The Triumphal Entry | John 12:12-19
Notes
Transcript
Annie Armstrong empahsis - $15k
Continuing in our Series, “Testify” this morning we will begin the first of four messages in this series leading up to the death, burial and resurrection of Christ as we prepare to celebrate Easter-resurrection Sunday. Easter is a great time to invite friends and family to attend chrurch with you-make sure you pick up a few invite cards at the Next Steps Center today-take a pictuire on your phone and send out a mass text-
Stand and turn in your BIble to John 12 - need a BIble-pick one up at next stpes - our text today is one of three accounts of Jesus entering Jerusalem found in the Gospels.
Stand and Read John 12:12–19 “The next day, when the large crowd that had come to the festival heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem, they took palm branches and went out to meet Him. They kept shouting: “Hosanna! He who comes in the name of the Lord is the blessed One —the King of Israel!” Jesus found a young donkey and sat on it, just as it is written: Fear no more, Daughter Zion. Look, your King is coming, sitting on a donkey’s colt. His disciples did not understand these things at first. However, when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that these things had been written about Him and that they had done these things to Him. Meanwhile, the crowd, which had been with Him when He called Lazarus out of the tomb and raised him from the dead, continued to testify. This is also why the crowd met Him, because they heard He had done this sign. Then the Pharisees said to one another, “You see? You’ve accomplished nothing. Look—the world has gone after Him!”
Have you ever seen a movie or tv scene where a group of people are fed up the status quo, fed up with an organization or some type of authoritative structure and they group together to try to change things-to stand up against the “authority” because they know something is not right-so a crowd gets stirred up and one individual always seems to be the spokesperson for the group and they head out to confront the opposition-in dramatic fashion - the spokesperson steps forward and tells everyone the concerns of the people-what is right and what is wrong resulting in anger from the authority figures and there is a tense moment - and the next scene shows the spokesperson-pan out- standing all alone and everyone has left him or her standing alone.
Why did they all leave? It’s obvious they held a common belief in something worth standing for, but when the time came to make a decision-to count the cost-to stand and proclaim truth... the crowd decided personal well-being, security, status-all these things-were more important to them than the truth.
In John 11:24-25, Jesus told Martha, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me, even if he dies, will live. Everyone who lives and believes in me will never die.” The he asked a question to Martha all people are forced to answer at some point in their lives, “Do you believe this?”
Remember the purpose of John writing this Gospel under the inspiration of the holy Spirit…”so that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name.” (John 20:31)
Do you believe in Jesus for life today? And if you believe, are you willing to live in His truth regardless of the cost to you personally?
It is this truth we testify to...Jesus is the resurrection and the life-
I. I Am the Resurrection and the Life (John 11)
This is the first of three “I am” statements made by Jesus we will consider today.
We start here with the resurrection and the life in order to understand the context of Jesus’ question to Martha, and how this impacts Jesus’s entry into Jerusalem we read about in chapter 12. We need to back up to Chapter 11 which a little over a week before Passover (remembrance of God freeing Israelites from slavery in Egypt-forshawdsowing of Christ).
In Chapter 11 we find a man named Lazarus (mentioned in 12:17 as we just read), the brother of Mary and Martha, very sick and dying. We know Lazarus was also someone very close to Jesus as a request was made by the sisters to Jesus stating the one you love is sick.
When Jesus heard this, he said, John 11:4 “This sickness will not end in death but is for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it.”
Jesus did not immediately get up and go to Lazarus-the text tells us he waited two days then went to Lazarus.
His disciples tried to persuade him not to go back to Judea because the Jews (religious leaders) tried to stone him the last time he was there-Jesus responded Lazarus had fallen asleep and the disciples said he will wake up and feel better-but Jesus meant Lazarus had died and He was glad for His disciples that He was not there before Lazarus’s death so that the disciples may believe. Jesus knew this situation was for a purpose-so that people may believe.
The death of Lazarus is not the focal point here-the glory of Jesus and the glory of God is the point.
Death is the consequence of sin-all of us will die at some point-we were not made for death, but death came because of sin-physical and spiritual.
Lazarus had been dead for four days-when Jesus got to him, there were many from the community, including religious leaders who were visiting Mary and Martha to comfort them.
Both Martha and Mary told Jesus if He had come sooner, Lazarus would have been alive-Jesus told Martha, “Your brother will rise again”-Martha agreed he would be resurrected on the last day, but Jesus was speaking of the immediate and the future. Here He told Martha, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me, even if he dies, will live. Everyone who lives and believes in me will never die.” “Do you believe this?”
