Transcript

Two Views of the Triumphal Entry

John 12:12-19
Sunday, August 31, 2003
Pastor Randy Smith

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The Apostle John does a fairly decent job of presenting his gospel in chronological order. As we have recently witnessed, these final days of Christ's ministry have been dated. John 12:1 informs us that Jesus entered Bethany just six days before the Passover. Within six days, Jesus will have already died for the sins of the world.

Though we have covered roughly three years of Christ's ministry in the first eleven chapters, the following nine chapters (12-20) are devoted to the final week of Jesus' earthly life. In the last verse of this gospel, John said, "And there are also many other things which Jesus did, which if they were written in detail, I suppose that even the world itself would not contain the books that would be written" (Jn. 21:25). John needed to be selective. So it says a lot when nearly half his gospel focuses on the Passion Week. The jet-tour for the first three years, gives way to the detailed and methodical and protracted exposition of this final week. So there's no doubt that John considered the events of this week of utmost importance.

The text before us this morning is often referred to as "the Triumphal Entry" or "Palm Sunday." This occasion when Jesus entered Jerusalem, covered in all four gospels (Mt. 21:1-11; Mk. 11:1-11; Lk. 19:29-38), is seen by many as the inauguration of the Passion Week.

Since this story is very familiar to many of us and last week's text regarding the love of Mary needs to be reviewed, I plan to preach both of these accounts together. This approach is not creative on my part because as we will see, I believe John intended to juxtapose both these events by their proximity in his gospel. We will see that the first event in many ways foreshadows the second. This morning as we compare both of these stories in the first 19 verses of chapter 12 we'll examine two loves, two misunderstandings, two humilities and two hates.

1. TWO LOVES

Let's first begin with two loves.

You'll remember from last week that Mary demonstrated extravagant love for her Savior. According to verse 3, "Mary…took a pound of very costly perfume of pure nard, and anointed the feet of Jesus and wiped His feet with her hair." Based upon Judas' critique in verse 5, we learned that the perfume was worth a year's salary. Again, her act was similar to you or I taking $50,000 and dumping it at the feet on Jesus.

This week I read about a young African woman who acted in like manner. She gave a visiting missionary a silver coin worth a dollar. Since African Christians are extremely poor, the missionary at first refused to accept it, but eventually did. At the close of the service the grateful missionary asked the woman, "Where did you get such a fortune?" Smiling, the girl said, "I went to a neighboring planter and sold myself as a slave for the rest of my life to obtain that coin. I wanted to give to Jesus an offering which satisfies my heart." A heart that understands the great love of Jesus, receives great satisfaction in demonstrating its love to the Savior through abundant giving. Notice, the woman did not say, "My gift satisfied Jesus" (which of course it did). Rather she said, "My gift satisfied my own heart." Interestingly, the author of the story commented, "This woman brought the financial equivalent of her life and laid it down in a single gift at the feet of her Lord." That sound just like Mary.

Like this young African woman, Mary's actions in John 12 were not out of duty nor were they one of great sacrifice. On the contrary, out of the overflow of her heart she gave joyfully to her greatest love. She gave her greatest item of value to the One whom she valued the most. Her extravagant gift was simply a manifestation, a token, a symbol, a sign, a product of her love for Jesus.

Now, let's compare all of this with what we read in verse 12. "On the next day the large crowd who had come to the feast, when they heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem." Stop right there. Mary demonstrated her great love for Jesus by giving her greatest gift: her perfume. Jesus demonstrated His great love for the world by giving His greatest gift: His life.

Many people like to interpret the "Triumphant Entry" as the final public offer of Jesus to the people at Jerusalem. We'll see very shortly why I believe this theory is incorrect. But for now realize the people had already by now rejected Jesus. The Leaders already expressed their desire to put Christ to death (Jn. 11:53). Just as Mary foreshadowed the death of Christ with her anointing (Jn. 12:7), Christ did not come to Jerusalem to be hailed as their King. Rather He came to Jerusalem to be crucified as their Lamb. Simply put, He came to die. The Lamb of God Himself came during the Passover feast to be the true Passover sacrifice to atone for the sins of the world once and for all.

