Every Other King Leaves Us Longing (Palm Sunday) |04.13.25| Holy Week 2025

Have you ever had a certain set of expectations for something, only to have the real thing be completely different?

Like when you watch a movie trailer, and it looks super funny and really great, but then you go and watch the movie and you realize that they just put all the funny one-liners in the trailer and the whole movie is actually a bit dramatic?

Or like when you order something online because it’s got a good price, and when it arrives, you realize WHY it was a good price, because it’s half the size you thought it was?

Our expectations don’t always depict what is reality, and sometimes that can set us up for disappointment, or surprise.

And about two thousand years ago, that’s exactly what happened in Jerusalem.

The people had seen signs. Heard stories. Thought they had Jesus all figured out. But when the King finally showed up… he didn’t come with a sword. He came on a donkey.

And we were able to get some exclusive clips from the latest season of the Chosen that show us some of this. Let’s watch…

[>>>VIDEO: CHOSEN TRIUMPHANT ENTRY<<<]

[1 Sam 8:5]

Hundreds and hundreds of years before everything you just watched unfolded, the people of God gathered around a priest named Samuel, the man who had led the people for decades, and this is what they said…

“You are old, and your sons do not follow in your ways; appoint for us, then, a king to govern us, like other nations.”

You see, Samuel was the last of the great Judges of Israel. He had led the people through battles, through peacetime, through seasons of devotion to God and during times when the people had turned from God.

And he TRIED to hand over the legacy of leadership to his sons, but they ended up being awful leaders, taking bribes and perverting justice.

And the people go to Samuel, who is super old and in retirement at this point, and they tell him that they don’t like the fact that he appointed his sons. They want him to appoint a KING.

Because they looked at the nations around them, and THEY all had kings who led the people.

Samuel doesn’t take that well, and he prays to God about it, but God reassures him:

[1 Sam 8:7]

Don’t worry Samuel, they haven’t rejected you and your bloodline as their leaders… They’ve rejected ME.

They don’t want a priest who leads them by consulting with God. They want a king who leads them himself.

They want a king who can bring them peace through military aggression. They want to beat all their enemies and be the intimidating ones in the region.

So, you know what? Give them what they want. Because they’ll only be disappointed.

[1 Sam 8:10-11]

So Samuel addressed the people and told them all the ways that a king would be bad for them: “This is how a king will REIGN OVER you…”

They’ll TAKE your sons for war.

Take your sons for agriculture.

Take your daughters as perfumers and bakers and cooks.

Take your FIELDS and orchards for HIS court of servants.

Take ONE-TENTH of your grain and vineyards for his officers.

Take your servants (and the best of your cattle and donkeys) to work for him.

Take one-tenth of your flocks.

Take YOU as his slaves!

No matter what you think this king will bring for you, he’ll always TAKE more than he gives.

[1 Sam 8:19]

“But the people refused to listen to the voice of Samuel; they said, “No! We are determined to have a king over us…” We are determined to be able to compete with military dominance.

So the Lord lets them have their way. And that began generations and generations of kings that proved how right God was.

[blank]

The first king was Saul. He was made king because he was tall and looked like a good leader for battle. But Tall Saul became exactly who God warned about. Sure, he won some battles, but he also ended up holding onto power even after losing God’s affirmation in order to prop up his own identity.

Then came king David. The chosen one who defeated the giant Goliath. He won some battles too, but he also disobeyed God during multiple battles. Then he slept with another man’s wife, and had the guy killed just to cover up the affair because she became pregnant.

Then came king Solomon, the illegitimate child from that affair. Solomon is famous as the king who asked God for wisdom instead of riches and power. He’s also the one that God used to build the temple in Jerusalem…

…But Solomon is just as famous for all the ways he didn’t trust God’s leadership. He took hundreds of wives by marrying the daughters of all his opponents, just to gain political power. His addictive behavior didn’t stop with women, however, since he pursued everything BUT God to find significance and value.

And then two of Solomon’s kids both claimed to be heirs to the throne. Honestly, I’m surprised it was only two, since he probably had over a thousand kids by the hundreds and hundreds of wives he had.

