4/13/25 “The Humble King”

“The Humble King”

John 12:12-19

Few things in this world can grab our attention like an inspiring introduction.

As humans, it seems as though we are naturally drawn to the pageantry and spectacle of something – or someone – being introduced.

Sometimes, whatever is being introduced is brand new to us….other times, it’s something we are familiar with…but is being brought to us in a new way.

For instance, if you’ve ever been to a D1 college or pro level basketball game, the most exciting part – for many people – is when they introduce the starting lineup for the home team.

The lights go out…inspiring music begins to play over the PA system…the announcer begins to ramp up the crowd in a “big-announcer” voice…

And then – one by one – the players come off the bench as their names and numbers are called…they high-five their teammates as they make their way to the middle of the court where they can be seen by everyone in attendance.

These days.…At the Kohl Center, they even shoot fire from the top of each backboard to enhance the experience.

Those of you old enough might even remember the music that the Michael Jordan era Chicago Bulls played over the loudspeakers at the United Center when the players were introduced…it was an instrumental guitar solo called “Sirius” by the Alan Parsons Project….its very catchy…makes you want to go out and run a 5k !!

….certain songs have very memorable introductions.

If you do a Google search for “Most famous song intros” you’ll get answers such as “The Final Countdown”, “Hotel California”, “California Girls”, or “Stairway to Heaven”

Marketing companies certainly understand the power of a good introduction.

How many times have you heard something like this: “Are you tired of that ugly soap scum build-up in your shower?…we’ve got the answer…INTRODUCING Mr. Clean Magic Eraser Ultra bathroom cleaner…say goodbye to scum Forever!!

….INTRODUCING the new iPhone 16 (or whatever the newest model is)..the most powerful phone of all time!

..the introduction of something new – something novel – naturally grabs our attention.

Movies are famous for portraying suspenseful and memorable introductions.

Who can forget Darth Vader’s epic reveal in Star Wars…or Indiana Jones in the beginning of ‘Raiders of the Lost Ark”…or Batman…or Gandalf the White.

Most introductions are filled with a great deal of manufactured pageantry and hype…we try to appeal – in some way or another – to as many senses as possible to make the introduction powerful – and memorable.

Well….Our passage for today also deals with an introduction.

But – unlike man’s hyped introductions – this introduction was much different.

This introduction was the most important introduction of all-time….but Jesus had no hype man…no pyrotechnics…no big-voiced announcer…no regal chariot or pageantry…

In fact, the introduction of Jesus to the people of Jerusalem was filled with paradox.

Here we have Jesus – God in the flesh – being introduced to the city of Jerusalem….riding on a lowly donkey.

The most powerful entity in the universe…comes to town on a humble, meek beast of burden.

We see people hailing Jesus as a potential political savior….when, in reality, his mission was that of spiritual savior.

We see the crowd laying coats and palm branches in his path, when – a few days later – many of these same people will be calling for his death.

This paradoxical introduction of Jesus perfectly reflects the counterintuitive teachings of the savior as well.

Truths such as “Whoever wishes to save his life shall lose it”….or “Whoever wishes to be first shall be last”….or “Whoever wishes to be great among you, shall be your servant”…

These teachings that go against the grain of man’s natural tendencies reflect God’s wisdom and power...which often operates in ways that seem counterintuitive to our way of thinking…

…just ask the 12-hour workers in the vineyard parable, right?

Well….Today is a special day.

As many of you know, the Sunday before Easter has traditionally been referred to as ‘Palm Sunday’….

This was the day in which Jesus presents himself to the people of Jerusalem during the feast of the Passover – just days before his death on a cross - by riding into the City gate on a donkey.

Many Bible scholars believe there were hundreds of thousands of people in  Jerusalem on the day that Jesus made his triumphal entry into the city…

This would be the final week of Jesus’ life, yet all four gospels focus heavily upon these last 8 days of the savior.

Believe it or not, HALF of the gospel of John is devoted to the events of what we call “Holy Week”…or “Passion Week”

The synoptic gospels do likewise….2/5 of the book of Matthew….3/5 of the book of Mark…and 1/3 of the book of Luke…are devoted to the final week of Jesus’ life.

Of the 89 chapters across all four gospels, only 4 chapters cover the first 30 years of Jesus’ life.

85 chapters cover his last 3 years…with 29 of those 85 chapters dealing with the events surrounding the final week of Jesus’ life.

If the gospel writers were inspired to consider these 8 days to be so important as to take up a very disproportionate amount of space in their writings…

I think we ought to – also - give these 8 days our utmost attention as well….don’t you think?

With that said….Let’s get into our passage for today.

Verse 12 (John 12:12) tells us that a great crowd heard that Jesus was making his way to Jerusalem.

This would have been people who were already in Jerusalem for the Passover feast…when they heard Jesus was coming, they came out of the city to meet him.

