Let's start today by simply rereading our passage from last week, John 11:55-12:11. This will help us remember where we are in the gospel of John:
(55) Now, the Passover of the Judeans was near,
and many went up to Jerusalem from the surrounding area before the Passover,
in order that they would sanctify themselves.
(56) Then, they were seeking Jesus,
and they were saying with one another in the temple, standing,
"What does it seem to you,
that there is no way he will come to the feast, right?
(57) Now, they gave-- the chief priests and the Pharisees-- commands,
that if anyone knew where he is, he should report [it],
so that they could seize/arrest him.
(12:1) Then, Jesus, six days before the Passover, came to Bethany,
where he was-- Lazarus--
whom he raised from the dead-- Jesus.
(2) Then, they made him a supper there,
and Martha was serving.
Now, Lazarus, one, he was, of the ones reclining with him.
(3) Then, Mary, taking a pound of fragrant oil, genuine, very costly, anointed the feet of Jesus,
and she wiped with her hair his feet.
Now, the house was filled with the fragrance of the fragrant oil.
(4) Now, he says-- Judas the Iscariot-- one of his disciples-- the one about, him, to hand over/betray--
(5) "Why was this fragrant oil not sold for three hundred denarii and given to the poor?"
(6) Now, he said this,
not because about the poor he cared about,
but because, a thief, he was,
and the money box having, the things put in it he was stealing.
(7) Then, he said-- Jesus--
"Leave her,
[The purpose was that] for the day of the preparation of my burial, she would keep it.
(8) For the poor, always, you have with you.
Now, me, not, always, you have.
(9) Then, it found out-- a great crowd of the Judeans--
that there, he was,
and they came-- not because of Jesus alone,
but in order that also Lazarus they would see,
whom he raised from the dead.
(10) Now, they decided-- the chief priests--
that also Lazarus, they would kill,
(11) because many because of him were leaving from the Judeans,
and giving allegiance to Jesus.
At the end of this day, we see a "great crowd of Judeans" leaving from the Judeans, and giving allegiance to Jesus. We find ourselves optimistic and encouraged about that.
At the same time, confusingly, the dark clouds on the horizon are getting closer. The chief priests have rejected Jesus. And they've decided that not only should Jesus die, but also Lazarus. It's better that two people die, than the entire nation. The hour of Jesus' death is getting closer, and closer.
Verses 12-13 bring us to the next day:
(12) On the next day, the large crowd-- the one coming to the festival--, hearing that Jesus is coming to Jerusalem, took the branches of palm trees,
and they went out to meet him,
and they were crying out,
"Save us! ("Hosanna").
Praised/blessed [is] the one coming in the name of the Lord-- even the king of Israel."
When you hear these words, you can't help but thing about Palm Sunday. Every year, on the Sunday before Easter, churches celebrate this moment in the gospels. The crowds coming streaming out to meet Jesus, waving palm branches, crying out, "Hosanna! Praised is the one coming in the name of the Lord-- even the king of Israel."
And in many churches, this is reenacted by children. Children come from the back of the church, waving the palm branches, echoing this language.
We think about this moment in Jesus' life, maybe, as the peak of his earthly ministry. This is the moment when everything looked perfect. Huge crowds are coming to Jesus, praising him, understanding that he is sent from God to save them. This is the moment of his glory.
But when we read these verses in John, we are supposed to hear two (maybe three, can't decide) false notes. We struggle to hear them, maybe, because we have decades of watching kids wave palm branches. But there is something going on here that's dangerously off.
(1) False Note #1:
The first false note has to do with the "palm branches" that the Judeans wave. If you asked any Judean what the significance of palm branches was, they would tell you that palm branches are a symbol of freedom from foreign (Greek-Syrian) rule. They are part of how Jews celebrate Hannukah-- the celebration of the cleansing of Jerusalem from its enemies, and their victory over their enemies.
We find this in two places. This story won't make perfect sense-- I'm skipping too much-- but you can read more at biblegateway.com if you select NRSV as the translation.
https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1+macc+13&version=NRSV
1 Maccabees 13:49-53:
49 Those who were in the citadel at Jerusalem were prevented from going in and out to buy and sell in the country. So they were very hungry, and many of them perished from famine. 50 Then they cried to Simon to make peace with them, and he did so. But he expelled them from there and cleansed the citadel from its pollutions. 51 On the twenty-third day of the second month, in the one hundred seventy-first year,[j] the Jews[k] entered it with praise and palm branches, and with harps and cymbals and stringed instruments, and with hymns and songs, because a great enemy had been crushed and removed from Israel. 52 Simon[l] decreed that every year they should celebrate this day with rejoicing. He strengthened the fortifications of the temple hill alongside the citadel, and he and his men lived there. 53 Simon saw that his son John had reached manhood, and so he made him commander of all the forces; and he lived at Gazara.
