Two disciples did exactly what Jesus asked them to do. A crowd guided him to Jerusalem. People in the city wondered who he was, wondered what all the noise was.

In one short story, we have lots of pictures of reactions to Jesus.

I have heard a lot of sermons, nearly fifty Palm Sunday’s worth, that talk about the fickleness of crowds. Those sermons look at this passage and then at the crowds calling for Jesus’ crucifixion and say, “see? the crowds are all just around for the fun, are just following the most popular – and safe – opinion.”

As I look at this story, however, I want to cut the people a little slack for three reasons.

1. The two disciples that did what Jesus said would also leave him at the end of the week. After three years, we might expect more, but then, of course, we would be ignoring what we see in our mirrors every morning.

2. Jesus knew there was going to be a parade, he arranged for the donkeys, he knew about the prophecy. He knew that there would be people getting caught up in the crowd. He knew that there would be people wondering what was going on.

3. Starting 8 weeks after this parade, the group of people who really follow Jesus is going to explode. Some of the people who are in this parade are going to discover that they were more right than they thought.

It is so easy to beat up people for their inconsistency, for their apparent abandonment, for their enthusiasm that is as much about the crowd as about understanding. We do it to others, we do it to ourselves.

God doesn’t, however. He arranged a parade for people who would cheer, boo, and kill him. And then forgave and blessed us.