WE WISH TO SEE JESUS (John 12:12-26)
INTRODUCTION:
This morning we will again be in the book of John as we continue to look at events in the final week of Jesus’ earthly life and ministry leading up to His resurrection that we will look at on Resurrection Sunday. We began our journey last week in John 12, Jesus and His disciples had arrived in Bethany six days before the Passover. They were on their way to Jerusalem for the Passover and stopped in Bethany, about two miles outside of Jerusalem to see friends, Martha, Mary, Lazarus, whom Jesus had raised from the dead, and we learned from Matthew, Simon, the ex-leper, whom Jesus had healed. While there they made a supper in Simon’s home in honor of Jesus. This took place on the Sabbath, the last legitimate Sabbath because Jesus would die before the next Sabbath making the Old Covenant obsolete and inaugurating the New Covenant with His blood, and the sign of the New Covenant is the resurrection of Jesus Christ on the first day of the week, Sunday.
As we looked at the people involved in the event in the first eleven verses of John 12 we saw that when it comes to Jesus, some choose to believe and some choose to not believe and this is a decision that must be made by every person when confronted with the truth of Jesus Christ. We either believe that He is the Savior of the world as He said, or we reject Him and do not believe that He is the Savior of the world. This morning we are going to look at what is called Palm Sunday or the Triumphal Entry. We will again be looking at those involved in this event and how they responded. There are no individuals, but groups of people and how they responded to Jesus. Let’s pray and then get into our passage for this morning.
--PRAY--
SCRIPTURE:
Turn in your Bibles this morning to John 12 again, John 12:12-26. We will be picking up where we left off last week. Please stand, if you are able, in honor of the reading of God’s Word.
John 12:12-26,
“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.’ Now there were some Greeks among those who were going up to worship at the feast; these then came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida of Galilee, and began to ask him, saying, ‘Sir, we wish to see Jesus.’ Philip came and told Andrew; Andrew and Philip came and told Jesus. And Jesus answered them, saying, ‘The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. He who loves his life loses it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it to life eternal. If anyone serves Me, he must follow Me; and where I am, there My servant will be also; if anyone serves Me, the Father will honor him.’ ” (John 12:12–26, NASB95)[1]
THE VACILATING CROWD (John 12:9, 12-14, 17-18)
This morning we celebrate Palm Sunday. We come to the end of 33 years, we come to the end of Jesus’ life and ministry. All that He needed to do to prove who He was is done. His perfect, sinless life was evidence that He was, in fact, God, the promised Messiah and Savior. His words and His works demonstrated His supernatural power. His power over demons, His power over disease, His power over nature, and His power over death was proof enough of who He was. All these miracles are recorded for us. All the evidence was laid down, all the proof was in. One miracle was the capstone, a miracle that had been done close to Jerusalem. It took place in Bethany, when He raised Lazarus from the dead. Not after He had just died, as if it was a resuscitation, but four days after he died, he had already been wrapped and buried, placed in a tomb. Jesus came and raised him from the dead. That was the pinnacle, the capstone of His evidence that He was the Messiah. Now Passover is approaching, people from all over Israel are coming for Passover, Jews and Gentile proselytes are coming from other parts of the world, and everyone has a story to tell about Jesus, everyone is talking about Him and wondering if He will come to the Passover. This was the perfect time to make His official presentation of Himself.
