The King Brings a Gift

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Jesus was not the king everyone expected. He was rejected but He brought the gift of salvation down to earth. Our relationship with our King is about Him, not us, so we must love our King extravagantly and serve our King humbly.

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9/22/19

The King Brings a Gift Down to Earth -

ME:

Picture with me for a moment
What comes to mind when you think of Prince Charming?
Tall, dark, and handsome right?
Strapping guy, able to handle his own in battle
He is a prince so he probably has a crown
Set to inherit the throne and become king one day
Probably commands the attention of the room when he walks in
That is what you would expect when you think of Prince Charming
What you wouldn’t expect would be a short, heavy-set, bald man
With acne all over his face
Wheezing trying to walk up a small incline
Dressed all raggedly
That would be an unexpected prince charming
That’s what we do, right?
we have these assumptions, expectations that come to mind
certain pictures associate with certain words that we hear
Well, likewise, the Jews who lived in Jesus’ time had in their minds a picture of their king who would come down to earth and rescue them
A king who would kinda be like Prince Charming
A mighty king, heroic in battle, and commanding in his leading
Not only was this the king they pictured, but it was the king they were all longing for
It wasn’t just the king of their mind’s desire, it was the king of their heart’s desire as well
We are going to be in this morning
and in , the King presents Himself
but He rides in, not on a noble steed
but on a prophecy fulfilling colt
Because Jesus was not the King the people expected, we see the King is rejected
But despite this rejection, the King brought a gift down to earth
I would like to invite you all to join me in prayer, then we will look at our King in
Let’s begin by reading vs. 1-11 of where we see the gifts that are for the King

WE:

The Gift for the King ()

John 12:1–11 ESV
Six days before the Passover, Jesus therefore came to Bethany, where Lazarus was, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. So they gave a dinner for him there. Martha served, and Lazarus was one of those reclining with him at table. Mary therefore took a pound of expensive ointment made from pure nard, and anointed the feet of Jesus and wiped his feet with her hair. The house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. But Judas Iscariot, one of his disciples (he who was about to betray him), said, “Why was this ointment not sold for three hundred denarii and given to the poor?” He said this, not because he cared about the poor, but because he was a thief, and having charge of the moneybag he used to help himself to what was put into it. Jesus said, “Leave her alone, so that she may keep it for the day of my burial. For the poor you always have with you, but you do not always have me.” When the large crowd of the Jews learned that Jesus was there, they came, not only on account of him but also to see Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead. So the chief priests made plans to put Lazarus to death as well, because on account of him many of the Jews were going away and believing in Jesus.
The passage begins with the same three siblings from the previous chapter;
Martha, Mary, and Lazarus
Again, these three siblings are examples for us
because we see them with their gift for the King
Take just a minute and think about what gifts have been the most meaningful to you
I’m willing the bet the gifts that have been the most personal or most sacrificial are the ones that have meant the most
Those gifts are greater than just the materials they are made from
or the actions that were displayed
or the event or activity that you participated in
The gift itself represents the gift of extravagant love
This is the gift we see given to the King by Martha and Lazarus in vs. 2
Martha demonstrates her extravagant love with humble service
Lazarus demonstrates his with the gift of presence
reclining at the table to be with Jesus
But then we get to vs. 3 and see Mary’s hospitality, selflessness, humble service, and extravagant love
displayed in her gift for the King
a pound of expensive ointment made from pure nard
believed to be a myrrh perfume
applied to the feet of Jesus
then using her hair as a rag to wipe His feet
Not only is her selflessness an example of extravagant love and humble service
but we see the selfishness of Judas contrasted against her gift in vs. 4-6
He sees this selfless gift of extravagant love and humble service
and he criticizes her
He is downright cruel to her
Why would you waste this expensive ointment on the feet of Jesus?
We could sell that for three hundred denarii!
That’s almost a years worth of wages!
…and then put that money to good use....by donating it, yea donating it
....to ya know, the poor people, sure, let’s go with that!
And vs. 6 reveals his heart
He didn’t care about the poor, he wanted to get his hands on that money
in fact, the amount of money he accepts to betray Jesus is about a third of what he values the ointment as
Jesus affirms the example of Martha, Lazarus, and Mary because He received their gifts
But in vs. 7-8, He rebukes Judas, not only because Judas was being selfish
but also because in his selfishness, Judas was interfering with Mary’s gift for the King
And not only did Jesus rebuke Judas, but He also foreshadowed His death by referring to the ointment as perfume for His burial
So Mary is giving her gift of selfless extravagant love and humble service to the King
And by foreshadowing His death, Jesus is again revealing, He is not the King everyone expects Him to be
But we see His presentation as the King in vs. 12-35

