Jesus, the King: At the Triumphal Entry, Jesus, riding the colt of a donkey, was welcomed into Jerusalem as a king by people waving palm branches and praising God. This fulfilled numerous prophecies about the promised King of the Kingdom of God. But if Jesus is the true King — then he not only deserves our total allegiance but he changes the way we understand and use any sort of power or authority. Recorded on Jan 7, 2024, on John 12:12-19 by Pastor David Parks.
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Finding Life in Jesus’ Name is a sermon series on the gospel according to John in the Bible. Have you ever felt unsatisfied with your life? Or, even when things were going well, something was still missing? Many people sense there must be something more. But what?? John, one of the closest friends of Jesus, believed that Jesus came into the world so that we may have life and have it to the full. Jesus turned John’s life upside down, and John claims this new life — marked by God’s power, presence, and purpose — is available for all who believe.
Sermon Transcript
Well, today, we’re continuing to work through The Gospel According to John in a series called Finding Life in Jesus’ Name. We’ll be in John chapter 11 12, considering the triumphal entry of Jesus when he was welcomed as a king into the city of Jerusalem. Most Christians would be quick to say Jesus is our Lord and Savior. But what does it mean for Jesus to be our King? This question is really at the heart of the Christian life. So if you have a Bible/app, please take it and open it to John 12:12. We’ll read through it first and then we’ll go back and unpack it.
John 12:12–19 (NIV), “12 The next day the great crowd that had come for the festival heard that Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem. 13 They took palm branches and went out to meet him, shouting, “Hosanna!” “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!” “Blessed is the king of Israel!” 14 Jesus found a young donkey and sat on it, as it is written: 15 “Do not be afraid, Daughter Zion; see, your king is coming, seated on a donkey’s colt.” 16 At first his disciples did not understand all this. Only after Jesus was glorified did they realize that these things had been written about him and that these things had been done to him. 17 Now the crowd that was with him when he called Lazarus from the tomb and raised him from the dead continued to spread the word. 18 Many people, because they had heard that he had performed this sign, went out to meet him. 19 So the Pharisees said to one another, “See, this is getting us nowhere. Look how the whole world has gone after him!” This is God’s word. The Apostle John starts this passage by saying it took place “the next day.” The next day after what? Well, last week, we saw the interaction between Jesus and Mary of Bethany at a dinner held in Jesus’ honor for raising Mary’s brother, Lazarus, from the dead. And Mary demonstrated extravagant honor by anointing Jesus with a very costly perfume. Jesus was really touched by what she had done. But we also saw that chapter 12 marks the start of the week leading up to the cross. Again, time slows way down for John as we get closer to the cross. The first half of John’s gospel covers about 2.5 years of time, while the second half only covers about a week. But if this is all true, then this week would be the most important week in human history. So here, the next day, six days before the cross, on Sunday morning, the great crowd that had come for the Passover festival heard that Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem. Let’s look at that again (v. 12).
John 12:12–13 (NIV), “12 The next day the great crowd that had come for the festival heard that Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem. 13 They took palm branches and went out to meet him, shouting, “Hosanna!” “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!” “Blessed is the king of Israel!” 14 Jesus found a young donkey and sat on it, as it is written: 15 “Do not be afraid, Daughter Zion; see, your king is coming, seated on a donkey’s colt.” So both of these actions, the way the crowd welcomes Jesus and the way Jesus enters Jerusalem, are very significant. They’re so significant that this story is recorded in all four gospel accounts of Jesus’ life and ministry. So far, we’ve seen people recognize Jesus as many different things: for being a good rabbi/teacher, able to preach and teach the word of God. We’ve seen people recognize Jesus as a mighty prophet, able to do the works of God, including miraculous signs such as feeding the five thousand or raising Lazarus from the dead. And we’ve seen people recognize that Jesus is the Messiah/Chosen One whom God had promised to send to rescue and redeem his people. But here, we see that more and more people start to recognize Jesus as king. John emphasizes this by referencing several OT passages. First, Psalm 118, which praises God for providing salvation from death. And I wish we had time to study all of Ps 118 today because it was such a significant passage for the early church. It’s quoted many times in the NT because it so clearly points forward to the person and work of Jesus. Now, all four accounts record the people saying slightly different things, but they all make a reference to praising God for a coming king. Here, John says the people were crying out, “Hosanna!” which comes from the Hebrew phrase, “Yahweh, save us!” By this time, “Hosanna” came to mean, basically, “Praise the Lord!” because God’s willingness to save was so trustworthy. So they say, “Hosanna! (Lord save us!) Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!” This is all straight from Ps 118. But while they were saying these things, they were also waving palm branches and (according to Matthew’s account) laying them on the path before Jesus. This is also from Ps 118, which mentions a procession of people with boughs in hand at a festival. Is it possible that Jesus’ arrival in Jerusalem would initiate the salvation promised in Psalm 118? Second, John references Zechariah 9, another passage about salvation that specifically references the king of God’s people riding the foal of a donkey. Of course, John could’ve referenced many other OT passages that promised a coming king. Passages like Daniel chapter 7, where one like a Son of Man, “was given authority, glory, and sovereign power; all nations and peoples of every language worshiped him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed.” Or 2 Samuel 7, which promised this coming king would be from the house and line of David. Or Micah 5, which we looked at a few weeks ago in the Christmas story, which promised this ruler would come from Bethlehem. But there are many more passages like this. So just imagine being there that day! It must’ve felt like there was this groundswell of support. That they had all the momentum in the world riding into Jerusalem that day. If you were one of the disciples watching all this unfold, wouldn’t you have been excited? Well, maybe, or maybe not. Look back at v. 16.
John 12:16 (NIV), “16 At first his disciples did not understand all this. Only after Jesus was glorified did they realize that these things had been written about him and that these things had been done to him.” Ok, well, I’m guessing if I’d been there that day, I would’ve been excited, too, but probably wouldn’t have been able to connect all the dots from the OT to the New. John says they didn’t fully understand until after “Jesus was glorified,” meaning after he was raised from the dead. Even though Jesus repeatedly told his disciples what was going to happen in Jerusalem, including his death and resurrection, they just didn’t believe he meant these things would literally happen — until they did. Then, as Luke records in his gospel, Jesus opened their minds to understand what the OT scriptures, the Law of Moses, the Prophets, and the Psalms had written about him. We shouldn’t get down on the disciples too much for not understanding all this, though. It took the Apostle Paul, an expert in the OT scriptures, something like a decade of bible study after he became a Christian to be able to fully connect all those dots. Let’s finish with v. 17.
John 12:17-19 (NIV), “17 Now the crowd that was with him when he called Lazarus from the tomb and raised him from the dead continued to spread the word. 18 Many people, because they had heard that he had performed this sign, went out to meet him. 19 So the Pharisees said to one another, “See, this is getting us nowhere. Look how the whole world has gone after him!” We know from the end of chapter 11 that the crowd of people was buzzing about Jesus, speculating about whether he would come to the festival or not. And here, we see that the news that he had raised Lazarus from the dead was spreading like crazy. That doesn’t mean that all these people were faithful disciples of Jesus. No doubt some just wanted to see this man that everyone was talking about. Perhaps others wanted something from him. But all this was putting more and more pressure on the Pharisees, the religious and political leaders in Jerusalem. They were frustrated because, as we saw last week, they believed that if Jesus kept gaining support, he would incite a rebellion against the Roman Empire, which would be quickly defeated, and they would lose their comfortable positions of power/authority. They would lose their ability to reign and rule, albeit under the sovereign authority of Rome. They clearly rejected the idea that Jesus was the true king that God had promised to send, but they still saw Jesus as a threat. They saw him as a rival power that needed to be eliminated. Just a few days after this triumphal entry, we’ll see that these rival, jealous powers seem to win. Jesus was arrested and condemned by the Sanhedrin. He was handed over to Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor of Judea, and questioned as to whether or not he was the king of the Jews. Jesus responded by saying that his kingdom was not of this world. And that his kingdom was from another place. Pilate wasn’t convinced he deserved to die for all this, but he reluctantly agreed to have Jesus crucified, giving in to the pressure of the crowds. Jesus was then mocked for claiming to be the king of the Jews. He was given a purple robe, a symbol of royalty, and a crown, not of gold but of thorns. He was spat on, beaten, and dishonored in every way. When Jesus was crucified, the sign nailed to the cross above him said, “Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews.” The tragic irony of all this is that when Jesus rose from the dead, he proved that he was, in fact, the true king, the king God had promised would come, the king who would be the source of salvation for the people of God. But from that vantage point, looking back, it all made sense. Jesus grew up in Nazareth, but he was born in Bethlehem, the answer to God’s promise in Mic 5. He was of the house and line of King David, the answer to God’s promise in 2Sa 7. The people welcomed him with palm branches as the king of Psalm 118. Jesus rode the foal of a donkey as the king of Zec 9. After the resurrection, after he appeared alive to hundreds of eyewitnesses, Jesus ascended back into heaven, where he was seated at the right hand of God the Father, in the seat of power and glory, where he reigns and rules to this day as the answer to God’s promise in Dan 7. Jesus was and is and ever will be the King of all Creation. He is the Lord. He is the King of the Kingdom of God. As we saw here today, his reign and rule were long foretold. And it was long anticipated by faithful men and women who trusted in the promises of God.