She testifies, “Yes Lord. I believe you are the Messiah, the Son of God, who comes into the world.”
Some may find Jesus lacking compassion and empathy in this situation-he opened the blind man’s eyes-yes, He could have healed Lazarus if He got to their home sooner-He could have healed Him before He got to Judea, but He chose not to do either, but this does not mean He had no compassion.
In 11:33, Jesus sees Mary crying-He sees other religious figures who were with Mary crying and the text tells us He was deeply moved in His spirit and troubled. We find Jesus weeping as well.
It is not a question of His compassion but more what is the focus of his compassion?
He was troubled by their sadness (translated irate)-mad at death-He knew the pain that comes with death because of sin! He was broken for the people.
He saw people broken over the consequence of sin-the pain, the sorrow, the hurt, the uncertainty, the anger, all these emotions, thoughts, which comes with death-any of us who ahve experienced the death of a friend or fmaily member can identify with these emotions-Jesus has great compassion for us because He knows apart from Him, death is eternal.
But because of Him, we can have life that is eternal and while death in this life is sorrowful, joy comes in the morning for those who believe and are in Christ-that we have a hope that death is not the victor-that Jesus has defeated the grave! He the resurrection and the life!
Jesus was angry with death becuase He knew the cost and what would be necessary to give life.
By this time a crowd had gathered at the tomb and Jesus told the people to remove the stone to the tomb of Lazarus and raised His eyes stating, “Father, I thank you that you heard me. I know that you always hear me, but because of the crowd standing here I said this so that they may believe you sent me.” (11:41-42)
Why is this important? The people should not see what Jesus was going to do as just one more sign to be entertained, but they needed to believe-to understand the relationship between the Son and the Father-that Jesus is God and as God He has authority over all things-even death.
Jesus shouted, “Lazarus, come out!” – Here we see the seventh and final sign recorded in the Gospel of John, the dead man came out, bound in linen strips and his face wrapped in a cloth.
Can you imagine this scene? I imagine the silence would have been deafening-then the cheers, the tears, and the gasps would have been deafening. And Jesus said, “unwrap him and let him go.” He has all authority over death and all who believe have life and will never die!
II. The Reaction to the Truth (John 11 and 12)
We are told many of the religious leaders (the Jews) believed…but some ran to the Pharisees to report what Jesus had done.
Here we see all believing what just took place, but some believed it was just another sign while many believed Jesus is the Messiah. There was not debate that Jesus did this thing, but some were still blind to why He did this thing.
The chief priests and the pharisees got with the Sanhedrin wondering what they were going to do with Jesus-if they let him go, everyone will believe in him and the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation (11:48)
What a response....if everyone believes in him it will be bad for us...
They were more concerned with maintaining power, influence, security, and personal well-being than acknowledging the truth.
John 12:42–43 “Nevertheless, many did believe in him even among the rulers, but because of the Pharisees they did not confess him, so that they would not be banned from the synagogue. For they loved human praise more than praise from God.”
They were more concerned with their “nation” than the Kingdom of God.
Think about our context - the American church has been relatively unhindered in gathering and ministering-but at what cost?
Are we in danger of on one hand acknowledging the truth of Jesus, but on the other hand not living out the truth of the Gospel for fear of what it may cost us personally? Reference John 12:42-43. (Banned from community)
I look at the early church and the passion for which the church and individuals proclaimed the Gospel-celebrating being counted worthy to suffer for Christ-They unashamedly spoke about Jesus - they did not speak through talking points to maintain a political platform-they spoke the truth of who Jesus is and the hope that is found only in him to a world that was broken and dying apart from Jesus’ mercy and grace...
The warning to us today church is We must be cautious to not minimize the truth of Jesus and His Gospel in order to maximize our comfort.
The religious leaders during this time made their religion an idol and so when the truth of Jesus threatened to change everything, they needed to silence Him.
The high priest, Caiaphas said something interesting-he prophesied that Jesus would die for the nation and unite the scattered children of God. (11:51)
He advocated killing one man (Jesus) to keep the nation from perishing.
I’m not sure Caiaphas understood what he prophesied or what he desired to do out of fear-but I do know it was all part of God’s sovereign plan for salvation which had been put in motion
Jesus went to the wilderness near Ephraim to avoid walking in the open due to the threat of death.
