Is Jesus Your King? (John 12:12-19)

Is Jesus Your King?

we must consider that many who wanted Jesus to be their king on Sunday

shouted “crucify Him” days later

AND only 1 of His 12 disciples was at the cross

now you may not have come here today to declare anyone your king

may not even want a king

or didn’t know that having a king was an option (we live in America)

but now that you are here

will you consider Jesus as your king?

not as your earthly king

but as ruler over your life and eternity

that’s heavy, but totally worth it if eternity is at stake

one caution — you cannot have Jesus be your king on YOUR terms

crowd didn’t fully understand what Jesus being their king fully meant

they wanted Jesus to be king on their terms

we cannot be like the crowd

Jesus is the king as represented in God’s Word

Jesus will be king on His terms

will you take Jesus as your king?

the setting

Jesus has been avoiding Jerusalem

disciples have warned about going there

the religious leaders

who should be the first ones to recognize Him

are the ones who feel most threatened by Him

they even want to murder Lazarus (12:9-11)

because of the gravity of the testimony

triumphal entry

1 of few events recorded in all 4 Gospels

why?

crucial event we cannot miss

great implications for Jesus’ ministry

12:12 pew Bible # 1,068

Sunday of passion week

population at Passover

75,000 normal

180,000 passover

Josephus — 2.7M

Jesus was a rockstar

many were Galileans who knew of His ministry

many others heard OR WITNESSED of His raising Lazarus from the dead

Bethany only miles from Jerusalem

last sign Jesus did in John’s gospel

and possibly the greatest and most significant

plot to kill Lazarus (12:9-11)

12:13

the crowd wanted Jesus to be their liberator king

palm branches

origin

feast of booths/tabernacles

palm branches to celebrate

then likely used to make “booths” to commemorate 40 years in wilderness when had no permanent home

live in booths for 7 days

but had different meaning later

nationalistic meaning

Simon the Maccabee drove Syrian forces out of Jerusalem

honored him with music and waving of palm branches

palm branches are on coins struck by insurgents during Jewish wars against Rome (AD 66-70, 132-135)

this means crowd saw liberator (warrior) arriving on scene

to drive out Romans

palm branches were symbols of victory and kingship

crowd welcomed Jesus as king

Hosanna!

origin

hosanna = O Lord, save

sung each morning by the temple choir during the Feast of Tabernacles

every man and boy waved his lulav ( a few shoots of willow and myrtle tied with palm) when the choir reached the Hosanna! in Psalm 118:25

the connection was so strong that many Jews referred to their lulavs as hosannas

contemporary

may have lost original meaning

shout of praise

closer to “Hail to the king”

Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord,

even the King of Israel!

the crowd was proclaiming Jesus as king

and He let them this time

earlier in his ministry he eluded the crowds who wanted to make him king (6:15)

but now he accepted their praise

many Jews wanted the Messiah (promised one from OT) to liberate them

they thought it was Jesus

supernatural stories (lame walking, blind seeing, dead coming back to life—Lazarus)

but is this how Jesus presents Himself as their liberator king?

12:14-15

but Jesus presented Himself as their peaceful king

a donkey

Jesus didn’t need to ride into town

used to walking

and most people came to Jerusalem on foot

THUS making a statement

donkey as chosen animal seems lame (think war horse vs. donkey)

but not lame when consider prophesy (12:15)

Zechariah 9:9

crowd wanted Jesus to be on a war horse

if would have, insurrectionist frenzy

but Jesus purposefully rode a lowly beast of burden

symbol of gentleness and peace

Jesus was not coming as the militaristic Messiah

but as the prince of peace

Zechariah 9:10-11

The coming of the gentle king is associated with the cessation of war

The coming of the gentle king is associated with the proclamation of peace to the nations

The coming of the gentle king is associated with the blood of God’s covenant that spells release for prisoners

not only will most of the Jewish people reject this type of king

they will want Him crucified

which implies God will be creating a new community who believe this Jesus is the Messiah (both Jew and Gentile)

Jesus is the Messianic King

12:16-19

but many did not understand what that meant

even His own disciples did not understand (12:16)

John 2:19 “Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.””

