When Jesus made His “Triumphant Entry” into Jerusalem on that first Palm Sunday, the people lined the road waving palm branches filled with hope that all their dreams were soon to come true. They anticipated that the kingdom of God with the Messiah ruling was just up ahead. Then suddenly, their hopes and dreams were crushed when Jesus was arrested, crucified, and placed in a tomb.

They celebrated Jesus, only to turn on Him a few days later, but before we judge them too harshly, they were profoundly disappointed that what they so desperately desired didn’t happen the way they expected. They were human beings just like us who long for a time and place when life lives up to the ideal that dwells within their hearts. It is a place that is somewhere over the rainbow, or on the open range, or a sandy beach – a place that we know exists somewhere but is so hard to find.

They longed for the kingdom of God, but they didn’t understand the road that leads to the kingdom first runs through the cross.