THE TRIUMPHAL ENTRE
JOHN 12:12-16
Introduction:
The occasion was the last Passover feast that the Lord would participate in. There were many people from many places. It was dangerous for the Lord to be there, however, He was preparing for His death on the Cross.
Previously Jesus had rejected the role of a political Messiah (John 6:15,“When Jesus therefore perceived that they would come and take him by force, to make him a king, he departed again into a mountain himself alone.”).
But, the people thought, perhaps now was the right moment. Jerusalem was the city of the great King and He was coming to it.
I. RESPECT PAID BY THE COMMON FOLKS
John 12:12-13, “On the next day much people that were come to the feast, when they heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem, 13 Took branches of palm trees, and went forth to meet him, and cried, Hosanna: Blessed is the King of Israel that cometh in the name of the Lord.
A. These were common folks who had heard Him in the streets, 1 Corinthians 1:27, “But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty;”
B. The Occasion was the Passover, John 11:55-56, “And the Jews’ passover was nigh at hand: and many went out of the country up to Jerusalem before the passover, to purify themselves. 56 Then sought they for Jesus, and spake among themselves, as they stood in the temple, What think ye, that he will not come to the feast?” The way they expressed their respect.
1. The palms branch is a sign of victory and triumph, John 12:13, “Took branches of palm trees, and went forth to meet him, and cried, Hosanna: Blessed is the King of Israel that cometh in the name of the Lord.”
2. They cried with load voices:
a. “Hosanna,” Matthew 21:9,“And the multitudes that went before, and that followed, cried, saying, Hosanna to the Son of David: Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord; Hosanna in the highest.” This was a customary form of acclamation at the feast of Tabernacles, Compare Psalm 118:25, “Save now, I beseech thee, O LORD: O LORD, I beseech thee, send now prosperity.”
b. It means “Salvation to our God,” Revelation 7:10, “And cried with a loud voice, saying, Salvation to our God which sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb.”
c. They identified Jesus, “Blessed is the King of Israel that cometh in the name of the Lord,” John 1:49, “Nathanael answered and saith unto him, Rabbi, thou art the Son of God; thou art the King of Israel.”
II. THE KING IS COMING
A. All the prophets bore witness of His first coming, Zechariah 9:9,“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.”
1. He came in a lowly manner, “upon a colt the foal of an ass,” Matthew 11:29, “Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.”
2. His disciples DID NOT UNDERSTAND until later why Jesus did this, John 12:16, “These things understood not his disciples at the first: but when Jesus was glorified, then remembered they that these things were written of him, and that they had done these things unto him.”
B. We will be witnesses of His Second Coming, Acts 1:10-11, “And while they looked stedfastly toward heaven as he went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel; 11 Which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven.”
1. The Lord will descend with a SHOUT, 1 Thessalonians 4:16, “For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:”
2. We will HEAR THE TRUMP of God sound, 1 Corinthians 15:52, “In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.”
3. We will SEE HIM as He is, 1 John 3:2, “Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.”
4. We will go to A MANSION prepared for us, John 14:2-3, “In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.”
C. Then Jesus comes back to the earth as the King riding a white horse, Revelation 19:11, “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.”
1. At that coming he enters with all of the POMP of the KING OF KINGS, Revelation 19:16, “And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.”
2. We will REIGN WITH HIM a thousand years, Revelation 20:4, “And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.”
CONCLUSION:
Jesus rode into Jerusalem that day on a donkey. He came as the Saviour ready to die for the sins of mankind. The next time we see Him coming He will be riding that great white horse coming as the King of kings and Lord of lords. He will come victorious and rule from the throne of David.