“I just submitted the losing bracket.” That’s how I let my family know my picks were in for the NCAA basketball tournament. I’m pretty realistic about my chances considering I’m fairly uninformed about the whole shebang. What’s strange is that even though I want my picks to win, I will always—always—root for the underdog. Back when 16-seed UMBC beat 1-seed Virginia in 2018, I was ALL IN. (It helped that a golden retriever is their mascot!) This year, even though I picked Wisconsin to win against High Point in the first round because I live in Wisconsin, I was a sucker for the story of the High Point player who wears 99 because it reminds him that Jesus left the 99 to go look for him.

I know I’m not alone. The lower seed beating the higher seed always makes the most news, even while busting the most brackets. That previously unknown school suddenly has a new nationwide fan base. Because of these upsets, by the end of the first weekend, there were no perfect brackets left.

Because March Madness happens around Easter, it reminds me that Jesus roots for underdogs too. But Jesus didn’t just sit on the sidelines (or on his couch at home) and cheer for underdogs. Instead, he suited up and played the game for them—for me, for you. Jesus told a group of people that his job was “to proclaim good news to the poor . . . proclaim freedom for the prisoners . . . recovery of sight for the blind . . . set the oppressed free . . . proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor” (Luke 4:18–19). He interacted with people who weren’t the 1 seed according to society’s standards—the weak, injured, broken, and demon-possessed; people with shame-filled pasts; those who wondered if he was too good to be true. Jesus modeled justice, compassion, and servant leadership to those who carried the burden of religious and political officials’ decisions.

After modeling a whole life based on love, Jesus willingly sacrificed himself on a cross, taking God’s punishment for our failures. The people who saw him hanging on a cross were ones who had been changed by him. A woman who had been possessed by seven demons and was now a follower. A man who had been a tax collector but became one of the twelve disciples. (Tax collectors were social outcasts because they became wealthy by overcharging their own people.) Even a Roman soldier (technically an enemy to the Jewish people because of their occupation of the land) when he saw how Jesus died said, “Surely he was the Son of God!” (Matthew 27:54).

Three days later on Easter morning, Jesus came back to life. He declared that the guilt and shame you don’t talk about, the lies you’ve told the people close to you, the purchases you’ve hid, and the resentment you hold on to no longer define you. Instead, you’re declared a champion now. When he comes back a second time, you will receive the trophy, “the crown of glory that will never fade away” (1 Peter 5:4).

Basically, Jesus took our losing, busted brackets and gave us his perfect one, making sure that all the underdogs who believe in him are part of God’s family. That really does seem like madness—and I’m ALL IN.

Want to know more about what Easter means, if it’s true, and how it makes a difference in your life? Check out Pastor Mike’s message “Jesus Reels: Jesus Is Alive!”

Linda Buxa is a writer and speaker who was wrong when she submitted her bracket. In a completely unexpected turn of events, she won the family tournament pool and gets to claim the cheap plastic trophy. She will also enjoy her yearlong bragging rights.