John 12:9-19
The Triumphal Entry
Introduction:
Beginning from chapter 12 to chapter 17 we are going to see the events of Jesus life during the last week before He is crucified. Last week we saw Jesus was anointed while He was in Bethany. This was done in preparation for His burial only 6 days away.
This week we see one of the most famous and significant events in Jesus’ life – His Arrival into Jerusalem. This is often titled in our Bible’s as “The Triumphal Entry”. This event is significant first because it appears in all four gospels. It is also significant because it is the only time in His 3 year ministry when He allowed Himself to be publicly honored as the King of Israel. He put a kibosh on the crowds in chapter 6 who wanted to make Him king.
I want us to see ________ aspects of Jesus’ Triumphal Entry.
Attention of the Crowd (9)
First notice the Attention of the Crowd in verse 9, “Meanwhile a large crowd of Jews found out that Jesus was there and came, not only because of him but also to see Lazarus whom He had raised from the dead.”
Jesus got the crowd’s attention. He is a controversy. His miracles have stirred up a sensation again and people are coming out in droves to see what Him. Combine that with the fact that hundreds of thousands of Jews were piling into Jerusalem from all over the world for the Passover Feast. It is estimated that there were upwards of 2 million Jews in Jerusalem during the Feast. Feelings of patriotism and national pride were very high. There was a feverish anticipation that perhaps this Jesus of Nazareth was the Messiah and He was going to come and deliver the nation from Rome and lead them into glory. Lots of people, and, perhaps many hearing where Jesus was went out to see Him in Bethany.
Has Jesus gotten our attention? Does this Jesus captivate our minds and hearts? Do we have a heartfelt devotion and affection for Him as the Savior that causes us to go to Him? Have you ever sat down and considered what things in your life you devote yourself to and give your attention to and honestly compared them to the amount of attention you give to Christ? What are you all wrapped up in that robs Christ of your attention? What is more important to you that you commit to that you are not committed to Christ in any comparable way? What are you not sacrificing for Christ that you would sacrifice Christ for?
Notice too that the people were coming out to see Lazarus. They had heard that he was dead and that Jesus brought him back to life. They wanted to see what Jesus did to this guy. Do people want to see what Jesus has done to you? Do people have any interest in knowing more about what you have from Christ? The only way they would is if we were different. I’m not talking about doing crazy hairdo’s, and, getting tattoos and……
I’m talking about the sense of peace and contentment in life that only comes when you have Christ. I’m talking about the high character that makes you not do things that others are doing that they know themselves are wrong. Or that you show grace and forgive when someone injures you and you have a right to be angry or demand justice but you don’t demand your rights. I’m talking about the humble attitude that flies in the face of this self-righteous, king-of-the-hill, get ahead of the next guy at all costs society. I’m talking about an ambition for Christ-likeness and godliness and righteousness and holiness and turning from sin that out-weigh’s any other ambition we have. I’m talking about giving love that only God can give to us and only God can give through us. I’m talking about confidence in the face of death.
Has anyone taken notice of these things in your life? This is the resurrection life that Jesus gives us. Has the new life that Jesus has given you gotten the attention of others? If not, maybe you don’t have it for them to see.
Add Lazarus Too (10-11)
While the crowds came and were astonished at Jesus, we see there is another reaction. Notice in verses 10-11 what the chief priests do, “So the chief priests made plans to kill Lazarus as well, for on account of him many of the Jews were going over to Jesus and putting their faith in Him.”
They add Lazarus to the hit list! It’s interesting to note that they decided back in chapter 11 verse 50 that only one man had to die to save the nation. But, now, apparently a second man had to die to save the nation too! Their murderous hearts plotted more murder.
