Who Is This King?

When we think about the entirety of Jesus’ life, we have to recognize that what we have is snapshots. We don’t have every detail of every event in his life.

We know a bit about the events surrounding His birth and His family’s escape to Egypt. After that, we only have one story from Jesus’ childhood. You might remember it. It was when He was twelve years old, and His parents left Him behind in Jerusalem during a Passover feast.

But from that point forward, our knowledge of Jesus is primarily focused on His public ministry, which started when He was about 30 years old, and lasted for about 2-3 years.

The reason we know it lasted that long is because the gospel writers talk about the various feasts in Jerusalem, and that helps us with the chronology. The most notable feast for the Jews was Passover.

Well, soon after Jesus chooses His disciples and then turns water into wine, John chapter 2 tells us that the Passover of the Jews was at hand. That would be the first Passover during Jesus’ ministry, and it was the first time that Jesus cleansed the Temple, and spoke about His resurrection.

The second Passover comes in John chapter 6. John again tells us that the Passover, the feast of the Jews, was at hand. And it was at that time that Jesus fed the multitude, and then taught them, saying, “I am the bread of life.”

The third and final Passover is mentioned in John 11, verse 55. One more time, we’re told, the Passover of the Jews was at hand. It’s not Passover just yet, but it’s going to be soon.

In John’s gospel, he condenses over 2 years of ministry into 11 chapters. So, we’re moving at a pretty fast pace. But now, the story slows way down. Beginning in chapter 12, we’ve come to the final week of Jesus’ life before His crucifixion and resurrection.

This is what it’s all been moving toward. This is where it has all been heading. Chapters 1-11 covered over 2 years of Jesus’ life, but now chapters 12-20 will cover just one week. One week. That should tell you how significant this time is and how much God, by His Spirit, through the Apostle John, wants us to focus in on it. We’re going to be studying John, at least until the end of summer. That’s how much the pace slows down.

In the past, we were alternating between chapters in John and chapters in Proverbs, and I love Proverbs, but we’re not going to do that now. As much as we’re able, we’re going to stay in John’s gospel.

Next week, because of the Marriage Retreat, our brother Jorge Nava will be teaching and exhorting us from the book of Hebrews. And the message of Hebrews is a perfect message to go along with the end of John. The message of Hebrews is “Look at Jesus. Consider Jesus.”

And that’s exactly what we’ll be doing once we come back to John’s gospel. We’re going to be studying the final week of Jesus’ life.

The Resurrection of Jesus took place on a Sunday, on the first day of the week. Moving backwards, His crucifixion and death were on Friday, and that was after spending the night in a mock trial before the Jews and the Romans.

The Thursday before that is when Jesus celebrated the Passover with His disciples and instituted the Lord’s Supper. That was the same night that He washed their feet and gave them an extended teaching, and then went out to the Garden of Gethsemane to pray, where He was betrayed.

Well, before those events, near the beginning of the week, we have Jesus’ Triumphal Entry. That’s the way many people refer to it. It’s the Triumphal Entry. This is the final time in the gospel that Jesus will publicly enter Jerusalem. And it is quite the scene.

Look with me for a moment at John 12, verse 1. This is what we looked at last week, when Mary anointed Him. That was such a beautiful display of affection and devotion. And verse 1 tells us that this was six days before the Passover in the town of Bethany.

Now, according to Jewish religious and historical writings, the Jews at that time had two different authorized Passover celebrations. Jews from Galilee (in the north) counted days from sunrise to sunrise. So each day started in the morning. The Jews in Judea (the southern part of Israel) counted the day from sunset to sunset, so a new day started in the evening.

Because of that difference, the Galilean Jews would celebrate Passover on Thursday evening, and the Judeans would celebrate Passover on Friday, but it was considered the same day on their Jewish calendars.

So, if Passover falls on Thursday/Friday, six days before that would be Saturday/Sunday. And that’s because when Jews counted days, they included the day you started and ended on. For example, Jesus died on a Friday and was raised on Sunday. We would say that’s two days later. But they would say that’s three days—Friday, Saturday, Sunday. As long as there was part of a day in there, it counted.

So, six days back from Thursday/Friday is Saturday/Sunday. That’s the day that Mary anointed Jesus.

Skip ahead for a second, now, to verse 12. There, we’re told that now it’s the next day. So we are either at Sunday or Monday. In church history, we generally celebrate it on a Sunday, and we call it Palm Sunday, in reference to the palm branches the people were carrying. That’s the Sunday just before Easter Sunday.

The events of Palm Sunday are a swirl of emotions and activity. There is just so  much happening here. And in order to help us take it all in, I want to slow us down a little bit and think about some of the thoughts and emotions that would have been part of it all.