Going all the way back to the Egyptian captivity, God commanded the people through Moses to slaughter an unblemished male lamb and place its blood on three locations around the doorframe of their home (Ex. 12:5, 7). This was called the Lord's Passover (Ex. 12:11) since it spared those who participated in this sacrifice from the judgment of God which resulted in death. In Exodus 12:13 our Lord said, "The blood shall be a sign for you on the houses where you live; and when I see the blood I will pass over you, and no plague will befall you to destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt." This event was extremely significant for the Jewish people. Therefore this event was to be continued into the future. God said, "Now this day will be a memorial to you, and you shall celebrate it as a feast to the Lord; throughout your generations you are to celebrate it as a permanent ordinance" (Ex. 12:14).

Fast forward 1,500 years and we find the Jews still celebrating the Passover. Verse 12 (of John 12) mentions the "large crowd who had come to the feast." Some estimates say the town in grew from 30,000 to 180,000 to account for all the pilgrims who traveled to Jerusalem. The Jewish historian, Josephus, describes one Passover when almost 3 million were in attendance (Bel. vi. 422-425)! Nevertheless, the people came early to "purify themselves" (Jn. 11:55) and with them entered thousands of lambs for the sacrifice. Elsewhere Josephus mentions a census where 256,500 lambs were sacrificed one year.

Significant to all of this was Jesus, the male unblemished Lamb of God (1 Pet. 1:18-19), also entering the city of Jerusalem no doubt surrounded by thousands of lambs. Unknown to all the people, He came as one of the lambs for the sacrifice. A few days later when those animals were killed, Jesus too was killed on the cross, becoming the ultimate Passover Lamb to which the entire Jewish Passover pointed. Paul said in 1 Corinthians, "For Christ our Passover has been sacrificed" (1 Cor. 5:7). Now on the basis of His sacrifice, God's judgment on sin can be avoided. For the angel of spiritual death now passes over all those who place their faith in Christ because they are covered by His blood.

Mary demonstrated her love for Jesus in the greatest way she knew how. Jesus demonstrated His love for us in the greatest way He knew how. Mary gave her perfume. Jesus laid down His life for our sin in order that we may be forgiven. Was there any greater way Jesus could demonstrate His love for His sheep; for people like you and I? Three chapters later the Apostle John will say, "Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends" (Jn. 15:13; c.f. 1 Jn. 3:16).

Himself He could not save;

Love's stream too deeply flowed:

In love Himself He gave

To pay the debt we owed.

C.H. Spurgeon

2. TWO MISUNDERSTANDINGS

Last week, as we move to the second point, we also studied a great misunderstanding. You'll remember that Judas believed Mary was making a huge mistake by anointing the Lord with such expensive perfume. In verse 5 he said, "Why was this perfume not sold for three hundred denarii and given to poor people?" Initially it appears that his misunderstanding was confusion between two spiritual priorities: helping the poor and anointing Jesus. But as we read on (verse 6) we learn that his misunderstanding was much greater. For Judas took greater delight in His own selfish greed than he did in the Person of Jesus Christ.

In the same way, those who praised Jesus during His entry to Jerusalem, misunderstood the purpose of His ministry and expected Him, like Judas, to be the means to their own selfish agendas. Look at verse 13. As Jesus entered Jerusalem they "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.'"

On the surface this appears very appropriate and honoring to the King of kings. But when we examine the situation much closer, we begin to see great misunderstandings birthed from the shallow faith and fickle faith we have witnessed throughout this gospel (2:24-25; 6:66; 8:30, 48). The waving of palm branches was a token in connection with the Feast of Tabernacles (Lev. 23:40). However, the Jews failed to understand that Jesus fulfilled the Feast of Tabernacles. The waving of palm branches according to the Maccabean accounts was also was a reminder of victory and deliverance (1 Mac. 13:51; 2 Mac. 10:7). However, the Jews failed to understand that Jesus was their victorious King in a spiritual, not political sense. "Hosanna" was a term of acclamation or praise, which meant, "Save now." However, the Jews failed to understand that Jesus came to provide salvation from sin's bondage and not salvation from Rome's bondage. "Blessed is He who comes in the Name of the Lord" was a quotation from Psalm 118, a Messianic Psalm of victory. However, the Jews failed to understand the entire Psalm, which stated the means of victory. Four verses earlier the Psalmist said, "The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief corner stone" (Psm 118:22). In other words, the means of victory would be the death of Jesus. The celebrating crowd lastly added, "Even the King of Israel." However, the Jews failed to understand that Christ's kingdom would first begin as He reigns in the hearts of those who love Him.

