Episode Details

On the first Palm Sunday, there were actually two processions entering Jerusalem — and only one of them was a celebration. While Pontius Pilate rode in from the west with armor gleaming and swords drawn, Jesus slipped in from the other side of town on a borrowed, skittish donkey that had never been ridden. 

In this sermon, we ask the uncomfortable question the crowd never thought to ask: What kind of Lord needs a borrowed donkey? And more urgently — when we shout "Hosanna, save us," what kind of salvation are we actually asking for? If we're honest, we want a messiah who wins the way empires win. Jesus refuses. This Holy Week, he invites us to put down our branches, stop casting him in our own image, and follow him somewhere much harder — and much more alive — than victory.