The Cry of Salvation

John 12:12-19.

Following Mary’s anointing of Jesus with oil, John adds in John 12:9-11

John 12:9–11 ESV

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. So the chief priests made plans to put Lazarus to death as well, because on account of him many of the Jews were going away and believing in Jesus.

Jesus had been drawing a crowd everywhere He went for some time now.

After raising Lazarus from the dead, though, those crowds only grew larger and leaves the Sanhedrin livid.

Their plotting to kill Lazarus as well as Jesus has a taste of Sardonic humor to it.

The rejection of Jesus’ authority by the Sanhedrin has them rejecting the Raising of Lazarus as well.

What a quandary they find themselves in…

The answer for them was to silence Lazarus and put him back where he belongs- In the grave.

At the same time the threat must ring hollow to Lazarus and Jesus as well.

Lazarus has seen the grave, and has beaten it.

Jesus will, shortly, be showing them exactly the Authority He holds over Death and the Grave.

With these events setting the stage, we now move to Jesus’s pivotal journey to Jerusalem."

1- Cries of Salvation

John 12:12–15 ESV

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!”

While Matthew, Mark and Luke have more detailed accounts of The Triumphant Entry- As we know it today,

John focuses on the crowd.

Passover is at hand, and Jews from all around the Mediterranean Sea have come the Festival.

For practicing Jews, it was a religious obligation to make the annual pilgrimage.

Our understanding today is that Jerusalem had a population of about 50 thousand at the time.

The number swelled to 100,000- 120,000 during Passover Week.

The normal social dynamics were intense- But this was going to be a Passover like no other- Before or since.

Jerusalem, itself did not have the infrastructure to accommodate such an influx of people- Families plus the livestock they brought with them to be offered in the annual sacrifice at the Temple.

Thousands ended up staying in the surrounding hillsides outside the city.

Jesus leaves Bethany, travels through Bethphage (where He borrows a young donkey) and rides into the City.

As Jesus crests the top of the Mount of Olives and heads into the Kidron Valley, this mass of people join the throng that has followed Him from Bethany

We are reminded of the prophecy in Zech 9:9

Zechariah 9:9 ESV

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.

Date trees grew in abundance in Israel and the palm branches had become a symbol of Jewish Nationalism.

In extra-Biblical texts we find that palms were used in the celebration of the rededication of the Temple following the Maccabean Revolt against the Greek Empire.

In both major wars against the Roman Empire, images of palm branches were stamped in the coins used by the rebels

Their expectations were for a military leader to finally rid them of their Roman oppressors-

Jesus tried to quench this misguided imagery by riding into the city on a donkey.

He was not a Messiah, come with Swords, Chariots and Legions of foot soldiers-

His gift to them was one of Eternal life, not of vanquishing a foe.

And once again, the crowd of admirer’s miss the point.

The cries of “Hosanna...” was an Aramaic phrase meaning “Save us now”

What follows after that. “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord...”

Comes from Psalms 118, Announcing the pilgrims arriving in Jerusalem-

However,

What follows next, “even the King of Israel!” Is not in the Psalm.

And we begin to get a sense of the crowds true intent-

The crowd is not welcoming their long-awaited Messiah- But rather announcing their national Liberator

While their cries for freedom were really a cry for war- Jesus would, once again disappoint the crowd- as He came to bring peace and humility.

Why do you think the crowd’s reaction to Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem was so intense, and how does this compare to our own responses to Christ in our lives?

Although their desire to be free was a noble one- It was restricted to what they saw in the immediate present of their current circumstances.

The crowd called for a release from a temporal situation- What Jesus was offering was so much more- And Spiritually, was far more long-lasting.

So this use of the palm branches here is not some random act- It is celebration of Israels citizens hopes and cries for complete freedom.

As Jesus enters Jerusalem, these expectations come to a head, revealing deeper truths about His mission."

2- DELAYED REVELATION

John 12:16 ESV

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.

Not only do the crowds miss the point, in all of their frenzied zeal, but the Disciples do as well.

The Disciple do understand, in part, Messianic nature of Jesus’ actions, they miss the second layer of Jesus’ true mission on Earth.

John had mentioned in chapter 2, after Jesus had cleared the temple of the moneychangers, The Disciples did not understand then, but after the Resurrection it became clear to them.

This should give each of us hope as, I am sure, we have all struggled with our faith, at times.

In spite of not having a clear picture of our present situation, much less the future- We can rest assured Trusting in Jesus will lead to a solid continuity of faith that will drive us to a deeper relationship of God and a more complete understanding of God’s will for our lives.

Much like the Disciples- Not losing hope, despite what we see before us, we can, as they did, reflect in hindsight of God’s Glory working in our lives.

3- TRANSFORMING TESTIMONY

John 12:17–19 ESV

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.”

This section has a direct parallel in Luke’s gospel

It is striking that in spite of the three years of ministry among the people- All of Jesus’ interactions, miracles and teachings, in that time...

The thing that drew the crowd to Him now was the raising up of Lazarus from death to life.

We have already recounted the other times Jesus impacted the curse of death head on- Lazarus was not the first- So why did it have such an impact on the crowd now?

Was it because it was so close to Passover and the people were stirred up with emotion, already?

If that were the case, it is a sure warning to us to NOT let our emotions get the better of us, under any circumstances.

The crowd declaring Jesus as their conquering King is such a transforming testimony, it is easy to see how the less knowledgeable in the crowd could get caught up in the frenzy of the moment.

The response was varied and highly charged.

At some point Luke records in Chapter 19.39, that some of the Pharisees in the crowd ordered Jesus to “Rebuke your disciples”

At this point the worst of the Pharisees fears are being realized.

The raucous, verbal and frenzied crowd would be exactly what the Roman leaders could use to quell, what they would see as a riotous out of control gathering.

As Jesus then arrives in Jerusalem and begins to prepare for the Passover Festival, Luke writes

Luke 19:47–48 ESV

And he was teaching daily in the temple. The chief priests and the scribes and the principal men of the people were seeking to destroy him, but they did not find anything they could do, for all the people were hanging on his words.

John is still using phrases with double meanings:

The Pharisees claim, “The world has gone after Him.”

The greater context is that this is exactly why Jesus stepped into Humanity-

God didnt send Jesus to condemn the world, but to save the world from itself- Through the Son of God.

As John uses the term, “The world...” in his Gospel to represent all the people refuse to believe or acknowledge God or His Son.

And now by the Pharisees own witness- The world is running to Jesus.

We must, in our present day, as resistance to Christianity grows stronger, the fear of the world would seem to overshadow our Faith in Christ.

But we must hold on. Just as the Disciples could not see it in the moment- The Story is not even half written yet...

And it is only to get better.