Remember last Sunday near the end of my message I talked about the crowd that heard Jesus was in Bethany and came hoping to see Jesus, but also hoping to see Lazarus, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. In other words, they were curious, they didn’t come because they believed, they came to see the two everyone was talking about. Some from this crowd alerted the people of Jerusalem that Jesus was coming. This is what verse 12 tells us, on the next day, after the supper at Simon’s house on Saturday, this is now the next day, Sunday, and we have what we might call the final presentation and the most public presentation by Jesus that He is the Messiah. John writes that the large crowd who had come to the feast, when they heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem, took branches of the palm trees. Understand that we have two crowds here, we have the crowd that went to Bethany the night before, and then we have this crowd coming out of Jerusalem, a massive crowd, possibly in the hundreds of thousands, we don’t know for sure. We know from history that as many as a quarter of a million animals would be sacrificed at Passover. One lamb per family, and you get a massive crowd of people that have come to Jerusalem, who are staying in and around Jerusalem. Two crowds, Jesus is leading the crowd from Bethany, the other crowd is pouring out of Jerusalem coming to meet Him. John simply tells us that Jesus found a young donkey and sat on it to ride it into Jerusalem. The other Gospels tell us that He sent two of His disciples to get the colt of a donkey for Him to ride on. They threw their coats on the donkey for Him to sit on and they threw their coats and palm branches on the road in front of Him, making a royal road for Him to ride into Jerusalem on and they were waving palm branches. This is how Jesus and the crowd with Him meets the crowd coming out of Jerusalem. As these two crowds begin to mingle, circulating through the crowd is that Jesus had raised a man named Lazarus from the dead. And there is more interest in Jesus than there has ever been before. Massive enthusiasm engulfs the crowd, everyone there is swept up into it. This is what we call mob mentality, the emotions run through the crowd, the enthusiasm is contagious. Some of the people began to shout out, “Hosanna! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord, even the King of Israel.” (John 12:13b, NASB95)[2] Others begin to pick this up and all are shouting this out. What has the crowd so excited it that they are saying that Jesus is the King, that He is the Messiah. And Jesus does not deny this, He does not deny their hosannas. This is His final, and most public presentation. By riding a donkey’s colt, and not a white horse, Jesus is trying to convey something to this crowd. He is saying that He is not a conqueror riding into Jerusalem, in other words, He is not coming to make war, or to overthrow the Romans, He comes to make peace, He comes not to kill, but to die. This final presentation was to fulfill prophecy and John quotes the prophecy concerning this from Zechariah 9:9.
Luke 19 shows us that Jesus knew that this crowd before Him and around Him and behind Him were not His true followers. We read in Luke 19:39-44, “Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Him, ‘Teacher, rebuke Your disciples.’ But Jesus answered, ‘I tell you, if these become silent, the stones will cry out!’ When He approached Jerusalem, He saw the city and wept over it, saying, ‘If you had known in this day, even you, the things which make for peace! But now they have been hidden from your eyes. For the days will come upon you when your enemies will throw up a barricade against you, and surround you and hem you in on every side, and they will level you to the ground and your children within you, and they will not leave in you one stone upon another, because you did not recognize the time of your visitation.’” (Luke 19:39–44, NASB95)[3] This is God’s judgment on an unbelieving nation, you wouldn’t believe, now you can’t and He predicts the destruction of Jerusalem in A.D. 70 by the Romans because they did not recognize the time of their visitation, when God Himself came as their Messiah and walked among them. Jesus is clear that this judgment by the Romans, is God’s judgment. Then we read that He entered the temple and drove out those who were selling. Judaism was apostate. The nation was apostate. This vacillating, fickle attitude that was going on, this huge emotional movement that happened as He rode into Jerusalem had nothing substantial behind it and Jesus knew it. He knew the crowd would turn on Him just as soon as He was arrested. The crowds would go from shouting Hosanna to shouting crucify Him. The crowd was fickle. They did not believe they were just curious.
THE PERPLEXED DISCIPLES (John 12:15-16)
The next group that we have are Jesus’ disciples and they are perplexed. This is understandable. John writes in verse 16 that “these things His disciples did not understand at first.” How could they understand? Jesus had told them that He was going to die, that He had to go to Jerusalem and He would die there. The next thing they see is Jesus healing people, raising the dead and they must begin to think, “This is it, this is triumph. The kingdom must be coming.” Then Jesus tells them again that He is going to die. Now they are coming into Jerusalem, and it looks like this is it. Jesus is being hailed as King. The moment that they had been waiting for, and hoped for, and prayed for, this is great, He is going to establish the kingdom and we are going to reign with Him. And they barely catch their breath, and it’s apparent to Jesus that the crowd is fickle and nothing has changed, they know the truth but they reject it, they are apostate. Before the week is out Jesus is arrested, the same crowd that cried “hosanna” screams for His blood and He winds up at the end of the week dead.
