1 2014, Reverend Steve Carlson Tabernacle Baptist Church West National Avenue West Allis, Wisconsin

Transcription

1 Jesus Comes to Jerusalem January 12, 2014 John 12:12-19 I. Introduction Christmas and New Year s certainly seem like a long time ago. It certainly doesn t take long to settle back into the same old routine that you have followed over and over and over. In another week or two, Thanksgiving, Advent, Christmas, and all the trimmings will be just a memory for everyone. After following Jesus for 3 years, the disciples are used to their normal routine with Him, too. Jesus would do a miracle like feeding 5000 men plus women and children or He would bring Lazarus back to life; then He would escape the enthusiastic people and go into hiding. When one of the three required feasts occurred in Jerusalem, Jesus and His disciples would attend, but with little or no fanfare. If Jesus did some type of miracle during that time, He would escape and go into hiding and the pattern would continue again. On the next day of John 12:12, the disciples weren t expecting anything out of the ordinary just more of the same o, same o. So can you imagine how surprised the disciples must have been when the people started to cheer for Jesus and He didn t go into hiding. Instead, He found a young donkey to ride on as He entered Jerusalem. Things weren t the same. At each of the different feasts before, the people had wondered if Jesus would be there and what He would do He was a behind the scenes kind of guy. This time, though, it looked like Jesus was actually seeking to incite a riot and establish Himself as King, but that isn t what He had in mind. Jesus entry into Jerusalem obviously meant different things to different people. Let s look at some of these different meanings beginning with... II. What did this event mean to Jesus? Four generations 160 years before Jesus was born, there was a man named Judah Maccabeus. He was called the Hammer and was a fairly righteous man who was upset by the fact that the Syrians occupied the city of Jerusalem and had desecrated the Temple. He was so angry about this that he gathered an army of Jewish men to fight against the Syrians. In 163 B.C. he entered Jerusalem riding on a massive stallion, and the people shouted and waved palm branches and cheered, Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Judah was their hero; many thought he was the Jewish Messiah. After Judah and his followers entered the city, they cleaned out the Temple, burned incense, offered sacrifices, and lit a huge menorah that burned for eight days. These actions are commemorated 1

2 in the Festival of Lights or Hanukkah that is still celebrated today. Not long afterwards, Judah was killed in battle and was buried. When Jesus entered Jerusalem, almost everything paralleled what had occurred some 200 years earlier except for one thing. When Judah entered the city, he rode a massive stallion. He did that because he wanted to show his majesty and authority. Jesus entered riding a donkey. Jesus was being obedient to God s will. In Zechariah 9:9 we read, Rejoice greatly, O Daughter of Zion! Shout, Daughter of Jerusalem! See, your king comes to you, righteous and having salvation, gentle and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey. Jesus was fulfilling that prophesy His Father s will. Jesus presented Himself publically to Jerusalem as the Messiah. But He came as the humble Prince of Peace and not as the conquering warrior the people were hoping for watching for. Instead of being excited by the joyous cries of the crowd, Jesus was grieved by the people s superficial attitude toward Him. These same people who were cheering for Him now would cry out for His death on the coming Friday. He wept because He also saw what lay ahead for the nation. Turn to Luke 19: Jesus saw war, suffering, destruction, and a scattered people and He wept. For Jesus, this event was bitter sweet. It was a joyful event He was carrying out the Father s will and as Hebrews 12:2 says He knew what the end result would be for Himself and for those who believe in Him. It was a joyful event He knew the end result. But this event was also sad at His birth the angels announced Peace on earth (Luke 2:13-14), but in His ministry Jesus announced war on earth (Luke 12:51-53). There would be pain and suffering. Satan, as the serpent that he is, would harm many while he is in his death throes. It was a sad event there would be pain and suffering. III. Second, what did this event meant to the Romans? Usually we ignore the Roman viewpoint, but they were involved in Jesus entry into Jerusalem. They had to keep a close watch over what was happening. During the annual Passover feasts, it was not uncommon for some of the Jewish nationalists the zealots to try to arouse the people. Perhaps the Romans occupiers thought this parade was that kind of an event. I suspect that some of the Roman soldiers must have smiled at this Triumphal Entry, because it was nothing like their own Roman triumph celebrations in the city of Rome. Whenever a Roman general was victorious and gained new territory, he was given a Roman triumph when he returned to the city. It was the Roman equivalent to a ticker-tape parade and it was huge. The general would display the trophies he had won and the enemy leaders he had captured often they would be chained to his chariot or horse. The parade often ended at the arena 2

