John 12:12-26
Notes
Transcript
Open your Bibles to John 12. We are going to be going over verses 12-26 this morning.
But listen to me real quick…verses 12-19 don’t make sense.
Full disclosure… this Book, the Bible, doesn’t make since.
It doesn’t make sense in the way things work in this world.
So, because this book DOESN’T make sense, the way things make since in our world, in our own relationships, the way we see things in our own lives…HOW DO WE MAKE SENSE OF GOD’S WORD?
Im glad you asked… Look at Romans 12:2 so we can see how to make sense of this.
Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.
You want to make sense out of God’s Word…then
DO NOT THINK the way the world thinks!
The way we think can not be shaped by the way the world thinks but by God’s Word
otherwise this book will not make sense.
We must be TRANSFORMED by the RENEWAL OF OUR MINDS.
This section is going to cover Jesus’ Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem for the last time before He is crucified.
He knows exactly what is about to happen to Him…because He is God.
The King of Kings and the Lord of Lords…the Creator of Heaven and Earth…the Second Person of the Trinity, the Son of God....the fulfillment of all the prophecies…comes into His Holy City one last time...
And we read this:
Hear the Word of God as I read John 12:12-26
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.
Prayer:
Look at verse 12:
The next day the large crowd that had come to the feast heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem.
The Passover Feast was at hand in Jerusalem.
The Passover Feast
It was a Jewish Holiday where they remembered the last plague during the Exodus out of Egypt where God punishes Egypt by killing all the firstborn but “pass over” the firstborn of Israel.
This resulted in the Israelites being rescued from slavery in Egypt
It is found in Exodus 12:12-17.
Interesting isn’t it? God saves his chosen people from slavery and sets them free.
A “large crowd that had come to the feast heard that Jesus was coming into Jerusalem”
Josephus was a Jewish historian for Rome in those days and he records the Passover Feast in AD 64 and AD 65 having around 2.7 Million Jews in and around Jerusalem.
Lets just say that he exaggerated…so lets cut that number down…I think it safe to say there were close to a Million people there getting ready for the Big Feast!
And they all knew about Jesus.
Imagine
groups here and there
all circled around 2 or 3 people telling them what they had seen him do when He was in Galilee
a group over there and 2 or 3 telling them what they saw Him do the last time He was here in Jerusalem.
A group over there talking about how the Pharisees hate him…how they “heard” they were going to try to kill him.
And, then, all of a sudden, They see Him coming from a distance and look what they do...
Verse 13:
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!”
“Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord”...
“Hosanna” means “Help, I pray” or “Save, I pray”
The Palm Branches that they waved was a symbol of a conqueror!
this goes back to the Maccabean War when they regained the Temple during the Intertestamental Period.
So, what are they really doing when they run out to meet Jesus as he approached HIS city?
They are screaming “Help us…Save us, Conquering King!”
Save us from the STRONG ARM OF ROME!!!
Look at verse 14:
And Jesus found a young donkey and sat on it, just as it is written,
Look, some people are like John…SOME are like Luke...
What I mean is that when someone asks a question, they just give them the answer.
I’m more like Luke… I try to not just give the answer but explain it the best I can.
This is why when people ask me something, they say, “I have a question and just give me the short answer”. Because they know if they don’t we might be here a while.
Look at the detail Luke gives us:
When he drew near to Bethphage and Bethany, at the mount that is called Olivet, he sent two of the disciples, saying, “Go into the village in front of you, where on entering you will find a colt tied, on which no one has ever yet sat. Untie it and bring it here. If anyone asks you, ‘Why are you untying it?’ you shall say this: ‘The Lord has need of it.’ ”
So when John says: (the short story)
And Jesus found a young donkey and sat on it, just as it is written,
Jesus “found a young donkey”…of course He did…because He is God and He knew exactly where He put it.
Look at what else Luke records:
saying, “Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!” And some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples.” He answered, “I tell you, if these were silent, the very stones would cry out.”
The Religious Leaders ask Him to tell his “disciples” to stop cheering for him…they tell Him to “rebuke” them.
They always wanted people to look at them this way...
They were jealous of Him
They were scared that they were going to lose their power over the people
BECAUSE THAT is what they want more than anything anyway.
Then Luke tells us this:
And when he drew near and saw the city, he wept over it, saying, “Would that you, even you, had known on this day the things that make for peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes. For the days will come upon you, when your enemies will set up a barricade around you and surround you and hem you in on every side and tear you down to the ground, you and your children within you. And they will not leave one stone upon another in you, because you did not know the time of your visitation.”
Jesus didn’t ride in with His chest out..full of PRIDE
He rode in Jerusalem with tears…KNOWING that these people who are crying “Hosanna! Save us…Help us…King of Israel” are the same ones who will be crying “Crucify Him” in just a few more days!
He came in tears to His City, Holy Jerusalem, knowing that He was NOT the king they were really looking for and that this Holy City would be absolutely destroyed during their lifetime.