But what does this teaching — that Jesus is the King of the Kingdom of God — mean for us today? How might we apply this to our lives? Well, for our remaining time, I’d like to leave you with two thoughts. First, if this is true, then being a Christian, being a disciple/follower of Jesus, means you are under the authority of a King. Because of his sacrificial death on the cross for the sins of the world and his victorious resurrection from the dead, we have a Savior. And this is such good news! Because of God’s grace, whoever believes in Jesus will never perish but will have eternal life. But at the same time that Jesus is our Savior, he is also our Lord. All authority in heaven and earth has been given to him. This means he doesn’t just make suggestions or requests of us; he can command us to do things or not do things and has the authority to hold us accountable to his sovereign word. We do not have the freedom to pick and choose which of his commands we want to follow. I remember in my early twenties realizing that if I really believed that this is who Jesus is, then a lot in my life would need to change. There were times when to be honest, I thought a lot more like a Pharisee than one of the people welcoming Jesus as the king that he is. I saw the Lordship of Jesus as a threat to my sovereignty and not as a good thing. You see, if Jesus is Lord, then you and I are not. But eventually, I saw that my authority/sovereignty wasn’t leading to a flourishing life; it was leading to a self-centered and destructive way of life. I needed a better king. I needed a wiser king. Eventually, I knew that my word could never supersede his word, even if his word corrected my word/way. You can love a king if he is good. You can worship a king if he is God. But as a king, Jesus deserves so much more than an hour out of our week, or some of our attention, or some of our money, or some of our relationships. He deserves our allegiance, our loyalty, our very lives. Is that how you think about Jesus? Is that how you relate to him? As king? As the sovereign lord? Now, this might be a little challenging for some of us. We modern Americans have never had the experience of living under a king. We’re used to a representative democracy, not a monarchy. So honoring and obeying a king isn’t something we’re used to. And I don’t think this is necessarily a bad thing. Because of the reality of sin, I’m very thankful for our government’s system of checks and balances, that all the power isn’t in one person’s hands. But the flaws/corruption/injustice of worldly kings only point to our need for a truly good king, all the more. And Jesus is that king.
Second, and finally, the Lordship of Jesus ought to change how we see and use any power or authority that we might have in our lives. Jesus is a king, but he is a different kind of king than the kings of this world. Jesus repeatedly subverted the typical picture of what a king might say or do, what they might demand as their right. Instead, Jesus said he came not to be served, as a king would deserve. But instead, he came to serve and give his life as a ransom for many. He said the first in his kingdom would be last, and the last would be first. He said that only those with the faith of a child will enter his kingdom. In a few weeks, we’ll see Jesus teach his disciples humble service in washing their feet. In fact, the culmination of his saving work is to humble himself to death, even death on a cross. The light of the glory of the risen Lord comes through the darkness of the cross. So, in our homes, in our schools/workplaces, in positions of leadership or power in our community, and especially in the church, godly men and women must lead like Jesus. His power is not used to oppress or exploit. His authority is never used to abuse or harm. The way of Jesus is to use power and authority as a tool of love, to teach/heal/restore/redeem/free. Power in the kingdom where Jesus is king is only used for the glory of God and the good of all people. Is this how you understand power? Is this how you understand leadership as a Christian? Not domineering, not harsh, not demanding. But giving, sacrificing, and serving. This is the way of our Lord, our King, and one who deserves all the glory, honor, and praise. May we give him our allegiance. May we serve him as our good King. And may we follow his way of love both now and forevermore. Let us pray.