The Triumphal Entry

Introduction – John 11:38-12:11

Jesus’ mission is beginning to come to a head. The perfect Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world is about to enter Jerusalem on his way to die in our place at the time of the Passover Feast, when the Jews remember the sparing of their households by the blood of a lamb.

You can sense the tension as you read chapters 11 & 12 of John’s Gospel. Turn with me for a moment to chapter 11 and verses 38-54. Jesus raises Lazarus from the dead. Many of the Jews who witnessed that put their faith in Jesus, v45.

But some of them went to the Pharisees [reports John in v46] and told them what Jesus had done. The chief priests and the Pharisees then called a meeting of the Sanhedrin. They are fearful. “What are we accomplishing?” they asked. “Here is this man performing many miraculous signs. If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him, and then the Romans will come and take away both our place [ie the temple] and our nation.”

Then Caiaphas, the high priest, spoke up, v49:

“ You know nothing at all! You do not realise that it is better for you that one man die for the people than that the whole nation perish.” He did not say this on his own [ie God overruled in what Caiaphas said] … He prophesied that Jesus would die for the Jewish nation, and not only for that nation but also for the scattered children of God, to bring them together and make them one.’

Of course his words were true in a way he could not imagine. The truth was that Jesus’ death would be for the nation by taking away the sins of those who believed in him. Whereas he believed Jesus’ death would remove political trouble and so be for the nation. ‘So’, v53, ‘from that day on they plotted to take his life.’ The order, v57, went out that if anyone found out where Jesus was, he should report it so that they might arrest him. Yet still many Jews were going over to Jesus and putting their faith in him as a result of his raising of Lazarus (12:11). Which brings us to my first heading:

THE TRIUMPHAL ENTRY

At Passover over 2 million gathered in Jerusalem. This great crowd, fuelled by reports of the raising of Lazarus, heard Jesus was coming and so v13:

‘ They took palm branches and went out to meet him, shouting, “Hosanna!” “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!” “Blessed is the King of Israel.”’

The crowd were full of nationalistic and messianic fervour. They welcomed him with palms and shouts of 'Hosanna', both of which betrayed their nationalistic understanding of Jesus' Kingship. Palms had been a symbol of the Jewish state from the time of the Maccabees and appeared on Jewish coins during their revolutionary struggle against the Romans. The cry 'Hosanna' literally means 'Give salvation now!' and comes from Psalm 118:25. They were looking to him to deliver them from the Romans. If he could raise Lazarus from the dead then surely he had the power to do that.

Jesus, though, came not on a warhorse but on a donkey. To defeat not the Romans but the power of sin and death. He says, “Do not be afraid, O daughter of Zion; see, your king is coming seated on a donkey’s colt.” He is the King of Israel who Zechariah had prophesied, who will proclaim peace to the nations and whose rule will extend to the ends of the earth. His triumphal entry shows that his Kingship is non-military. He will be crowned upon a cross of sacrifice through which he will achieve freedom for his worldwide subjects who put their faith in him. He is the King of peace through whom we can have peace with God, but to achieve that he must ride on in lowly pomp to die. Also the kingship Jesus declares on Palm Sunday is divisive. Some will greet him with enthusiasm while others will plot his downfall. That is not surprising in a world where a rival power holds sway. And therefore the coming of the true King produces "the conflict of the kingdoms - light confronts darkness and life encounters death…and means that we face death before we can know life".

Many resist that giving up of their sinful independence – don’t they - because it's too costly but each person must take sides. Doing nothing is siding against Jesus. Each of us must respond to the King one way or the other - to the King who is a universal King whom the whole world has gone after and who will one day be acclaimed upon his throne as the one who with his blood "purchased people for God from every tribe, language, people and nation". (Rev 5:9) And that great multitude of believers will stand before the throne and in front of the Lamb, holding palm branches, proclaiming not a political Messiah but a Saviour from sin: ‘Salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne and to the Lamb.’ (Revelation 7:9,12) How do we respond to him this morning? How do we greet him? As our Saviour? Whose side are we on? The side of light or the side of darkness?

