What's Your Expectations

Thursday, May 21st, 2026

4:39 am

Good morning! Today I am in Matthew 21:1-11, Mark 11:1-11, Luke 19:28-40, and John 12:12-19. The day after Mary anointed Jesus' feet, Jesus and His disciples come to Bethphage and Bethany. News that He was coming spread throughout the city, and a large crowd of Passover visitors went out to meet Him and they took palm branches with them. Jesus told 2 of His disciples to go into the village, and they would see a colt tied up that had never been ridden. He told them to bring the Colt to Him, and if anyone asked what they were doing, they were to tell them that the Lord needed it and it would be brought back later. The 2 disciples went and found the Colt just like Jesus had said, and they were asked what they were doing, and as soon as they said what Jesus told them to say, the people let them go. When they brought the Colt back to Jesus, they placed their garments on it for Jesus to ride on, and they placed their garments on the road before Him, as well as the palm branches. Matthew and John tell us that this fulfilled the prophecy in Zechariah 9:9 that says, "Tell the people of Jerusalem that their King is coming to them. He is humble riding on a donkey's Colt." John tells us that the disciples did not understand that Jesus was fulfilling a prophecy until they saw Jesus enter His glory, and they realized that all these things had been written about Him. With Jesus at the center of the procession, the crowd shouted praises to God, and blessings on the One who comes in the name of the Lord! Many people asked who this was, and they responded, "Jesus, the prophet of Nazareth!" Some Pharisees that were in the crowd, told Jesus to rebuke the people for what they were saying. But Jesus told them that if they were to keep quiet, the stones on the road would burst into cheers. Mark tells us that when Jesus went into Jerusalem, He went into the Temple and looked at everything, then Him and the 12 disciples left, going back to Bethany. Many in the crowd had seen Jesus raise Lazarus from the dead, so they went out to meet Jesus. And the Pharisees said to each other, "There's nothing we can do, everyone has gone after Him."

7:00 pm

Jesus entered into Jerusalem just as Zechariah had prophesied. He came in with a crowd of people praising Him and rejoicing. Praising Him for all the miracles they had seen Him do. But just a few days later, these same people would desert Him. This event happened on the Sunday before the Jesus was crucified, the week of the Passover festival. Many of these people recognized the prophecies that pointed to this event, but they thought He was coming in as a ruling king that was going to conquer over the Romans. They had expectations of Jesus that did not come to pass, and when those expectations weren't met, they turned on Him. They were blinded by their expectations of Jesus.

We too have expectations for what we think God should do to make life better, safer, and more enjoyable. And when God doesn't meet those expectations in our lives, we turn from Him too. We must not let our personal desires and hardships stop us from following Christ. We must remember that following Christ may be difficult, and it may include suffering and death, but He will be with us to give us strength every step of the way.

The disciples did not understand all that Jesus was teaching them at the time, but after His resurrection they did. We too can look back on the events in our lives to where we are now and see God's involvement every step of the way. Devotion based on curiosity and popularity fades quickly, instead we must look back on our lives and ask God to help us see how He has been with us throughout our lives. As well as, looking at history, reading His Word and praying, drawing closer to Him so we can have a better understanding of Him. We understand Jesus more, the more time we spend with Him in His Word and prayer. Allow Him to draw you closer to Him, and open your eyes to how He is moving around you today. Allow Him to give you the encouragement and strength you need. He will.