They see Him coming…they’ve seen His Miracles…they’ve HEARD the stories…HERE HE IS…RIDING INTO HIS CITY...
AND He came riding in on a young donkey...
JUST AS IT IS WRITTEN...
Look at verse 15:
“Fear not, daughter of Zion;
behold, your king is coming,
sitting on a donkey’s colt!”
This comes from Zechariah 9.
Lets read the whole verse from Zechariah 9:9
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.
Prophecy fulfilled...
Look at verses 16
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.
This is a pretty cool side note isn’t it.
It shows the accuracy and honesty of Scripture.
See…If I wrote John, I wouldn’t have admitted that.
You wouldn’t have either
But aren’t we glad that God wrote this through the hand of John to comfort us...
We grow in our faith and knowledge of Christ…they grew in theirs.
so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him: bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God;
Look at verses 17-18
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.
LETS CUT THESE JEWS, who welcomed Jesus into Jerusalem, A BREAK! SERIOUSLY!
They really did believe at this point that Jesus was THE MESSIAH!
I don’t think that they were just saying those things...
They had been pumped up by the crowd…a VERY LARGE CROWD!
People were telling people that He was the MESSIAH…the ONE that the Prophets told about…FREEDOM WAS COMING! THEIR SAVIOR WAS HERE!
AND THEY BELIEVED WHAT THE MAJORITY OF PEOPLE TOLD THEM ABOUT THIS JESUS
They JUST OVERLOOKED SOME THINGS that just didn’t make sense to them…THEY HAD TO!
And this … this is what is so SAD STILL TODAY.
Jesus “heard” them crying out “SAVE US, I PRAY”… “HELP US, I PRAY”....You’re the KING OF ISRAEL!!!!
He heard them…but it broke His heart because He knew that the Messiah they wanted WAS NOT THE MESSIAH GOD HAS GIVEN
See, this doesn’t make sense in our world and it DID NOT MAKE SENSE IN THEIR WORLD!
They saw Jesus as someone who would overthrow the Romans and give them, individually, freedom from the oppressions of this world.
They saw Him as a King who would conquer the world with a sword
And lets be honest…what other way would there be to take over the world?
They wanted a Messiah where they could benefit from His blessings
They didn’t want a Messiah that they had to submit to His purposes and His will.
They didn’t see Him as the God of Scripture.
And this is STILL TRUE TODAY! And it is STILL HEARTBREAKING!
So many people listen to the crowd
So many people listen to the “multitudes” of who Christ is...
Just like these Jews, they have the Scriptures…they just don’t read them to learn who God truly is...
…they look past what it actually says because that isn’t the God they want...
they want a Jesus who will give them all of His benefits for their own desires:
finances
social status
community
Don’t listen to the “crowd”, the “majority”, or the “multitude”…LISTEN TO THE WORD OF GOD!
Look at verse 19:
So the Pharisees said to one another, “You see that you are gaining nothing. Look, the world has gone after him.”
Let me just point out the obvious real quick and then I’ll move on:
When the Pharisees said this…it doesn’t mean that “every individual in the world has gone after Christ”.
I know that it says “the world has gone after him”
But context matters.
The Pharisees who said this are “in the world” and “they” are not “following him”.
We know that there were Indians in America at this time…and they were not following Him.
The context is that “there are a lot of people following Him”
they are feeling dejected
they are feeling sorry for themselves…they feel like they are losing power to Him.
But…as we continue on THE NEXT FEW WEEKS we will see that they were not all following Him.
It may have seen that way at the time…but in a few days they will be screaming, “CRUCIFY HIM”.
BECAUSE this Messiah isn’t what they were looking for.
Do you think the Romans were nervous when they saw a multitude escorting some man RIDING on a DONKEY into Jerusalem as the people chanted “SAVE US, HELP US...”, “HOSANNA! BLESSED IS HE WHO COMES IN THE NAME OF THE LORD, EVEN THE KING OF ISRAEL”
DO YOU THINK the Romans were nervous?
I see them laughing at this man on a donkey.
See, a King of Earth rides a horse.
A King of Earth rides a Horse with a gold bridle…and most likely an escort of horses in front of him and behind him.
Now that sounds more like it doesn’t it?
That makes sense to the world...
But
And he said to them, “You are those who justify yourselves before men, but God knows your hearts. For what is exalted among men is an abomination in the sight of God.
See…they had the Scriptures...
they should have known that all the kings of the Earth had horses and Chariots.
They were at the FEAST OF PASSOVER....
Did they forget how God destroyed Pharoah and his mighty horses?
Turn to Exodus 14.
When Pharaoh drew near, the people of Israel lifted up their eyes, and behold, the Egyptians were marching after them, and they feared greatly. And the people of Israel cried out to the Lord.
And Moses said to the people, “Fear not, stand firm, and see the salvation of the Lord, which he will work for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall never see again. The Lord will fight for you, and you have only to be silent.”