46 years vs. 3 days

temple of His body

John 2:22 “When therefore he was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this, and they believed the Scripture and the word that Jesus had spoken.”

same with Jesus triumphal entry riding a donkey

disciples didn’t understand significance

only after glorified (death, burial, resurrection, exaltation)

after they saw the whole picture of Jesus

the crowd misunderstands Jesus intentions (12:17-18)

the crowd knew of the resurrection of Lazarus

and possibly so many more of Jesus’ miracles

so their expectation of who Jesus was tied to His power and deliverance in the miracles

thus it is not crazy for them to assume Jesus was going to be like the Maccabeen warriors who would cast Rome out of Israel

the crowd confessed Jesus as king BEFORE Zech 9:9 is introduced and Jesus rides donkey

Jesus is not the kind of king many thought

He does not execute judgment on their political foes

or embolden their nationalist aspirations by riding on a war horse

He is on a donkey

a beast of burden

a symbol of gentleness and peace

AND a prophecy from Zech 9:9

the things the disciples didn’t understand at first

became fundamental after Jesus glorification and were later revealed by HS

while disciples didn’t understand Jesus riding a donkey to the tune of Hosannas and laying of palm branches at the time

they understood later what Jesus was doing

AND this became crucial for understanding Jesus

He did come as king to defeat an enemy…the greatest enemy

not Rome, but SIN

almost all of the Pharisees understood Jesus incorrectly (12:19)

Jesus could have initiated an armed revolt

but that was not what He was doing

Jesus now appearing openly and in public

Pharisees were stuck

could not arrest Him because people revered Jesus

Look, the world has gone after him (12:19)

irony—kosmos

Pharisees mean (overstatement)

everyone in Jerusalem area (pilgrims from all over)

kosmos commonly means

people everywhere without racial distinction but who are lost and in rebellion against God

John 3:17 “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.”

anticipation of broader sweep of humanity that will enjoy Jesus’ saving reign

irony within irony—unbelief is main reaction to Jesus

by end of John 12, there is one overwhelming reaction to Jesus

unbelief

which is what we will consider

do you understand Jesus correctly?

many people have their understanding of Jesus

but it is only what they think

and not the Jesus God presents in the Bible

many people want Jesus to be the king they want

defeat-all-my-enemies king

overcomes all of my problems and defeat my enemies

what if Jesus doesn’t defeat the problems you want?

or defeat the enemies you want?

maybe He is doing something inside of you by not defeating your enemies

He cares far more about you becoming holy like Jesus

than your comfort and happiness

give-me-what-I-want king

like a genie in a bottle

pray — poof

what happens when He doesn’t give you what you want?

is He no longer worthy to be your king?

I don’t think this is how His kingship works

He is king, not you

ticket-to-heaven king

they want His power to be applied to their life (heaven not hell)

but don’t want a relationship with the King

that is not what Jesus wants or who He is

He is not impersonal but personal

Jesus is not the king you necessarily want

Jesus is the king you absolutely need

the kind of king Israel wanted is not the king they needed

easier to see why Israel rejected Jesus

not conquering king

but lamb led to the slaughter

Rome was not defeated like Israel wanted

but sin was

do you see sin as your greatest enemy???

do you understand how significant it is that Jesus (God in the flesh) came to die in your place?

Is Jesus Your King?

if you will consider things from the perspective of eternity

your greatest enemy is different than if you only consider your greatest enemy of the next 70-80 years

and according to God

sin is your biggest problem

do you have the ability to do anything about your sin?

may be able to sin less BUT you cannot erase sin

payment required for your sin is physical and spiritual death (Rom 6:23a)

separation from God for eternity (HELL)

but Jesus can erase your sin (Rom 6:23b)

He did by paying your full debt by dying in your place

and God raised Him from the dead showing His acceptance of His sacrifice

more on that next Sunday

is Jesus your king?

is Jesus still your king?

Brad announcing Matt