John said that they did not understand until Jesus was glorified, before that they were perplexed and confused. They didn’t understand that He had to die, but when He had risen and was glorified and ascended He sent the Spirit and they remembered that these things were written about Him, and that they had done these things to Him. Jesus had promised that when He was glorified, He would send the Spirit. And Jesus had told the disciples in John 14:26, “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you.” (John 14:26, NASB95)[4] When the Spirit came the light went on. They got it. They understood the whole thing.
It is easier for us to understand because we are on this side. We have the full revelation in the four Gospels and the Epistles that explain it for us. They were in the moment trying to understand things that were incomprehensible to them. It did not make sense until the Spirit came, and then they understood. We are not confused, we understand because we have these events recorded for us, written down by men who were carried along by the Holy Spirit and because the Spirit dwells in us who have put our faith in Christ we have His illumination. We do not have to search for the historical Jesus, because He is in the pages of Scripture, just exactly where God placed the divine revelation of Him. The disciples did not have the New Testament Scriptures, so until the Spirit came, they did not understand.
THE FRUSTRATED PHARISEES (John 12:19)
We have seen the fickle crowd, going out to see the man who raised someone from the dead, they were curious, they were fickle, they were the thrill-seekers, all there in the crowd. We saw the perplexed disciples, trying to understand what was happening. In verse 19 we come to the frustrated Pharisees. We know how they feel about Jesus, they hate Him, and they want Him dead. This was decided back in chapter 11 after He raised Lazarus from the dead. Chapter 11, verse 53 says, “So from that day on they planned together to kill Him.” (John 11:53, NASB95)[5] And that was exactly what God wanted. Jesus needed to die on the Passover, He need to die as a Passover lamb. The Pharisees did not want that to happen, they wanted to kill Him when there were no crowds of people in Jerusalem, they wanted to avoid the crowds and the publicity. They wanted it done quietly, especially when the “whole world” was going after Him. They are in a panic because Jesus is causing them to act.
Verse 19 says, “So the Pharisees said to one another, ‘You see that you are not doing any good; look, the world has gone after Him.’ ” (John 12:19, NASB95)[6] You can hear the hatred and the frustration, they are in a panic. They had already talked about what would happen if this went on. John 11:47-48 says, “Therefore the chief priests and the Pharisees convened a council, and were saying, ‘What are we doing? For this man is performing many signs. If we let Him go on like this, all men will believe in Him, and the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation.’ ” (John 11:47–48, NASB95)[7] In other words, they believed that if Jesus continued they would lose everything. They believed the Romans were going to come and get them, because if everyone follows Jesus, the Romans will see this as a rebellion and an insurrection because He is a King and they are all hailing this King, and Caesar will not like this, and the Romans are going to take away our positions and our nation. They were appointed or allowed to be appointed in the positions they were in of power and money, and they did not want to lose that. In John 11:49-50 we read what the appointed high priest said to the council. John writes, “But one of them, Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, said to them, ‘You know nothing at all, nor do you take into account that it is expedient for you that one man die for the people, and that the whole nation not perish.’ ” (John 11:49–50, NASB95)[8] In other words, he said, “We have to kill Him. If it is not Him, it is going to be us. Then John gives us a bit of commentary in the next verse, in verse 51 he writes, “Now he did not say this on his own initiative, but being high priest that year, he prophesied that Jesus was going to die for the nation.” (John 11:51–52, NASB95)[9] But not in the way he thought; Jesus would die for their sins to save them from God’s wrath, not to preserve their physical lives and positions. Back to chapter twelve, they are in a panic and this is where Jesus wants them. He wanted them to panic and to force His death so that it would occur on Friday, on Passover. This was critical in the plan of God. They would never determine when He would die. They tried to do that before, and He passed through their midst because His time was not right. This is the time; this is the hour. Not because the Pharisees want it but because God wants it.
