The Triumphal Entry

John 12:12-19

Praise and Prayer

If you brought your bibles turn with me over to the gospel of John chapter 12. The gospel of John chapter twelve and in a moment we are going to read verse 12-19 of the gospel of John chapter 12.

Jesus is the King who came to rule the world but is He is your king.

For many people Jesus is not their king because He is not the type of king they are looking for. Most people look to Jesus to solve their problems and make them happy and comfortable in life and when that doesn’t happen they walk away from their faith.

What they are really looking for is a genie in a bottle they can rub and he will grant them three wishes. Well that is not who Jesus is.

Jesus is the king of kings and the Lord of Lords and truly He does change our lives. He gives us a new perspective when we give our life to Him and serve Him as king. Christ fills us with the Holy Spirit and we get to begin again. We start over with a life of freedom, forgiveness, and grace.

But that doesn’t mean all of our problems go away. Because our problems are self inflicted and sin induced.

But when Christ is your King it means your biggest problem and your greatest need have been taken care of. You are forgiven by God and your are free. You no longer fear hell and death because you are saved. You can have peace in this life.

That is the kingdom Jesus came to establish. Now when He returns He will establish an earthly Kingdom and rule with the saints of God. But right now, the Kingdom of God is a spiritual Kingdom in the hearts and minds of God’s people.

That is the Kingdom Jesus is establishing in this story. Jesus comes to Jerusalem as the king to the praise of the people, in fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy.

The point; Jesus is the King, but is He your King, or are you looking for a king of another kind?

John 12:12–19 NASB95

On the next day the large crowd who had come to the feast, when they heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem, took the branches of the palm trees and went out to meet Him, and began to shout, “Hosanna! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord, even the King of Israel.” Jesus, finding a young donkey, sat on it; as it is written, “Fear not, daughter of Zion; behold, your King is coming, seated on a donkey’s colt.” These things His disciples did not understand at the first; but when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that these things were written of Him, and that they had done these things to Him. So the people, who were with Him when He called Lazarus out of the tomb and raised him from the dead, continued to testify about Him. For this reason also the people went and met Him, because they heard that He had performed this sign. So the Pharisees said to one another, “You see that you are not doing any good; look, the world has gone after Him.”

Who are the characters in this story?

What are they doing?

Why?

With the beginning of the twelfth chapter of the gospel of John we begin the final week in the life of Christ.

John devotes nearly half of his book to the passion of Christ and gives us intimate details we don’t see in the other gospels.

This story is the triumphal entry. This is a story we celebrate every Palm Sunday the week before Easter. So, obviously this is taking place on Sunday before the crucifixion.

Jesus has just spent Saturday night at a dinner celebration in Bethany, where Mary anointed Him for His burial. Now, on Sunday morning He leads a parade into Jerusalem.

Up until this point, Jesus has maintained a low profile. Because it was not God’s time for Him. So, many times we see Him healing people and telling them to keep quiet about what He has done.

But now, He is the coming king. He is going public and the people are praising Him recognizing He is fulfilling prophecy.

What they don’t understand is, He is coming in peace. He is coming to die. He is coming as the Passover Lamb who will take away the sin of the world.

The people were looking for a king who was going to save them from the Romans and establish a new Jewish empire in Jerusalem. And Jesus was coming to establish a spiritual Kingdom on earth, He would rule from heaven.

Well the people of the world we live in are no different today. And many look to Jesus to fulfill their desires in the world, What they can get from Him. What He has to offer that will make their life better.

But He wants to fulfill God’s desires in their heart. He wants to save their life for all eternity.

The point; Jesus is the King, but is He your King, or are you looking for a king of another kind?

I. The Praise Vs. 12-13

Jesus comes to Jerusalem to the praise of the people.

Notice the beginning of Vs. 12, “On the next day the large crowd who had come to the feast,”

Again, this is the “next day” after the dinner at Bethany, after the anointing of Jesus by Mary. After Judas became upset because he didn’t get to steal the money of the perfume that could have been sold for the poor!!

