Palm Sunday is a celebration. It always has been.
It’s the day Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey, and the crowds went wild. They laid down palm branches, a symbol of victory. They shouted, “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!” Their long-awaited King had come. Everything they hoped for—the end of Roman oppression, the fulfillment of God’s promises—seemed to be arriving before their eyes.
But just beneath the surface of their celebration was a misunderstanding. They wanted a conqueror. Jesus came as a suffering servant. They wanted a throne. He came to take up a cross.
And that’s where the irony begins. The same crowd that shouted “Hosanna!” would soon cry “Barabbas.” Their cheers of praise would turn to jeers of rejection. Why? Because Jesus didn’t meet their expectations. He didn’t conform to their will.
The Garden of Decision
From the palms of triumph, we turn quickly to the olive trees of Gethsemane.
Gethsemane means “olive press,” and it’s fitting. In that quiet garden, Jesus was crushed—pressed in spirit, soul, and body. As the weight of the cross approached, he fell to the ground and prayed the most human, honest prayer imaginable:
“Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me.”
That cup was not just death. It was wrath. It was the sin of the world. It was betrayal, abandonment, and agony. And Jesus didn’t want to drink it—not because he lacked love, but because he fully understood the cost.
But then he said what every disciple must learn to say:
“Not my will, but yours be done.”
This is the moment when the battle was won. Not at the cross. Not at the tomb. But in the garden, when Jesus surrendered.
The Cup and the Crossroads
Each of us has a cup. Sometimes that cup is suffering. Sometimes it’s obedience that costs us our pride, comfort, or dreams. Sometimes it’s the hard decision to forgive when bitterness feels easier. We all reach that Gethsemane moment—pressed by life, confused by pain, unsure of what God is doing.
And in those moments, we have a choice:
Will we say, “Not your will, but mine be done”?
Or will we echo Jesus: “Not my will, but yours”?
Obedience is always a matter of the will. Jesus showed us that following God isn’t about comfort. It’s about surrender. It’s about going a little further, even when everyone else falls asleep. Even when no one is watching. Even when it hurts.
Three Reflections for the Journey Ahead
- Will you trust Jesus with your cup?He drank the cup of wrath so you wouldn’t have to. So stop drinking from it. Stop making others drink from it. He took the punishment—let that be enough.
- Are you learning to say, “Not my will, but yours be done”?What part of your life is still clinging to control? What is the Lord asking you to yield today?
- Are you watching and praying?In a culture of distraction and spiritual apathy, Jesus calls his disciples to stay awake. To pray. To press in. Even when it’s hard.
This Holy Week, don’t sleep through the sorrow. Don’t wave palm branches on Sunday and reject him by Friday. Follow him into the garden. Let the pressing lead to surrender.
Because on the other side of surrender is resurrection.