Jesus was worthy of the praise that surrounded His entry to Jerusalem; however, based upon the crowds misunderstanding, His entry was anything but triumphant since their zeal was misguided and their expectations were mistaken. Jesus knew this. In Luke's parallel we read, "When He approached Jerusalem, He saw the city and wept over it…(saying) 'you did not recognize the time of your visitation'" (Lk. 19:41, 44; also see 45-46). In Matthew's parallel, one chapter before the "Triumphant Entry" account, Jesus said, "Behold we are going to Jerusalem; and the Son of Man will be delivered to the chief priests and scribes, and they will condemn Him to death, and will hand Him over to the Gentiles to mock and scourge and crucify Him, and on the third day He will be raised up" (Mt. 20:18-19).

Jesus knew that the same crowd which cried, "Hosanna, Hosanna" in just a few days would scream, "Crucify Him! Crucify Him" (Lk. 23:21). They who proclaimed Christ the "King of Israel" (Jn. 12:13), less than a week later would hear their leaders demand, "We have no king but Caesar" (Jn. 19:15). Soon the Jews would realize that Jesus was not the Man who they expected and not the man who they wanted (Jn. 6:15). They wanted the restoration of Israel, not a Redeemer. They wanted the destruction of the Romans, not the destruction of their pride. They wanted another King David who would provide military dominance, not a Lord and Master who would demand absolute loyalty of heart.

Even the disciples themselves did not grasp the full significance of these events. Only after the outpouring of the Holy Spirit (Jn. 14:26) would they gain a correct understanding. John said in verse 16, "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."

The misunderstanding foreshadowed by Judas on a small scale culminated with the crowds on a much larger one.

3. TWO HUMILITIES

Another comparison between the two events mentioned in chapter 12 is the humility of Mary, which would point to the greater humility of Christ.

We learned in verse 3 that Mary "anointed the feet of Jesus and wiped His feet with her hair." Anointing the head of an important guest was common according to the culture; however, anything associated with the feet was a task assigned to the lowest slave. We'll soon learn in chapter 13 that Jesus taught His disciples about humility by washing their feet (Jn. 13:1ff). The same disciples who pridefully competed for places of glory in heaven would see the King of kings stoop down and humbly attend to their dirty feet.

But for now, everybody would see the humility of King Jesus as He entered Jerusalem riding a young donkey. Beginning in verse 14, "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'" (Jn. 12:14-15). Though the other gospel writers place much emphasis on how the animal was obtained (c.f. Lk. 19:29-34), suffice it for John to mention the fulfillment of prophecy (Zech. 9:9) and the mode of transportation Jesus chose.

J.C Ryle captured the humility of this scene. "No Roman soldier in the garrison of Jerusalem, who, standing at his post or sitting in his barrack-window and saw our Lord riding on a donkey, could report to his centurion that He looked like one who came to wrest the kingdom of Judea out of the hands of the Romans, drive out Pontius Pilate and his legions from the tower of Antonia, and achieve independence with the sword."

After all, anybody who sought to display his prideful might would have chosen one of his most decorated chariots drawn by magnificent stallions followed by legions of military men. Nobody who claimed to be a King in his right mind would have ever dreamed of riding into town on a borrowed donkey with the disciples' coats forming a makeshift saddle (Lk. 19:35)!

This contrast became vivid in my imagination when I observed with my children at a petting zoo a modest discolored mule dwarfed by a muscular white thoroughbred. They were right next to each other. One was a symbol of pride, the other a symbol of humility. Jesus chose the symbol of humility.