3 where some of the captives entertained the people by fighting wild beasts. Compared to a Roman triumph, Jesus entry into Jerusalem was nothing. To the Romans this was just a minor disturbance. IV. Third, what did this event mean to the people of Israel? The crowd was filled with mighty hopes and expectations. They were filled with political passion. If Jesus could feed 5000, if He could raise a man from the dead after 4 days, He surely could free them from the shackles of Rome. The palms, the grand entry, and the cries remind us of John 6 when Jesus had fed the Turn to John 6: Jesus had been misunderstood then and now He was misunderstood again. He didn t come to be King. The words went out to meet him in verse 13 of today s Scripture is a normal Greek expression used to describe the joyful reception of a king back into his city. The Hosanna which means save now is an acclamation of praise greeting Jesus as a conqueror. The crowd s hope of a political solution is seen as they call Jesus Lord and the King of Israel. The meaning for the crowd is that Jesus entrance was the beginning of the overthrow of Rome and the beginning of a new, free nation of Israel they would finally have their way. John points out that even the disciples didn t understand the meaning of the triumphal entry at that time. They couldn t understand that at His first advent, Jesus didn t come as a conqueror but as a Savior. Even after the resurrection, the disciples were still not clear in Acts 1:6 read, So when they met together, they asked him (i.e. Jesus), "Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?" It wasn t until the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, that they finally understood many of the things that Jesus had said or had done. Until then, they, like the people, thought that Jesus entry was the beginning of the overthrow of Rome and the beginning of a new, free nation of Israel. V. Fourth, what did this event mean to the Jewish Leaders? As they watched the great crowd gather and honor Jesus, the Pharisees, the Jewish leaders, were quite sure that Jesus had won the day. Things were spiraling out of control. They were anticipating some kind of general revolt during the Passover season. Perhaps Jesus would perform a great miracle and capture the minds and hearts of the fickle crowd. Then He would lead this crowd in an armed revolt against the Romans and all would be lost. They were watching their power and influence vanish before their very eyes. Days earlier they had ordered anyone knowing where Jesus was to tell them so they could arrest Him (John 11:57). Now, there in plain view was the very One they desperately wanted to seize but He was surrounded by thousands of people. Instead of turning Him over to the authorities, the mob 3

4 was loudly hailing Him as the Messiah. Afraid of the crowd s reaction if they arrested Him openly, the Pharisees could only look on in frustration and dismay. Angrily they said to one another, This is getting us nowhere. For the Jewish leaders this was a time of frustration. What they did not realize was that Jesus was forcing their hand so that the Sanhedrin would have to act during the feast. The Lamb of God had to give His life when the Passover lambs were being slain. The final statement, Look how the whole world has gone after Him! was both an exaggeration and a prophesy by these frustrated men. VI. Finally, what does this event mean to you? The same various attitudes that we see in John 12 are still seen today. For some, like for the Romans, this event is a nice story, an interesting story about a person who lived 2000 years ago. It was a minor blip in time. What such people fail to recognize is that Jesus was and is Someone special. Before and after Jesus time, false pretenders have come and gone all claiming to be the Messiah. Jesus Christ alone possesses the credentials of the true Messiah; the words He spoke, the miracles He performed, and the prophesies He fulfilled prove that He was who He claimed to be for example, turn to Matthew 11:2-5. These were signs of the Messiah. John wrote his Gospel to prove who Jesus was; in John 20:31 we read, But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name. Jesus was more than just a blip in time. Some people are like the Jewish leaders. They hate what Jesus stands for. They want to do all they can to do away with Him and His words. They refuse to accept the whole Bible. They want to pick and chose what to believe. They want to do away with verses like Romans 3:23 that says, All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. They want to take Christ out of Christmas, prayer out of the schools, the Ten Commandments out of society. For them this event is one of frustration even anger Some people are like the crowds that cheered for Jesus. They cheer for Him because of what they expect Jesus to do for them. He is like the magical genie from Aladdin s lamp. He is the errand boy who satisfies their needs. They expect Him to make their way easy and comfortable. They expect Him to be at their beck and call. They expect Him to always be on their side giving them victory in small battles and huge wars. They expect to have their way and when He doesn t satisfy their every whim, they, like the crowd in Jesus day, turn on Him and call out to Crucify Him ; they want nothing to do with Him. In the end, like the Jewish leaders, they are frustrated and angry with Him. 4

5 The last attitude is that of Jesus Himself. This event was a time of joy as He obeyed the Father. Jesus didn t seek His own will but, as He prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane, Father not my will, but yours be done (Luke 22:42), He joyfully did the Father s will. For those that call Jesus Savior and Lord, this should be our prayer, too to do God s will. So that there aren t any doubts, the Bible tells us God s will for example, turn to Matthew 22: In Matthew 28:19-20 Jesus said, Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. The only way to truly know God s will is to study His Word; 2 Timothy 3:16 says, All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. So as we start a new year, the challenge to you is to read God s Word daily, study it to know what really is written here, and then, with the Holy Spirit s help, do the Father s will joyfully just as Jesus did. 5