GOD:

The Presentation of the King (5)

John 12:12–36 ESV
The next day the large crowd that had come to the feast heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem. So they took branches of palm trees and went out to meet him, crying out, “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, even the King of Israel!” And Jesus found a young donkey and sat on it, just as it is written, “Fear not, daughter of Zion; behold, your king is coming, sitting on a donkey’s colt!” His disciples did not understand these things at first, but when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that these things had been written about him and had been done to him. The crowd that had been with him when he called Lazarus out of the tomb and raised him from the dead continued to bear witness. The reason why the crowd went to meet him was that they heard he had done this sign. So the Pharisees said to one another, “You see that you are gaining nothing. Look, the world has gone after him.” Now among those who went up to worship at the feast were some Greeks. So these came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, and asked him, “Sir, we wish to see Jesus.” Philip went and told Andrew; Andrew and Philip went and told Jesus. And Jesus answered them, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. If anyone serves me, he must follow me; and where I am, there will my servant be also. If anyone serves me, the Father will honor him. “Now is my soul troubled. And what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’? But for this purpose I have come to this hour. Father, glorify your name.” Then a voice came from heaven: “I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again.” The crowd that stood there and heard it said that it had thundered. Others said, “An angel has spoken to him.” Jesus answered, “This voice has come for your sake, not mine. Now is the judgment of this world; now will the ruler of this world be cast out. And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.” He said this to show by what kind of death he was going to die. So the crowd answered him, “We have heard from the Law that the Christ remains forever. How can you say that the Son of Man must be lifted up? Who is this Son of Man?” So Jesus said to them, “The light is among you for a little while longer. Walk while you have the light, lest darkness overtake you. The one who walks in the darkness does not know where he is going. While you have the light, believe in the light, that you may become sons of light.” When Jesus had said these things, he departed and hid himself from them.
This is the beginning of what we refer to as Passion week
This passage is the beginning of what we refer to as Passion week
In the spring, when we celebrate Palm Sunday, the Sunday before Easter, this is it
the days that lead up to Passover
and to Jesus’ crucifixion
and Passion week runs from John 12:12
Passion week runs in all four Gospels
in Matthew it is chapter 21-28, in Mark it is chapters 11-16 and in Luke it is -chapter 24
And Passion Week starts strong
With the Presentation of the King
Hosanna! the crowd is shouting
Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord
This echoes
Psalm 118:26 ESV
Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! We bless you from the house of the Lord.
Coming in the name of the Lord means He is coming in the authority of the Lord
and just in case His presentation wasn’t clear enough
HE is declared at the end of vs. 13 as the King of Israel!
entering on a young donkey, fulfilling the prophecy quoted in vs. 15 from
which states;
Zechariah 9:9 ESV
Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your king is coming to you; righteous and having salvation is he, humble and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.
which states;
Jesus Christ was declared King at his birth, He is from the royal line of David
and at the end of time He will rule the nations as King for all eternity
Here in , we see Him publically being presented as King
And even though they spent all this time with Him
the disciples didn’t understand the full extent of Jesus’ kingdom, until after He was glorified it says
The Jewish leaders, meanwhile, are growing increasingly concerned
They feared Jesus would create an uprising and now here He is
Being presented as King!
and they conclude in vs. 19, the world has gone after Him
Just like we predicted, they say, He is creating an uprising
Everyone is following Him
And Jesus, the King knows what this means
in vs. 23 He states, the hour has come
Yes, the same hour that had been traced throughout John’s gospel,
From , , and 30; and 8:20, is now here
The Son of Man will be glorifed
In the midst of His presentation, Jesus is again revealing, He is not the King everyone expected
This is the first of many statements Jesus makes during Passion Week that His death and resurrection are at hand
and His death and resurrection are what the hour refers to
and dying is not what was expected of the King
But in the midst of this, Jesus continues a confusing teaching in vs. 25
Whoever loves his life loses it, He says
and whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life
