The Come and See Crowd
Sermon • Submitted
0 ratings
· 4 viewsNotes
Transcript
Jesus has miraculously brought Lazarus back from the dead, causing some to believe.
The chief priests and the Pharisees were angry saying, “if we let Him go on like this, all men will believe in Him, and the Romans will come and take away “both” our place and our nation.” So their intended plan was to kill Him.
In the beginning of Chapter 12 in the Gospel of John, we find Jesus at the home of “Simon the Leper,” in the village of Bethany. Martha was serving the supper, as an invited guest, Lazarus was sitting at the table, with Jesus and His disciples.
The focus turns to Mary as she anoints Jesus for the day of His burial. She uses the whole vial of very costly, pure nard, perfume, to cover Him from head to feet. The she did the unthinkable for a Jewish woman, she let down her hair to wipe His feet.
As the treasurer, Judas Iscariot was a swindling thief. Judas complained that Mary would waste this perfume to anoint Jesus, when it could have been sold for a years wages.
Jesus sternly rebuked Him, notice what He said....
7 Therefore Jesus said, “Let her alone, so that she may keep it for the day of My burial. 8 For you always have the poor with you, but you do not always have Me.”
We are not given any kind of reaction here, by Judas, but you can be assured that he did not learn his lesson, by Jesus’ rebuke.
He didn’t truly value the poor, and he didn’t truly value Jesus either.
This brings us to our main passage of scripture this evening.
9 The large crowd of the Jews then learned that He was there; and they came, not for Jesus’ sake only, but that they might also see Lazarus, whom He raised from the dead.
10 But the chief priests planned to put Lazarus to death also;
11 because on account of him many of the Jews were going away and were believing in Jesus.
12 On the next day the large crowd who had come to the feast, when they heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem,
13 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.”
14 Jesus, finding a young donkey, sat on it; as it is written,
15 “Fear not, daughter of Zion; behold, your King is coming, seated on a donkey’s colt.”
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.
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.
18 For this reason also the people went and met Him, because they heard that He had performed this sign.
19 So the Pharisees said to one another, “You see that you are not doing any good; look, the world has gone after Him.”
The title of our message is The Come and See Crowd
In six days, in the city of Jerusalem, the most important annual Hebrew feast or festival was about to occur.
As a reminder, the Passover Feast served as a reminder, that God, punished Egypt by killing all their firstborn, of both man and beast.
In an act of mercy, when God see’s the blood on the doorway of their houses, the plague “passes over” the firstborn of Israel, resulting in the deliverance of the Israelites from slavery by the Egyptian ruler, Pharaoh.
As required by Law, the Jewish people would travel far distances to come to Jerusalem for Passover, therefore, the city would be crowded with people well before Passover began.
9 The large crowd of the Jews then learned that He was there; and they came, not for Jesus’ sake only, but that they might also see Lazarus, whom He raised from the dead.
The sensational news of Lazarus’ resurrected miracle had spread like wild fire. The multitude wanted to see the miracle man that was once dead, and they wanted to see the miracle worker. The Jewish travelers learned that Jesus and Lazarus was in the village of Bethany, less than two miles away, so they came to the home where Jesus and Lazarus was.
10 But the chief priests planned to put Lazarus to death also; 11 because on account of him many of the Jews were going away and were believing in Jesus.
The news of Lazarus’ resurrection was spreading across the region. As the crowds transited toward Bethany, the chief priests took notice. The enemies of Christ are led by their furious wickedness, they do not even shrink from making war against God.
Now, not only did the chief priests want Jesus dead, but they wanted Lazarus put to death also.
Why? because…on…account…of him (Lazarus) many of the Jews were going away, and …were believing …in… Jesus.
Lazarus was living proof! He was an undeniable testimony to the Lord’s miraculous, messianic power.
But if Lazarus were dead, it would be more difficult for anyone to proclaim that he was ever resurrected!
Not mentioned here in John, but according to Matthew, Judas Iscariot went to negotiate with the chief priests. When Judas was sternly rebuked by Jesus for complaining that Mary wasted the spikenard, he went that night to the chief priests. Angered by the rebuke, Judas wanted to make a deal. Judas asked...
15 and said, “What are you willing to give me to betray Him to you?” And they weighed out thirty pieces of silver to him. 16 From then on he began looking for a good opportunity to betray Jesus.
The chief priests wanted to kill Jesus, but not during the Passover Festival. They wanted to wait until after the Passover celebration to kill Him, because they were afraid of the reaction that they might get out of the large, volatile crowds in Jerusalem.
Once the crowd dispersed, they planned to take Him by force and kill Him.
We know that there was an appointed time for the Lamb of God to die, but it would NOT be a moment too soon or too late. It is important that we keep in mind the Providence of God here. As in all times and things, God had already chosen the when, the where, the why, and the how, of His Sons death! Down to every minuscule detail. All things are on Gods time clock.
The scene now shifts from the close companions gathered with Jesus for supper in the home of Simon the Leper, to the following day.
12 On the next day the large crowd who had come to the feast, when they heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem, 13 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.”
On the next day, the crowd, estimated at over 2 million persons, had gathered into Jerusalem for the Passover Feast or Festival.
When they heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem, they really rolled out the red carpet for Him, so to speak. This was a royal greeting.
They took the branches of the palm trees and went out to meet Him,
The palm branch was a symbol of victory and celebration.
They would wave the palm branch to show the joy of victory or military triumph. The people felt that from now on things were going to get better. They hoped that a messianic liberator had arrived in Jesus.
The term Hosanna literally means “Save now, I pray” or “Help, I pray”. This is a plea!
