3-24-24 Sermon Palm Sunday "Hosanna" - 15 Minutes

John 12:12-16

This morning I'll be reading John chapter 12 verses 12 through 16. And I'll be reading from the Holman Christian Standard Bible. John 12:12-16 As always at this time of year,,, the scriptures that we will look at should be familiar to us all. But as we read them,,, be sure that your minds pay attention to the voice of God,,, speaking to you,,, today! And that goes not only for these scriptures this morning,,, but all scriptures that you read later,,, that you might be tempted to take for granted. John 12:12–16 (HCSB) — 12 The next day, when the large crowd that had come to the festival heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem, 13 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!” 14 Jesus found a young donkey and sat on it, just as it is written: 15 Fear no more, Daughter Zion. Look, your King is coming, sitting on a donkey’s colt. 16 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. The word of God for the people of God,,, thanks be to God! God bless the reading and the hearing of your word this morning. Let us pray: Dear Lord,,, as we begin this morning,,, with everyone here today and all that are listening and watching by video,,, we ask that you open our ears to hear and our hearts and minds to receive the message that you have for us today,,, In Jesus' name I pray,,, Amen. ___________________________________ Last Sunday we looked at Jeremiah 31:31-34,,, and we learned that Jesus has finished His work,,, the "New Covenant" is in effect.

And,,, even though we don't always act the way that we should,,, it is there for us today!

We have many opportunities to live the life that God has called us to live,,, simply because of the help of the Holy Spirit that is available to us today.

As a result of Jesus' death and resurrection,,, we no longer must wait for the priest to offer sacrifices to take care of our sins,,, they are already taken care of,,, the debt has been paid,,, it just needs to be accepted!

We have a personal relationship with God that the Israelite people,,, as a whole,,, never had available to them,,, at least until Jesus came and made it available to them,,, and us,,, the Gentiles!

Through the Holy Spirit living inside us,,, guiding us,,, correcting us,,, offering up prayers for us,,, all of the things that He does for us,,, we have the chance to a better life,,, and we have it in abundance!

Jesus fulfilled what man had never been able to do,,, and offered Himself as a sacrifice for our sins,,, once,,, for all,,, never again needing anyone to offer sacrifices for us,,, because our debt has been paid.

I told you that we may be punished by God,,, as we seen the Israelites dealing with this,,, but this shows that even while we are going through this trial brought on by our own mistakes,,, God is there with us,,, continuing to work things out for us!

And even if it is not punishment,,, just problems that we have because we live in a sin infested world,,, sickness,,, emotional pain,,, financial problems,,, physical pain,,, etc.,,, God is still right here with us,,, guiding us if we let Him,,, each and every day!

I told you that God wants the best for us,,, and Jesus Christ gave us that chance,,, all through,,, the "New Covenant",,, and we need to remember that,,, and tell others,,, as we continue,,, our Lenten journey!

This morning we will look at these verses in John 12:12-16,,, and see how they will help us in our walk with God this week.

___________________________________ Verses 12-13 said: 12 The next day, when the large crowd that had come to the festival heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem, 13 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!”

We now come to the triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem.

It was the Sunday before His crucifixion.

It is difficult to know exactly what this multitude thought about Jesus.

Did they really understand that He was the Son of God and the Messiah of Israel?

Or did they merely look upon Him as a King who would deliver them from Roman oppression?

Were they carried away with the emotion of the hour?

Doubtless some in the group were true believers,,, but the general impression is that most of the people might not have truly associated with Jesus,,, didn't really know Him personally.

Palm branches are a token of rest and peace after sorrow.

We can see a connection to this from Revelation 7:9 that says: “After this I looked, and there was a vast multitude from every nation, tribe, people, and language, which no one could number, standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They were robed in white with palm branches in their hands.”

The multitude there had been through tough times,,, but now,,, they are before the Lamb of God,,, with palm branches in their hands!

The word "Hosanna",,, is a “Hebrew expression,,, meaning “help us” or “save us,”

Putting these thoughts together,,, it would seem as if the people were acknowledging Jesus to be the One sent from God to save them from Roman cruelty and to give them rest and peace after the sorrow of their long years of Gentile oppression.