For now Jerusalem ("Daughter of Zion") would see their King seated on a donkey's colt. For the first coming of Jesus was one in which He laid aside His glory and assumed the role of a Servant (Jn. 17:5). However, when He returns the entire world will see His true power and majesty. The Apostle John would later say in the book of Revelation, "And I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse, and He who sat on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and wages war" (Rev. 19:11). At the Second Coming, the Lamb of God will be the Lion of Judah crowned with glory and honor. But for now His chariot was a donkey. His scepter a broken reed. His crown a crown of thorns. And His throne a bloody cross.

Infinitely superior, even to Mary, was the humility of Christ. For the only One who truly deserves all glory, honor and praise made Himself nothing. May He be our model. May we emulate His example!

"Lord, I must not, cannot rest

Till I Thy mind obtain,

Chase presumption from my breast

And all Thy meekness gain.

Give me, Lord, Thy gentle heart,

Thy lowly mind my portion be.

Meek Redeemer, now impart

Thine own humility!

Let Thy cross my will control;

Conform me to my Guide!

In the manger lay my soul

And crucify my pride.

Give me, Lord, a contrite heart,

A heart that always looks to Thee!

Meek Redeemer, now impart

Thine own humility!"

Author unknown

4. TWO HATES

Finally, as we move to point number four, let's examine hatred that we studied last week juxtaposed with the hatred of this week's account. There can be no doubt that the ministry of Jesus Christ provoked most people to a spirit of wrath and hostility.

Last week we learned that Judas cared only to pilfer money from the collection box (Jn. 12:6). Immediately when this attempt failed (Mk. 14:10), Judas received the money He wanted by promising to deliver Jesus into the hands of the religious leaders. His hatred was obvious. His method was deceptive, because soon he would soon betray his Master with a kiss (Lk. 22:48).

Last week we also learned that these religious leaders (Chief Priests) hated Christ as well. They sought to eliminate anything that would give credit to His ministry. And who better exemplified "living proof" than Lazarus, the man whom Jesus recently raised from the dead. Verses 10 and 11 read, "But the chief priests planned to put Lazarus to death also; because on account of him many of the Jews were going away and were believing in Jesus."

The leaders had already determined to put Jesus to death (11:53), but they were unwilling to kill Him during the Passover in fear of a riot (Mt. 26:3-5). However, when they witnessed the town in a virtual frenzy over the man they hated so much, "The Pharisees said to one another" in verse 19, "You see that you are not doing any good; look, the world has gone after Him." They realized their strategies had been unsuccessful and desperate measures were now necessary. Luke even reports that some of the Pharisees exclaimed, "'Teacher, rebuke Your disciples.' But Jesus answered, 'I tell you, if these become silent, the stones will cry out'" (Lk. 19:39-40).

The hatred of Jesus is still evident today. Since Jesus Himself is no longer physically present to persecute, those who hate the Light violently persecute His followers. We've been reading as a family through the book of Acts. It's amazing to consider the vicious persecution the first missionaries experienced. The same is evident today for those who seek to be faithful and holy ambassadors of Jesus. They will experience this same hatred. Yet we should not be surprised. Our Savior warned us of this outcome. He said, "If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you" (Jn. 15:20).

The sermon this morning was primarily one of theological nature, but yet all theology has personal application. I don't think any of us in this room would say we hate Jesus. I'm sure all of us would be quick to affirm our love for Him. After all, that's why we have ultimately gathered this morning. But is our love for Jesus that which is truly pleasing in His sight? The type of love that Jesus demands from His followers is clearly taught in this gospel. Just two chapters later Jesus would say, "If you love Me, you will keep My commandments" (Jn. 14:15). During the past two sermons we have seen specific examples from both Jesus and Mary giving all they had and manifesting a spirit of humility. Do those two traits characterize your heart? Let's get even more general. If obeying Christ is loving Christ, does your lifestyle reveal a misunderstanding or worse, a hatred for Jesus? Or can you honestly say, "By Your grace Lord Jesus I have joyfully submitted to obeying the whole counsel of Your commandments. For You are My King. You gave Your life for mine at the cross and in return I humbly seek to give You full reign of my life to be used as a vessel of your glory."

You know, Jesus did not experience a triumphant entry in the true sense when He entered Jerusalem. But does Jesus experience a triumphant entry in your heart when you express your humble love for Him through daily, whole-hearted obedience? Is that a place where He is rightly recognized as King?