The Cross Before the Crown
Notes
Transcript
English Standard Version Chapter 12
9 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.
English Standard Version Chapter 12
10 So the chief priests made plans to put Lazarus to death as well, 11 because on account of him many of the Jews were going away and believing in Jesus.
John 12:12-13
12 The next day the large crowd that had come to the feast heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem. 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!”
John 12:14-15
14 And Jesus found a young donkey and sat on it, just as it is written, 15 “Fear not, daughter of Zion; behold, your king is coming, sitting on a donkey’s colt!”
John 12:16
English Standard Version Chapter 12
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.
John 12:17-18
17 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. 18 The reason why the crowd went to meet him was that they heard he had done this sign.
John 12:19
19 So the Pharisees said to one another, “You see that you are gaining nothing. Look, the world has gone after him.”
V. 20-22
20 Now among those who went up to worship at the feast were some Greeks. 21 So these came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, and asked him, “Sir, we wish to see Jesus.” 22 Philip went and told Andrew; Andrew and Philip went and told Jesus.
V. 23-24
23 And Jesus answered them, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. 24 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.
v. 25-26
25 Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. 26 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.
Let’s work through the passage and then come back and focus on a couple of themes.
John 12:9-11
9 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. 10 So the chief priests made plans to put Lazarus to death as well, 11 because on account of him many of the Jews were going away and believing in Jesus.
The large crowd of Jews learns that Jesus is in Bethany, so they go to see him as well as Lazarus.
The religious leaders are already planning to kill Jesus, but now they’re talking about killing Lazarus too
This was because many of the Jews were leaving them and following Jesus instead because of this miracle in particular
John 12:12-13
12 The next day the large crowd that had come to the feast heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem. 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!”
The large crowd of Jews in Jerusalem ready to celebrate Passover
They hear Jesus is coming
They take branches of palm trees and go out to meet him
“Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord” from Psalm 118:25-26. Hosanna = “save us, please”
“Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord” - as the Lord’s representative, sent by the Lord; but most of them didn’t recognize that he is in fact the Lord himself.
“The King of Israel” - Jesus is the King, though previously he had hid himself when the people wanted to make him King in John 6:14-15 after the feeding of the 5000. Now he openly accepts the title and the accompanying praise.
John 12:14-15
14 And Jesus found a young donkey and sat on it, just as it is written, 15 “Fear not, daughter of Zion; behold, your king is coming, sitting on a donkey’s colt!”
Quote from Zechariah 9:9
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.
Not the way a king would be expected to enter a great city like Jerusalem, but typical of Jesus, and a fulfillment of prophecy
As Jesus fulfills this prophecy, he is showing that he is indeed the King, but a King much different from the kings throughout history who have abused their power and used their authority to take advantage of the people; he is a humble King, a King who serves.
John 12:16
English Standard Version Chapter 12
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.
John admits that he and the other disciples did not get it at the time (just like in ch. 2 with Jesus’s statement about tearing down this temple)
Only after Jesus’s death and resurrection did they understand that all of these OT prophecies were pointing toward Jesus
Again, the prophecies about Jesus show us that the things that happened to him were not an accident, but the plan of God all along
John 12:17-18
17 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. 18 The reason why the crowd went to meet him was that they heard he had done this sign.
John gives us a detail about this story that the other Gospels don’t mention — the reason that the crowds gathered to accept Jesus as their King was that they had heard or seen the last sign Jesus did of raising Lazarus. This was the reason that everyone wanted to make him their King. This is how big that miracle was.
John 12:19
19 So the Pharisees said to one another, “You see that you are gaining nothing. Look, the world has gone after him.”
The Pharisees’ plan to kill Jesus was going to be very difficult when all the people are gathering around him and hailing him as King. They can’t possibly arrest him in public, since everyone believes he’s the Messiah, so it’s going to have to be an inside job (and that’s exactly what happened)
In their frustration, the Pharisees complain that the world has gone after him — an obvious exaggeration. Not the whole world had gone after him, because they themselves were not following him.
But John sees a hidden meaning in these words, which he shows us in v. 20 - 22; they say “the whole world is following Jesus”, and John shows us, in fact, that it is not just Jews (v. 11) who will follow Jesus, but Greeks too, and in time, people from every nation
like what John said in 11:52, that through his death Jesus would gather together the scattered children of God (from every nation)
John 12:20-22
20 Now among those who went up to worship at the feast were some Greeks. 21 So these came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, and asked him, “Sir, we wish to see Jesus.” 22 Philip went and told Andrew; Andrew and Philip went and told Jesus.
Greeks = non Jews who also wanted to worship God; they had heard about Jesus and wanted to meet him
“We wish to see Jesus” — a good prayer for us as well: we want to see Jesus
His apostles report this request to Jesus, but John doesn’t tell us if they did end up meeting him or not. (they probably did)
John 12:23
English Standard Version Chapter 12
23 And Jesus answered them, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.
The hour has come = after telling us over and over that “his hour had not yet come”, now it’s here. The time has arrived.
The Son of Man will be glorified - he will be exalted and honored - but how? (v. 24 gives us a clue)
John 12:24-25
24 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. 25 Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.
If you hang onto a seed, all you will ever have is that seed - “it remains alone”
But if you plant it, it bears much fruit.
Jesus was referring to his own life and death. He could have remained alive, but then he would be alone (all of us would perish); but if he dies, he will bear much fruit - he will bring along with him a harvest of souls, subjects for his kingdom.
