INTRODUCTION
• SLIDE #1
• Today we are going to rewind of Bible DVR’s for a final time. Today we rewind back to the beginning of what is called the Passion Week to the Triumphal Entry.
• For Jesus this is the beginning of the end of His ministry on earth.
• In John 12:1, it is Friday evening and Jesus is in Bethany, this is where Mary washed Jesus feet with expensive perfume.
• This is the place where the religious leaders are ramping up their plans to kill Jesus, they were also planning on killing Lazarus because since the raising of Lazarus John 12:11 tells us that many of the Jews were going away and now believing in Jesus.
• That is kind of funny, what would killing Lazarus do to stop the raising him from the dead story?
• Now on Sunday, the week before the resurrection we reach a high point for Jesus. The crowds were building they were excited to see Jesus. He is going to get the ROCK STAR treatment.
• The nation was looking for the Messiah; the one they thought would release them from the tyranny of Rome.
• It was going to take a powerful person to do this and since the raising of Lazarus from the dead, more and more people gravitated toward Jesus because people felt He had the power to defeat Rome.
• As we peer into the event of the Triumphal Entry I want us to take some time to focus on the faces in the crowd. This crowd that is offering adoration to Jesus will most likely be the same crowd that in just a few days will be crying out for His crucifixion.
• I want us to look at the motivation for the different segments of the crowd had for being at this great event.
• As we peer into the hearts of those faces in the crowd, I pray that we will always check our hearts to see that we are motivated to be with Jesus for the right reasons also.
• Let us look at our first group of faces in the crowd by starting in verses 12-16
• SLIDE #2
• John 12:12–16 (ESV) 12 The next day the large crowd that had come to the feast heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem. 13 So they took branches of palm trees and went out to meet him, crying out, “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, even the King of Israel!” 14 And Jesus found a young donkey and sat on it, just as it is written, 15 “Fear not, daughter of Zion; behold, your king is coming, sitting on a donkey’s colt!” 16 His disciples did not understand these things at first, but when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that these things had been written about him and had been done to him.
• SLIDE #3
SERMON
I. Some came to worship the King.
• As this scene unfolds the crowd is gathering and the crowd is quite large.
• During the Passover time, the crowds in Jerusalem were phenomenally large. The Jewish historian Josephus estimated crowds of over 2.7 million people in Jerusalem during the Passover time.
• They were excited at the prospect of Jesus coming.
• When the people saw Jesus coming down the path, they took branches of palm trees and according to Mark 11:8 they also laid their robes on the road for Jesus.
• The folks who did this were there to worship the King.
• These faces in the crowd recognized that Jesus was something special.
• When the crowd was crying out HOSANNA, they were not offering up a salutation, they were sending a message!
• This phrase was more of a statement of praise and joy over the presence of Jesus.
• The word HOSANNA means “O SAVE US”.
• As I stated earlier, the Jews people were longing for the one who would deliver from the hands of the enemy. Jesus is looking like the one who could do it.
• What about yourself today. When you were a face in the crowd, were you looking to Jesus to deliver you from something bad in your life?
• Do you look to Jesus as the one who has the power to deliver you from the oppression you are or were facing?
• We know these faces in the crowd were there to worship because not only were they crying out to Jesus to save them, they added Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, even the King of Israel!
• These folks were acknowledging that Jesus was sent from God. The Jews at this point are thinking they are looking at the long awaited Messiah.
• This part of the verse is a quote from Psalm 118:25-26. This Psalm was traditionally used by pilgrims on their way to the temple.
• SLIDE #4
• Psalm 118:25–26 (ESV) Save us, we pray, O LORD! O LORD, we pray, give us success! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the LORD! We bless you from the house of the LORD.
• This phrase is theologically significant because this tells us that these faces in the crowd understood what was going on. They saw that Jesus was not here on His own accord, but rather that the Father had sent Him.
• Jesus was called to reveal God to man.
• SLIDE #5
• John 14:9 (ESV) Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you so long, and you still do not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?
• By acknowledging that Jesus was sent from God, they also called Him the King of Israel. This statement would later be used against Him in His trial before Pilate, but Pilate would not get caught up in the argument.
• He saw this as jealousy on the religious leaders part.
• Another issue I want to touch on is Jesus riding in on a donkey. This should have clued the crowd that Jesus was not here to be a military deliverer, but rather a man of peace who would lead a spiritual kingdom.
• John in his account does not focus in on the procurement of the donkey, but rather the prophetic significance of the donkey.
• Look at Zechariah 9:9
• SLIDE #6
• Zechariah 9:9 (ESV) Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your king is coming to you; righteous and having salvation is he, humble and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.
