HOSANNA TO THE KING_ (John 12:12-19) INTRODUCTION: We all love a big parade. What is the best parade you have ever seen? Macy s Christmas parade? Evidently the Bastille Day parade in France must be impressive. President Trump attended it last year and he wants to have a great military parade on Veteran s Day marching down Pennsylvania Avenue. I know that it will be impressive. But no parade will ever be as important as the parade on the Sunday of the PASSOVER week when Jesus rode into the city of Jerusalem. On that day through the narrow and dusty streets leading into Jerusalem were thousands of pilgrims. They had come to Jerusalem for the annual Passover celebration. Josephus, the Jewish historian, estimated that over 250,000 lambs were sacrificed at Passover. One for each family, and if the average family was 10 it would mean that over 2.5 million people were in and around Jerusalem at this time. They were on the hillsides. They were on the roads. They were standing on the streets. They were looking from the buildings and houses. It was a hugh crowd! And they were excited. Why were they so excited on that day? Many knew that this Passover was special and they had heard that Jesus of Nazareth was coming. What would happen? There had been confrontations between Jesus and the religious leaders. Some knew that some wanted to kill Jesus. Many in that crowd believed that Jesus was the Messiah, God's anointed. Would he come to take charge of the nation? Would He remove the corrupt Jewish leaders? Would he free them from the Roman occupiers? What was going to happen? WHY DID THE PEOPLE CHEER JESUS ON HIS ENTRANCE INTO JERUSALEM Many were aware of the prophecy of ZECHARIAH 9 which reads: Zechariah 9:9-10 NIV Rejoice greatly, Daughter Zion! Shout, Daughter Jerusalem! See, your king comes to you, righteous and victorious, lowly and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey. (10) I will take away the chariots from Ephraim and the warhorses from Jerusalem, and the battle bow will be March 25, 2018 Corntassel CP Church Page 1
broken. He will proclaim peace to the nations. His rule will extend from sea to sea and from the River to the ends of the earth. And most were aware of PSALM 118:26 which gave them the greeting to give to their King, Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. Many were placing palm branches in front of Jesus as he rode into Jerusalem. Palm branches symbolized being in the PRESENCE of God. Solomon had them carved on the temple doors: 1 Kings 6:29 NKJV Then he carved all the walls of the temple all around, both the inner and outer sanctuaries, with carved figures of cherubim, palm trees, and open flowers. The saints in heaven are pictured as holding palm branches in their hands: Revelation 7:9 NIV After this I looked, and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands. Waving or placing Palm branches on the road was symbolic way of celebrating the presence of their Savior King. So Christ entered Jerusalem openly as their Messiah-King, fulfilling the prophesy of Zechariah. According to Luke the Pharisees wanted Jesus to tell his disciples to stop this celebration. His response was, "I tell you that if these should keep silent, the stones would immediately cry out." (Luke 19:40) All through Jesus public ministry He stopped the demons from announcing who He was and He didn t allow His disciples to proclaim His transfiguration, but now Jesus wanted his disciples to proclaim OPENLY that He is the King. He wants us today to proclaim openly that He is King. This may be the main significance of Jesus triumphal entry. But He also wants us to understand the nature of His rule and of His kingdom. Let s think about how we should relate to Jesus as our King today. March 25, 2018 Corntassel CP Church Page 2
CHRIST IS KING TODAY First, let me ask you, Is Christ King today? Some teach that since Jesus was rejected that week and was crucified, He is not yet king. They say that He postponed his kingdom until the 2 nd Coming. Let s see if the New Testament presents Christ as King TODAY. In the birth account it is said that Jesus would receive the throne of David and reign over the house of Jacob forever. This is in Luke 1:31-33. The wise men said that Jesus was born King of the Jews. Matthew 2:2. As Jesus called the disciples, Nathanael confessed to him that You are the King of Israel. John 1:49. When Jesus ascended to heaven He was enthroned as King according to Hebrews 1:8 But to the Son he says: "Your throne, O God, is forever and ever; a scepter of righteousness is the scepter of your kingdom. The Apostle Paul calls Jesus "King of kings in I Timothy 6:15. After the resurrection and ascension, the apostles preached the kingdom of God and Christ as King. John also in his vision of the return of Christ sees this title on his thigh: (Rev 19:16 NKJV) And He has on His thigh a name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS. I believe that it can be said that Jesus came as the king. He took up His rule as King at His ascension and now He is ruling as king. He is King of kings and Lord of lords. We are to proclaim Him as King today and live unto Him as our King. JESUS CALLS US TO FOLLOW HIM TODAY AS KING If Jesus is our King then we are to FOLLOW Him. It is interesting that in John s gospel, immediately after the reporting of the Triumphal Entry it talks about Jesus conversation with the Greeks who wanted to see Jesus. He talks about His death and says that he who follows Him must be willing to go where Jesus went. March 25, 2018 Corntassel CP Church Page 3
