April 13, 2025
Today is Palm Sunday, the day Jesus rides up to Jerusalem for the final week of his life. And it becomes a parade for Jesus where people recognize he comes from God. The people praise him! They think he’s great! They say, “Blessed is the King…” And Jesus, for once, isn’t telling them to keep quiet. It seems strange that people celebrate Jesus on Palm Sunday, then five days later, on Good Friday, the people are shouting, “Crucify him!” You wonder, what is wrong with them? Why did they change their minds to the opposite way of thinking in such a short amount of time?
It’s possible that we are guilty of something similar. We love Jesus sometimes, but not as much other times.
But I love Palm Sunday! We all get a palm. We imagine we’re part of the parade 2000 years ago when Jesus rode up to Jerusalem! People waved palm branches, or laid coats down for the colt Jesus is riding on to walk over. It’s different! But parades are always a little weird. That’s why we like them. You never know what you’ll see!
Palm Sunday is a moment when Jesus gets treated like a king.
Jesus enters Jerusalem like he’s a second-class, casual king. He rides on a colt, a young horse. Jesus has on ordinary clothes. He doesn’t have any weapons; there’s no soldiers with him and no band playing. Still, the crowd gets excited! They feel like, “He’s our guy!” The people love him! He’s like royalty!
Jesus is a different kind of king. He is gentle, riding on a colt, or a young horse. Jesus comes to lay down his life, not to start a revolt. Still, Jesus is a king. the people say, “Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!”
Then Luke 19:39 says, “Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Jesus, ‘Teacher, rebuke your disciples!’” The Pharisees were religious leaders, and they knew in Jerusalem at Passover, tensions are high between the Roman authorities and the Jewish people. The Romans were on alert and ready to squash a revolt. It’s dangerous for any Jewish person to be called a king at that time. So the Pharisees try to keep Jesus quiet. Jesus replies, “I tell you, if these people keep quiet, the stones will cry out!”
For the three years of his ministry, Jesus didn’t want to be called a king. Now he’s ok with it!. He is going to the cross willingly. He encourages it! He knows this is his final week on earth, so he let’s people openly call him a king.
But there’s another reason Jesus is ok with being called a king. Because he is a king! He has authority. Jesus was the opposite of Pilate, the Roman governor, who killed many people, and the opposite of Herod Antipas, the king who cut off John the Baptist’s head. Jesus wasn’t violent. He taught love.
We can miss Jesus’ kingship because we might think of Jesus as our savior, as the one who forgives us. He helps us and heals us. And we might ignore Jesus when we don’t need him. We might say, I’m saved, healed, forgiven, I don’t need you now Jesus. I’ll call when or if I do.
We can treat Jesus like he’s our friend, comforter and forgiver. But if you’re a Christian, Jesus is also your king!
This matters because we can hold back from Jesus and tell him, Jesus, you’re a nice guy. But I’m in charge of my own life.
After Jesus rose from the dead, Jesus’ disciple, Thomas, doubted that the other disciples and the women had seen Jesus. Thomas says, I won’t believe Jesus rose from the dead unless I can put my fingers in his wounds. When Thomas finally sees the risen Jesus, he quits doubting! He says, “My Lord and my God!” He’s saying, Jesus, you are Lord, you rule over me, you are in charge of my life, you have total authority over me. I don’t just believe in you. I’m your servant, and you are my king. Thomas stopped trying to be in charge and said to Jesus, “My Lord and my God!” He acknowledged Jesus as his king!
Do you know why the crowds switch from shouting, “Hosanna” and praising Jesus, to saying “Crucify him!”? because they want to control Jesus, they want him to do what they want. They want Jesus to start a violent revolution against Rome. But Jesus came to bring a kingdom of love, justice, and mercy.
There’s a tension for us, too. It’s wonderful to have Jesus as our savior, who forgives us and loves us unconditionally. But if Jesus is king, who we are supposed to submit our lives to, a king who will guide us in all our decisions? That’s much harder.
If you’re not a Christian, or there’s a time when you weren’t, at some point you maybe have looked at Christians and said, “Aren’t Christians supposed to be better than the average person?” Maybe we Christians say, “No, we aren’t better than average, were just more forgiven than average.’ Non-Christians have a point, sometimes we don’t look like Jesus is in charge of us! We’re supposed to be the most gracious, compassionate, generous people, kind, if we say it we’ll do it, full of peace, joyful and patient.
Christians follow Jesus’ lead. He’s supposed to have authority over our lives. The best Christians are the best employers, the best neighbors, the best husbands or wives. They’re above average. The best Christians you know are not the forgiven ones, they’re the surrendered ones. The Christians who have surrendered to Christ the king are the best ones. They don’t just call Jesus “Savior.” They call him “King,” and
“Lord of my life.”
You might be content with Jesus just being a savior. But God sent you a king. And the things you regret most in life: the things you wish you had NEVER done, they wouldn’t have happened, if you followed Jesus, if he was your king, and if you had walked in his footsteps.
Most of us have accepted Jesus as savior. But do you submit to him? This is hard for me too, it’s a struggle because I want my way, I want to do what everybody else does. But submitting to Him everyday changes your life. It gives you the life that truly is life. That is a decision you will never regret. My challenge to you this week is to ask yourself, “what does it mean to not just believe in Jesus but to surrender to his kingship?’
The crowd loved Jesus as he rode a colt to Jerusalem. But they yelled “crucify him” five days letter. They loved Jesus the forgiver and healer, but they didn’t want him to be king of their lives.
If Jesus is only our savior, we are missing out on the king. Following Him, we can say no to ourselves and yes to Jesus! He loves us and his way is always better than our way. When we follow Jesus as our king, he gives us the life that truly is life! Amen.
Maureen Duffy-Guy's blog 