2,000 Palm Sundays Later, We Still Misunderstand Jesus

On the first Palm Sunday, Jesus forced people into a perplexing dilemma as they tried to understand His life and teaching. Was He a prophet, a triumphant king, compassionate healer, or was He a blasphemous fraud who created turmoil?

2,000 years later on this Palm Sunday on March 28th, 2021, we still are struggling to understand this Man of Nazareth.

Progressive and conservative Christians are locked in a divisive battle over who more accurately represents Jesus. Both groups claim they are the ones who faithfully emulate His life and teachings. It is the other side that gets Jesus wrong.

There is a path to a better understanding of Jesus, but it cannot be found by His professed followers as they attack, demean, and belittle each other. A house divided against itself cannot stand.

Progressives proclaim an inclusive Jesus who challenges the self-righteousness of religious conservatives who, they claim, distort the message of Jesus as they exclude people Jesus would have welcomed.

Conservatives preach a holy Jesus who denounces the moral relativism of progressives who, they allege, cherry-pick the words of Jesus to make friends with the world.

Jesus often ends looking a lot like those who claim to have gotten him right. This…