Jesus went to the cross on that Friday. We are to be willing to go to the Cross if we are following Him as our King. John 12:25-26 Anyone who loves their life will lose it, while anyone who hates their life in this world will keep it for eternal life. Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be. JESUS AS KING CALLS FOR MY ALLEGIANCE & OBEDIENCE Next if Jesus is our King then we will give Him our OBEDIENCE and allegiance. What is the essence of the relationship a subject has to his king? I would say allegiance may sum up this relationship and allegiance is shown by obedience. A loyal subject is to give his total allegiance to his king. If we truly believe that Jesus is king then we are to show it by our allegiance to Him. Faith is giving our total allegiance to Christ as our King. Christ rides into our lives and asks for our faith, our allegiance, and our obedience as our King. JESUS AS KING MAKES ME A CHILD OF THE KING If I am following Jesus as my King, I will come to realize that I am a child of the King. I am more than a subject of the King, I am a CHILD of the King. There a song in our hymnal about this. My Father is rich in houses and lands, He holdeth the wealth of the world in His hands! Of rubies and diamonds, of silver and gold, His coffers are full, He has riches untold. Refrain I m a child of the King, A child of the King: With Jesus my Savior, I m a child of the King. This song has been a blessing to thousands. I read one story about a cowboy was saved by hearing this song sung. March 25, 2018 Corntassel CP Church Page 4
A Mr. Peter P. Bilhorn relates the following incident in connection with this hymn, which happened when he was engaged in evangelistic work among the cowboys in the West, in 1883. We had started up the Missouri River for Bismarck, and on Sunday we stopped at a new town, named Blunt, to unload some freight. A crowd of men and boys came down to the wharf. I took my little organ, went on the wharf boat, and sang a few songs among others the glorious hymn, I m a child of the King. I thought nothing more of the occasion until long afterward, when I sang the same song in Mr. Moody s church in Chicago [Illinois]. Then a man in the back part of the house arose, and said in a trembling voice: Two years ago I heard that song at Blunt, Dakota; I was then an unsaved man, but that song set me to thinking, and I decided to accept Christ, and I am now studying for the ministry. With Jesus my Savior, I m a child of the King. This puts me in a different relationship with Jesus than just being a subject. The King has taken me into his household and has made me part of the royal family. What a privilege! JESUS AS KING AFFECTS HOW I SEE SOCIETY Then if I am following Jesus as my King I will see society differently. I will have a different way of looking at life and culture. As a loyal subject of the King and child of the King, I will see that I live in TWO kingdoms. My eyes have been opened to see two kingdoms overlaying each other. There is the kingdom of darkness and a kingdom of light. Paul speaks about us being transferred from one kingdom to another. (Col 1:13 NKJV) He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love, The kingdom of darkness has a ruler is seeks to destroy the kingdom of light. The ruler of that kingdom has always been a usurper. He has tried to usurp God's authority and rule in our lives. There is a spiritual battle between these two kingdoms and always will be until the King of kings returns. March 25, 2018 Corntassel CP Church Page 5
With this understanding we need to discern in our society what activities belong to the kingdom of darkness and which activities belong to the kingdom of light. We are to settle in our hearts which kingdom has our allegiance. I am afraid that many times we may be supporting the kingdom of darkness rather than the kingdom of light. We need to be able to discern which is which in our society. CONCLUSION: We could think of other relationships if time permit, but let s conclude by thinking of the palm branches again. Let s look at the palm branch that we received this morning as symbolizing our life. As the people laid palm branches before the Lord on that first Palm Sunday, we can lay OUR LIVES before Him on this Palm Sunday. We need to lay our lives before Him as a way of showing our allegiance to Him as our King. We can lay our lives before Him because He has made us a child of the king. We can lay our lives before Him in prayer because we come to the throne of mercy of our King. We can lay our lives before Him because His kingdom is from everlasting to everlasting and this world s kingdoms will come to an end one day. We can lay our lives before Him by proclaiming Him publically as King and as our King. Jesus is King. He rides into our lives asking us to follow Him. He is asking for our faith, our allegiance, and our loyalty. Will you give them to Him? Amen? Amen! March 25, 2018 Corntassel CP Church Page 6