He applies this truth to us in v. 25: you also must die so that there can be a great harvest of fruit
John 12:26
26 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.
The Christian life is a life of service, but it is a kind of service that brings great reward and promise: we will be with him always, and we will receive honor from God.
The Cross before the Crown - suffering before glory
The Cross before the Crown - suffering before glory
The Scriptural pattern: glory through suffering
The Scriptural pattern: glory through suffering
Throughout the Bible we see many people who suffer terrible things and then are exalted to a place of honor. The glory of their exaltation shines all the brighter because of the depths of suffering they endured before it. This is the pattern throughout scripture.
Joseph
Joseph
mistreated by his brothers
sold into slavery
lied about and thrown in prison
13 years of suffering until
He was exalted to 2nd place in the kingdom and everyone bowed before him
David
David
the youngest brother, looked down on by his brothers
Saul attempted to murder him and pursued him for years
He had to live in the desert away from the temple and the people of God
At the right time God exalted him and he became one of Israel’s greatest kings in history
Daniel
Daniel
taken into exile while only a teenager, perhaps witnessing the death of his parents or other friends and relatives
the other wise men conspired against him out of jealousy and had him thrown in the lion’s den
God protected him and he rose to a position of great honor
Jesus
Jesus
The eternal God became man and lived on earth
born in a humble cattle stall, laid in a manger and wrapped in strips of cloth
persecuted and murdered by religious leaders and Pilate and the Romans
rose to life on the third day, after 40 days ascended to the right hand of the Majesty on high, where he reigns as King of the world
What about Us?
What about Us?
Does this pattern apply to our lives?
Yes. The gospel call is a call to repent and believe - to turn away from sin, to die to ourselves, and follow Jesus no matter what.
The Christian life is a life of suffering — giving up many of the pleasures and possessions we might have enjoyed in order to give our lives to Christ instead.
But the promise of glory makes this suffering worthwhile: Paul says in 2 Corinthians 4:17, “For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison.” And in Romans 8:18 he says, “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.”
This passage clearly shows us that Jesus is the King
Jesus earlier hid himself when people wanted to make him King (John 6:14-15), but now he embraces the title “King of Israel”.
Why? because “the hour has come”, v. 23.
He fulfills the prophecy of Zechariah about the coming Messiah-King - this fulfillment of prophecy demonstrates that he is the King
Also in this passage we see that He is King not only of the Jews, but of all nations. He calls people all around the world to follow him.
If he wanted to be King without suffering, he could have, but he would have no subjects - because the only way we could be saved (and be his subjects) was through his suffering and death for us — this is the point of v. 24: “unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.”
So the means by which he would be crowned King and sit on his throne was his suffering. The moment of his greatest suffering and shame on the cross was also the means of his glorification. As he says in v. 32, he would be lifted up — lifted up in shame and public humiliation, lifted up as the sacrifice for our sins, and also lifted up in glorious exaltation as he triumphed over sin and death and the devil.
The glory of our King Jesus shines all the brighter because of his suffering.
English Standard Version Chapter 2
9 But we see him who for a little while was made lower than the angels, namely Jesus, crowned with glory and honor because of the suffering of death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone.
10 For it was fitting that he, for whom and by whom all things exist, in bringing many sons to glory, should make the founder of their salvation perfect through suffering.
Hebrews 2 tells us this: Jesus was crowned with glory and honor because of the suffering of death. V. 10 even says this was fitting or right that it should happen this way — because this is the pattern God established from the beginning, and it serves as the pattern for our lives as well.
And that is Jesus’s point in John 12:25-26.
John 12:25-26
25 Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. 26 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.
If you want glory and honor, you must suffer first. This has always been the pattern, and it’s the pattern that Jesus followed and calls us to as well.
You must
lose your life - die to yourself; turn away from your selfish ambitions, kill your sin and remove anything that turns your eyes from Jesus, and if necessary, literally give your life for him.
hate your life in this world - turn away from the pleasures and comforts of this life; give up the American dream; stop living for yourself, to increase your wealth, your possessions, your pleasures, and run after Jesus
give your life in service to Jesus — your life belongs to him because he bought you, so you are his servant, and you must do as he commands; but he is a gracious Master
follow Jesus (elsewhere, take up your cross and follow him)
this is the gospel call (not an optional second step) — this is the life of the true believer: you give yourself completely to Jesus
If you do this, you will
keep your life and have eternal life: the kind of faith that leads to eternal life is the kind of faith that leads you to give up everything to follow Christ.
be with Jesus forever; in his presence, serving and enjoying him forever
be honored by the Father; if you’re willing to give up the praise of man, you can have honor with God which is far better and eternal.
Mark 10:28-30
28 Peter began to say to him, “See, we have left everything and followed you.” 29 Jesus said, “Truly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands, for my sake and for the gospel, 30 who will not receive a hundredfold now in this time, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions, and in the age to come eternal life.
Romans 8:16-17
16 The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, 17 and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together.
He calls us to follow him on the Calvary road.
We must suffer in order to gain glory.
Are you following Jesus on the Calvary road?
-if not, come to him today; follow him, give up your life in this world and have eternal life instead
Is there something that God is calling you to give up so that you can follow Jesus more closely?
-sinful habits
-hobbies
-anything that keeps you from following Jesus closely