2 Maccabees 10:1-9:
10 Now Maccabeus and his followers, the Lord leading them on, recovered the temple and the city; 2 they tore down the altars that had been built in the public square by the foreigners, and also destroyed the sacred precincts. 3 They purified the sanctuary, and made another altar of sacrifice; then, striking fire out of flint, they offered sacrifices, after a lapse of two years, and they offered incense and lighted lamps and set out the bread of the Presence. 4 When they had done this, they fell prostrate and implored the Lord that they might never again fall into such misfortunes, but that, if they should ever sin, they might be disciplined by him with forbearance and not be handed over to blasphemous and barbarous nations. 5 It happened that on the same day on which the sanctuary had been profaned by the foreigners, the purification of the sanctuary took place, that is, on the twenty-fifth day of the same month, which was Chislev. 6 They celebrated it for eight days with rejoicing, in the manner of the festival of booths, remembering how not long before, during the festival of booths, they had been wandering in the mountains and caves like wild animals. 7 Therefore, carrying ivy-wreathed wands and beautiful branches and also fronds of palm, they offered hymns of thanksgiving to him who had given success to the purifying of his own holy place. 8 They decreed by public edict, ratified by vote, that the whole nation of the Jews should observe these days every year.
9 Such then was the end of Antiochus, who was called Epiphanes.
So every year, the Judeans would celebrate the cleansing of the temple, and the defeat of Antioches, by waving palm branches, and offering hymns of praise to the God who gave them success. It's a celebration of the kind of peace that's gained through a sword-- when your enemy licks your boots, and runs home, tails between its legs.
Maybe the closest parallel to this is Independence Day for us. Every July 4th, we wave American flags, and shoot of fireworks, in celebration of our freedom from Britain. It's the day we celebrate our victory, gained through rebellion against our overlord (H/T Michael Philiber).
So when the Judeans pull out their palm branches here, in celebrating Jesus as king, we are seeing an echo of the Maccabean revolt. The Judeans have given their allegiance to Jesus as king-- but what kind of king do they think Jesus is?
We find the same idea in John 6:15, after Jesus fed the 5,000:
15 When Jesus realized that they were about to come and take him by force to make him king, he withdrew again to the mountain by himself.
Jesus is King. But is Jesus the kind of king that the Judeans expect?
(2) False Note #2: (I'm not sure about this one, but you can wrestle with it. The question is, how much else of the psalm not being quoted are we expected to hear? All of it? None?)
The second false note in the story comes from the people's words. This is what they said:
"Save us! ("Hosanna").
Praised/blessed [is] the one coming in the name of the Lord-- even the king of Israel."
The Judeans here are quoting from Psalm 118:25-26.
(118:25) O Yahweh, save us, please.
O Yahweh, give us success/prosperity, please.
(26) Blessed/praised is the one coming in the name of Yahweh.
We bless/praise you from the house of Yahweh.
(27) God (El), Yahweh [is],
and He has given light to us.
Bind the festal procession with braches, up to the horns of the altar.
When we read earlier in Psalm 118:10-18, this is what it sounds like (NRSV):
10 All nations surrounded me;
in the name of the LORD I cut them off!
11 They surrounded me, surrounded me on every side;
in the name of the LORD I cut them off!
12 They surrounded me like bees;
they blazed[a] like a fire of thorns;
in the name of the LORD I cut them off!
13 I was pushed hard,[b] so that I was falling,
but the LORD helped me.
14 The LORD is my strength and my might;
he has become my salvation.
15 There are glad songs of victory in the tents of the righteous:
“The right hand of the LORD does valiantly;
16 the right hand of the LORD is exalted;
the right hand of the LORD does valiantly.”
17 I shall not die, but I shall live,
and recount the deeds of the LORD.
18 The LORD has punished me severely,
but he did not give me over to death.
When the Judeans call on Jesus to "save them," what kind of salvation are they seeking? Who, or what, will Jesus save them from? Rome? Sin? Satan?
The answer to that question is found in their words. And this is the third false note.
"Save us! ("Hosanna").
Praised/blessed [is] the one coming in the name of the Lord-- even the king of Israel."
Jesus is king of... Israel. The Judeans view Jesus as the king, coming in the name of the Lord, to save them from the Romans.