You know, sin is never satisfied. It is never complacent. When we give way to sin we give sin momentum and it grows and grows and grows. The more sin is fed the more it is hungry. If you think that you can have a “pet sin” in your life and that it won’t affect anything else you’ve been tricked. You’re sin is tricking you, and, you are tricking you. You’re compromising your holiness with that sin, you’re covering up that sin with deception, and you’re killing any chance at growing in Christ-likeness. No matter how small you think it is, if you keep it as a pet and feed it it will grow. These chief priests opened the door to murder of one man, which led to the murder of another man, and many more after that. If you open yourself up to sin and do not guard yourself you will go further and further into it. Don’t think about other people around you right now and examine their lives. Think about you. Examine you.
So they put Lazarus on the hit list too. He’s got to go. Some people will be curious about your life in Christ, but, others will want to kill it. Not everyone will have nice things to say to you or about you. Paul says in 2 Timothy 3:12, “In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Jesus will be persecuted.” Do you want to live a godly life?
The Arrival of the King (12-15)
Next notice the Arrival of Jesus. Notice verses 12-13, “The next day the great crowd that had come for the Feast heard that Jesus was on His way to Jerusalem. They took palm branches and went out to meet Him, shouting ‘Hosanna! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord! Blessed is the King of Israel! Jesus found a young donkey and sat upon it, as it is written, ‘Do not be afraid, O Daughter of Zion; see your king is coming, seated on a donkey’s colt.’”
Now notice two things about His arrival: He is Hailed and He is Humble. First, the crowds Hail Him as their victorious Messiah. They carried Palm branches, which were symbols of victory and conquest. They are shouting Hosanna! Which literally translated means “Save now!” They wanted a savior from Rome. They wanted a political savior. They think Jesus is the Messiah and they are right but they are wrong as to why He was coming. They think He was coming to bring victory to Israel.
“Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord” comes from Psalm 118. Psalms 113 through 118 are the great Hallel Psalms. Every Jew learns them growing up and the 118th Psalm is the Conqueror’s Psalm. They were looking to Jesus for victory – but the wrong victory. They were looking for political victory.
And while they did it they hailed Him as their Messiah. It’s interesting that in Luke 19 that the Pharisees told Jesus to rebuke the people for hailing Him as the Messiah. I love what Jesus says to them in the midst of all the commotion: “I tell you if they keep quiet the stones will cry out!” You may deny who I am but even creation knows the Creator.
Now I want you to notice that John tells us that it was the next day Jesus left Bethany and made His way over to Jerusalem. He was enjoying the dinner party thrown in His honor, but, the next day He made His Triumphant Entry into Jerusalem. But there’s something about this “next day” that we need to see that John doesn’t mention. An OT prophecy is fulfilled by Jesus simply coming into Jerusalem on this day. You see, in the book of Daniel there is one of the most amazing predictions about the Messiah in the entire Bible. Daniel prophecied that there would be 483 years before the Messiah would enter into Jerusalem and be killed. The end of that 483 years ended on April 6, 32 A.D. – which is the very day that John is saying here Jesus rode into Jerusalem.
Secondly, we see that Jesus is Humble when He arrives. He comes on a donkey. John points out that this is another 600 year old prophecy found in the OT book of Zechariah, which says, “Shout, Daughter of Jerusalem! See, your king comes to you, righteous and having salvation, gentle and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.”
And what does John tell us that Jesus rode in on? A donkey! Now you have to see the irony here. Jesus came on a donkey, which was a symbol of peace. When a king rode into a city on a donkey he was conveying peace to the people. If he rode in on a big war horse he was coming to destroy that city he conquered. Jesus came on a donkey conveying peace.
When Jesus was born the angels shouted, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests.” Jesus came to bring peace between God and man. In Matthew 10 Jesus says, “Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace but a sword.” In other words, Jesus didn’t come to make us all get along. He didn’t come so that earth would see no more wars or battles. He didn’t come so that all men would live in harmony with one another. Don’t suppose that He says. The kind of peace He came to bring us was peace with God. Romans 5:1 says, “Therefore since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” Jesus showed that when He came riding into Jerusalem on a donkey – He came bringing peace with God.
