Guide for Sunday, March 29, 2026

Today is Palm Sunday—the day Jesus enters Jerusalem for the last time. The people greet him with great fanfare, only to turn on against him just a few days later. Why? The answer is found in a question that rings throughout the New Testament, from Peter on: Who do you expect Jesus to be? That’s the question facing the people of Jerusalem a long time ago. That’s the question that’s still facing us.

• Though we celebrate Palm Sunday as a religious event, in Jesus’ day the people would have experienced the day as being patriotic—welcoming Jesus as a military deliverer-king like David. In what ways does the people’s expectation contribute to their disillusionment with Jesus?
  
  
• If you could walk among the crowd on Palm Sunday, you would have heard that the people’s worst problem was the Roman occupation and that Jesus was the solution. What’s the worst problem you’re facing in your life right now? In what ways would you want Jesus to help? In what ways has he been helpful?
  
  
• Jesus brings to Jerusalem not the power of the sword but the power of service and sacrifice. In what ways does the power of service and sacrifice make a difference in your life? In differences would you like them to make?

Next Step: For all his great power, Jesus enlists the help of others as he approaches Jerusalem (e.g. vv. 29-31). In what ways have you sensed enlisting your help recently?