The Sign-Maker & The Donkey-Rider
Jesus can do some pretty cool stuff. But what is he calling us to?
Today is Palm Sunday. We’re working toward our passages in John aligning with the things of Holy Week this week. But for today, we must go back to chapter 12.
John tells us they were there for the miracle-worker. The crowd that welcomed Jesus with palms and hosannas had heard about Lazarus, about a dead man coming back to life. That’s not something people can just do. But this guy had done it and so they’ve come not just to see him, but to see what he can do on a larger, national scale.
It’s hard to blame them.
Who wouldn’t show up for someone with that kind of power? A man who speaks and death itself retreats? That’s the one you want on your side when things get hard. That’s the kind of leader you parade.
But Jesus didn’t ride in with the kind of power they expected. He didn’t come on a war horse, but on a donkey—young, humble, small. In fact, John tells us that it was Jesus who went and found a donkey to ride on. And he did this after seeing the crowd waving palm branches. The donkey and the palm branches do not go together. Palm branches were known as the things of military conquest, not peace.
But the donkey…it’s not the image of military conquest. It’s a callback to the prophet Zechariah, who said this is how the messiah would come: gently, bringing peace.
The contrast is sharp. The crowd is shouting for the miracle worker. But Jesus is arriving as the peacemaker. They want the power that comes with resurrection to save their nation. He offers a path of reconciliation—and we’ll soon see it goes even lower than the donkey’s back.
They cheer, probably thinking both versions are the same. That the one who raised Lazarus will be a victorious king. And he will, but not like that. There will be no national revolution under Jesus. That’s the dissonance of Palm Sunday. It’s not just the beginning of Holy Week—it’s the moment when Jesus’ true kingship begins to conflict with the version the people think they want.
We’ve been slowly walking through the account of Jesus in front of Pilate. Pilate wanted Jesus to be a king so he can make an example of him. Jesus kind of played along. But in the end, his kingship will shine differently.
And for us? We must be clear about living in that same tension. Jesus can work miraculous signs in our lives. We want Jesus to show up with power—preferably the kind that fixes things fast and to our full benefit. But he shows up on a donkey. Still coming. Still saving. But not in the way we expected.
John 12:11-18
It was because of Lazarus that many of the Jews had deserted them and come to believe in Jesus.
The next day the great crowd that had come for the festival heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem. They took palm branches and went out to meet him. They shouted,
“Hosanna! Blessings on the one who comes in the name of the Lord! Blessings on the king of Israel!”
Jesus found a young donkey and sat on it, just as it is written,
“Don’t be afraid, Daughter Zion. Look! Your king is coming, sitting on a donkey’s colt.”
His disciples didn’t understand these things at first. After he was glorified, they remembered that these things had been written about him and that they had done these things to him.
The crowd who had been with him when he called Lazarus out of the tomb and raised him from the dead were testifying about him. That’s why the crowd came to meet him, because they had heard about this miraculous sign that he had done.
Psalm 118:25-26
Lord, please save us! Lord, please let us succeed!
The one who enters in the Lord’s name is blessed;
we bless all of you from the Lord’s house.
Prayer
God,
Your son, Jesus entered Jerusalem not on a warhorse, but on a donkey,
signaling peace over power, service over status.
In a world that chases signs and wonders, spectacles and quick ascents, teach us to see the miracle in meekness, the power in peace, the triumph in surrender.
As the crowds once cried "Hosanna," we lift our voices, not just in praise, but in commitment to follow your path—a path that may lead to unexpected places, yet always toward the heart of God. Indeed, God save us now, but help us understand and live into your terms, those of loving sacrifice and humble submission.
Grant us the courage to lay down our cloaks of pride, to pick up the cross of compassion, and to walk beside you in humility and hope.
By your spirit & in Christ,
Amen.