Now contrast that with Revelation 19, which describes His 2nd Coming. Verses 11-16 say, “…………..” It’s the same Jesus as in John 12, but, this time He is coming on a warhorse and He is coming to make war. He came the first time to make peace, but the next time He is coming to judge.
The disciples didn’t understand all this though. Look at verse 16 there, “At first his disciples didn’t understand all this. Only after Jesus was glorified did they realize that these things had been written about Him and that they had done these things to Him.” They saw all that was going on….the excited crowds, the palm branches, the hailing Him as the Messiah, and they didn’t understand it all. It says that after He was glorified then they understood. Glorified means after He was resurrected and ascended back to heaven. Why would they understand then? Because it was then that Jesus sent the Holy Spirit. John 16 He says, “When I go I will send the Counselor to you. And when He comes He will guide you into all truth. He will bring glory to Me by taking from what is mine and making it known to you.” The Holy Spirit came and gave the disciples understanding of everything they had seen.
You know the Holy Spirit plays such an important role in someone’s life. He is the One who convicts a sinner’s heart. He is the One who enters into a brand new believer to live in them forever. He is the One who guides and teaches and gifts. He baptizes us into the body of Christ when we believe. He is the gift from the Father to us and He is a marvelous gift.
Conclusion (v17-19)
The crowd was running out to meet Jesus that day. He was coming to them and they ran to go meet Him. That day there were tens of thousands of people hailing Jesus as the Messiah but they had the wrong idea about why He came. He didn’t come to liberate them from Rome and bring peace to their nation. He came to die for the sins of the world and bring peace with God. But they didn’t run to Him so they could have peace with God. They didn’t run to Him for the salvation of their souls.
Jesus has come to you too. Have you come to Jesus? The offer to come to Him is for you too. He came to you so that you would come to Him. It doesn’t matter where you’ve been or what you’ve done. The more guilt the better because that means more astonishment over how much grace He has. Every last sin can be forgiven. The slate can be wiped clean. Unlike the crowd that day, today you can come to Jesus for the right reason.
The Triumphal Entry
Introduction:
Beginning from chapter 12 to chapter 17 we are going to see the events of Jesus life during the last week before He is crucified. Last week we saw Jesus was anointed while He was in Bethany. This was done in preparation for His burial only 6 days away.
This week we see one of the most famous and significant events in Jesus’ life – His Arrival into Jerusalem. This is often titled in our Bible’s as “The Triumphal Entry”. This event is significant first because it appears in all four gospels. It is also significant because it is the only time in His 3 year ministry when He allowed Himself to be publicly honored as the King of Israel. He put a kibosh on the crowds in chapter 6 who wanted to make Him king.
I want us to see ________ aspects of Jesus’ Triumphal Entry.
Attention of the Crowd (9)
First notice the Attention of the Crowd in verse 9, “Meanwhile a large crowd of Jews found out that Jesus was there and came, not only because of him but also to see Lazarus whom He had raised from the dead.”
Jesus got the crowd’s attention. He is a controversy. His miracles have stirred up a sensation again and people are coming out in droves to see what Him. Combine that with the fact that hundreds of thousands of Jews were piling into Jerusalem from all over the world for the Passover Feast. It is estimated that there were upwards of 2 million Jews in Jerusalem during the Feast. Feelings of patriotism and national pride were very high. There was a feverish anticipation that perhaps this Jesus of Nazareth was the Messiah and He was going to come and deliver the nation from Rome and lead them into glory. Lots of people, and, perhaps many hearing where Jesus was went out to see Him in Bethany.
Has Jesus gotten our attention? Does this Jesus captivate our minds and hearts? Do we have a heartfelt devotion and affection for Him as the Savior that causes us to go to Him? Have you ever sat down and considered what things in your life you devote yourself to and give your attention to and honestly compared them to the amount of attention you give to Christ? What are you all wrapped up in that robs Christ of your attention? What is more important to you that you commit to that you are not committed to Christ in any comparable way? What are you not sacrificing for Christ that you would sacrifice Christ for?