Notice the phrase “the large crowd who had come to the feast.”

The feast of the Passover was at hand. Josephus a famous Jewish historian who lived during the time of Jesus records, in his writings, that every year nearly two and a half million people would go to Jerusalem for the Passover. The Jewish people would return from all over the world. He recorded that there were over two hundred and fifty thousand lambs slain for the Passover feast.

So, this was an enormous crowd and notice what they heard!!

Look at the end of Vs. 12, “when they heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem.”

That tells us that the stories of Jesus were spreading far and wide. People from all over the world had heard of the miracles He was performing they knew this pointed to Him as the Messiah.

They have heard that the deaf hear, the lame walk, the sick are being healed. They have heard He is feeding thousands with tiny amounts of fish and loaves, and now, with Lazarus they have heard the dead rise.

And Jesus was coming to Jerusalem, but this would be His final Passover and He knew that. Luke tells us in his version of the story, Jesus wept over Jerusalem.

Notice the beginning of Vs. 13, took the branches of the palm trees and went out to meet Him,

It is important to understand that the waving of palm branches was a symbol of victory and triumph. They would wave them to celebrate when a great conqueror, (Like King David), came riding into the city. They were celebrating victory over their enemies.

So, they are going out to meet Jesus with this in mind. He is their great conqueror. The one who is going to deliver them from the Roman oppression. But Jesus was coming in peace. To deliver from sin and death

Also, at the end of every feast and celebration in Jerusalem the temple choir would sing the Hallel Psalms, 113-118, and they would walk out waving palm branches, remembering how God had delivered them from the bondage of slavery in Egypt.

On the night of the Passover they took the blood of the Lamb and the spread it over their doorposts so the angel of death would pass them by. Now, Jesus is coming to Jerusalem to shed His blood so the angel of death will pass us by.

So, that is what’s taking place here. They are going out to meet Jesus. As they go, they are singing and quoting Psalm 118:25-26.

Notice the end of Vs. 13, and began to shout, “Hosanna! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord, even the King of Israel.”

“Hosanna” means O Lord save us now!! or save us we pray.” “And blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord, even the king of Israel.” Is a direct connection to King David, returning to Jerusalem as the conquering King.

And Jesus is the descendant of David who will rule on the throne of David forever. But that was not what He was coming to Jerusalem to do. 6

The lesson in this for us is mankind wants to be set free from the things that oppress us in this world, why? So, we can do whatever we want and enjoy our life as we please.

We enjoy our sin and the things that lead to death so we don’t think about being delivered from that. Our minds are set on possessions and entertainment. We put very little value on what really brings us freedom; forgiveness and grace.

The people in this story wanted a political king not a spiritual one. They wanted a king that would bring prosperity to their lives not save their souls.

The same thing is true today, people have a false concept of who Jesus is and they look to Him for material blessings. They don’t understand that we have to come to Jesus because we love Him not because of what we can get from Him.

John 6:26 after Jesus fed the five thousand crowds of people flocked to Him and He said, “Jesus answered them and said, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you seek Me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate of the loaves and were filled.”

Picture a man who wins the lottery. Friends and family suddenly flood his life, not for the memories they shared, but for access to his newfound wealth. In the same way, many come to Jesus not for a relationship but for what He can do for them. God wants a relationship built on love and trust, not based on material gain.

So, the first thing we see here is the The Praise. Jesus comes to Jerusalem, and He comes to the praise of the people. It is important we remember these same people who are praising Him on Sunday will be shouting crucify Him on Friday.

II. The Prophecy Vs. 14-16

The coming of the Messiah into Jerusalem was foretold by the prophets of old.

Notice Vs 14-15, Jesus, finding a young donkey, sat on it; as it is written, “Fear not, daughter of Zion; behold, your King is coming, seated on a donkey’s colt.”

This is prophecy from Zechariah 9:9 and was something they were looking for. They were all aware this was something the Messiah would do.

It is important we understand the colt was a symbol of peace.