Then, if we go back to verse 9 (John 12:9) in John chapter 12, we see that Jesus had already amassed a large crowd who were following him on account of something he had just done in the previous chapter…in John chapter 11….

….anyone know what that might have been?

Does the name Lazarus ring a bell?

Jesus was in the small town of Bethany (2 miles outside of Jerusalem) where he had just performed the greatest miracle of his ministry….

…He literally brought Lazarus back to life after being dead for 4 days.

This miracle of resurrection caused people to seek out this man for themselves…people wanted to see in person what they had heard from others…

…rumor had it there was a man who was giving sight to the blind…giving sound to the deaf…giving movement to the paralyzed….giving speech to the mute…and giving life to the dead!

So…the crowd we now see in verse 13 (John 12:13) is actually a combination of 2 crowds of people…

..one from Bethany…and one from Jerusalem.

We see here that this enormous crowd began to collect palm branches, waving them and – according to Matthew’s account (Matthew 21:8) - laid these branches on the road in front of the incoming Messiah.

Now…You may be wondering ‘what’s the significance of this’…why did people lay these palm branches on the road ahead of Jesus?

Well, during the intertestamental period – the time between the Old & New Testaments – palm branches from date palm trees had become a symbol of victory & celebration.

Some of you may be familiar with the name Simon the Maccabee.

Simon the Maccabee led a Jewish revolt against the Syrians (who occupied Jerusalem at the time) …

…that resulted in a short period of political freedom in Jerusalem…before the Romans came in around 63BC and took complete control of the city and region.

It was during this short-lived time of freedom that palm branches came to symbolize political victory.

So…the palm branches being laid down in from of Jesus as he made his way to Jerusalem were the crowd’s way of expressing their belief that this rabbi – Jesus - would be coming to free Jerusalem and the Jewish people from the hated Romans….and their political occupation.

In verse 13, we also see the people shouting “Hosanna!”

Hosanna is a Hebrew word meaning “Save us, we pray”…or “Help us, we pray”

The crowd was excitedly whipped up into a frenzy, hoping this man would be their deliverer….

…and that is exactly what Jesus turned out to be…he did offer deliverance...…just not in the way the people had expected.

Yet another paradox surrounding Jesus…

He would succeed in his mission to deliver spiritual hope to all mankind…

….but would be a failure in the eyes of many people who were fervently looking to him as a political champion.

What a lesson this can be for us today as well.

It’s easy to get caught up in the emotion and passion of politics…so much so that – if we aren’t careful – we can allow our zeal for political reform to eclipse our zeal for spiritual reform.

We can get caught up in political zealotry to the extent that our relationship with our savior ends up taking a back seat to our passion for the affairs of the state.

An easy litmus test for this is:  what do you spend more time thinking about?

If you’re constantly reading about, fretting about, talking about, posting about, and getting upset about politics…

...then, its safe to say, your passion for the political realm of life, trumps your passion for the spiritual realm of life…(No pun intended there)

This is exactly the mindset of many individuals in this large group of people welcoming Jesus along the road from Bethany to Jerusalem…

They were stirred up, excited, and exhilarated…but for the wrong reason.

To coin a phrase we’ve heard a lot lately, Jesus “was their huckleberry”…He was the man for the job…they just didn’t understand the nature of his job.

The crowd calls him the King of Israel….and – in Matthew’s account – the “Son of David”

These are terms reserved for only the Messiah…

The crowd was correct about Jesus being the Messiah…but they were very mistaken about the mission of the Messiah.

Jesus came to emancipate souls from the bondage of sin – not to emancipate citizens from the bondage of Rome.

Verse 14 (John 12:14) tells us that Jesus finds a donkey…for this animal will be his chosen vehicle for his final introduction to the people in Jerusalem.

Now…how many of you…if you had your choice of what to ride into Jerusalem – the most important city in all the middle east – with an entourage and thousands of people watching you…..would choose to come in riding a….. donkey?

This donkey doesn’t even fly or talk! 😊

Well, there were good reasons why Jesus chose a donkey to make his introduction to Jerusalem.

First of all, about 500 years earlier, it was prophesied by the prophet Zechariah, that Jesus would do this exact thing.

Zechariah 9:9 says, “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.”

This is one of over 500 prophecies concerning Jesus that he fulfills during his lifetime.

A second reason why Jesus entering Jerusalem on a donkey is significant is because donkeys were considered to be animals of humility.

It’s interesting to note – and I didn’t realize this until prepping for this sermon – that when ancient kings would bring a message of peace to a foreign country…they would typically enter that country’s major city on a donkey.

…this would symbolize that they meant no aggression by their appearance.

However, if a king were to bring intentions of war…then he would ride a horse…and all parties would know that war was being declared.

Jesus – in his first coming 2,000 years ago, came in….humility.