Perhaps some of us here this morning are like the Greeks (v20) who want to see Jesus. You're searching and seeking and want to find out more. Up to now, like these Greeks, you've been a God fearer, attracted to Christianity by its morals but you’re not yet sure about putting your trust in Christ and going his way, the way of the cross. Or perhaps you are a believer but you're struggling with the way of the cross, with the cost of discipleship. Well consider Jesus and persevere. It is worth it. Or maybe at the moment you're like the disciples (v16) who didn't understand Jesus' purpose. It was to take Jesus' glorification through his death and resurrection (and the gift of the Spirit) for them to see the light. A glorification that brings us to my next two headings, which run together.

GLORY THROUGH THE CROSS

The approach of these Greek Gentiles, who embody the world that has gone after Jesus (v19), brings it home to Jesus that he was now to die for the world. Verse 23: "The hour has come". When President John F Kennedy made a very different triumphal entry into Dallas Texas over 40 years ago riding on a vehicle with massive horsepower, he did not know he was about to die. The crowds were cheering and waving their stars and stripes. He was waving back until the fatal gunshot. But Jesus knew he was about to die, in spite of the acclamation he received. He knew that the crowd would soon be shouting ‘crucify him’ and that he must die. Kennedy’s death was tragic. But Jesus’ death was not to be a tragedy, rather a triumph. Verse 23 again:

The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified".

By going the way of the cross, by his supreme act of obedience unto death Jesus brings final glory to the Father and as he does so the Father will also crown him with glory. So Jesus' glorification is through death. He is like a grain of wheat (v24), which must fall into the earth and die there before he can become fruitful in terms of revealing the glory of God and making the kingdom of God available for the whole world. Jesus would have to endure the suffering before the glory, the cross before the crown, the burden of bearing all our sins, all our wrongdoing and rebellion in his body on the tree, the agony of being separated from his Father, the cruel nails hammered through his wrists and ankles, crucifixion between two common criminals lifted high on a wooden cross. In his death he must take our place. He must die our death in order to free us from death forever. And all that after being betrayed, denied and deserted by his own disciples; mocked and condemned by the religious leaders and the crowd who had only just hailed him with palms. Jesus was willing because he wanted to obey and glorify his Father and achieve his Father's purposes. Even so no wonder his heart was troubled at the prospect of what he was about to face (v27). He even considered asking his Father to save him from this hour. But no. He knew that it was for this hour, for this death, for this very reason that he had come. "Father", Jesus prays, "Glorify your name!" Surely for us too there can be no other prayer. The Christian Gospel may be simple but it is not superficial. It may be free but it is not cheap. Jesus knew that he couldn't bypass the cross. Can we pass it by?

So the essence of the glorifying of God and therefore of the glorification of Jesus lies in the cross itself (Isaiah 52:13-14). Yes the glory of God is also revealed in the resurrection but it is in both Jesus' death and resurrection that he achieves the glory of God. And if this is the case then we as Christians today must not focus almost exclusively on the risen and ascended Christ and upon the Spirit in our worship, but also on the cross of Christ. A focus which continues here in our next heading:

LIFE THROUGH DEATH

Look at v25-26. That the glory of God is attained through death is true not only for the Saviour but also for his disciples. To receive eternal life, Jesus says that we must hate life in this world (v25). That's not to say we should go around hating ourselves or that we must never enjoy the goodness of God's creation. No! But faith in Jesus does involve dying to all the attractions of this passing world order. I.e. Jesus tells us here that without repentance from sin and trust in him, there can be no salvation. Those who love or cling to their lives in this world will lose them. But if we do repent, trust in Jesus and are willing to lose our lives for the sake of Christ then we will keep them for eternal life. And, v26, we will have the presence of Christ on the way beside us as well as the promise of being honoured by the Father here and hereafter. Are we clinging on to life in this world or are we willing to lose our lives for Jesus, for the sake of the gospel and for the glory of God?

This life through death principle also applies to our Christian service. Fruitfulness for God is costly. It cost Jesus his life on the cross. Likewise it is in dying that we become life givers. Paul says so in 2 Corinthians 4:11-12. And like the Apostle Paul we are to learn to die everyday. To die to self. To bury our own selfish desires. The seed must perish for the harvest to be produced. The seed must perish for the harvest of Tyneside to be produced. Church growth and church planting are costly.

