The Jesus I Expected

One of my favorite kinds of stories is an explainer.

You know the kind. Someone takes something you've seen a hundred times and suddenly helps you understand it in a completely different way. It's like those articles that explain why a classic movie still works decades later or why a historical event mattered more than you ever realized. You walk away thinking, "How did I never see that before?"

That's what happened to me the first time I heard Palm Sunday explained beyond the children's church version.

Like many people, I thought it was simply a celebration.

I pictured people laying palm branches on the ground like rolling out a red carpet. I assumed "Hosanna" was just another way of honoring Jesus, almost like a title. I saw smiling crowds celebrating their King.

And while none of that was completely wrong, it wasn't the whole story.

I still remember sitting in a church service years ago when a pastor explained the significance of the palm branches, the timing during Passover, and the expectations the people had for Jesus. I remember thinking, "I've heard this story my whole life, and I never knew this."

That sermon became one of my favorite church services because it felt like someone had finally handed me the missing pieces of a story I'd known my whole life.

Then, while listening to this week's podcast, one sentence made everything click.

"They weren't wrong about Jesus. They were wrong about the version of Jesus they wanted."

As I thought about it, I realized this wasn't really a story about palm branches. It was a story about expectations.

And if I'm honest, I recognized myself in it.

There have been seasons when Brandon was applying for jobs that looked absolutely perfect. We prayed. We hoped. We imagined what life would look like if he got them. Then the answer was no.

At the time, it felt like we'd missed the opportunity we'd been praying for.

Looking back, I don't think God was withholding something good from us. He was giving us something better — we just couldn't see it yet.

Listening to this episode made me realize how often I've expected Jesus to fit into my plans instead of reshaping mine.

The people waving palm branches weren't bad people. They simply expected Jesus to solve the problem they thought mattered most.

I wonder how often I do that.

How often do I want Jesus to affirm my plans instead of transforming my heart?

How often do I pray for my preferred outcome instead of trusting that His perspective is bigger than mine?

Maybe that's why I've always loved explainer stories.

They don't just change how I read the story.

They change how I read my own.

Palm Sunday became that kind of story for me.

That's what following Jesus has been teaching me all along: letting go of the story I've already written so I can trust the one God is writing instead. --- Subscribe to The Disruptive Disciple Podcast with Pastor Brandon on your favorite platform.