Jesus is trying to give them a realistic understanding of His purpose for coming to Jerusalem. So, He comes in riding on a colt of a donkey. Notice He is not coming to Jerusalem on a stallion or riding in a chariot but on a colt of a donkey.

In the ancient world a colt of a donkey was used by Kings as a symbol of peace. When they were coming into a city on a colt it was an announcement of their peaceful intentions.

By doing this Jesus is telling the people two things. 1. He is absolutely the promised King the Savior of the people. 2. He is not coming as a conquering King.

His mission was not to lead a revolt, so the people had to immediately change their image of who the Messiah was, or question as many of them did. If Jesus was actually the Messiah.

The colt was also a symbol of service. It was a servant of men and was used to carry your belongings from one place to another.

So, the image Jesus is projecting is clear. He is coming in peace and He is coming to serve.

This colt was also a symbol of sacredness. Mark 11:2 tells us no one had ever sat on this colt before. That means this colt was set aside for the purpose of God. It was going to be used exclusively for Jesus.

This is also a great example of the life of a believer. Our lives are set aside for the purpose of the King.

Notice Vs. 16, “These things His disciples did not understand at the first; but when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that these things were written of Him, and that they had done these things to Him.”

The reaction of the disciples tells us two things;

They didn’t grasp the meaning and significance of what was happening. This isn’t surprising. The disciples were not Old Testament scholars. They were ordinary working men Christ had called to follow Him.

They thought Jesus was going to be an earthly king as well. They misunderstood the role of Jesus just like everyone else.

When the Holy Spirit came He opened the mind of the disciples and taught them the significance of what Jesus had done.

Jesus told them that would be the case!! John 14:26 ““But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you.”

This teaches us that if you are hungry for the Word of God, the Spirit of God will reveal the Word to you through the Holy Spirit!! In fact, we must depend on the Holy Spirit because we cannot understand the Word of God without it!!

No one has any excuse today for not understanding the mission of Christ. He came as the Prince of Peace, the Savior of the world. He didn’t come to serve the ambitions of man but to die on a cross for your sin and mine.

Appl. If you are feeling empty spiritually consider setting aside a specific time everyday to dedicate to the Word or use a devotional that causes you to think about the scripture. Write down what you learn and try applying it to your life!!

So, we have seen the praise of the people. Jesus comes to Jerusalem and the people misunderstood what He was coming to do!!

And we seen the prophecy fulfilled. This was all predicted in the Old Testament. Jesus would ride in on a colt to bring peace. He would come as a servant.

III. The Proclamation Vs. 17-19

In these verses we see the reaction of the people to Jesus.

There are three different reactions to Him.

Notice Vs. 17, So the people, who were with Him when He called Lazarus out of the tomb and raised him from the dead, continued to testify about Him.

These people are sincere believers. They were present for the power of God at the raising of Lazarus, and notice what they are doing; they are testifying. These are witnesses telling people about Jesus and an example of what we as believers should be.

Our lives should be living testimony of the risen Christ. We are different from what we once were because of Jesus!!

2. Notice Vs. 18, For this reason also the people went and met Him, because they heard that He had performed this sign.

Others are going out to meet Him because they have heard of the signs and the miracles. These are sight seers. They want to see something spectacular. They are unbelievers, maybe they are potential believers but right not their motives are insincere.

3. Notice Vs. 19, So the Pharisees said to one another, “You see that you are not doing any good; look, the world has gone after Him.”

This is the opposition. The religious leaders were furious about what was taking place because they plan to arrest Him and crucify Him and now they think their plan is in jeopardy because the crowds are welcoming Him. They actually become furious with each other!!

Notice what they say, “the world has gone after Him.” Even His enemies acknowledge He is conquering the world.

I can’t help but think as I read this story we see millions of people lining the streets crying out for salvation, yet most of them don’t even understand what they really need.

The same thing is true today. People want to fill their lives with more and more of the world in the hope they will find something that satisfies their soul. But they will never find what is missing without Christ.

People will even come to Christ for material possessions. But miss out on the true blessings. Jesus meets greatest needs of forgiveness and grace and He fills our lives with hope and peace.