There was a buzz in Jerusalem and surrounding towns-people were looking for Jesus-wondering if he would show up for the festival and at the temple.
An order was given by the chief priests and the pharisees that people should let them know if they see Jesus so he could be arrested.
At the beginning of chapter 12 Jesus made his way back to Bethany where Mary, Martha, and Lazarus lived-people heard about this and some of the religious leaders made there way to Bethany as well, which angered the chief priests
III. The Entry (12:12-19)
12:12 says the next day...On a Sunday, a large crowd went to meet Jesus as He entered Jerusalem. They took palm branches and shouted Hosanna-blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord-The King of Israel.
Today, we refer to this day of entry into the city of Jerusalem as Palm Sunday.
The word hosanna means, “Save, please” or “save, now”.
The people wanted Jesus to save them-but there were mixed understandings as to what they would be saved from.
There would have been some that believed in Jesus for life-save them from sins.
Others would have believed in Jesus to be saved from physical limitations through signs and miracles.
Some believed in Jesus as an earthly King and He would save them politically.
Some believed in Jesus as a liberator who would save them from Roman oppression just as Moses led the people out of Egypt.
Every person in that crowd that cried out Hosanna had a different understanding of who Jesus was and why He came.
Our understanding of who Jesus is will be determined by the need we have identified in our lives.
We are all in need of having our sins forgiven to escape the wages of sin being death and eternal separation from God-if one recognizes this need as their greatest need then they understand the truth of who Jesus is and why He came-to save them from their sins and give them eternal life. But not all of us recognize this need.
There are times we create a Jesus we need for the moment.
I want Jesus to keep me from hell, but I want to continue living my life the way I want
I want Jesus to be all loving-not judgmental- and accepting/affirming of my choices in life
I think Jesus should heal some sickness or physical challenge because that is what He did in the Bible
I want Jesus to be a good moral example to my kids so they are good people.
I want Jesus to be happy with me if I go to church and show him I want to be a better person
Jesus is my homeboy and my co-pilot.
I am sure you can add some more to this list or find yourself in one of these descriptions. I know I can - Save me from hell but live the way I want because He forgave me of my sins. I walked with one foot in the world and one foot in what I referred or better yet what I defined as Christianity.
The problem with all of this is if we find Jesus failing to live up to the definition we have created of who He is, we will become dissatisfied with Him at some point because what we made up in our minds is not reality and no one can fulfil that which is a figment of our imagination-no one can live up to theat standard.
We will see by the end of the week, this same crowd was dissatisfied with the real Jesus-He was not what they thought He should be- and they shouted crucify Him! They were blind to who He is and why He came.
What is heartbreaking is Jesus knew this about them-He knew there would be some who would reject Him and be lost in their sins for all eternity.
Luke 19:41–44 (CSB)
As he approached and saw the city, he wept for it, (refernce the death of Lazarus-weeping over the relaity of death) saying, “If you knew this day what would bring peace—but now it is hidden from your eyes. For the days will come on you when your enemies will build a barricade around you, surround you, and hem you in on every side. They will crush you and your children among you to the ground, and they will not leave one stone on another in your midst, because you did not recognize the time when God visited you.”
He foretold about the destruction of the temple by their enemies-every stone over turned because they rejected the chief cornerstone.
When anyone is confronted with the Truth of Jesus-just as this crowd was-we must make a determination. Do we believe and if we believe...are we willing to count the cost of our belief?
Jesus did not ride into Jerusalem on a great white stallion-he came on the colt of a donkey.
Fulfilled prophecy of the Messiah from Zechariah 9:9 “Rejoice greatly, Daughter Zion! Shout in triumph, Daughter Jerusalem! Look, your King is coming to you; He is righteous and victorious, humble and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.”
During this time, a military leader or king would ride a white horse declaring war. The king would ride a donkey declaring peace.
Jesus did this backwards. Jesus came as the King riding a donkey-proclaiming humility and peace. When He returns the second time, He will be riding a great white horse waging the final war against all unrighteousness.
Revelation 19:11 “Then I saw heaven opened, and there was a white horse. Its rider is called Faithful and True, and He judges and makes war in righteousness.”
Why did Jesus enter Jerusalem?
He entered Jerusalem to bear the wrath of God for us.
He entered Jerusalem to be the substitutionary sacrifice-the lamb that would be slain
He entered Jerusalem to atone for our sins.
He entered Jerusalem to be a ransom for many.
