The Right Reason Matters

INTRODUCTION

A new Perfect Husband Shopping Center opened where a woman could go to choose from among many men to find the perfect husband. It was laid out on five floors, with the men increasing in positive attributes as you ascended the floors. The only rule was that once you open the door to any floor, you must choose a man from that floor, and if you go up a floor, you can't go back down except to leave the store.

So, a couple of girlfriends go to the store to find a man to marry. The first-floor sign reads: "These men have high-paying jobs and love kids." The women read the sign and say, "Well, that's wonderful, but..." and wonder what's on the next floor.

The second-floor sign reads: "These men have high-paying jobs, love kids, and are extremely good looking." "Hmmmm," say the girls. "Wonder what's further up?"

The third-floor sign reads: "These men have high-paying jobs, love kids, are extremely good looking, and will help with the housework." "Wow!!!" say the women. "Very tempting.... but there's more further up!!!"

The fourth-floor sign reads: "These men have high-paying jobs, love kids, are extremely good looking, will help with the housework, and are emotionally healthy." "Oh mercy me. But just think!!! What must be awaiting us further up?!" say the women. So up to the fifth floor they go.

The fifth-floor sign reads: "This floor is just to prove that women are impossible to please."

** We all certainly have expectations, men and women.

** This passage is regarding Jesus’ so-called “Triumphal Entry” into Jerusalem at the beginning of Passion Week, but could perhaps be called His “Tragic Entry,” because it triggered events that led to His death. The crowds lined the street and cheered for Jesus as the long-expected King of Israel, but they were hoping for a political king, who could lead a military victory against Rome and provide eventual peace and prosperity for their nation.

** Jesus uses a public manner to present Himself as Messiah in Jerusalem. Messiah and Christ mean the same thing, ‘to anoint.’ Messiah is the one whom God anoints to deliver His people from sin and rule over them as King and Lord. God had given Israel some earthly and faulty kings but here was the true King.

** What we’ll find here is that the people of Israel had certain expectations of what their Messiah should be and what Jesus should be. For us today we want to:

** Make sure that you follow Jesus because of who He is, not because of what you think He might provide for you.

John 12:12-19

1. The Praise of the People

VV. 12-14a

We see here that the people of Jerusalem were very excited.

A. The Celebration

v. 11

This was the feast of the Passover and would have been a crowded time in Jerusalem.

1. The Importance of the Day

This was a day that was foretold 483 years before in

Daniel 9:24–26 AV

24 Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy. 25 Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks: the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times. 26 And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined.

Daniel had marked off a period for Israel of seventy sevens of years. After 69 of those 7 years, something was going to happen.

The first segment was 7, 7-year periods and took the Jews to the end of the OT.

The next segment was 62, 7-year periods that would take the Jews through the silent centuries.

“This period ended on the very day that Jesus made his triumphal entry.”

— Sir Robert Anderson

The third and final period of 7 years is still pending. Because the Jews rejected their Messiah the final 7 year tribulation is yet to come. In the mean time we have what is called the church age.

2. The Impact of the Day

There was a great crowd - some records indicate over 1 million people would have crowded into Jerusalem.

It is possible to attract people for a time by sensationalism and publicity - some certainly wanted to see Jesus the miracle worker - or they wanted to Jesus the insurrectionist overthrow the Roman Empire - or many other reasons.

The same people who enjoyed the events of the day would later turn on Jesus.

The entertainment church today is still a failure.

B. The Cheering

v. 12

While every gospel mentions the Triumphal entry, only John mentions that they waved palm branches

We see the palm branches - a symbol of peace and victory. Jerusalem itself means city of peace. Waving these would have been like waving the stars and stripes.

We also see shouting - Hosanna - meaning save now or victory now.

Psalm 118:25 AV

25 Save now, I beseech thee, O LORD: O LORD, I beseech thee, send now prosperity.

This goes back to the feast of tabernacles where worshippers carried bundles made up of palm, myrtle, and willow branches. On every day of the feast they marched around the great altar of the burnt offering once; seven times on the seventh day. This is the conqueror's psalm. They were looking to him as conqueror.

Just previously in Chapter 11 we see him raising Lazarus from the dead. They were excited about what Jesus could do.

However, as Barclay says,

“It must have hurt him, for in him they were looking for that very thing which He refused to be.”

— Barclay

People have all kinds of expectations from Jesus:

Healing - they’ve heard he can heal all their diseases and fix their body; but they’re not really interested in him spiritually.

Problem solver - Jesus can fix marriages - get my husband in line, my children back on track, etc.

Financial - bring prosperity

Forgiveness - not real relationship restoration, but just an attempt to ease their conscience - ‘I ask for forgiveness every day.’

Inspiration - they want inspiring thoughts and ideals without actual labor and service to the King

Be very careful, your faith will be shaken and even destroyed if you follow Jesus because of what you think He can give you.

C. The Arrival of Jesus

There was such a thing called a Roman triumph.

The Roman triumph (triumphus) was a civil ceremony and religious rite of ancient Rome, held to publicly celebrate and sanctify the success of a military commander who had led Roman forces to victory in the service of the state or, originally and traditionally, one who had successfully completed a foreign war.

On the day of his triumph, the general wore a crown of laurel and the all-purple, gold-embroidered triumphal toga picta ("painted" toga), regalia that identified him as near-divine or near-kingly, and was even known to paint his face red. He rode in a four-horse chariot through the streets of Rome in unarmed procession with his army, captives, and the spoils of his war. At Jupiter's temple on the Capitoline Hill, he offered sacrifice and the tokens of his victory to the god Jupiter. Republican morality required that, despite these extraordinary honours, the general conduct himself with dignified humility, as a mortal citizen who triumphed on behalf of Rome's Senate, people, and gods. Inevitably, the triumph offered extraordinary opportunities for self-publicity, besides its religious and military dimensions.