But Rehoboam instituted slave labor, and his brother Jeroboam initiated a civil war which split the country into two. And from then on, the two nations each had awful king after awful king.

The worst is Ahab, who, along with his wife Jezebel, brings in Baal worship and turns the people away from God.

He’s followed by Jehu, who kills Ahab and his family and Jezebel, but even though he was at first commissioned by God, his murderous rampage and unchecked violence just gets out of control, and it creates the spiral of political assassinations and rebellions from which Israel never recovered.

Coup follows coup after Jehu, and each king follows other gods and allows horrible injustice. And this all leads up to 2 Kings 17, when the big bad empire of Assyria swoops down and defeats the northern kingdom, carrying them all away into exile.

No matter how good of a warrior each king was, their warring success and intimidating presence only ever managed to inspire MORE war, which brought more and more loss.

Every king that came along for Israel left her disappointed. Even the few good ones in the south only ever brought a little good for a little while, before enemies and death threats and the next awful king came along.

And even when an enemy WAS defeated, there was still the enemy of Death itself, leaving Israel to wither while being spiritually dead under the leadership of kings who turned away from God.

[Every king…]

Every king that came along for Israel always left them longing —

EVERY king that’s come along has always left US longing.

Even in our modern world, where we aren’t ruled by kings any more, we still look to human leaders to be saviors for us. Whether it’s political leaders, cultural influencers, or even religious figures…we place our HOPE in these systems, in institutions, in human power…only to be disappointed again and again.

Just think about it, every single human leader that we have put our hope in has eventually let us down. You’ve had a politician let you down. You’ve had a movie star let you down. You’ve had a pastor or teacher let you down. You’ve had a parent let you down.

Every king that has come along has always left us longing…except one.

You see, when Jesus rode into Jerusalem, riding on a donkey that day, there were crowds there, because word had gotten out about the fact that Jesus had raised his friend Lazarus from the dead. We watched the clip from the Chosen, but let’s read the passage now:

[John 12:12-19] (read full passage)

[John 12:15]

“Do not be afraid, daughter of Zion, Look, your king is coming, sitting on a donkey’s colt!”

The crowds knew. This was THE king. THE one that had been prophesied. THE one that would succeed where every other king had failed.

All the signs were there. He had fed people in the wilderness. He had taught them incredible things about God. He had healed the sick and the lame.

He was riding into Jerusalem on a donkey. Just like King David. Just like King Solomon. Just like the prophets. Just like Zechariah had prophesied.

They knew that they had been living in the middle of the devastation at the hands of their enemies. Now, the latest enemy, Rome was occupying them and keeping them oppressed.

They knew that Zechariah had prophesied that there would be a good king who was actually a good shepherd, who would conquer all the nations and bring peace to the whole world.

So they called out “Hosanna!”, a shorthand from Psalm 118 that means “Save us!”, waving palm branches to signify their allegiance to this king they were begging for deliverance.

They KNEW that Jesus was THE king…but I think they might not have known what THE king was really there to do. Because they had their own idea of what the savior king meant.

[blank]

They wanted a king just like the original Israelites wanted a king: someone who would lead them into battle and defeat their enemies. They wanted someone to rally the soldiers and defeat Rome.

They wanted to return to the memory of when Israel was great and powerful and feared. They wanted the king to help them dominate and rule.

And it’s understandable, right? Israel was tired of being oppressed. And they knew how the world worked: it’s cruel out there and people war against each other.

They had heard all the stories in their history of when God would raise up a judge or a prophet or a king to bring justice against enemies. They were ready for that type of king to come and deliver them, to save them from the enemy: Rome.

So it makes sense why they were so excited on that Sunday so long ago.

But it’s also perfectly understandable why the people were terribly disappointed in the days to come, and especially in the events of Good Friday.

In fact, all the hopes and dreams of the people were crushed by how Jesus arrived and acted during the coming week.

They were crushed when Jesus arrived at the temple, because he didn’t ride in as a conquering king, but as a prophetic voice rebuking all the people and the leaders for how they had allowed the Temple to become a marketplace.