The crowd is fickle, today they are shouting “Hosanna” but in a few days they will be shouting, “Crucify Him.” The disciples are confused, you see the perplexity as they try and figure it all out. The Pharisees are frustrated and in a panic. But in verse 20 we get a glimmer of hope, a little blessing.
THE QUESTIONING GENTILES (John 12:20-26)
In this crowd are some Gentiles, or Greeks. Verse 20 says, “Now there were some Greeks [Gentiles] among those who were going up to worship at the feast…” (John 12:20, NASB95)[10] Remember when they had the Passover Jews came from everywhere. But these are not Jews, these would be proselytes to Judaism, people who converted to Judaism somewhere in the Gentile world, and they had joined the Jews to come to the Passover. These Gentiles are curious. Since they did not live in Israel, they don’t know about Jesus and all the He has done. But they hear the people talking about Him and that He raised a man from the dead, and surely they were asking those around them in the crowd further questions, “Who is this man? What has He done? And they get a little history about Jesus and His life and ministry.
John tells us that they came to Phillip, they see that he is associated with Jesus, they come up to him and say, “Sir, we wish to see Jesus.” In other words, we want to talk to Him, learn more about Him. Phillip went and told Andrew, and Andrew and Phillip came and told Jesus. Phillip didn’t know what to do when asked if they could see Jesus, so he went to get Andrew’s advice and Andrew told him that they should ask Jesus and see if He wants these Gentiles to meet Him. Since they are proselytes, they have embraced the messianic hope. They want to know if, in fact, Jesus is the Messiah, and they desire an interview with Him.
This is interesting, it is like a rebuke to the whole nation of Israel. The only people who want to talk to Jesus are not even Jews. What does that tell you? Most of the crowd is Jewish people. They are carried away with everyone else calling Jesus the Messiah and the King, they are caught up in the emotion of the moment. But the only people that ask to talk to Jesus are Gentiles, and they are just waking up to the truth that Jesus could be the Messiah. This is like a little preview of the church. A preview of the Lord turning from Israel to the world.
They came and though it does not say it, it implies that Jesus received them. What Jesus says beginning in verse 23 I believe is His conversation with these Gentiles. What He says was important for them to hear. Their point, “We want to know about Jesus.” Verse 23 says, “And Jesus answered them, saying, ‘The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.’ ” (John 12:23, NASB95)[11] The hour has come, many times Jesus said during His life that His hour had not yet come, but now it has, it has come for the Son of Man, a messianic title given in the book of Daniel, for the Son of Man to be glorified. To be exalted, the Messiah to be glorified. This is my hour, but not in the way they expected because He says in verse 24, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.” (John 12:24, NASB95)[12] Jesus is talking about His death now. In the midst of this crowd who is hailing Him as the Messiah and King, He talks about His death. He knows the crowd is fickle, but He knows this little group of Gentiles are legitimate, they want the message, not just the emotion of the moment. Because of this, Jesus turns their vision for the Messiah, He turns their anticipation and their interest to His death. Jesus is telling this little group that if He does not die, then there is no life for anyone. As long as grain remains in the granary, it is preserved by its outside shell, but it can’t produce. It only has the power to produce itself. But when the grain is put into the ground, the protective shell begins to decompose, and the rotting away of the shell, the dying of the external grain, releases the life inside and it begins to flourish. This is a beautiful picture. Grain alone has no fruit, produces nothing until it dies, then it produces and multiplies. Jesus was telling them that He has to die, if He does not die, He abides alone.
