will understand more fully why the journey is as difficult as it is.  

No, perfect faith is not the requirement, but loyal faith is. The crowd on Palm Sunday had plenty of enthusiasm, but very little loyalty. What Jesus was looking for and what He’s still looking for is someone who will still be following when the parade is over.

Where is Jesus calling you into loyal love and obedience this Holy Week?