• Even though these faces in the crowd were there to worship, they did not fully understand what Jesus was all about.
• I think we can do the same thing. It is hard to wrap ourselves around what Jesus is really all about. It can be hard to fathom.
• Think about it, Jesus is the son of God. When we give our lives to Him we are giving our life to the Son of God!
• Look what John states concerning the mindset of the disciples in verse 16.
• 16 His disciples did not understand these things at first, but when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that these things had been written about him and had been done to him.
• They could not fully comprehend what was happening at the time.
• Of the faces in the crowd who were here to worship Jesus today, I wonder how many of them would be in the same crowd a few days down the road cheering for His crucifixion?
• I know we do would not out right call for Jesus crucifixion but when we chose not to live for the Lord we chose to worship, we in a sense do a very similar thing.
• SLIDE #7
• Hebrews 6:4–6 (ESV) 4 For it is impossible, in the case of those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, and have shared in the Holy Spirit, 5 and have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the age to come, 6 and then have fallen away, to restore them again to repentance, since they are crucifying once again the Son of God to their own harm and holding him up to contempt.
• Let’s turn to verses 17-18 to the motivation for the next set of faces in the crowd is.
• SLIDE #8
• John 12:17–18 (ESV) 17 The crowd that had been with him when he called Lazarus out of the tomb and raised him from the dead continued to bear witness. 18 The reason why the crowd went to meet him was that they heard he had done this sign.
• SLIDE #9
II. Some came to get something from the King.
• When we look at what John says is the reason many came, we see it was because they heard of Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead. Those who had witnessed this awe-inspiring event could not stop telling others about it.
• I wonder why!
• This shows us that some of the faces in the crowd were there to get something for themselves. Maybe it was a miracle performed or who knows what.
• What can see is that some of the faces in the crowd were enamored by what Jesus had done and they were hoping to see Jesus do something.
• They flocked to Jesus because of what He had done, but their enthusiasm was short-lived and their commitment was shallow.
• Even for the ones who were there to worship the King of Israel, many of them wanted Jesus to deliver the nation from under the tyranny of Rome; they were not there to make a personal commitment to Jesus.
• Even today there are many who come to Jesus with a shallow commitment or a short-lived enthusiasm for Jesus.
• Some come to Jesus simply because they want something of Him. That in itself is not totally bad.
• If you want Jesus to save you from your sins, to give you enteral life, that is fine, BUT when we come to Jesus to get something and we are not willing to make a commitment to Him, then we are missing the boat.
• Over time our relationship with Jesus should grow. When you have a relationship with Jesus, you ARE different. You act differently than the world, you live differently than the world, you think differently than the world, you treat people differently than the world does.
• Sitting in church for years does not guarantee an automatic commitment and life-changing relationship with Jesus. That happens over time when we commit ourselves to grow.
• We all need to grow closer to Jesus, and when we stop realizing that, our relationship with stop growing.
• A person committed to Jesus they will have a sweet spirit about them.
• Suffice to say, some faces in the crowd were just to get something, they were not there to commit their lives to Jesus.
• Let’s conclude with a look at the final faces in the crowd with verse 19.
• SLIDE #10
• John 12:19 (ESV) So the Pharisees said to one another, “You see that you are gaining nothing. Look, the world has gone after him.”
• SLIDE #11
III. Some came to oppose the King.
• In the faces in the crowd there were some religious leaders who had had enough of Jesus. They were ready to kill Him because He was cutting into their attention.
• As the Pharisees observe the crowd, they now know they can no longer contain the movement.
• Jesus followers are not just about Galileans, but they surmise that the world has gone after Him.
• These religious leaders wanted nothing to do with the Messiah; they wanted their territory no matter what the cost. They were going to guard their turf.
• There will be those faces in the crowd who will want to do the same. They want nothing to do with Jesus because it would mean they would be accountable to someone other than their own desires and appetites.
• They will fight with every ounce of their being to keep Jesus out.
• SLIDE #12
• 2 John 9 reminds us.
• 2 John 9 (ESV) Everyone who goes on ahead and does not abide in the teaching of Christ, does not have God. Whoever abides in the teaching has both the Father and the Son.
• When we do not abide by Jesus’ teachings we do not have God. If we abide in Jesus’ teachings, we have God.
• These religious leaders were religious in title only; they were in truth, Godless men.
CONCLUSION
• If you were a face in the crowd during this wonderful event, where would you be?
• My prayer is that we would be one who was there to worship the Son of God.
• We will not fully understand everything about Jesus in one day, but each day as we grow, we will understand more and more!