Rushing with emotion, the people plea, Hosanna!…after the plea, they give praise!!!! BLESSED IS HE WHO COMES IN THE NAME OF THE LORD, EVEN THE KING OF ISRAEL.
Why did they say this? These words are found in the “Hallel” which is a series of Psalms contained in Chapters 113-118. These praises were sung or chanted every morning at the Feast of Tabernacles.
This series of Psalms, is called the “Hallel” which is a Hebrew term meaning, PRAISE.
So they were hailing Him with praises as the Messiah. Notice they shout at the end of this verse…EVEN THE KING OF ISRAEL!
They looked to Jesus to liberate and rescue them, not in a spiritual sense, but most likely in a military & political sense.
So often, men want Christ on their own terms, within the confines of their own hopes and dreams, rather than submitting to His Lordship and His purpose for their lives and desiring His will be done on earth as it is in Heaven!
They wanted Jesus to be a warrior, carrying a sword, riding a war horse. But what do the scriptures say on the subject? In the prophet Zechariah it says....
9 Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout in triumph, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your king is coming to you; He is just and endowed with salvation, Humble, and mounted on a donkey, Even on a colt, the foal of a donkey.
This happened just as the scripture says, here we see messianic prophecy coming to pass...
14 Jesus, finding a young donkey, sat on it; as it is written, 15 “Fear not, daughter of Zion; behold, your King is coming, seated on a donkey’s colt.”
When the Lord and those with Him came to the outskirts of town, Jesus sent two His disciples into town to find a donkey tied and her colt with her. Jesus instructed them to untie them and bring them to Him. The disciples did as Jesus had commanded them, and they brought back a colt and its mother. Jesus would ride the young colt, and its mother would walk along beside him.
This is anything but the picture of royalty. This is NOT the picture of the Messiah that the people had in mind. They wanted someone to ride into town on a mighty steed and drive the Romans out!
As earlier indicated, the people came waving palm branches and spreading their coats on the road and laying down palm branches, as Jesus approached the city of Jerusalem.
By choosing the donkey’s colt, Jesus entered Jerusalem as the humble Prince of Peace.
At Jesus’s second coming, the scene will be entirely different.
11 And I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse, and He who sat on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and wages war. 12 His eyes are a flame of fire, and on His head are many diadems; and He has a name written on Him which no one knows except Himself.
John witnessed the meekness and lowliness of our Lord as a man of flesh. He witnessed Him riding a lowly colt of a donkey into Jerusalem. Years later, exiled to the Island of Patmos, John would see Him in a whole new light as was revealed to him in a heavenly vision.
When He returns the second time, Jesus will be riding the white horse of the conqueror, in judgment.
The people in the crowd were not the only ones who failed to understand the significance of the manner in which Jesus was coming into Jerusalem.
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.
Even though the disciples were close to Jesus, even they missed the message. They did not understand at the time exactly why things were going as they were.
They lacked the perspective of the Cross and the Resurrection (when He was glorified).
Their faith was weak and they needed the ministry of the Holy Spirit.
Jesus says to them in....
12 “I have many more things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. 13 But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come. 14 He will glorify Me, for He will take of Mine and will disclose it to you.
But after His resurrection, their eyes are opened and they recalled the words of Zechariah and understood what God had intended.
A lot of things we don’t understand. We don’t always have a satisfactory answer for the tragic things that happen in life.
When a seed is planted in the ground, it doesn’t immediately spring up. And we don’t always immediately see the manifestation of His wondrous works right away.
As children of God, obediently following the Lord, we do not understand much of what we are doing nor the ultimate outcome or benefit.
We know that our Lord does not do things out of haste, but He regulates by His providence! And He works all things together for our good and according to His purposes.
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. 18 For this reason also the people went and met Him, because they heard that He had performed this sign.
There are two crowds emerging here.
The one that witnessed the resurrection of Lazarus from the dead and testified about it.
The other crowd, that had heard their testimony and came out of Jerusalem to meet Him.
Apparently the raising of Lazarus had been much talked about by the people who had been there to see it happen. It was this widespread discussion of the miracle that sparked the interest of the people to come out and welcome Jesus to Jerusalem.
Finally, John writes of the reaction of the Pharisees...
19 So the Pharisees said to one another, “You see that you are not doing any good; look, the world has gone after Him.”
The massive reception of Jesus, made the plans of the Pharisees impossible. They were looking for the right opportunity to seize Him by stealth, and kill Him.
It certainly appeared that everybody was believing in Jesus. The Pharisees had determined that they had proved ineffective in stopping Jesus.
They saw the hype and excitement. From their perspective, it seemed that the entire world was going after Jesus.
But things are NOT always as they seem, are they?
The celebration would be short lived. The excitement would die down.
It is easy to profess... when there is no test, when there is no trial, when there is no difficulty.
But if there is one thing this passage of scripture makes clear, it is that these people’s interest in Jesus was established primarily out of curiosity and false assumptions that would be crushed in no time.
By the end of the week, when it became obvious that Jesus was not going to be the political Messiah they expected, the people followed the lead of the Pharisees and other leaders in rejecting Him.
Many of the voices that shouted “Hosanna” as He was approaching Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, would be those same voices shouting, “Crucify Him” on Good Friday.
19 They went out from us, but they were not really of us; for if they had been of us, they would have remained with us; but they went out, so that it would be shown that they all are not of us.
Christ Jesus was God’s King, and He had come to Jerusalem to fulfill His mission.
Though all others reject Him, His true disciples will not!
Jesus said, “if you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine.”
True believers will never permanently and completely fall away from Christ. Those who do so, only prove that their faith was never genuine.