Now, let me nerd this up for a minute. If you look at my translation, you'll see that verse 13 is in italics. John, describing this scene, uses an imperfect verb to raise our expectations that something else will follow. He is building toward what we are about to read-- Jesus' response to this, in verse 14 (and the "Now," that verse 14 starts with, shows that there is a gap here-- it's a step forward, and a break):
(14) Now, finding-- Jesus-- a small donkey , he sat upon it,
just as it is written,
(15) "Don't be afraid, Daughter of Zion.
LOOK! Your king is coming,
being seated upon the foal of a donkey."
Every guy knows that the vehicle you drive-- your "ride"-- tells people a lot about you. Your wife, or mom, may be stuck driving a minivan, but not you. You know, as a man, that your ride matters. And everyone who looks at you, bases part of how they view you, on your ride. Do you drive a sports car? A 70k pickup? A volvo? A late 90's Toyota Camry?
I made a friend about a month ago, and after we were finished, we went outside, and he wanted to know where I was parked. It was a subtle thing, but he wanted to see what I drove. He was still trying to figure me out. And my Camry helped him understand me.
Your ride tells people a lot about who you are. So let's talk about Jesus' ride.
Jesus deliberately found a small donkey to ride on. He's not riding a war horse. He doesn't look like George Washington on his big white horse. He's on this little donkey, instead.
Why?
Jesus here is fulfilling an OT prophecy from Zechariah 9:9.
Now, before I read from this, I'm going to admit, I'm not quite sure what to do with this passage. If we read enough of Zechariah 9, the passage is not entirely peaceful. It talks about devouring and stomping on your enemies, and drinking them like wine (verse 15).
I don't think we are supposed to remember all of it. Let me just grab the part I think matters, in verse 9. And if you want to think about later, and disagree, feel free. Zechariah 9:9:
Rejoice greatly, O daughter Zion!
Shout aloud, O daughter Jerusalem!
Lo, your king comes to you;
triumphant and victorious is he,
humble and riding on a donkey,
on a colt, the foal of a donkey.
Jesus is king of Israel. But he is not the type of king that the Judeans expect. He comes in peace. He comes in humility. And his victory, is not going to the type of victory they expect.
And, more important than all of this, who is Jesus king of?
It doesn't say. There are no restrictions on the boundaries of Jesus' kingdom. But we know that what God has planned for Jesus, is way bigger than Israel. Jesus is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. In John 4, the Samaritans rightly decided that Jesus is the Savior of the world (John 4:42).
So if we can free ourselves from decades of watching kids celebrate Palm Sunday, we should find ourselves feeling nervous. We should hear the false notes, and realize that what we are seeing, is off in kind of dangerous ways.
And if we become unsettled, we should also find ourselves remembering John 2:21-23.
23 When he was in Jerusalem during the Passover festival, many believed in (=gave allegiance to) his name because they saw the signs that he was doing. 24 But Jesus on his part would not entrust himself to them, because he knew all people 25 and needed no one to testify about anyone; for he himself knew what was in everyone.
There is a type of faith, and allegiance, in the gospel of John that's untrustworthy. And what we are seeing in John 12, is a picture of that type of faith. The Judeans' is allegiance to Jesus badly misunderstands the type of king that Jesus is. It seeks the wrong things from him-- the wrong type of salvation.
Verse 16:
(16) These things they didn't understand-- his disciples-- at first,
but when he was glorified-- Jesus-- then they remembered,
that these things were about him written,
and these things they did to/for him.
Jesus' disciples saw the crowd of Judeans doing all of this for Jesus. And they saw Jesus' ride. But they didn't understand what they were seeing until after the fact-- after Jesus was... what?
After Jesus was glorified.
Let's make sure we catch this. This moment, of the crowds waving palm branches, and asking Jesus to save them, and greeting him as king, is not the moment Jesus was glorified. Jesus will be glorified on the cross.
Verses 17-19:
(17) Then, it was witnessing/testifying-- the crowd--
the ones being with him when, Lazarus , he [Jesus] called from the tomb,
and he raised him from the dead.
(18) For this reason also they went to meet him-- the crowd--
because they heard this-- [that] he had done the sign.
(19) Then, the Pharisees said to one another,
"You see/observe that you aren't helping/aiding/benefiting/accomplishing anything.
LOOK! The world after him has gone away."
From the Pharisees' perspective, all of this is only getting worse and worse. They may have these big plans to kill Jesus, and Lazarus, but things are falling apart. What they are seeing, is that the entire world is going away "after Jesus." Here we have another little clue that the Judeans are doing it wrong. It's not just "Israel" that's going away after Jesus. It's the world.
And on this note, let's read verse 20-26:
(20) Now, there were some Greeks from among the ones going up [to Jerusalem],
in order that they would worship at the festival.
(21) Then, these ones approached Philip-- the one from Bethsaida of Galilee--
and they were asking him, saying,
"Lord/sir, we wish, Jesus, to see.