And to start, we’re going to back up a little bit to verse 9. John 12, verse 9. The first component of Palm Sunday is natural curiosity. This was a day marked by natural curiosity.

Natural Curiosity

Verse 9 says this—When the large crowd of the Jews learned that Jesus was there, they came, not only on account of him but also to see Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead.

Remember, this is the day before, but this attitude of people would describe both days. They are curious. And I call it a natural curiosity because it’s not necessarily genuine, saving faith. They just want to know more about what happened.

Jesus had taken a man who was dead for four days, and He raised him from the dead. Wouldn’t that spark a person’s curiosity?

If someone near my house is moving out and they put their house for sale and they have an open house, I go. I have no intention of buying that house, but I want to see it. That’s a natural curiosity.

And that’s what’s happening with Jesus and Lazarus. Let’s go talk to the man who came back from the dead. Or let’s go talk to the man who brought him back.

So, you’ve got a crowd of people from all over the Roman Empire making their way to Jerusalem, because of the Passover. And now you’ve got Jesus there in Bethany, just a couple of miles away. There’s no way to tell how big this eager crowd might have been. But again, the motivation is a natural curiosity, not necessarily love or devotion to Jesus.

Now, pitted against that curiosity we have a second component, which is sinful hostility.

Sinful Hostility

Verses 10 and 11 say—So the chief priests made plans to put Lazarus to death as well, ¹¹because on account of him many of the Jews were going away and believing in Jesus.

The hype surrounding Passover, and the hype surrounding Jesus, only intensified their hatred. They were dominated by jealousy. And in their rage, they’re planning a murder. Now, if you remember back in chapter 11, after they found out about Lazarus’ resurrection, they planned to kill Jesus. But that’s not enough anymore.

Now, they’re planning to kill Lazarus too. This is their blind hatred of Jesus. Too many of their own followers are deserting the Pharisees, and so they will do anything they can to put an end to it. And that includes killing anyone who points people to Him.

So when we come to Palm Sunday, which is the next day, don’t think any of that has gone away. We don’t want to let the joyful shouts of the crowd hide the fact that lurking in the dark corners are the men who want Jesus dead. And we know that that’s were this is all heading.

Well, we come now to verse 12, to Palm Sunday, or Palm Monday if that’s the case. And what John describes for us is a massive crowd characterized by a joyful expectancy. That’s our third component for today.

Joyful Expectancy

Verse 12—The next day the large crowd that had come to the feast heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem. ¹³So 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!”

Historians can’t really agree on how large this crowd might have been. Estimates for the normal population of Jerusalem during the time of Jesus are around 50-100 thousand. That’s at a normal time. But there’s no telling how many people it would have been during Passover.

There’s one ancient historian named Josephus who wrote that during Passover Jerusalem had 2.7 million people, but modern historian agree that that has to be an exaggeration.

Just to give you a little context, if you watch the game today, the Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta holds 71,000 people. But at this time, Jerusalem could have 10 times that amount, so more like 700,000 people.

Whatever the number is, the city and the streets are packed with people. Hundreds of thousands of people are in the city because Passover, remember is one of the mandatory pilgrimage festivals for the Jews.

Well, just as a reminder for all of us, what is Passover? What was it for? It was a festival instituted by God to celebrate and commemorate their exodus from Egypt. After all the plagues on the Egyptians, the Israelites were freed. So this is a day, not just for worship, but for national pride.

Everybody there is waiting for something like the first Passover to happen again. Right now, they’re ruled by the Romans. But one day, according to the prophets, a King would come who would free Israel and restore its glory. Just like Moses led the Israelites out of Egypt, a man would come and free them from their enemies. A Savior-King would come. That’s what they’re all waiting for.

And who do they hope it is? Jesus! “Jesus is the One who will free us from the Romans! Jesus is the One who will restore the glory of Israel!” That’s their hope. That’s their expectation.

And so, as an expression of their nationalistic, triumphant expectation, they start grabbing palm branches. That’s what verse 13 tells us.

Israel had many, many palm trees on which would grow dates. Those are called date palms. And the palm branches, over time, had become a national symbol for the Jews. When the Temple was rededicated—or there was a military victory— the people would celebrate with palm branches.

Just a little later in history, in the first and second century, there were even Jewish coins made that had palm branches on them.

In the book of Revelation, chapter 7, you’ve got a multi-national multitude, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, praising God for His salvation.

So this is a very important symbol to the people. It’s an expression of their joyful expectancy. The other gospels tells us that they didn’t just hold the palm branches, they spread them on the road. And some people even laid down their clothes. This is like a red-carpet welcome for Jesus.

