3 Reasons Why You Should Care About Palm Sunday

For Christians, Easter is the most significant and celebrated holiday since the time of the early church. It is the culmination of Holy Week, beginning with Palm Sunday and ending with the Resurrection of Jesus.

This week we remember Palm Sunday. When Jesus entered into Jerusalem riding on a donkey while a massive crowd of people cheered and waved palm branches in worship. This is also called the triumphal entry and is found in all four of the Gospels, Matthew 21, Mark 11, Luke 19, and John 12. As a side note, any time all four Gospels mention an event, it is a clue to us as readers that this is really important and we should pay attention.

Within days, the same city that worshipped and welcomed Jesus would turn and reject Him. The same voices that cried out in praise would fall silent. Palm Sunday is not just a historical event. It is a mirror. It reveals who Jesus is and, if we look closely, it will show us how we should respond to Him.

Here are three reasons why this day in history matters to all those who follow Him.

1. Palm Sunday Reveals the Kind of King Jesus Is

As Jesus approaches Jerusalem, He makes a deliberate and symbolic choice. Instead of entering the city on a war horse like a conquering ruler, which would have been the expectation, He rides in on a donkey.

“See, your king comes to you, gentle and riding on a donkey…” (Matthew 21:5)

This fulfills the prophecy in Zechariah 9:9 and declares that His kingdom is built on peace, not power. In ancient times, a king on a horse symbolized conquest, while a king on a donkey symbolized humility and peace. Jesus was not coming to overthrow Rome with force and violence. He was coming to bring peace between God and humanity through sacrifice, not with the sword.

This would have been very confusing for many in the crowd. They were longing for a political deliverer, someone who would restore national strength and remove their oppression. But Jesus came to deal with something deeper than empires or political systems. He came to deal with the problem of sin in our hearts.

We still wrestle with expectations of how God should show up in our lives. We want Him to act quickly. We want breakthrough, clarity, and control, and we want it now. But often, Jesus works in ways that do not always align with our timelines or preferences.

Palm Sunday reminds us that God has a plan and that it is to bring us peace, even if it looks different than we expected.

2. Palm Sunday Exposes Our Expectations of God

As Jesus enters the city, the crowd erupts in celebration:
“Hosanna! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!” (John 12:13)

Hosanna literally means “Save us now.” It is both worship and desperation. The people recognized that there was something special about Jesus. They had seen His miracles and heard Him preach with authority. But they did not fully understand what His Kingdom was about.

They wanted freedom and victory on their own terms. They were looking for immediate deliverance from Roman oppression. They wanted a visible and political solution to their problems.

But when Jesus did not meet those expectations, their excitement began to fade. The same people who once praised Jesus would soon be the same ones demanding that He be crucified.

It is possible to worship Jesus and yet misunderstand His purpose.
We may pray, “God, fix this. Open this door. Make this easier.”  And if He doesn’t answer in the way we want, disappointment creeps in.

But Jesus did not come to fulfill every expectation we have. We are called to align our will with His will. In Luke 22:42, Jesus Himself prayed, “Not my will, but Yours be done.”

Real faith is not built on God meeting our expectations. It is built on trusting Him fully.
Palm Sunday challenges us to move from conditional faith to surrendered faith.

3. Palm Sunday Reveals the Heart of Jesus

Amid the celebration, Luke records a surprising moment:
“As He approached Jerusalem and saw the city, He wept over it.” (Luke 19:41)

Imagine it. The cheers, the energy, the palm branches waving……and Jesus weeping.
Why? Because He saw what others could not see. He knew they were missing the true purpose of His coming. He saw their spiritual blindness and their coming rejection, and yet He still chose to journey towards the cross.

In early February, I had the opportunity to go to Israel and I stood on the mount of Olives where Jesus would have first seen the city that would cause Him to weep. I can imagine the thousands of people shouting Hosanna. And when He saw the city full of people that still didn’t understand His purpose…. How they even missed the point of His three year ministry….how those people praised Him with their lips…but their hearts weren’t with Him.

Because Jesus was not impressed by crowds. Even when He knew rejection awaited Him, His heart broke for His people.

Palm Sunday shows us that Jesus is not only interested in praise, He also cares about the condition of our hearts.

The crowd praised Him, but many did not stay with Him.
The religious leaders resisted Him.
The disciples followed Him, even though they did not fully understand everything yet.

And today, we are faced with the same choice.

Palm Sunday still matters because it asks us a simple question.
What will you do with Jesus?

Will you celebrate Him only when it feels good?
Will you follow Him only when it is easy?
Or will you trust Him, even when you do not understand?

Because the story does not end with palm branches and praise. It moves to a cross, to sacrifice, to silence, and then to resurrection. The same King who entered Jerusalem in humility would lay down His life in love and rise again in victory.

It reminds us that true worship is not just what we say with our lips, but how we live.
So as we step into Holy Week, let this not just be something we remember. Let it be something that continually shapes us.

Choose to trust Him.
Choose to follow Him.
Choose to surrender your expectations to His will.

Because the King who came in peace is still calling you today, and the life He offers is greater than anything we could ask or imagine.