Notice too that the people were coming out to see Lazarus. They had heard that he was dead and that Jesus brought him back to life. They wanted to see what Jesus did to this guy. Do people want to see what Jesus has done to you? Do people have any interest in knowing more about what you have from Christ? The only way they would is if we were different. I’m not talking about doing crazy hairdo’s, and, getting tattoos and……
I’m talking about the sense of peace and contentment in life that only comes when you have Christ. I’m talking about the high character that makes you not do things that others are doing that they know themselves are wrong. Or that you show grace and forgive when someone injures you and you have a right to be angry or demand justice but you don’t demand your rights. I’m talking about the humble attitude that flies in the face of this self-righteous, king-of-the-hill, get ahead of the next guy at all costs society. I’m talking about an ambition for Christ-likeness and godliness and righteousness and holiness and turning from sin that out-weigh’s any other ambition we have. I’m talking about giving love that only God can give to us and only God can give through us. I’m talking about confidence in the face of death.
Has anyone taken notice of these things in your life? This is the resurrection life that Jesus gives us. Has the new life that Jesus has given you gotten the attention of others? If not, maybe you don’t have it for them to see.
Add Lazarus Too (10-11)
While the crowds came and were astonished at Jesus, we see there is another reaction. Notice in verses 10-11 what the chief priests do, “So the chief priests made plans to kill Lazarus as well, for on account of him many of the Jews were going over to Jesus and putting their faith in Him.”
They add Lazarus to the hit list! It’s interesting to note that they decided back in chapter 11 verse 50 that only one man had to die to save the nation. But, now, apparently a second man had to die to save the nation too! Their murderous hearts plotted more murder.
You know, sin is never satisfied. It is never complacent. When we give way to sin we give sin momentum and it grows and grows and grows. The more sin is fed the more it is hungry. If you think that you can have a “pet sin” in your life and that it won’t affect anything else you’ve been tricked. You’re sin is tricking you, and, you are tricking you. You’re compromising your holiness with that sin, you’re covering up that sin with deception, and you’re killing any chance at growing in Christ-likeness. No matter how small you think it is, if you keep it as a pet and feed it it will grow. These chief priests opened the door to murder of one man, which led to the murder of another man, and many more after that. If you open yourself up to sin and do not guard yourself you will go further and further into it. Don’t think about other people around you right now and examine their lives. Think about you. Examine you.
So they put Lazarus on the hit list too. He’s got to go. Some people will be curious about your life in Christ, but, others will want to kill it. Not everyone will have nice things to say to you or about you. Paul says in 2 Timothy 3:12, “In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Jesus will be persecuted.” Do you want to live a godly life?
The Arrival of the King (12-15)
Next notice the Arrival of Jesus. Notice verses 12-13, “The next day the great crowd that had come for the Feast heard that Jesus was on His way to Jerusalem. They took palm branches and went out to meet Him, shouting ‘Hosanna! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord! Blessed is the King of Israel! Jesus found a young donkey and sat upon it, as it is written, ‘Do not be afraid, O Daughter of Zion; see your king is coming, seated on a donkey’s colt.’”
Now notice two things about His arrival: He is Hailed and He is Humble. First, the crowds Hail Him as their victorious Messiah. They carried Palm branches, which were symbols of victory and conquest. They are shouting Hosanna! Which literally translated means “Save now!” They wanted a savior from Rome. They wanted a political savior. They think Jesus is the Messiah and they are right but they are wrong as to why He was coming. They think He was coming to bring victory to Israel.
“Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord” comes from Psalm 118. Psalms 113 through 118 are the great Hallel Psalms. Every Jew learns them growing up and the 118th Psalm is the Conqueror’s Psalm. They were looking to Jesus for victory – but the wrong victory. They were looking for political victory.