The Gospel of John emphasizes the royalty of Jesus.

It's the only Gospel that records that the people also shouted,,, “blessed One —the King of Israel!”,,, in other words,,, specifically saying,,, that Jesus is,,, King of Israel!

___________________________________ Verses 14-15 said: 14 Jesus found a young donkey and sat on it, just as it is written: 15 Fear no more, Daughter Zion. Look, your King is coming, sitting on a donkey’s colt.

Jesus’ riding into the city on a young donkey was a sign of peace (cf. comments on Matt. 21:2, which speaks of Jesus riding on a donkey and a colt).

He did not ride a war horse,,, or carry a sword,,, or wear a crown.

And,,, didn't He ride in a wheeled vehicle,,, or chariot,,, as did many kings.

His manner of entry fulfilled Zechariah’s prophecy in Zechariah 9:9.

Daughter of Zion,,, is a poetic way,,, of referring to the people of Jerusalem,,, the city built on Mount Zion.

As I said earlier,,, in quoting Zechariah 9:9,,, John called Jesus,,, Israel’s King.

___________________________________ Verse 16 said: 16 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.

The disciples did not realize that what was happening was in exact fulfillment of Zechariah’s prophecy,,, that Jesus was actually entering Jerusalem,,, as the rightful,,, King of Israel.

But after Jesus had gone back to heaven to be glorified at the right hand of the Father,,, it dawned on the disciples,,, that these events were in fulfillment of the Scriptures.

They were able to look back and remember this event as being fulfilled,,, just as Zechariah's prophecy said that it would!

___________________________________ As we come to the end of another Palm Sunday,,, just like we have in others,,, we will look forward to the celebration of Easter,,, just as we've done during the Lenten season.

But we don't need to forget the implications of the palm waving people,,, as they shouted praises to Jesus!

They were looking toward Jesus with their own ideas,,, or expectations,,, of what He was going to do,,, and that didn't fit God's overall plan.

The warning for us,,, is to be sure that we don't focus on our own ideas,,, or expectations of Jesus either!

God has a plan in place,,, and nothing will change the end result of that plan.

There might be things that we pray for that do not fit into that plan,,, and because of that we will think that God is ignoring our prayer,,, when He's actually working things out His way,,, and it may not be what we expect Him to do!

We must not get discouraged and lose sight of that,,, because we can see how quickly the cries changed from "Hosanna's",,, to "crucify Him",,, later in the week,,, when you continue reading past these verses!

Not that we would be saying "crucify Him",,, but we could still become dis-satisfied,,, or lose faith,,, when we think that we are being ignored,,, and God doesn't want that to happen!

We must always remember Isaiah 55:9 that says: Isaiah 55:9 “For as heaven is higher than earth, so My ways are higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts.”

___________________________________ This week,,, let's be sure that we remember that God’s people were celebrating God’s way and in the moment "that" prophecy was being fulfilled as Jesus rode in on a colt, God’s people honored Jesus as their King, Hero, and Salvation,,, even if the people didn't fully understand what was truly taking place.

Remember that I mentioned Revelation 7:9 earlier,,, and it said,,, “After this I looked, and there was a vast multitude from every nation, tribe, people, and language, which no one could number, standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They were robed in white with palm branches in their hands.”

Their trials are over,,, and they are living in the presence of God,,, all made possible by the precious blood of Jesus Christ,,, and that blessing applies to us today as well!

This week we should take some time to worship,,, shout our own,,, "Hosanna",,, to The Lamb who saved us,,, the Prince of Peace who lives in us,,, and through us,,, The King of Kings and Lord of Lords,,, we worship today,,, and every day.

Celebrate,,, honor,,, and proclaim VICTORY,,, in His great name!

The Mighty name,,, of Jesus!

Because the people shouting that day were correct in their choice of words,,, just not the time,,, of application!

So give God the glory,,, as we begin,,, this Holy week,,, of Easter!

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