John 12:12-19

John 12:12–19 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!” 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. 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.”

ME/WE

Welcome to BT and our looking for light series where we examine the life of Jesus in the gospel of John. JEsus is the light of the world, the one who can bring light into our darkness.

We are in John chapter 12 - and through out this chapter we will be talking about honor. To give someone honor is to praise them, to lift be in awe of them - To look up to them. In our last episide I spoke about sports stars - i put their posters up in my room. We talked about celebrities - when you see bruce springsteen at the mall you get all excitied and honor him. In John 12 a woman named mary is so excited to be around jesus that she honors him by washing his feet.

So who do you honor? Why? What if your money and time showed who you honored? Do you honor Jesus? Really - should you honor Jesus. If these stories about Jesus are true then isn’t he to be honored?

In this next scene, taking place on the week of the passover festival and durin the week jesus will be killed we see more people coming to honor jesus (and more conflict) lets read the story and then I’ll share some of my thoughts.

GOD

Psalm 118:22–27:

The stone that the builders rejected

has become the chief cornerstone.

This is the Lord’s doing;

it is marvelous in our eyes.

This is the day that the Lord has made;

let us rejoice and be glad in it.

Save us, we beseech you, O Lord! [literally, in Hebrew, hoshia na, Yahweh].

O Lord, we beseech you, give us success!

Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord.

We bless you from the house of the Lord.

The Lord is God,

and he has given us light.

Bind the festal procession with branches,

up to the horns of the altar.

Zechariah 9:9–10:

Rejoice greatly, O daughter Zion!

Shout aloud, O daughter Jerusalem!

Look, your king comes to you:

triumphant and victorious is he,

humble and riding on a donkey,

on a colt, the foal of a donkey.

He will cut off the chariot from Ephraim

and the war horse from Jerusalem;

and the battle bow shall be cut off,

and he shall command peace to the nations;

his dominion shall be from sea to sea,

and from the River to the ends of the earth.

YOU/WE?

Honor Jesus for being the king of peace

He is the opposite of many of the people we honor today. (Love Iis)

Honor Jesus by being like him

Blessed are the peace makers for they shall be called sons of God

-zechariah prophecy is all about making peace (look up)t

Ceasar Agustus made Julius ceasar so he can be called a son of God on earth. He was a king on a war horse.

The peace maker Jesus is the true son of God.

His peacemakers are sons of god - Honor him by living life on a donkey and not a war horse

you wanna honor jesus? go the way of the donkey and not the war horse. You can get something that Caesar augustus could never get. Augustus had to pretend his father was a god to make himself a son of God and then he had to prove it on the war horse

You can be true Son of God by being a peacemaker and by clinging to jesus the ultimate peacmaker

Honor Jesus by peace making

how does he make peace - he sacrifices and surrenders to overturn evil and sin - thus making peace (ephesians 2:11-19)

Thank Jeuss for his peace making. Honor him as the peace maker.

Then get off your horse and get on your donkey and the way of peace. How can you honor Jesus by being a peacemaker? How can you live as a son of God peacemaker.

“The next day a huge crowd came to the festival, having heard that Jesus is coming to Jerusalem. So they got branches of palm trees and went out to meet him and were roaring:

‘Hosanna [literally, O please save us now]!

Blessings on the One Who Is Coming in the Name of the Lord!

Yes, the King of Israel!’

“But Jesus found a young donkey and sat on it, just as it is written in Scripture:

‘Do not be afraid, daughter of Zion;

Look! Your King is coming,

Sitting on a donkey’s colt!’

“Jesus’ own disciples did not understand the meaning of all this at first, but when Jesus had been glorified, they remembered that these things had been written about him in Scripture and then had happened to him in fact.

“Then, too, the crowd, who had been with Jesus when he called Lazarus out of the tomb and had raised him from the dead, were giving testimonies to what had happened [there]. That’s why this huge crowd came out to meet Jesus: they heard that Jesus did this special [Lazarus] sign. So the Serious said to one another: ‘See, you’re getting nowhere at all! Look! The whole world is going after him!’ 

-zechariah’s prophecy describes one who is ending war and establishing universal peace (LOOK UP!)

-Horse when it is war donkey when you come in peace

-a protest against the war horse riding leaders

-tried to make him king in 6:15, probably again after lazarus - so he must come with a donkey -I’m not going to physical war.

hosanna from Psalm 118

The cry is - O Please Save us Now! - Maybe center on this cry

-Honor from the crowds - DO WE HONOR JESUS BY CRYING OUT TO HIM FOR SALVATION.

-Who will save your soul?

And if “Name” in biblical idiom means “Person” (remember, e.g., the First Petition in the Lord’s Prayer), then the crowd’s second acclamation is also deeper than the crowd probably realizes: “Blessings on the One Who Is Coming in the Name of”—that is to say, “Coming in (and with) the Person of—the Lord!”

John admits that even Jesus’ own disciples themselves did not at first grasp the meaning or import of this entry into Jerusalem; “but when Jesus had been glorified,” glorified, that is to say, by this coming weekend’s Crucifixion, Resurrection, and his gift of the Spirit—and then by the dint of subsequent Bible study (v. 16)—they did come finally to understand what is happening now.

-Disciples didn’t get it until the resurrection happened.

In John’s Gospel it is only after the crowd’s enthusiastic nationalism that Jesus gets the donkey as an apparent corrective. Burge, 341 (emphasis added), gives us a picture of the patriotic meaning of palms at that time: “When the temple was rededicated during the Maccabean era, palms were used in the celebration (1 Macc. 13:51; 2 Macc. 10:7).… During both major wars with Rome, reliefs of palms were stamped on the coins minted by the rebels. Thus this act of celebration [with palms] is by no means neutral. [The palm] symbolizes Israel’s national hopes, now focused on Jesus, being hailed as he enters the city.

-Jesus needs the donkey to show them this isn’t the nation of israel overthrowing rome - this would like all the people waving american flags - or guns and jesus gets out of a tank and rides an ambulance. or a volkswagon van -

-Jesus is seen by the crowds as a national liberator (honor him for the wrong

Misguided Honor - he is being honored as a warrior king

-He rides the donkey to show that he is to be honored for being the peacemaker

9 Rejoice greatly, O daughter Zion!

Shout aloud, O daughter Jerusalem!

Lo, your king comes to you;

triumphant and victorious is he,

humble and riding on a donkey,

on a colt, the foal of a donkey.

10 He will cut off the chariot from Ephraim

and the war-horse from Jerusalem;

and the battle bow shall be cut off,

and he shall command peace to the nations;

his dominion shall be from sea to sea,

and from the River to the ends of the earth.

-They want a national king - Peace making is the way of liberation.

At the most recent All-Staff Conference of Young Life in Orlando, Florida, the flags of all the countries in which Young Life works worldwide were carried in procession down the various halls of the arena. I found this deeply affecting: When all flags are joined to the celebration of Christ, they are “palms” that honor the universal Messiah. When one particular flag is associated with the Messiah, something is wrong. - Bruner

Zachariah 3:7-19 - All peoples shall be changed - so to mak it just the flag of israel they don’t understand - and the Disciples don’t understand yet