And while they did it they hailed Him as their Messiah. It’s interesting that in Luke 19 that the Pharisees told Jesus to rebuke the people for hailing Him as the Messiah. I love what Jesus says to them in the midst of all the commotion: “I tell you if they keep quiet the stones will cry out!” You may deny who I am but even creation knows the Creator.
Now I want you to notice that John tells us that it was the next day Jesus left Bethany and made His way over to Jerusalem. He was enjoying the dinner party thrown in His honor, but, the next day He made His Triumphant Entry into Jerusalem. But there’s something about this “next day” that we need to see that John doesn’t mention. An OT prophecy is fulfilled by Jesus simply coming into Jerusalem on this day. You see, in the book of Daniel there is one of the most amazing predictions about the Messiah in the entire Bible. Daniel prophecied that there would be 483 years before the Messiah would enter into Jerusalem and be killed. The end of that 483 years ended on April 6, 32 A.D. – which is the very day that John is saying here Jesus rode into Jerusalem.
Secondly, we see that Jesus is Humble when He arrives. He comes on a donkey. John points out that this is another 600 year old prophecy found in the OT book of Zechariah, which says, “Shout, Daughter of Jerusalem! See, your king comes to you, righteous and having salvation, gentle and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.”
And what does John tell us that Jesus rode in on? A donkey! Now you have to see the irony here. Jesus came on a donkey, which was a symbol of peace. When a king rode into a city on a donkey he was conveying peace to the people. If he rode in on a big war horse he was coming to destroy that city he conquered. Jesus came on a donkey conveying peace.
When Jesus was born the angels shouted, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests.” Jesus came to bring peace between God and man. In Matthew 10 Jesus says, “Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace but a sword.” In other words, Jesus didn’t come to make us all get along. He didn’t come so that earth would see no more wars or battles. He didn’t come so that all men would live in harmony with one another. Don’t suppose that He says. The kind of peace He came to bring us was peace with God. Romans 5:1 says, “Therefore since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” Jesus showed that when He came riding into Jerusalem on a donkey – He came bringing peace with God.
Now contrast that with Revelation 19, which describes His 2nd Coming. Verses 11-16 say, “…………..” It’s the same Jesus as in John 12, but, this time He is coming on a warhorse and He is coming to make war. He came the first time to make peace, but the next time He is coming to judge.
The disciples didn’t understand all this though. Look at verse 16 there, “At first his disciples didn’t understand all this. Only after Jesus was glorified did they realize that these things had been written about Him and that they had done these things to Him.” They saw all that was going on….the excited crowds, the palm branches, the hailing Him as the Messiah, and they didn’t understand it all. It says that after He was glorified then they understood. Glorified means after He was resurrected and ascended back to heaven. Why would they understand then? Because it was then that Jesus sent the Holy Spirit. John 16 He says, “When I go I will send the Counselor to you. And when He comes He will guide you into all truth. He will bring glory to Me by taking from what is mine and making it known to you.” The Holy Spirit came and gave the disciples understanding of everything they had seen.
You know the Holy Spirit plays such an important role in someone’s life. He is the One who convicts a sinner’s heart. He is the One who enters into a brand new believer to live in them forever. He is the One who guides and teaches and gifts. He baptizes us into the body of Christ when we believe. He is the gift from the Father to us and He is a marvelous gift.
Conclusion (v17-19)
The crowd was running out to meet Jesus that day. He was coming to them and they ran to go meet Him. That day there were tens of thousands of people hailing Jesus as the Messiah but they had the wrong idea about why He came. He didn’t come to liberate them from Rome and bring peace to their nation. He came to die for the sins of the world and bring peace with God. But they didn’t run to Him so they could have peace with God. They didn’t run to Him for the salvation of their souls.
Jesus has come to you too. Have you come to Jesus? The offer to come to Him is for you too. He came to you so that you would come to Him. It doesn’t matter where you’ve been or what you’ve done. The more guilt the better because that means more astonishment over how much grace He has. Every last sin can be forgiven. The slate can be wiped clean. Unlike the crowd that day, today you can come to Jesus for the right reason.
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