As Jesus approaches Jerusalem with his disciples, there is great anxiety among the crowds following them. This shouldn’t surprise us, however, as Jesus has not only predicted a confrontation, but his death.

And if Jesus actually is the Messiah, then this confrontation feels like it is for all of the marbles. Life and death. Our movement against their army. Can we ever really be ready for that?

What we see from Jesus in this sequence is not his own fears—but a generosity for the people. Not just in understanding their fears, but in encouraging us to see the importance of following anyway.

None of them are ready. The disciples, the crowds, these people following Jesus to Jerusalem. They have a mission alignment problem. But Jesus trusts them anyway. And they follow anyway. Which shows how much more important following can be than being ready. Or being right.