“Sacrificial Love” John 12:12-26
March 8 marked the beginning of an important time in the life of the Christian church.
Do you know what it is?
Ash Wednesday, which was on March 8, began a season of spiritual preparation during which we recall the whole life, teachings, and ministry of Jesus.
We call this season "Lent."
Those who celebrate Lent usually fast on Ash Wednesday and on Palm Sunday.
Today is Palm Sunday.
Today begins that period of time that Christians refer to as "Holy Week" or "The Passion Week", the last week Jesus lived before his crucifixion.
What do we know about Palm Sunday?
Here are some things that tradition tells us about Palm Sunday:
• Palm Sunday is always the Sunday before Easter.
• Palm Sunday was the day that Jesus rode into town on a donkey.
• Palm Sunday marks the day that Jesus finally received his well-deserved recognition as the Messiah.
• Palm Sunday was a time of joy and triumph for Jesus because, at last, the Hebrew nation recognized him as the Messiah, the anointed one of God who had come to deliver them from the oppression of the Roman government.
• Palm Sunday was a spontaneous event.
By this I mean that our picture of Palm Sunday is that Jesus found a donkey on the side of the road and decided to ride into town. Then a crowd suddenly appeared out of nowhere and began shouting praises and throwing palm branches.
• Palm Sunday marks the "triumphal entry" when Jesus came to fulfill his mission and become the "Savior of the World."
These are all things that tradition tells us about Palm Sunday, but is this what the Bible says about Palm Sunday?
This is an important season in the life of Christians.
Without the events that occurred during Lent the events of Advent would have no meaning.
Palm Sunday sets the stage for what was to happen in the life of our Lord and Savior for the remainder of that week.
If we understand what the Bible says about Palm Sunday we can have a better understanding of what Jesus actually went through during the last week of his life on earth.
What happened in the life of Jesus Christ during this week has a profound effect on all humanity.
It is imperative that we understand what happened because, through the events of Palm Sunday and Passion Week, we can see clearly two profound truths about the sacrificial love of a servant; the kind of love Jesus has for us.
I. Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem illustrates the nature of the sacrificial love of a servant (v 12-19)
We call this the "Triumphal Entry" because WE understand that in just a few short days, Jesus would triumph over sin and death.
Because of his victory, we have the promises of God if we believe and receive God’s gift salvation.
We have the whole story written down for us and we can easily come to the conclusion that the people were lauding Jesus as a king who would triumph over Rome and establish his earthly reign.
We see in Verses 12-15 a huge crowd of people shouting, "Hosanna, Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!"
That word, hosanna, means "Saved" or "Salvation now".
The were throwing palm branches before him as an expression of honor, much like our throwing rose petals or rolling out the red carpet.
They were acknowledging Jesus as the Messiah, the King of Israel.
You need to understand something about the kings in Jesus’ day to understand the full significance of Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem.
Once you do, you get a different picture of that "triumphal" entry.
In ancient times, when a king returned to his capital city from a victorious military campaign, he had a triumphal entry.
Usually, he rode in his chariot or on a white horse, symbolizing victory.
For the king, it was a day of joy and celebration.
The king would be followed by the defeated kings or other captives as evidence of his victory.
He would usually ride through the crowds throwing gifts of money.
If you read the other gospels, you quickly grasp the fact that Jesus orchestrated this entire event which we call "the triumphal entry."
He had previously made all of the preparations and was in complete control of the event.
But, His entry into Jerusalem was not the grand entry of a triumphant king.
It was the humble entry of a servant.
His entry came before the final battle, not after the victory.
The "great crowd" in Verse 12 who were praising him were not the people of Jerusalem, the capital city.
Some were people who had been with Jesus before.
Others were outsiders who had come to Jerusalem from the areas surrounding the Holy City in preparation for the Passover.
Still others were Gentiles who chose to participate in the festivities of Passover.
In fact, if you read the account in Matthew, you see that the residents of Jerusalem were actually trying to find out who this person was who was making such a grand entrance into their city.
His entry obviously confused the disciples.
They had been with him in Galilee when the crowd tried to crown him King after he fed the multitude (John 6:15), but he had rejected their attempt.
Now, seemingly all of a sudden, he makes a grand entrance into Jerusalem as if to say, "Here I am. Behold your king."
He was their King, but not the kind of king that fit their expectations.
Verse 16 tells us that they didn’t really understand any of this until Jesus was glorified, then they remembered all that was written about him and all that was done to him.
They were referring, in part, to his entrance on the donkey, a fulfillment of Zechariah 9:9 which reads, "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."
None of them understood the significance of the donkey.
His mode of travel was not that of a triumphant king, but that of a lowly servant.
The crowds, even the disciples, wanted an earthly king so badly that they completely missed the fact that Jesus was not entering into Jerusalem as a king who would parade through his city on a white horse.
He entered as a servant riding a common peasant’s donkey.
They didn’t understand that the salvation spoken of in Zechariah 9:9 was salvation of man from the penalty of sin that redeems man and restores the broken relationship between sinful man and Holy God.