Now, besides the palm branches, we’re also told that the people went out to meet Jesus. So, instead of just waiting for Jesus to enter the city. Members of the massive crowd go out to be with Him and escort Him into the city.

At that time, this was a custom usually reserved for a king or for a victorious general. Instead of staying out, the people would rush to be with him and then walk him in. So, here are the people, marching joyfully with Jesus because they think, “This is the guy who will free us from the Romans. He can raise the dead! He will give us victory!”

And while they’re there with Jesus, as He’s about to come from the Mount of Olives and enter into Jerusalem, they’re chanting. They’re shouting. What are they shouting? “Hosanna! Hosanna! Hosanna!”

That’s a Hebrew term that means: Save us! Deliver us! Rescue us! And there’s an urgency to the term. It’s a pleading. “We beg you to save us!” That was something the Jews used to sing from the Psalms.

This is a quotation from Psalm 118:25 and 26, which say: Save us, we pray, O Lord! O Lord, we pray, give us success! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!

If we put together Matthew, Mark, and Luke we get additional phrases that the crowd is shouting. “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is the King. Blessed is the kingdom of our father David! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest! Hosanna in the Highest!”

John is making sure he identifies who Jesus is. He is the King of Israel. He is “the coming One.” He is the One everyone is waiting for. He is the One God promised to send. This is a moment of joyful expectancy.

But set against the frenzy of the crowd, there is Jesus. Palm Sunday is not just a day for natural curiosity and sinful hostility and joyful expectancy. For Jesus, it’s a day of intentional activity. Intentional activity.

Intentional Activity

Jesus is the Son of God. Jesus is Sovereign. There is nothing about the Passion week, the final week of His life, that hasn’t been anticipated and even ordained. He is fully in control of what’s going on. And He is being deliberate with everything He does.

If you read the other gospels, you get a fuller story of how Jesus got the donkey He was sitting on. I’ll let you read that for yourself. John might be assuming we know that story already. But more than that, His emphasis is on the intentionality of Jesus here. Jesus isn’t passive. He’s active. This is deliberate, sovereign activity.

Verse 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!”

Jesus knows about that prophecy. It was His own Spirit that moved the prophets to write it. This is not a coincidence. And it wasn’t just a predictive prophecy. This is Jesus doing what He already said He would do. He rides to His people seated on a young donkey.

The other gospels tell us that this was a donkey that had never been ridden before. An animal like that was a symbol of honor and status. But that’s not the emphasis here. Look at the passage John records one more time.

The first words are “Fear not, daughter of Zion.” Those are words of comfort. Those are word intended to soother a nation that is in distress. And the phrase appears to be a combination of various passages in Isaiah.

The main part of the quote, though, comes from Zechariah 9:9. It’s a Messianic prophecy. “Your King is coming on a donkey’s colt.” The Jews who first read John’s gospel would have known the rest of the verse. It says, “Righteous and  having salvation is he, humble and mounted on a donkey.”

To have a king enter a land on a donkey is a symbol of humility and peace. The contrast would be the warrior king who enters into the city riding on a horse. That’s not Jesus at this point in time. He comes in peace. He comes to bring peace. He comes as the fulfilment of God’s love for His people.

And that’s what the crowd really doesn’t understand. They’re so blinded by their hopes and expectations, that they cannot see Jesus for who He really is. They want a conquering, liberating king—not a humble, compassionate servant. They want a king who will destroy their enemies, rather than one who has come to turn enemies into friends.

Jesus isn’t going to overthrow the Romans right now. He’s not marching into Jerusalem to bring His people an immediately visible triumph. He’s marching to His death.

And this brings us to a fifth major component of Palm Sunday. And you need to understand this one. Palm Sunday was a day about mistaken identity.

Mistaken Identity

The crowd has almost no idea what Jesus’ mission will require. In less than a week, they will be calling for His blood. Instead of “Hosanna! Hosanna! Hosanna!” they’re gonna be shouting “Crucify Him! Crucify Him! Crucify Him!”

And even Jesus’ closest disciples don’t have the full picture. They still don’t get it. They don’t fully understand what the mission of the Messiah requires.

And that’s what John points us to in verse 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.

This is so humble of John. Writing the gospel about 60 years later, and having the Holy Spirit to teach him, John can see the full significance, but at that time, he says, he and the other disciples didn’t get it.

When verse 16 talks about “these things,” it doesn’t mean that no one knew or expected Jesus to be the Messiah. It means that they didn’t fully understand the significance of what it meant to have a humble King, a humble Messiah. Jesus’ true disciples weren’t calling for His death, but they still didn’t understand it. It didn’t fit their concept of the Messiah.

