Pastor Jeff Manion says, “We don’t follow Jesus to get to where we’re going. We follow Jesus to get to where he’s going.” The Palm Sunday crowd was not willing to follow Jesus on his terms. Later in the week when he appeared helpless to rally the forces against Rome, they yelled, “Crucify him.”
Jesus had a different plan for them—a better plan that would last for eternity. The question for them (and us) becomes, “Are we willing to follow Jesus on his terms, according to his plan, rather than on our own? Palm Sunday confronts us with the sincerity with which we wave our palm branches and spread our cloaks.
The night Jesus instituted Communion, he did so to talk about his body and blood that would be broken and shed. The disciples were confused and struggled with how this could possibly do any good. But Jesus was saying, “You need to trust me on this, I’ve got things under control. Even if you don’t understand, I will always give you what’s best.”
When we take Communion, it’s also a reminder we can trust Jesus on his terms, even when we don’t understand. Today, write out and memorize Hebrews 12.1c – 2b as a reminder that Jesus is the author of our faith. “And let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith. . .” (NASB). We can trust him to do what’s right.
