I heard my pastor say something that has stuck with me all day: Jesus was not who we deserved or who we were hoping for, but He was exactly the Savior we needed at the moment when we needed Him most. He’s not the one we would have chosen if we had been given the choice, but He’s the only one who could make us right with God again.

Even on Palm Sunday, Jesus didn’t choose to be served but to serve. He chose to heed the cries of two blind men who had nothing to offer in return. He healed these men by touching their blindness when He could have merely spoken the words. He heard the shouts of Hosanna by the crowds who wanted Him to be a Conquering King but did not waver from His purpose to be a Suffering Servant. He knew that some of the very voices that cried Hosanna would later be calling for His crucifixion only a few days later.

I’m fairly certain that victorious warriors ride into town on majestic stallions, not on a colt following its mother. Jesus’ purpose was not to overthrow Rome but to overcome our sin by taking the death of a criminal on a cross. The people of Israel were not looking for a Messiah who would take on the form of a slave and become obedient to the point of death, but that’s the one they needed even more than a deliverer from Roman oppression.

Jesus may not have been what we hoped for or wanted, but He is exactly who we need right now. And He always meets us exactly in our moment of greatest need. Always.