When he was questioned about paying taxes to Caesar, the people were crushed by how he gave in and copped to paying Roman taxes.

They were crushed by how he taught that Israel would also be judged along with the rest of the nations. They were crushed by Jesus’ unwillingness to band together with the other religious leaders.

Where was their conquering king? Where was the king who would defeat their enemies and put them back on top?

Then he got arrested, and they were crushed by how he was quiet and meek under the Roman authorities.

They were crushed by his humiliating crucifixion…crushed by his death and burial.

What started as a triumphant entry into Jerusalem on Sunday ended as a brutal and crushing loss on Friday. Rome had won. Death had won.

On that Saturday, six days after Palm Sunday, only hours after the devastating events on Good Friday, the people would have been crushed. Crushed and afraid.

Afraid that THE king was NEVER coming. That their victory over their enemies was never coming. Hope was never coming…

…But on that Saturday, they shouldn’t have been afraid. They should have been rejoicing. They should have been rejoicing even more than at the Palm Sunday parade, because Jesus was accomplishing so much more than they had even imagined.

Because Jesus wasn’t a king just for Israel. He wasn’t the king that would defeat their enemy: Rome. The people were thinking of an earthly king who rules through aggression and suppression.

But Jesus proved over and over again that he was a king who would rule through service, and sacrifice, and love.

Earthly kings amass power and influence for themselves, but Jesus demonstrated his kingdom of surrender and trust in God.

Israel expected a Messiah, a Savior, who would conquer Rome. But Jesus came to conquer our true enemies: sin and death.

What the people didn’t understand was that Jesus is a king like no other king. He didn’t come to bring temporary peace. He came to bring eternal reconciliation and restoration.

When the people had cried out “Hosanna!” on that first Palm Sunday – when they cried out, “Save us! Now!” – they had no idea just how much Jesus was going to answer that cry.

On the other side of Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection, everyone, including the first disciples, could finally see that there was no reason to be afraid, because Jesus was THE king and EVEN MORE OF A KING than anyone could have ever imagined or expected.

Do WE see? All these years later…after thousands of Palm Sundays. Even KNOWING Jesus’ ministry, his death, burial, his resurrection…do we see that Jesus is king?

THE king? The only king who forgives us, heals us, resurrects us, and unites us?

[Jesus wins…]

This is the message of Palm Sunday: Jesus, the King of kings and Lord of lords, wins our deepest battles.

And I truly hope we see that THE king has come to us in Jesus. There is no other king like him, no other leader like him, no other thing or person who can save us…like him.

But if we believe that, if we believe that Jesus is THE King of kings and Lord of lords, then it should really influence the rest of our lives.

Because, if THE king has come, then our longing and searching for other kings, other saviors, other things to fill our needs… that searching must END.

And we need this reminder every single year at Palm Sunday, that Jesus is the true king and the only one we need…because we’re so fickle! We’re so easily drawn to other figures of authority who come along.

We give our allegiance to PEOPLE. We look to them to lead us, to guide us, to SAVE us. We even look to OURSELVES as a figure of authority. “My truth, my preference, MY goals…”

That’s why we need Palm Sunday. To remind us and point our eyes back to the unparalleled kingship of Jesus.

He’s not just another option among many. He’s the King of kings, the Lord of lords, the only One who is able to win our DEEPEST battles.

And so, if THE king has come, our longing for other kings…who will only leave us longing…must end.

Instead, we must keep our eyes on Jesus. We must turn back to Jesus. We must walk daily WITH Jesus, because WE need him, and so does everyone else around us.

So as we enter into this Holy Week, let’s keep our eyes on Jesus. Don’t just rush through these next few days. Slow down and spend time in Scripture and in Prayer.

Ask Jesus to show you where you have put your hope in other things to provide for you and protect you. Ask Jesus to give you opportunities to point others to the hope we have in Jesus.

Invite someone to come with you to Easter, even if it’s the 43rd time you’ve invited them!

Because Jesus is THE King of kings. He’s the Lord of lords. He’s the only one who truly satisfies our longings. He’s the only one worthy of our trust. He’s the only one who brings true peace, true justice, and true salvation.

And we get to share that good news.