by Dennis Gladden, By Green Pastures, ©2026
(Apr. 1, 2026) — We began Passion Week on Palm Sunday by celebrating Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem.
Don’t confuse triumph with treachery.
Yes, the crowd was ready to crown Jesus as king. They waved palm branches over his head and carpeted the road beneath his feet with their clothes.
They hailed Him as their deliverer, shouting, “Hosanna to the Son of David!”
They perceived Him as the Messiah, chanting, “Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord!”
Those who followed and admired Jesus thought, “Mission accomplished.”
But their jubilation withered as fast as the fig tree that Jesus cursed the next morning.
Within the week, they were shouting, “Crucify Him! Give us Barabbas!”
There was triumph that day, but not what we usually think.
The Apostle Paul placed that triumph five days later, on the cross (Colossians 2:14-15). This is when Jesus “wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us.”
The cross is where Jesus “disarmed principalities and powers and made a public spectacle of them.”
On the cross, Jesus “triumphed over them.”
If anything, the triumph we ascribe to Palm Sunday reveals our fickleness, our treachery toward God.
But Jesus did triumph that day, and it was in this:
The word of the Lord will come to pass.
The Bible is emphatic: God has spoken. The writer of Hebrews tells us God spoke in the past through prophets and other ways, and He has spoken in these last days through Jesus.
But the Bible is just as adamant that many don’t believe this.
The Apostle Peter warned about scoffers who would mock teaching about the Second Coming, asking, “Where is the promise of His coming?” (2 Peter 3:4).
Even devoted believers in God begin to doubt.
Abraham and Sarah clung to God’s promise about having a son but eventually grew doubtful. Abraham asked, “What will You give me, seeing I go childless?” (Genesis 15:2).
Two disciples of Jesus were dejected after the crucifixion. We find them trudging outside Jerusalem, discussing the news, mourning their lost hope. “We were hoping that He was going to redeem Israel” (Luke 24:21).
Here is the reason for rejoicing when Jesus came into Jerusalem and when He comes again. In this is our consolation:
The word of the Lord will come to pass.
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