He came in servitude….he came in peace.

He came calling sinners to repent and become his followers…as he still does today.

However….Jesus will be coming again to this earth….

A return that I believe is on the foreseeable horizon.

But this time, he will not be riding a humble donkey.

Listen to how Revelation 19:11-16 describes how Jesus will introduce himself at his second coming: (John says) “I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True. With justice he judges and makes war. His eyes are like blazing fire, and on his head are many crowns. He has a name written on him that no one knows but he himself. He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and his name is the Word of God. The armies of heaven were following him, riding on white horses and dressed in fine linen, white and clean. Out of his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations. He will rule them with an iron scepter. He treads the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God Almighty. On his robe and on his thigh he has this name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.”

This will be no humble donkey ride…this will be the ruler of the universe returning atop a fiery supernatural steed of incomparable power and authority.

….…coming to wage war upon those who have declared war upon him…and upon his followers….those evil people and governments who have persecuted His bride – the church.

This is a picture of absolute terror for those who will be alive on the earth at that time…for those who have not accepted Jesus’ humble offer of forgiveness and mercy.

But the introduction we read about in today’s passage is one of grace…it is one of mercy…it is one of humility…it is one of forgiveness…it is one of reconciliation….it is one of love.

At the end of today’s passage, the legalistic and ritualistic Pharisees – the religious hypocrites who hated Jesus – they complain about how people are drawn to Jesus…and how this was threatening their religious power and authority.

In John 12:19, they say “…Look how the whole world has gone after him!”

People were drawn to Jesus because he was real – he was authentic – he was approachable – and he was believable.

But many who came near to him did so with erroneous motives.

Many of these people waving palm branches and shouting hosanna…as was mentioned earlier…were some of the same people who would – in less than one week - be shouting for Jesus to be put to death…

…and calling for a murderer to be set free.

 A question that we all must honestly ask ourselves this morning is this:

Why am I following Jesus?

Am I a Christ-follower because I truly understand my need for a savior…and because of what he did for me on the cross - I wholeheartedly desire to submit to his authority over my life…?

…OR… am I professing to follow Jesus because of some other reason…

maybe because I enjoy the pleasant atmosphere at church…I like to be around generous people who do nice things for others….I enjoy the music…….I like the carpet….whatever.

maybe I like the idea of doing good things for Jesus…after all, the more deeds I do for him, the more he’ll probably listen to my prayers….

…and maybe give me that pontoon boat I’ve been praying for….

Or perhaps I call myself a Christian primarily because I want the Lord to heal a certain ‘Thorn in my flesh’…a disease…a bad habit…a broken relationship

…maybe the other members of my family go to church, so I do as well…after all…I don’t want to stir up trouble – or let them down.

Maybe I align with Christianity because I like to be around other people who share the same basic political beliefs as I do….

If any of these are the primary reason you have for following Jesus….then It pains me to say you’ve never truly met the savior!

The only legitimate reason why you can call yourself a Christ-follower is because – like the prodigal son – you’ve come to your senses…and you’ve realized that you are a sinner in need of a savior….

…you’ve come to understand that faith & trust in the finished work of Jesus Christ on the cross is your only hope of getting out from under the curse of sin….past, present, and future sin.

…anything less than this repentant faith – and fruit of obedience that comes with it - falls short of genuine spiritual regeneration.

…and if you breathe your last breath on this earth having never accepted the life-changing truth of the gospel message of Jesus Christ….

…The only choice God will have when you come before Him someday will be to grant you the lifelong desire of your heart…to be away from His presence.

…and to be eternally separated from God’s presence means to be in a place of pain, sorrow, and torment…a place of desperation, hopelessness, and anguish…..a place the Bible calls hell.

God does not want you going there…but He also gave you free will to decide where you will spend eternity.

The choice is yours.

On your way into the sanctuary today, you should have been given a small palm branch…

Right now - Before we come before the Lord’s table in communion this morning…I’d like for you to take a look at your palm branch…(Some look different than others – don’t worry about that)

And I’d like for you to envision yourself along that road between Bethany and Jerusalem…

You’re surrounded by thousands of people who are on their tippy-toes…craning their necks…trying to get a glimpse of this man named Jesus…

…A man who performs miracles...a man who teaches that salvation can be gained through faith & repentance…

…and while you are looking at your palm branch, I want you to honestly ask yourself…..”Who is Jesus?”

Is he just someone who brings you loaves & fishes?

Is he just someone whose moral teachings guides the way you vote on election day?

Is he just someone who teaches how we ought to treat others?

Is he just someone who has a special ability to heal the sick and cast out demons?

Is he just a prophet with insightful messages?

….Or….is this Jesus truly….. Lord. of. Your. Life.?

2,000 years ago, Jesus introduced himself to the world….how will you respond to that introduction?

Let’s Pray.