What in the world does that mean?
well to love your life is to consider yourself as more important than others
the opposite is true for whoever hates his life
to hate your life is to consider others as more important than yourself
Therefore, Jesus is saying that whoever considers himself as more important than others will face destruction
While whoever considers others as more important will be given eternal life
R.C. Sproul summarizes it as follows;
“Those who are absorbed by the interests of life on earth encounter ruin, while those detached from worldly interests will through Christ’s work attain eternal life.”
To say it even simpler, selfishness leads to death, selflessness leads to life
Be like Judas was at the beginning of our chapter and die
or you can follow the example of Mary and live.
Continuing into vs. 26, Jesus communicates the cost of discipleship
If you are going to be serving Jesus, you must be following Jesus
That means thinking like Jesus, acting like Jesus, loving like Jesus, and living like Jesus
You can’t serve Jesus for selfish gain
Serve Jesus humbly and selflessly and the Father will honor you
this is the process of Christlikeness Jesus is teaching here
is the process by which believers conform to obedience and trust in God
Through the Holy Spirit, God is refashioning believers into the image of Christ
Who is the model set before us of a redeemed life
Before this teaching, Jesus referenced His hour in vs. 23
so this teaching takes place in the context of His death and resurrection
Revealing the cross as a symbol of discipleship
Immediately after, in vs. 27, Jesus again references His hour
keeping His death and resurrection at the forefront of everything He is teaching and doing.
Continuing in His unexpected ways
the King shows vulnerability in the midst of His presentation
and prays to the Father
and a voice responds to the King
Everyone there heard this thundering voice
Then in vs. 30, Jesus tells the crowd, the voice has come for your sake, not mine.
Jesus just got done teaching about selflessness over selfishness
and He is troubled and prays for the sake of everyone there and for the glory of the Father
demonstrating selflessness over selfishness
Just like in the previous chapter, Jesus said that Lazarus’ illness was for the glory of God and for the disciples’ sake
so that they may believe
and now, here again, the voice is for God’s glory and the people’s sake
why?
so that, in vs. 36 He says, they may believe
before He gets to the need to believe
He reinforces what we are to believe in
look in vs. 31
the ruler of this world will be cast out, Jesus says
Just because Jesus wasn’t the King everyone expected Him to be
doesn’t mean He isn’t King
the ruler of the world refers to Satan
and the King that has just been presented is telling everyone that Satan is going to be cast out
the King has come down to earth to establish His kingdom
and the ruler of the world does not have ultimate authority over it
But again, unexpectedly, the King accomplishes this through His death
When He talks about being lifted up in vs. 32-33, He is referring to being lifted up on the cross
This is of central importance to the Christian faith
Christ’s death on the cross is what reconciles sinners to God
the Apostle Paul summarizes the gospel as “the message of the cross”
Sinclair Ferguson writes;
“The cross is at the heart of the gospel; it makes the gospel good news. Christ died for us; He has stood in our place before God’s judgment seat; He has borne our sins. God has done something on the cross which we could never do for ourselves. But God does something to us as well as for us through the cross. He persuades us that He loves us.”
The cross then is both triumphant and tragic!
It glorifies Christ and it grieves Christ
And because Jesus was not the King the crowd expected, they were confused
in vs. 34 the crowd responds, Christ is suppose to remain forever
How can He be lifted up and remain forever?
says;
Psalm 89:4 ESV
‘I will establish your offspring forever, and build your throne for all generations.’ ” Selah
says;
Psalm 89:36 ESV
His offspring shall endure forever, his throne as long as the sun before me.
says;
Psalm 110:4 ESV
The Lord has sworn and will not change his mind, “You are a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.”
says;
Isaiah 9:7 ESV
Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this.
says;
Ezekiel 37:25 ESV
They shall dwell in the land that I gave to my servant Jacob, where your fathers lived. They and their children and their children’s children shall dwell there forever, and David my servant shall be their prince forever.
says;
Daniel 7:14 ESV
And to him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him; his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom one that shall not be destroyed.
How can all this be true if the King is going to die?
How can He be lifted up and remain forever?
And this question
This misunderstanding is what sets the stage for Jesus to respond, you need to believe
And unfortunately, in vs. 36-43 instead of belief in the King, we see rejection of the King
follow along with me;

