This weekend we celebrate Palm Sunday. “So the disciples went and did as Jesus commanded them. They brought the donkey and the colt, laid their clothes on them, and set Him on them. And a very great multitude spread their clothes on the road; others cut down branches from the trees and spread them on the road. Then the multitudes who went before and those who followed cried out, saying: "Hosanna to the Son of David! 'BLESSED IS HE WHO COMES IN THE NAME OF THE LORD!' Hosanna in the highest!" And when He had come into Jerusalem, all the city was moved, saying, "Who is this?" So the multitudes said, "This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth of Galilee" (Matthew 21:2-11).
This was the pinnacle of Jesus’ earthly ministry: entering the city to the chorus of praise sung by the crowd. People willingly laid down branches and clothing to prepare the way. In the ancient Middle East, a king would ride a horse if he came to do battle, but a donkey if he came in peace. Jesus, the Prince of Peace, was displaying His intentions of offering peace to the World.
The crowds expected Jesus to conquer the Romans, freeing their land economically and politically. The religious leaders only saw a threat to their own power. Just a short time later, the very crowds that were singing “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!” were shouting “Crucify Him!” How could things change so quickly? How could the multitude switch so completely from celebrating Jesus’ arrival to demanding His death?
Beware of unfounded expectations and the ability of those in power to manipulate the actions of others. Rather than confronting the Romans, Jesus confronted the religious leaders by cleansing the temple, making them indignant. They soon conspired to have Jesus arrested. The crowds, excited with the expectation of being freed from Roman rule, soon saw Jesus seemingly powerless against the Roman authorities. This evaporated their zeal for Jesus and turned it against him.
Although many other aspects of our lives are vastly different from the days of Jesus, the most meaningful things are the same. People hastily join a bandwagon if it promises freedom from powers or obligations they dislike. And when they find out what they wrongfully expected isn’t going to happen, they are quick to blame others and attack whomever they think is the cause. Today everyone wants Jesus on their political platform. And far too many who claim to be Christian still look to Jesus to solve our political and economic woes through ways that may be mere wrongful expectations.
No one in Jesus’ day expected Him to die on the cross as a way to deliver real freedom from oppression. And few in our day realize that following Jesus as He commanded us, by carrying our cross and dying to ourselves, is the way to find freedom in our day. Like the crowds in Jesus’ day, we want someone else to come in and change our circumstances. But the path to sanctification and eternal freedom, and for real lasting change in our communities, comes at a much higher cost. Let’s celebrate the true meaning of Palm Sunday: Jesus' arrival to complete the task of redemption from sin through death on the cross. And let’s celebrate it by following His lead and living a life shaped by Christ.