If Jesus does not go to the cross and die, then there are no people in heaven, no souls redeemed. No one from Adam to the end of human history if Jesus does not die. He must die if anyone is to live. He says to this group of Gentiles, “Here is the Gospel; the message is the cross, I must die, but out of my death will come life: My own life and your life as well. Without His death He would have remained forever in heaven alone, there would be no redeemed humanity in heaven worshiping Him forever. But He saw a spiritual harvest coming out of His death, and that was the joy set before Him. Then He tells this group, “He who loves his life loses it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it to life eternal.” (John 12:25, NASB95)[13] He tells them how they can receive this life that His death will bring, by dying, by denying ourselves. In other words, if you want the life that my death brings, then you give up your life. You turn from your sin and your personal ambition and will and you believe in Me, as your Savior and Lord. We must hate our life in the world if we want life eternal. If you want eternal life you must turn your back on your life in this world, recognize that you are a sinner, that everything in this life is foolishness. Abandon yourself to Christ and you will have eternal life. Then He continues in verse 26 and says, ““If anyone serves Me, he must follow Me; and where I am, there My servant will be also; if anyone serves Me, the Father will honor him.” (John 12:26, NASB95)[14] Jesus gives us the end reward. The answer to: why would I do this? Why would I hate my life in this world? Why would I give up my life and forfeit it to embrace Jesus Christ? Because if I serve Him, if I follow Him, I’ll be where He is. Where is that? Heaven, you will be with Him in heaven. This is always the promise of the Gospel. It is not about a happy, easy life here, it is about heaven. It is about eternal life in the glorious presence of God. What a payoff? Eternal heaven. And what is eternal heaven? The end of verse 26, “…if anyone serves Me, the Father will honor him.” (John 12:26b, NASB95)[15] If you ever wonder what heaven is, it is where God honors the sinner, saved and cleansed and serving the Savior. Wow! That is a staggering thought. God honoring me.
CONCLUSION:
As I close this morning and as we come to the Lord’s supper, I want you to look inside your heart this morning. We saw four different groups of people in this passage. The crowd was caught up in the enthusiasm of the moment, but Jesus knew they were fickle, that in a few days they would be calling for His death. The disciples loved the Lord, but they were perplexed by all that was happening, they did not fully understand until the Holy Spirit came and reminded them of all things that Jesus had said and taught them from the Scriptures. The Pharisees were frustrated because Jesus was forcing their hand. The Gentiles were seeking the truth and Jesus took them to the cross, He said, “I have to die, then you have to die. But the payoff, you get to be with Me where I am, and there be honored forever by God.” That is the greatness of saving grace.
Where are you this morning? Are you seeking the truth, you will not find it in this world. You will find it and eternal life in Jesus Christ. If you have never put your faith in Jesus Christ do so this morning, die to yourself and take the eternal life He offers through faith in Him. Paul said, “that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved;” (Romans 10:9, NASB95)[16] You who already have put your faith in Jesus Christ rejoice that Jesus went to the cross and died for you, and rejoice that the next time He returns to the earth it will be on the white horse of victory as He takes back the earth and establishes His kingdom and reigns in righteousness.
[1]New American Standard Bible: 1995 update. (1995). La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.
[2]New American Standard Bible: 1995 update. (1995). La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.
[3]New American Standard Bible: 1995 update. (1995). La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.
[4]New American Standard Bible: 1995 update. (1995). La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.
[5]New American Standard Bible: 1995 update. (1995). La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.
[6]New American Standard Bible: 1995 update. (1995). La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.
[7]New American Standard Bible: 1995 update. (1995). La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.
[8]New American Standard Bible: 1995 update. (1995). La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.
[9]New American Standard Bible: 1995 update. (1995). La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.
[10]New American Standard Bible: 1995 update. (1995). La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.
[11]New American Standard Bible: 1995 update. (1995). La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.
[12]New American Standard Bible: 1995 update. (1995). La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.
[13]New American Standard Bible: 1995 update. (1995). La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.
[14]New American Standard Bible: 1995 update. (1995). La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.
[15]New American Standard Bible: 1995 update. (1995). La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.
[16]New American Standard Bible: 1995 update. (1995). La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.