YOU:

The Rejection of the King ()

John 12:36–43 ESV
While you have the light, believe in the light, that you may become sons of light.” When Jesus had said these things, he departed and hid himself from them. Though he had done so many signs before them, they still did not believe in him, so that the word spoken by the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled: “Lord, who has believed what he heard from us, and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?” Therefore they could not believe. For again Isaiah said, “He has blinded their eyes and hardened their heart, lest they see with their eyes, and understand with their heart, and turn, and I would heal them.” Isaiah said these things because he saw his glory and spoke of him. Nevertheless, many even of the authorities believed in him, but for fear of the Pharisees they did not confess it, so that they would not be put out of the synagogue; for they loved the glory that comes from man more than the glory that comes from God.
John 12:37–43 ESV
Though he had done so many signs before them, they still did not believe in him, so that the word spoken by the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled: “Lord, who has believed what he heard from us, and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?” Therefore they could not believe. For again Isaiah said, “He has blinded their eyes and hardened their heart, lest they see with their eyes, and understand with their heart, and turn, and I would heal them.” Isaiah said these things because he saw his glory and spoke of him. Nevertheless, many even of the authorities believed in him, but for fear of the Pharisees they did not confess it, so that they would not be put out of the synagogue; for they loved the glory that comes from man more than the glory that comes from God.
How tragic is this?
In spite of the many signs, the miracles, the wonders
the fact that He gave a blind man sight and rose a dead man from the grave
vs. 37 states they still did not believe
The King just went from being presented with chants of Hosanna and blessing
and because He wasn’t what they expected, the people reject Him
they still did not believe
Do you ever do the same?
Expect Jesus to be a certain way
and if He isn’t what you expected or wanted, despite all the miracles He has done, you doubt, criticize, or harden your heart toward him
The Apostle John quotes two OT passages showing how this unbelief was a fulfillment of prophecy
First was
Which is the prophecy about the suffering servant
Continuing to keep the cross intertwined throughout this entire chapter
Keeping the suffering and the sacrifice of the King in the front of your mind
And the second quote is from
Which, John says, shows that they could not believe
I have said this many times
when it comes to spiritual warfare, belief is the battlefield
and in vs. 43 Jesus gives a summary of unbelief;
Unbelief is when the glory of man > the glory of God
We also refer to this as fear of man.
If you love the glory of man more than the glory of God, you have rejected the king
If you believe in Christ,
if you love the glory of God more than the glory of man
then you receive the Gift the King Brought down to earth
those who believe in Christ receive the Gift the King Brought down to earth
We see the gift from the king in vs. 44-50

WE:

The Gift From the King ()

John 12:44–50 ESV
And Jesus cried out and said, “Whoever believes in me, believes not in me but in him who sent me. And whoever sees me sees him who sent me. I have come into the world as light, so that whoever believes in me may not remain in darkness. If anyone hears my words and does not keep them, I do not judge him; for I did not come to judge the world but to save the world. The one who rejects me and does not receive my words has a judge; the word that I have spoken will judge him on the last day. For I have not spoken on my own authority, but the Father who sent me has himself given me a commandment—what to say and what to speak. And I know that his commandment is eternal life. What I say, therefore, I say as the Father has told me.”
The language used in this passage, specifically in vs. 46-47
reflects the same language used by Jesus in ;
John 3:17–21 ESV
For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed. But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God.”
The King came down to earth, not to condemn the world or to judge the world
that is what the enemy does, the ruler of the world
and what did the King teach us earlier in this chapter?
the King has cast him out
the cross destroys the power of satan
Sinclair Ferguson writes;
“The cross is at the heart of the gospel; it makes the gospel good news. Christ died for us; He has stood in our place before God’s judgment seat; He has borne our sins. God has done something on the cross which we could never do for ourselves. But God does something to us as well as for us through the cross. He persuades us that He loves us.”
Because He loves us, the King came down to earth to give the world the gift of salvation
You see, the King brought the gift of salvation down to us
Jesus marched into Jerusalem to present Himself as King
He wasn’t the King the people expected
and there are probably times where He isn’t the King we expect Him to be either
But when we meditate on the gift the King has brought down to earth for us
are we not persuaded of His love for us?
What more could he do to demonstrate His love than offer Himself in your place?
We see the King is rejected by those who don’t believe
those who love the glory of man more than the glory of God
But the King brought the gift of salvation down to us who believe
If you don’t believe, start there
Jesus is the victorious King
believe in what this Book is telling us!
These Words are true!
They raise the dead to life!
Pastor Matt Carter comments;
“The most rigid unbelief shatters like glass when God swings his mighty hammer of grace. God is sovereign over unbelief, which means unbelief must bow before him. Unbelief cannot say no when God says yes. Someone’s unbelief may seem like a roadblock too big to navigate but God is bigger than unbelief. Trust him, pray to him, share the gospel, and then see the roadblock crumble as his grace sweeps in.”
If you do believe, we have an example of gifts we can give to our King
Martha and Lazarus, and especially Mary demonstrate the selflessness of their gifts.
Our gifts are to love our King extravagantly
We need to give to our King
and serve our King humbly.
Let us give our gifts to our King selflessly and abundantly because He has given to us abundantly.
Will you join me as we come before our King in prayer.
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