And I will harden the hearts of the Egyptians so that they shall go in after them, and I will get glory over Pharaoh and all his host, his chariots, and his horsemen. And the Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord, when I have gotten glory over Pharaoh, his chariots, and his horsemen.”
And the people of Israel went into the midst of the sea on dry ground, the waters being a wall to them on their right hand and on their left. The Egyptians pursued and went in after them into the midst of the sea, all Pharaoh’s horses, his chariots, and his horsemen.
Then the Lord said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand over the sea, that the water may come back upon the Egyptians, upon their chariots, and upon their horsemen.” So Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and the sea returned to its normal course when the morning appeared. And as the Egyptians fled into it, the Lord threw the Egyptians into the midst of the sea. The waters returned and covered the chariots and the horsemen; of all the host of Pharaoh that had followed them into the sea, not one of them remained. But the people of Israel walked on dry ground through the sea, the waters being a wall to them on their right hand and on their left.
Thus the Lord saved Israel that day from the hand of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians dead on the seashore.
They Were looking for a King… a Messiah…to conquer the world they way they thought a King should conquer the world...
But if they would have stopped listening to the crowd and Listened to the Word…they would have known the King of Israel was to obey this:
“When you come to the land that the Lord your God is giving you, and you possess it and dwell in it and then say, ‘I will set a king over me, like all the nations that are around me,’ you may indeed set a king over you whom the Lord your God will choose. One from among your brothers you shall set as king over you. You may not put a foreigner over you, who is not your brother. Only he must not acquire many horses for himself or cause the people to return to Egypt in order to acquire many horses, since the Lord has said to you, ‘You shall never return that way again.’ And he shall not acquire many wives for himself, lest his heart turn away, nor shall he acquire for himself excessive silver and gold.
You know why? YOU KNOW WHY THE KINGS OF ISREAL WAS NOT TO HAVE MANY HORSES...
All the kings of earth mounted their horses to try and conquer and expand their Kingdom....
SEE...
Some trust in chariots and some in horses,
but we trust in the name of the Lord our God.
Lets go back and look at the prophecy again about THE KING MOUNTED ON A DONKEY..
But this time… lets read the next verse also
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.
I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim
and the war horse from Jerusalem;
and the battle bow shall be cut off,
and he shall speak peace to the nations;
his rule shall be from sea to sea,
and from the River to the ends of the earth.
This is not the King the people wanted...
This is not the Messiah, the Savior the people wanted....
IT DOESN’T MAKE SENSE IN THIS WORLD...
BUT THIS IS THE KING GOD GAVE…DO YOU ACCEPT HIM?
He will come…
RIGHTEOUS
HAVING SALVATION
HUMBLE
MOUNTED ON FOAL OF A DONKEY
HE WILL CUT OFF…OR PUT AN END TO…
THE CHARIOT
THE WAR HORSE
THE BATTLE BOW
HE SHALL SPEAK PEACE TO THE NATIONS
HIS RULE WILL BE FROM SEA TO SEA
TO THE ENDS OF THE EARTH!!!!
Trust the KING! BOW BEFORE THIS KING!
Come to Him…REPENT OF YOUR SIN…GIVE HIM EVERYTHING…AND ADVANCE HIS KINGDOM !
HE IS THE KING OF KINGS…he wasn’t the King they wanted…BUT HE WAS THE KING GOD GAVE THE WORLD.
They had rather kill him than serve THIS KING.
And they did.
He died for all those who would believe in Him...
AND BECAUSE ZECH 9:9 IS TRUE…ZECH 9:10 IS ALSO TRUE...
HE WILL RULE FROM SEA TO SEA TO THE ENDS OF THE EARTH...
THREE days after they hung him on the cross... He rose from the grave and showed himself…and said...
And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
This might not make sense NOW…but you have to renew your mind…no longer think the way the world thinks...
He came riding on a DONKEY...
He was given a crown of THORNS...
But He has been Glorified…
And now He is CROWNED WITH GLORY AND HONOR...
AFTER HE RODE THE DONKEY…HE THEN CLIMBED ON A WHITE WAR HORSE...
AND THEY SAW HIS WRATH, THE WRATH HE WAS TEARFUL OVER WHEN HE CAME INTO TOWN...
Then I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse! The one sitting on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he judges and makes war. His eyes are like a flame of fire, and on his head are many diadems, and he has a name written that no one knows but himself. He is clothed in a robe dipped in blood, and the name by which he is called is The Word of God. And the armies of heaven, arrayed in fine linen, white and pure, were following him on white horses. From his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron. He will tread the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty. On his robe and on his thigh he has a name written, King of kings and Lord of lords.
WHEN CHRIST COMES BACK AT HIS SECOND ADVENT...
HE will not come like this…but HE will come in the same way as He left...
And while they were gazing into heaven as he went, behold, two men stood by them in white robes, and said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.”
He didn’t leave on a White Horse.
But when He comes… i pray we are all EXPECTING the Savior God provided…AND NOT THE ONE WE WANTED…THE ONE THE CROWD TOLD US ABOUT...