A few months ago, my family went to a parade. There were decorated floats, kids running for candy that’s thrown from cars, high school bands marching, somebody waving from the back of a convertible like they just won something. The whole point of a parade is to celebrate someone. The crowd shows up because they know who's coming and they're ready to cheer.
The first Palm Sunday was a parade.
Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey while people spread cloaks on the road, waved palm branches, and shouted "Hosanna!" which essentially means "Save us!" They had expectations. The world felt heavy and hard, and they had been waiting a long time for someone to come and fix it. They wanted a king who would finally make things right. They were expecting a military or political hero.
Instead, they got Jesus on a donkey.
That gap between what the crowd expected and what actually showed up is worth sitting with. Because here's the thing: they weren't wrong that things were broken. Their cry of "Save us!" came from a genuinely desperate place. They needed rescue. They just had the wrong picture of what rescue looked like.
We do the same thing. We come to Jesus with our list. Fix this, change that, make this pain stop. We want a king who conquers on our terms. And Jesus keeps showing up on a donkey. Not because He doesn't care, but because the brokenness goes so much deeper than our circumstances. Sin isn't just a problem out there in the world. It's a human problem. It impacts all of us. And the rescue required for that kind of brokenness isn't the kind the crowd was imagining.
Nobody cheering that day could have imagined where the parade was headed. A cross on a hill outside the city. And then, three days later, an empty tomb.
But you can't get to Sunday without going through Friday. The resurrection means so much more when you understand what it was rescuing us from.
So this week I want to invite you to slow down. Easter is coming but don’t rush into it. Sit for a moment with the crowd and ask yourself what you're actually hoping Jesus will do. Let the weight of the brokenness land. Because Easter is coming, and when it gets here, it will be worth the wait.
Come a little early this Sunday, as our kids will be leading us in a Palm Sunday celebration.
Peace,
Nick
art: by Kristin Miler
The first Palm Sunday was a parade.
Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey while people spread cloaks on the road, waved palm branches, and shouted "Hosanna!" which essentially means "Save us!" They had expectations. The world felt heavy and hard, and they had been waiting a long time for someone to come and fix it. They wanted a king who would finally make things right. They were expecting a military or political hero.
Instead, they got Jesus on a donkey.
That gap between what the crowd expected and what actually showed up is worth sitting with. Because here's the thing: they weren't wrong that things were broken. Their cry of "Save us!" came from a genuinely desperate place. They needed rescue. They just had the wrong picture of what rescue looked like.
We do the same thing. We come to Jesus with our list. Fix this, change that, make this pain stop. We want a king who conquers on our terms. And Jesus keeps showing up on a donkey. Not because He doesn't care, but because the brokenness goes so much deeper than our circumstances. Sin isn't just a problem out there in the world. It's a human problem. It impacts all of us. And the rescue required for that kind of brokenness isn't the kind the crowd was imagining.
Nobody cheering that day could have imagined where the parade was headed. A cross on a hill outside the city. And then, three days later, an empty tomb.
But you can't get to Sunday without going through Friday. The resurrection means so much more when you understand what it was rescuing us from.
So this week I want to invite you to slow down. Easter is coming but don’t rush into it. Sit for a moment with the crowd and ask yourself what you're actually hoping Jesus will do. Let the weight of the brokenness land. Because Easter is coming, and when it gets here, it will be worth the wait.
Come a little early this Sunday, as our kids will be leading us in a Palm Sunday celebration.
Peace,
Nick
art: by Kristin Miler