Palm Sunday: The Messiah You Didn't See Coming

Palm branches. Shouts of “Hosanna!”. A crowd stirred with hope.
Palm Sunday sets the stage for the most significant week in the Christian calendar, and yet, it begins with a twist we often overlook. The King arrives—not on a warhorse, but on a donkey. Not crowned in gold, but cloaked in humility.
“Do not be afraid, Daughter Zion; see, your king is coming, seated on a donkey’s colt.”
 — John 12:15 (quoting Zechariah 9:9)
The people gathered, laying down cloaks and palms. They cried out:
“Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Blessed is the king of Israel!”
 — John 12:13
It was a coronation, yes—but not the kind anyone expected. 

The Crowd Wanted a Savior. Jesus Offered So Much More.
They expected a military messiah, someone who would overthrow Rome and restore Israel’s power. They saw the signs, heard of Lazarus rising, and thought: “This is it. Our King is here.”
But Jesus had a different mission. He wasn’t riding into Jerusalem to conquer Rome. He was riding into suffering, rejection, and a cross.
“He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him.”
 — John 1:11
“He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him.”
 — Isaiah 53:2
This unexpected Messiah broke every category they had for power and greatness. And if we’re honest, He still does.

Key Takeaway:
God doesn’t always give you what you want—He gives you what you need.
The crowd cried out, “Save us now!”—the meaning behind “Hosanna”—but they didn’t realize He was saving them from more than Rome. He was saving them from sin, from shame, from separation.
“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord.
 — Isaiah 55:8
This is the Jesus you didn’t see coming—and He’s still showing up in ways we don’t expect, answering prayers we didn’t know we were praying, and offering hope far beyond our temporary solutions.

Why This Matters Today
When life doesn’t look like you thought it would—when your prayers feel unanswered or your expectations go unmet—Palm Sunday reminds us that God may be doing something bigger than you can see.
This is more than a moment in biblical history. This is a pattern: God working upside down and inside out, quietly redeeming the world—not through spectacle, but through sacrifice.

PASTOR KEVIN'S SERMON NOTES
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