(22) He comes -- Philip--
and he tells Andrew.
He goes-- Andrew, and Philip,
and they tell Jesus.
(23) Now, Jesus answers them, saying,
"The hour has come,
that he will be glorified-- the Son of Man.
Let's pause. Notice how AJ slows down the story here. Greeks approach Philip. Philip goes, and he tells Andrew. Andrew, with Philip, tells Jesus.
When you are telling stories in life, these are not the kind of details you normally include. Normally, these are the kind of details that ruin stories, because they don't matter.
But here, all of these details are evidence that something really important is going on. And AJ (Author of John) slows things down, to help us catch this.
What are we seeing?
Here, in these verses, the world is truly seeking Jesus. The Pharisees' worst fears are confirmed. And this moment, when the whole world is seeking Jesus, means that we are finally at Jesus' hour. Now, Jesus will take the next step, and be glorified.
But how? What does Jesus' glorification look like?
Jesus continues, verse 24:
(24) Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a seed/grain of wheat, falling to the earth, dies, by itself, alone, it abides. ["alone" is focused in Greek]
Now, if it dies, much fruit it bears.
(25) The one loving his life, loses it,
and the one hating his life in this world, for eternal life, guards/protects it. [for eternal life is focused]
(26) If me, anyone serves, me, he must follow,
and where I am, there also my servant will be.
If anyone, me, he serves, He will honor him-- The Father.
Everything about Jesus' life, up to this point in John, screams "humility." Jesus says what his Father tells him to say. He does what his Father tells him to do. Everything Jesus does, as he goes through life, is done in obedience to his Father.
And this journey that Jesus is on-- this road-- has an end. The road Jesus is walking is pointing straight toward his crucifixion. That is his hour. The moment he is lifted up on the cross, is the moment of his glorification. It's not about riding a war horse. It's not about having crowds cheering you, praising you, wanting to make you into something great. All those things are a distraction, and a misunderstanding.
And Jesus here, in verses 23-26, tells us that what is true for him, is true for us. If you value Jesus, and what he offers, and you want to serve him and follow him, what do you do?
You have to hate your life in this world. You have to die to yourself. You have to follow Jesus' example, and be humble and lowly. You can't seek your own honor. There is a glory and honor available to you-- but it comes from God the Father. Serve Jesus, and God will lift you up. Serve Jesus like this, and you will bear lots of fruit.
So if you want to guard your [eternal] life (John 17:3), and bear a lot of fruit, there is one single road that you take. The road of humility, and suffering, and death. The road of service to Jesus.
Every morning, wake up dead to yourself. And alive for Jesus.
And that is the road that leads to glory (John 17:22).
Translation:
(12) On the next day, the large crowd-- the one coming to the festival--, hearing that Jesus is coming to Jerusalem, took the branches of palm trees,
and they went out to meet him,
and they were crying out,
"Save us! ("Hosanna").
Praised/blessed [is] the one coming in the name of the Lord-- even the king of Israel."
(14) Now, finding-- Jesus-- a small donkey , he sat upon it,
just as it is written,
(15) "Don't be afraid, Daughter of Zion.
LOOK! Your king is coming,
being seated upon the foal of a donkey."
(16) These things they didn't understand-- his disciples-- at first,
but when he was glorified-- Jesus-- then they remembered,
that these things were about him written,
and these things they did to/for him.
(17) Then, it was witnessing-- the crowd--
the ones being with him when, Lazarus, he [Jesus] called from the tomb,
and he raised him from the dead.
(18) For this reason also they went to meet him-- the crowd--
because they heard this-- [that] he had done the sign.
(19) Then, the Pharisees said to one another,
"You see/observe that you aren't helping/aiding/benefiting/accomplishing anything.
LOOK! The world after his has gone away."
(20) Now, there were some Greeks from among the ones going up [to Jerusalem],
in order that they would worship at the festival.
(21) Then, these ones approached Philip-- the one from Bethsaida of Galilee--
and they were asking him, saying,
"Lord/sir, we wish, Jesus, to see.
(22) He comes-- Philip--
and he tells Andrew.
He goes-- Andrew, and Philip,
and they tell Jesus.
(23) Now, Jesus answers them, saying,
"The hour has come,
that he will be glorified-- the Son of Man.
Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a seed/grain of wheat, falling to the earth, dies, by itself, alone, it abides.
Now, if it dies, much fruit it bears.
(25) The one loving his life, loses it,
and the one hating his life in this world, for eternal life, guards/protects it.
(26) If me, anyone serves, me, he must follow,
and where I am, there, also my servant will be.
If anyone, me, he serves, He will honor him-- The Father.
