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The Weak King We Needed


Palm Sunday begins with celebration.

Crowds gather. Palms wave. Voices rise:

“Hosanna! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!”

It looks like clarity. It sounds like faith.

But within days, the same voices will cry:

“Crucify Him!”

What changed?


At one level, everything. At another level… nothing.

Because the real issue was not Jesus. It was expectation.



The Crisis of Expectation

The people of Jerusalem were not wrong to long for salvation.

But they misunderstood the way God would bring it.

They expected:

  • strength

  • power

  • political victory

  • immediate change

Jesus came with:

  • humility

  • surrender

  • love

  • sacrifice

And when Jesus did not match their expectations, their praise turned into rejection.



A Mirror for the Church

If we’re honest, this is not just their story—it is ours.

We live in a culture—and often a church culture—that values:

  • success

  • strength

  • influence

  • visible results

We build models around:

  • personal strengths

  • strategy

  • measurable outcomes

And without realizing it, we can begin to expect Jesus to operate the same way.

But what if the crisis of Palm Sunday is also the crisis of the modern Church?



The Weak Church

One of my colleagues, Covenant pastor Peter Ahn, in his new book The Weak Church, speaks directly into this tension:


“God perceives human weakness differently than we do. Instead of shying away from weakness, the Almighty encourages His people to embrace it. Why? Does God take pleasure in seeing us downtrodden? Certainly not. Quite the contrary. For God, our weaknesses provide the perfect landscape for showcasing His power. Rather than relying on our own strength God desires us to lean on His power and might. It is only when we acknowledge our weaknesses that we recognize our need for someone who is strong and mighty. And who better fits that description than God Himself?”


This is the kind of King Jesus is.

Not a king who removes weakness— but a King who meets us in it.

Not a king who builds power through strength— but one who reveals power through surrender.



The Cross Was Not a Failure

Palm Sunday only makes sense when we see where the road leads.

The donkey leads to the cross.

And the cross reveals what kind of King Jesus truly is.

The crowd saw weakness. God revealed power.

The crowd saw defeat. God was accomplishing victory.



The Foundation: Strength in Weakness

This is why the apostle Paul writes:

“My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” — Second Epistle to the Corinthians 12:9 (NLT)

And then:

“Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me… For when I am weak, then I am strong.”

This is not just theology. This is the pattern of the Kingdom.

And as Peter Ahn reminds us:

“This is the only way through which Christians can minister with the full capacity of God’s grace, power and mercy.”



Carrying the Desert With Us

Throughout Lent, we have walked through the wilderness.

We have learned:

  • to pray

  • to listen

  • to face testing

  • to embrace silence

  • to grow in humility

Palm Sunday brings all of that into focus.

Because the wilderness has been doing something in us:

It has been reordering our expectations.



A Different Kind of Faithfulness

The Desert Fathers and Mothers left the crowd to pursue single-hearted devotion to God.

They understood something we are still learning:

Faithfulness is not built on outcomes. It is built on presence.

Not on strength— but on surrender.



Holy Week Invitation

This week, we are invited to walk the road more fully.

To not rush from palms to resurrection.

But to:

  • stand at the cross

  • sit in the silence

  • wait in the wilderness

Because it is there— in weakness, in waiting, in surrender— that God does His deepest work.


Beginning Maundy Thursday 5-7 p.m. continuing Friday from 11-7:30 then Good Friday service beginning at 7:30.


🌿 Stations of the Cross will be open as a self-guided experience—a space to slow down, reflect, and walk with Jesus through His final hours.

✝️ And on Good Friday, we will gather for a quiet, powerful service—where we remember the cross…and sit in the wilderness of waiting.

We don’t rush to Easter.We walk through the story together.



Small Group Discussion

  1. Where do you see “Hosanna to Crucify” patterns in your own life or faith?

  2. What expectations of God might need to be surrendered?

  3. How do you typically respond to weakness—avoid it or bring it to God?

  4. What does it look like to rely on God’s strength instead of your own?

  5. Which Lenten practice do you want to carry forward beyond this season?



Spiritual Practice for Holy Week

“Embracing Weakness as Worship”

Each day this week:

  1. Identify a place of weakness:

    • a struggle

    • a fear

    • a limitation

    • a disappointment

  2. Open your hands and pray:

“Jesus, I bring You my weakness. Let Your power rest on me.”

  1. Sit in silence for one minute. Let God meet you there.


Set aside some time to listen and pray through Lectio 365



Closing

Palm Sunday reminds us:

We don’t follow a King who meets our expectations.

We follow a King who transforms them.

And in doing so, leads us into a deeper, truer life than we could have imagined.


 
 
 
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