THE MEANING OF THE CROSS v30-32

Jesus himself tells us that his death on the cross will achieve four things:

First (v31) Jesus' death on the cross will pass judgement on the world in two ways. First it will expose our sin - the sin of the human race -the rejection of God - most dreadfully shown in the rejection and murder of God's only Son. So the cross judges the world and every one of us comes under that judgement. But second, Jesus bears the judgement for us on the cross. He took our place. He took our punishment. The wages of sin is death says Romans 6:23, but through his death and resurrection Christ takes the sting of death away for us if we put our faith in him. What a victorious and glorious death and resurrection!

Secondly (v31) Jesus' death on the cross will drive out Satan, the prince of this world. Although the cross looks like defeat for Jesus and triumph for the devil, it was in fact Satan's defeat. The devil has been defeated. Yes he is still active but the cross has broken the evil one and as Luther put it, "his doom is writ". When Jesus returns Satan will be "hurled down, overcome by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony". (Rev 12:10) And as Revelation 11:15 states: "The kingdoms of this world will become the kingdoms of our God and of his Christ". The victory has been won. Jesus is King. Thirdly (v32) Jesus' death will exalt him. He is lifted up in crucifixion, as v33 makes clear. But on the cross he is also lifted up in exaltation. "The cross is a throne, his crucifixion is his coronation; he reigns from the tree." As FF Bruce puts it: "His being glorified is not a reward or recompense for his crucifixion; it inheres in or is an inseparable part of his crucifixion"

Fourthly (v32) The death of Christ will draw all peoples to himself, regardless of nationality, ethnic background or status. And it is significant that Greek Gentiles were present here. He is the Saviour of the world. The harvest will be great. But first the grain of wheat must fall into the ground and perish. But in perishing he will bring "forth much fruit". So…

Finally, PUT YOUR TRUST IN THE LIGHT

The response of the crowd in v34 was typical of some Jews and Gentiles then and today. They ask - how can Jesus be the Messiah if he's to be lifted up? Would he not have lost? Who is such a Son of Man? Doesn't the Old Testament teach that the true Christ will remain forever? Won't he establish an unending kingdom? Ie. how can we believe in a crucified Messiah? They were struggling to reconcile what Jesus has already said: that the kingdom he brings is eternal and that the life he offers is eternal, with his talk of death. But for these to be made available "the prince of this world (Satan) must be confronted and his enslaving hold upon the human heart broken through the final and perfect obedience of the Son of Man. The guilt of the ages cannot be swept under the carpet but must be drawn out into the light and judged. The Son of Man must die in order to reign forever". 1 Corinthians 1:18-25 makes it clear that the message of the cross is a stumbling block and foolishness to those who are perishing but to those who are being saved it is the power of God. Christ crucified was and is a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Greeks and other Gentiles. Many still find it difficult to believe that "only through a blood stained cross can the meaning of existence be discovered and the life for which we were made experienced in its fullness". This is true of The Independent newspaper’s film critic who wrote this about The Passion of the Christ film: “You have to see it, poor you. But despair not: help is on its way in the form of the just announced re-release of Monty Python’s Life of Brian. He’s not the Messiah, he’s a very naughty boy. Aaaah, that’s better.”

But what is our response? Are we ready to put our trust in Jesus Christ as our Saviour and King, willing to follow him whatever the cost? Jesus says put your trust in him before it's too late. He says (v35) that he is the light who has come into the world. He is still with them. If (v36) they will put their trust in him they will become sons of light. But the time of opportunity to do so is just a little while longer. The same is true for us today. Put your trust in the light, in me, says Jesus before I return as Judge. The alternative is solemn warns Jesus. If we will not come to the light, darkness will overtake us and we will not know where we are going. I.e. to refuse to put our trust in him means to be shut out from the light forever, which is terrible. The time of salvation is now, wrote the Apostle Paul. So if we have already put our trust in the light then we too are to speak and plead with those who haven't, while there is still time, saying: "You are going to have the light just a little while longer…before darkness overtakes you…Put your trust in the light while you have it".

Who are you going to invite along on Easter Sunday morning and to the next Christianity Explored course?