The Arrival of Victory

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John 12:12-19 “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.’”
*Prayer*
This event, known to us now as Palm Sunday, was referred to for centuries as “The Triumphal Entry” or by some variation of the phrase using the word “triumph”. Why is the use of that term significant? The modern use of the word refers to a great victory. That certainly applies here, but there is a much greater & richer meaning in the ancient use of the word. As it is used here, triumph means, “The processional entry of a victorious General into ancient Rome.”
This event is found in all of the synoptic Gospels: In Matthew 21:1, Mark 11:1, Luke 19:28, and John 12:12. While I am mentioning the other Gospels, I’d like to point out a common feature that is shared. There is a significant focus on the last week of our Lord’s life & earthly ministry. Mark dedicated the last 3rd of his account to this time frame; John, who writes with the intent of revealing Christ’s deity, focused HALF of his account to this time, to draw out every thing of signifigance in the last moments of Christ’s earthly ministry- every word & deed was full of purpose. The Gospel writers also understood this to be a nexus event- everything that has happened before this- and I mean everything- to Jesus’ arrival in Jerusalem, His death, burial & ascension was the culmination of God’s plan for the redemption of His creation. It all begins here…and now.
I cannot overstate the signifigance of this. When Jesus entered this world- having laid aside His power & glory, choosing to live a fully human experience, He was born into humble circumstances. But neither His circumstances, nor His surroundings, nor the declaration of His kingship changed the fact that prior to ALL of this- and independent of it ALL...Jesus was and is GOD!
Allow me to share a short story. Years ago, I saw a reporter who interviewed the owner of a zoo. What struck me the most, and has stayed with me- even so many years later- was when they approached the cage of a fully grown male lion. The lion had be rescued as a cub and kept in captivity its entire life; someone fed it, and provided for it; the enclosed habit by day and the cage by night is all it ever knew. As they approached the lion’s cage, the owner did something that shocked me; he unlocked the cage, and let the door swing open. Both men stepped back, as the owner calmly spoke to reporter, who was understandably nervous. The owner explained, “He was raised in captivity; one of the side effects is that he has adjusted to his limitations; he sees the cage door, even when it’s not there.” Not long after, the owner closed and locked the cage once again. Before moving on, he further explained to the reporter, “Even so, I would not leave his cage open for long. His instincts are buried, but they’re not gone. He would eventually remember that he is, after all, a lion!”
I share this to help you extract an important lesson from the earthly ministry of Jesus. You may have been born into humble circumstances; what you see and experience right now may not line up with what God said. You may’ve messed up and walked into bondage voluntarily. But liberty has been spoken over your life- it has been declared several times in this house. The devil’s job is to keep your true identity- your “Born Again Identity” surpressed. Because he knows that if you ever remember who you are- if you ever look up & realize the cage is open- the chains are broken- there is nothing he can do to stop you from walking into your freedom. Neither your circumstances, nor your surroundings, none of this changes who you are- who God has made you to be. This is why our relationships with the world are tenuous at best. You’re walking around like a house cat- and they see a lion. The forces that keep them bound live in fear of the day you will remember who you are. And just like every demon recognized who Christ was, they surely recognize His offspring- the lion’s whelp. They’re convinced that you are a threat to the kingdom of darkness; the only one that needs to be convinced of that fact is YOU! Please understand that this is NOT positive thinking. You are who God says you are, whether or not you choose to accept it. (*expound*)Ge 49:9 ““Judah is a lion’s whelp; From the prey, my son, you have gone up. [“you have returned from the kill]. He crouches, he lies down as a lion, And as a lion[ess], who dares rouse him up?” It is from this point on in sacred scripture that the messiah is referred to as, “The Lion of Judah”. And if He is a lion, then what does that make you?
33 years. That’s roughly the period of time between Jesus’s advent into the world and His advent as King into the royal city of David, fulfilling multiple prophecies. Before reaching Jerusalem, the scriptures say that He passed through Bethphage & Bethany. Bethphage means, “house of unripe figs”, and Bethany means “house of sorrow”.
What is the signifigance of passing through Bethphage & Bethany before entering Jerusalem? Bethphage is a place with clear potential for producing & bearing fruit, but it’s not yet mature enough for harvest. In other words, right place…wrong season. And yet it was in Bethphage that Jesus acquired a donkey that was right next door is the town of Bethany- a place of deep distress, caused by loss & disappointment. And yet Lazarus, whom Jesus had brought back from the dead, lived here.
Know this: you will pass through “Bethphage & Bethany seasons”, where you KNOW you heard the voice of God, but you do not see any fruit and all you feel is sorrow. In that moment, you must remind yourself that you serve the Lord of the Harvest, and harvest time is whenever and whereever He says it is!
Per Augusta, Ad Augusta- Take a look at the phrase beneath the topic. I came across this about 3 years ago; believe it or not, it was a cross above a pizza shop near my job. “PER AUGUSTA, AD AUGUSTA”. It is a latin phrase which means, “Through difficulties to honors.” Every time I pass by, I look up; it serves as a reminder of what my Lord experienced- the stone that the builders rejected has become the chief corner stone- and puts my life experiences in perspective. I remind myself, “I can’t stay here; get what the Lord wants you to have and keep moving.” I am here to tell you today that you can’t stay bareness & sorrow- you need to pass on through. On the other side of this is Jerusalem- the city of the King, the seat of His authority. In other words, you must pass through this season of difficulties to get to the will of God.