They failed to understand that Jesus was their salvation, the propitiation, the atoning sacrifice that would appease the wrath of God who had told them time and time again that he would judge their rebellion and their disobedience.
God promised them that he would deal with sin and he dealt with it, not by destroying them, even though they deserved it, but by sending his only son to make the sacrifice for their iniquity.
He was the sacrifice for our sin and our iniquity.
When God looks at us he sees the blood of Jesus Christ on the Mercy Seat and we have forgiveness.
The only requirement is faith that leads to repentance and God even gives us that faith.
Those disciples remembered that the prophets foretold the Messiah would be rejected, that he would be wounded for our transgressions, that he would be bruised for our iniquities.
Jesus was rejected as king by the inhabitants of His Holy City, Jerusalem.
They didn’t even know who he was when he made his entrance.
Still, the crowds were buzzing because of the power of his most recent miracle, the raising of Lazarus from the dead.
The crowds who proclaimed Jesus as the Messiah waited in anxious anticipation for him to establish his rule.
The Pharisees who had consistently tried to discredit Jesus, now grumbled among themselves saying, "This is getting us nowhere. The whole world has gone after him."
And we read in Luke’s account, Luke 19:41-44:
41 As he approached Jerusalem and saw the city, he wept over it
42 and said, "If you, even you, had only known on this day what would bring you peace, but now it is hidden from your eyes.
43 The days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment against you and encircle you and hem you in on every side.
44 They will dash you to the ground, you and the children within your walls. They will not leave one stone on another, because you did not recognize the time of God’s coming to you."
They were blind.
Jesus did not make a triumphal entrance.
His entry into Jerusalem illustrates the humble nature of sacrificial love of a servant.
Jesus came as a humble servant.
II. Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem illustrates the depth of the sacrificial love of a servant
Verses 20-22 are significant because, until now, the Gentiles had not been seeking the Lord.
When he hears that a group of Gentiles want to see him, he immediately responds, "The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.”
Many times before he had told people his time or his hour had not yet come, but now, with the coming of these Greeks, he knew that the time to fulfill his purpose had arrived.
He would soon show the world the depth of his sacrificial love.
He would soon die a slow, painful death on a cross for the sins of man.
We know that he was disturbed because in Verse 27 he tells us “Now my heart is troubled…”
But he knew the plan that was established before the foundation of the world.
He knew why he came and he came willingly.
He says in Verse 24 that unless a grain of wheat dies it will not bring forth fruit.
If it does not die it will remain a single seed.
He was talking about himself.
He was the seed that would die so that fruit could be produced.
These Greeks symbolized the first great harvest that was about to be reaped throughout the earth.
Only by willingly dying on the cross could he draw a lost world, both Jew and Gentile alike, to himself.
In verses 25 & 26 He gives us the great Christian paradox: “The man who loves his life will lose it while the man who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.”
That doesn’t mean that you hate yourself, but that you keep your priorities straight.
Jesus gave his life so that we could have life.
Only when the Lordship of Christ assumes total control over your life and God becomes your everything and self becomes nothing, only when your love for God is so great that your self-love becomes hate by comparison will you truly find and keep yourself for eternal life.
If we desire to serve Christ, we must follow him.
We must go the way he went.
If we are unwilling to follow wherever he leads, how can we call ourselves his servants?
It wasn’t his miracles that caused Jesus to leave such a lasting and deep imprint upon the world.
It was his death.
• Because of his death on the cross he shared his life with millions of people.
• Because of his death on the cross he is able to offer grace and forgiveness.
• Because of his death on the cross he is able to offer salvation and eternal life to all who put their faith in him and turn from their life of sin.
• Because of his death on the cross we can truly say, "Hosanna! Blessed is the King of Israel who comes in the name of the Lord!"
Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem illustrates the depth of the sacrificial love of a servant.
A servant who loves sacrificially willingly lays down his life for those he loves.
CONCLUSION:
One week from today we will be celebrating Jesus’ victory on the cross.
In one sense I am overjoyed because I know that because he lives I will live.
The thought of spending eternity with Jesus Christ overwhelms me.
But in another sense, I am troubled because we put so little emphasis on Easter.
Just as we reduce Christmas to materialism and toys, we reduce Easter to eggs and bunnies.
During this week, Holy Week, think about what Easter means to you and realize this: If it had not been for Easter, Christmas would not matter.
INVITATION:
Has the Lord spoken to you this morning?
Do you understand the implications of Jesus’ sacrificial love?
Do you understand that the essence of sacrificial love is that it puts others before itself?
It is willing to lay down its life that others may have life.
Jesus left us with a profound example of sacrificial love that penetrates down to our very soul.
He has told us to follow his example, to grow into Christlikeness.
This morning, if you don’t know Jesus as Savior or have not submitted to his Lordship, I would like you to come forward and allow me to pray with you.
You need to experience his sacrificial love that has made your salvation possible.
Psalm 32:1: "Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered."
Come today and give your live completely to Jesus so that your sin may be covered.
