Palm Sunday 2026
In my personal study, I’ve been spending time in the book of Luke. Once Jesus begins His ministry, there are constant questions about who He is and what He’s about. These questions are often accompanied in the narrative by an act that reveals truth—both to the people at the time and to us—about who Jesus is. My favorite of these stories is the healing of the centurion’s servant in Luke 7:1–10.
The centurion never actually meets Jesus; instead, he sends two different groups of people to speak to Jesus on his behalf. Each interaction communicates a very different understanding of who Jesus is.
Before we jump into their interactions, let’s look at what we can learn from the centurion’s actions. The fact that the centurion does not approach Jesus himself is telling. The ECNT commentary notes, “A go-between was used in this culture when social disparity prevented one of inferior status from dealing directly with a superior.”1
This gives us insight into how the centurion viewed both Jesus and himself. Despite his position in the community, the centurion felt he was inferior and not worthy of approaching Jesus directly.
So he sends Jewish elders to speak to Jesus and ask Him to come heal his servant.
Jewish Elders
Look at how the elders approach Jesus:
Luke 7:4–5
“And when they came to Jesus, they pleaded with Him earnestly, saying, ‘He is worthy to have you do this for him, for he loves our nation, and he is the one who built us our synagogue.’”
I find their response to Jesus interesting because it’s clear they are trying to compel Jesus into action. They are attempting to appeal to His sense of obligation—to get Him to do what they want. “He is worthy to have you do this for him…”
The Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament notes that this approach was deliberate:
“The request, with a summary of his benefactions, assumes that reciprocity is required. Jesus needs to do His duty for the community by repaying such a generous patron.”2
There is a tendency to look at how the Jewish elders approach Jesus and shake our heads, but if we’re honest, we often do the same thing.
It wouldn’t take long for most of us to think of a time when we tried to manipulate God—whether by using the “right” words or by making promises about our behavior if He grants our request.
In fact, this tendency is so common that Jesus explicitly warns against it in the lead-up to the Lord’s Prayer.
Matthew 6:7 says:
“And when you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard for their many words.”
this statement references a pagan practice of repeating long lists of divine names, believing that if they found the right one and pronounced it correctly, they could manipulate the god to action.
The next group the centurion sends to Jesus is his friends. Notice how different this interaction is.
Friends
Luke 7:6–8
“When He was not far from the house, the centurion sent friends, saying to Him, ‘Lord, do not trouble yourself, for I am not worthy to have you come under my roof. Therefore I did not presume to come to you. But say the word, and let my servant be healed. For I too am a man set under authority, with soldiers under me: and I say to one, “Go,” and he goes; and to another, “Come,” and he comes; and to my servant, “Do this,” and he does it.’”
The friends don’t try to manipulate Jesus; they simply relay a message from the centurion. This message is consistent with what we already know about the centurion. It’s one of humility and a clear recognition of Jesus’ authority.
The centurion understands that he is not worthy of Jesus, and he also understands that all things are under Christ’s authority. He doesn’t try to manipulate Him. Instead, he essentially says, “If it is Your will, just say the word, and I know my servant will be healed.”
Jesus then responds with this statement:
Luke 7:9
“When Jesus heard these things, He marveled at him, and turning to the crowd that followed Him, said, ‘I tell you, not even in Israel have I found such faith.’”
Luke uses an interaction with a gentile to show that those who were expected to recognize who Jesus was didn’t fully understand, while someone outside of Israel responded with remarkable faith.
This Sunday, we celebrate Palm Sunday. Got Questions defines Palm Sunday as a time when “in their praise of Jesus, the Jewish crowds acknowledged the prophecy of Christ.”3
Even though they worshiped Him as He entered the city, they did not fully understand who Jesus was or His mission.
Which leads me to ask: what do our words and actions say about who we think Jesus is?
Do we approach Him like the Jewish elders, expecting Him to act according to our desires? Or do we approach Him with humility and submission, recognizing that we are not worthy of His presence and that all things are under His authority?
There is something important we shouldn’t lose sight of when we talk about submission, authority, and humility. We do not come to God as peasants begging for scraps.
Instead, as Elmer Towns writes in Praying the Lord’s Prayer for Spiritual Breakthrough we come as children of the king:
“When you begin to pray, you are like a little child of a king who walks right into the presence of the father. The guards do not stop the child, and none of the staff interferes. He is the king’s child. He has immediate access because they are related… When you pray to our Father, you know that you belong to God, and He belongs to you.”4
While we should approach God with a posture of submission and humility, He does not desire this for His own ego, but for our good. Because God is good and loving, He calls us to these things not to diminish us, but because they are what is best for us. They are the path that leads to life (Matthew 7:13–14; John 10:10).
Adam
- David E. Garland, Luke, Zondervan Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2011), Kindle loc. 497. ↩︎
- David E. Garland, Luke, Zondervan Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2011), Kindle loc. 497.
↩︎ - https://www.gotquestions.org/Palm-Sunday.html ↩︎
- Elmer L. Towns, Praying the Lord’s Prayer for Spiritual Breakthrough (Shippensburg, PA: Destiny Image, 1996), 49.
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