He entered Jerusalem to give all who will believe eternal life.
He entered Jerusalem to die.
Mark 10:32–34 “They were on the road, going up to Jerusalem, and Jesus was walking ahead of them. They were astonished, but those who followed Him were afraid. Taking the Twelve aside again, He began to tell them the things that would happen to Him. “Listen! We are going up to Jerusalem. The Son of Man will be handed over to the chief priests and the scribes, and they will condemn Him to death. Then they will hand Him over to the Gentiles, and they will mock Him, spit on Him, flog Him, and kill Him, and He will rise after three days.””
Jesus would die paying the penalty of sin and He would rise three days later defeating the grave and giving eternal life.
IV. I Am The Way, the Truth, The Life (John 14:6-11)
There is so much that happens between chapters 12-17 that we are not covering this moring, but I want to encourage you to make a commitment in the coming weeks to reads these 6 chapters.
In chapter 14 we see the second I am statment this morning-I am the way, the truth and the life.
the disciples were trying to grasp what Jesus was telling them-He told them He was going to go and prepare a place for them and then return and get them to be with Him and Jesus said-you know the way.
Thomas said what the others were thinking-Lord-we have no idea where you are going
Jesus said, John 14:6–7 “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. “If you know Me, you will also know My Father. From now on you do know Him and have seen Him.””
Confused-Phillip said, “Lord, show us the Father and that is enough for us.”
Jesus said dont you know me? If you have seen me you have seen the father.”
Lets stop for a minute and think about this I am statement
When Jesus made this statment, it is understood as-
I am the way because I am the truth and because I am the life.
Jesus is the Way
Jesus is the way to salvation-Jesus is the only way to be reconiled to God
Acts 4:12 “There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to people, and we must be saved by it.”
Early Christianity known as the Way
Jesus is the Truth of God
John 1:14 “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us. We observed his glory, the glory as the one and only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.”
Jesus is the Life of God
1 John 5:20 “And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding so that we may know the true one. We are in the true one—that is, in his Son, Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life.
If any part of this is not true, then there would have been no need for Jesus to do what He was preparing to do and what He has done for us. Take away any of this statment by Jesus and you are left with a fasle Gospel.
In a recent survey it is determined 179 million people age 18 and older in the US identfy as a Christian. When asked the quetion do they believe salvation is only availble through Jesus Christ, 107 million self professing Christians said no-meaning they are not followers of Jesus. Being asked the same question, 40% of all those who attend church on a regular basis do not believe or do not understand Jesus is the only way to salvation.
In love. let me make it very clear this moring-HE IS THE ONLY WAY TO SALVATION! If you do not believe this, you are not His!-Church attendance is not the standard
Jesus came to offer a way to God for all who have rebelled against Him in their sin.
V. I Am the True Vine (15:1)
The third I am statement we will consider this morning is I am the vine found in Chapter 15.
A vine provides nutrients (life) to the branch and a healthy branch will produce fruit.
Jesus is the giver of life (vine)-the healthy branches producing fruit are His followers.
The branches that do not produce fruit will be cut off (pruned). They cannot produce fruit becuase they do not have life. Pruning causes growth-multiplies fruit.
vs 5-we cannot know life without Jesus and we cannot produce fruit without Jesus-we must abide in Him
The I Am statements declares on no uncertain terms that Jesus is God!
Exodus 3:14 “God replied to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: I AM has sent me to you.”
John 8:58 “Jesus said to them, “Truly I tell you, before Abraham was, I am.”
There is no uncertainty as to who Jesus is and why Jesus came.
Application
John 12:23 “Jesus replied to them, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.”
The week Jesus entered Jerusalem would change the course of history. Just before Jesus would be betrayed and leading to His crucifixion, in Chapter 17 He prayed for Himself, for His disciples, and for all believers (you and me).
John 17:24–26 “Father, I desire those You have given Me to be with Me where I am. Then they will see My glory, which You have given Me because You loved Me before the world’s foundation. Righteous Father! The world has not known You. However, I have known You, and these have known that You sent Me. I made Your name known to them and will make it known, so the love You have loved Me with may be in them and I may be in them.”
Jesus came to give life to those God has given Him.
If you are a follower of Jesus today, He came for you!
If the Holy Spirit is stirring in you right now, He came for you!
Back to Life Lyrics:
No longer I who live, but Christ in me
For I've been born again, my heart is free
The hope of heaven before me, the grave behind
Hallelujah, You brought me back to life