In the gospel of Luke, you’ve got two disciples on the road to Emmaus. And it’s the day of the Resurrection, and they’re talking about Jesus. And one of them says, “He died! He was crucified. But we had hoped that He was the One to redeem Israel.”

They didn’t get it. They didn’t understand a Messiah who was meek and lowly, and who would lay down His life.

That understanding, John says, came after Jesus was glorified—which would include His death, His resurrection, and His ascension. Once that took place, and once the Holy Spirit came, the people of God know what kind of King Jesus really was. He was a humble, patient, compassionate King.

For us, being on this side of all that, we have the full picture of Jesus. And we have the Bible, the teaching of His Apostles. Yes, Jesus is eternal God. But, as Philippians tells us, He didn’t count equality with God as something to cling to. He emptied Himself. He took the form or a slave. He became a man, and He humbled Himself to the point of death.

Don’t make the same mistake the crowd made or the disciples made. Make sure you’re following the real Jesus.

Jesus presents to us the terrifying possibility of a person so convinced that they are serving Jesus and that they were headed to heaven, only to hear Jesus say to him (or to her): “I never knew you; depart from Me.” Jesus never knew them and they never knew Jesus.

You need to get Jesus right. And you get Jesus right by looking in God’s word for yourself.

How many people out there call themselves Christians, and yet make it clear by their lives they aren’t really saved. They don’t really know Jesus.

Sometimes, they’ll emphasize Jesus’ love, or Jesus’ friendship and gentleness. And so, in the name of Jesus, they’re telling people it’s okay to live in sin. It’s okay to live in direct contradiction to God’s word. They’ve got the wrong Jesus.

Or they completely misinterpret the gospel, so that Jesus is reduced to a glorified life-coach. And He’s there to help improve your relationships and your finances and your health. That’s not the real Jesus.

Maybe you need to hear that today, or be reminded about it. You don’t get to decide the terms of your relationship with Jesus. He does. You might say Jesus is Lord, but if by your actions you deny Him. You’ve got the wrong Jesus.

Or maybe you’re on the other end of the spectrum. Those are the people who love to emphasize Jesus’ lordship, His authority. And so they go out into the world, thinking they’re motivated by Christ’s glory, but they have no love. They have no compassion or grace or respect for others. They have no humility or patience.

And typically, they don’t have any joy either. That doesn’t honor Jesus. That doesn’t represent Him. Jesus endured the cross for the joy set before Him.

Is Jesus the true King? Yes, He is. Does He require us to bow down before Him in submission? Yes, He does. But rather than simply force us into His kingdom, He took the first step. He calls us to lay down our lives for Him, because He laid down His life for us—to satisfy God’s justice. And God raised Him from the dead to authenticate it. That’s our King. That’s Jesus. He did not come to condemn the world, but to save it.

Jesus came to save the world. He came to seek and to save the lost. He came to save sinners from every tribe and tongue and people and nation.

It’s not recorded here for us in John, but Luke tells us that Christ’s glory is so consuming, His authority is so powerful, that if nobody had been shouting that day, the stones would have cried out. Because Jesus must be recognized.

And we see Christ’s zeal for His glory because then He weeps over Jerusalem and pronounces judgment against it for their unbelief. Jesus must be glorified.

And this just brings us to the final point. John has his own way of pointing it out. The Triumphal Entry points us to Christ’s global ministry.

Global Ministry

This joyful yet misdirected crowd is only a small taste of an even greater multitude that will one day know Jesus for who He really is, and give Him all the praise and glory and honor.

Jesus will have a worldwide impact. It will be a global ministry.

The people there may not have the right idea about Jesus or even the right motives, but what they do demonstrates the reality about Jesus. They bear witness. The message must go out.

Verse 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. ¹⁸The reason why the crowd went to meet him was that they heard he had done this sign.

They couldn’t hold it in. The news about Jesus continued to spread. And even Jesus hostile enemies recognize that there’s no stopping it.

Verse 19—So the Pharisees said to one another, “You see that you are gaining nothing.”

They’re not happy. Nothing they’ve been trying to do is working. So they say to one another, “Look, the whole world has gone after him.”

Obviously, they meant it as an exaggeration. They’re upset. But this is John, one more time, using their own words to make a point. They don’t understand the half of it. The whole world will go after Him one day.

His disciples will be sent into all the nations, even to the ends of the earth. Why?

For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.

Jews and Gentiles alike, will have direct access to the Father because of the Son, Jesus Christ. And that’s exactly what John emphasizes in the section that follows, because a group of Greeks come to see Him. But that’s a story we’ll study in a couple weeks.