He arrived on a donkey - you would think a victory would come on a war horse.

But a king on a donkey was no threat, the Romans may have even thought it was amusing.

Psalm 118:26–27 AV

26 Blessed be he that cometh in the name of the LORD: we have blessed you out of the house of the LORD. 27 God is the LORD, which hath shewed us light: bind the sacrifice with cords, even unto the horns of the altar.

The donkey is also an animal of peace. The palms, the city, and the donkey all ushering in the Prince of Peace.

2. The Prophecy to be Fulfilled

vv. 15-16

Zechariah 9:9–10 AV

9 Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold, thy King cometh unto thee: he is just, and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass. 10 And I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim, and the horse from Jerusalem, and the battle bow shall be cut off: and he shall speak peace unto the heathen: and his dominion shall be from sea even to sea, and from the river even to the ends of the earth.

Let’s look for a moment at how Jesus is fulfilling prophecy here. Zechariah’s prophecy is important to show that Jesus is not coming as a conquering king riding a war horse but as a Humble King offering Himself for our sins.

A. The Age of the Donkey

Notice that the prophecy in Zechariah says that he sat upon a colt.

John says it was young and Luke 19:30 says, ‘yet never man sat.’

This means that the young colt was unbroken - that’s a miracle right there.

Note also that Jesus was born of a virgin and buried in a tomb that was never used prior to him.

John 19:41 AV

41 Now in the place where he was crucified there was a garden; and in the garden a new sepulchre, wherein was never man yet laid.

This all points to the dignity and uniqueness of our Lord.

B. The Reason for the Arrival

There are many interpretations as to why Jesus presented himself in such a fashion.

One is for sure - to meet the requirements of God’s prophetic word.

By fulfilling the prophecies of Daniel and Zechariah he is clearly identifying himself as the Messiah, and presenting himself to the Jews as king.

But there are some slight differences in the prophecy that is not yet fulfilled.

The Gospels never quote the rejoicing part of Zechariah - why? they were ultimately going to reject him

The justice of Zechariah will be at his Second Coming - at this one he brought grace and mercy.

Next time he won’t be on a colt

Revelation 19:11 AV

11 And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war.

C. The Lack of Understanding

We see in verse 16 that the disciples didn’t understand these things.

Luke 19:41 AV

41 And when he was come near, he beheld the city, and wept over it,

We see here that Jesus actually wept over the city. Maybe it shouldn’t be the triumphal entry but the tearful entry.

The confusion came because they couldn not imagine this one with power over death would suffer a shameful death on the cross.

They would understand more later of course.

John 14:26 AV

26 But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.

What they truly didn't understand was that Palm Sunday was lamb selection day. This was the day that the worshippers would select the lambs they would sacrifice for the Passover in a few days.

“It’s almost as if God is saying to the world, ‘Here is My Lamb. Will you choose Him?’”

— Vander Laan

After Jesus raised Lazarus, in John 11:53, it says they were conspiring to put Jesus to death, but now he rides right into the city. He forced them to make a decision and inadvertently kill the one, true Passover Lamb.

The disciples misunderstood Jesus’ proclamation of His identity (Savior-King) because they wanted another kind of Messiah (earthly king). They missed their real salvation need; and even turned against Him.

Like a child that misunderstands their parents, they responded with ‘I hate you!’

The people rejected God’s answer for their sin.

Maybe Jesus isn’t what you expected? make sure you follow Him because of who He is, not because of what you think He can provide for you in this life. He does provide forgiveness and eternal life, but this life may have persecution and hardship.

3. Opposing Jesus will Always Fail

vv. 17-19

Verse 19 mentions the frustration of the Pharisees as they saw the crowds exalting Jesus as He rode into Jerusalem:

John 12:19 AV

19 The Pharisees therefore said among themselves, Perceive ye how ye prevail nothing? behold, the world is gone after him.

This is quite an example of irony. The Pharisees are concerned that everyone (the world) is going to follow after Jesus, yet by the end of the week they will be yelling to crucify him.

The Pharisees are an interesting bunch - they were moral men but they were prejudiced against Christ. But be careful, don’t regard them as just monsters of the past. Sometimes we are so attached to our own traditions and ideologies (even well-meaning) that we end up opposing Christ Himself.

But even at that, their apparent success would be a failure in that the Gospel will succeed and go around the entire world.

Note lastly here the only other mention of palm branches

Revelation 7:9–10 AV

9 After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands; 10 And cried with a loud voice, saying, Salvation to our God which sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb.

And note this, we may trifle or dabble with Christ, but He never trifles, or dabbles with us. The Pharisees and those like them today like to dabble with Christianity - in the teaching to sound intelligent, in some financial prosperity angles, etc. But Christ is a real King who meant and lived what He says and demands true allegiance.

Here we see the ultimate triumph of Jesus. He truly will reign forever. Your rebellion and rejection of Jesus can only be short-lived at best.

CONCLUSION

So why are you following Jesus? Many are following Him because He can supply or meet some physical or earthly need.

The Bible Exposition Commentary Chapter Twelve: Christ and the Crisis (John 12)

The nation had wasted its opportunities; their leaders did not know the time of God’s visitation. They were ignorant of their own Scriptures. The next time Israel sees the King, the scene will be radically different! (Rev. 19:11ff) He will come in glory, not in humility; and the armies of heaven will accompany Him. It will be a scene of victory as He comes to defeat His enemies and establish His kingdom.

But the right reason to follow Jesus is because of who he is - He is God’s anointed Messiah. He is your only hope of salvation.