Mark indicates that while passing through Bethphage & Bethany, the disciples are sent by Jesus to acquire a donkey. In this simple act, we see two important things:
Jesus operates in His office as a Prophet. He speaks with authority & accuracy. You WILL go to that place, and this is what you should do when you get there.
Jesus excercises His authority as King. This point might not be obvious to you in this particular instance, until you ask yourself a few honest questions. Why did Jesus send His disciples to simply take something that wasn’t theirs? And when they got “caught”, why did the men let them go- with the donkey?
In many ancient cultures, they had different forms of the concept we now know as “eminent domain”, the right of a government or sovereign authority to take possession of private property for public use. Jesus told the disciples to take the donkey and, if someone asks to tell them, “The Lord (Greek: kurious, the sovereign) has need of it.” They were sent under the rightful authority of Jesus as King…and the men who questioned them yielded to their authority.
There is one more thing here which speaks to the authority of Christ as King. According to Mark 11:2, Jesus instructs them to bring the young donkey had never been sat upon. In ancient customs, the steed (horse or donkey) belonging to a King could not be used- or even sat upon- by anyone else.
Disciples of Christ- the Lord is sending you, under His authority, to speak to those who are tied up to doors leading to nowhere- bound in sin- to declare their freedom! To speak to every form of bondage and say, “Let them go, for the Lord has need of them!” The world is waiting for the ones who speak with the King’s authority to release them!
Now, let’s go to our main text in John 12, and to the arrival of Jesus. The Passover feast had just ended; between the people who had been following Jesus since the resurrection of Lazarus, and those who were visiting for this occassion, the crowd must’v been very large. They got word that Jesus was coming and prepared to greet him. The scripture says that they pulled palm branches from the trees and laid their garments on the ground, creating a red carpet of sorts for Jesus. Palms were a symbol of ruling power; the people knew this, and their use of them was deliberate. This laying down of garments was not a random act either; it was a fullfilment of scripture. When Jehu was anointed king by Elijah in place of the wicked king Ahab (2 Kings 9:7), his followers shouted, Jehu is King!” and laid their garments out in front of him as he walked. As Jesus enter Jerusalem, they sang, Hosanna, blessed is He who comes in the Name of the Lord”, reflecting the words of Psalm 118:26. Hosanna means, “Save us NOW!” Luke 19 shows Jesus crying, because they didn’t understand the true purpose for His coming- it was not to free them from the Roman Empire, but to free them from the bondage of sin. But before we knock the people for not understanding why Jesus was there, look at verse 16- even the disciples didn’t understand what was happening at first. John says, “These things His disciples did not understand at the first; but when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered...” In verse 15, John quoted Zech 9:9 after the fact, reflecting on why Jesus rode the donkey. And speaking of reflections, ask yourself this question:
Do you want Jesus to be “king” to accomplish your will, or do you what Him to be King so that you may accomplish His? I’m asking you to check your motives; what’s your agenda when it comes to God? Let Christ be the King that He already is.
The crowd’s response- their actions & deeds- indicated that they recognized the Kingship of Jesus, even if they didn’t completely understand what thet meant. It was the one thing they did right. Although they needed Him, they did not wait for Him to perform to give Him what already belong to Him.
What about you? Does your response to the prescence of God show recognition for who He is, or does He have to “perform” to receive your recognition?
In verse 19, we hear the frustration of the pharisees: “[They] said to one another, “You see that you are not doing any good; look, the world has gone after Him.
The Pharisees despair when he teaches in the temple, recognizing that so many people “hang on his every word” (Luke 19:47f). But double meaning is still at work in John. When the Pharisees say “the world” has gone after him, these words point to the fulfillment of Jesus’ primary mission. “For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him” (3:17). The “world” in John’s writing generally refers to those men and women who stand in disbelief, refusing to acknowledge God or his Son. Now we learn that the “world” is running to Jesus.
We’ve discussed what John had to say in his recollection of this event; he reflects on the fulfillment of prohecy…he tells us how the crowds reacted. it is important to recognize what John DIDN’T say. Unlike the other gospel accounts, he does not record a single word spoke by Christ during His entrance. John, in this moment, focused on what Jesus DID, not what He SAID. And this brings me to my main point…the one thing that the Lord required me to say: The moment that Jesus showed up, the battle was won. Yes, He still needed to go to the cross; yes, He still needed to rise on the 3rd day; but the moment that He stepped foot in Jerusalem, the battle was won- and the enemy knew it.
The moment Jesus arrvied, so did your healing. He was wounded for our....
The moment Jesus arrived, so did your deliverance. The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, My God, my rock, in whom I take refuge; My shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.
The moment Jesus arrived, so did your provision. And the Lord will supply all of your needs according to His riches...
The moment Jesus arrived, so did your victory! For this is the victory that overcomes the world...
Don’t miss the moment of His arrival! The Pharisees let their egos miss the greater significance of Jesus being in the temple. He wasn’t just teaching, He brought the glory back to God’s temple!
Don’t wait- crown Him King right now!
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