The Hope of the Coming King

Thank you worship team for leading us so well here this morning. It's good to be with you.

As you know today is Palm Sunday. So it is good to be with you today because we are looking forward to what comes in this coming week. Namely that we're going to be celebrating Easter.

Before we get there I would hope that all of you would make it a priority to be at that service next week.

Further I hope that you will take very seriously the opportunity to invite persons to our services. We've made that as easy as we can with a number of invites and cards that we can provide you with period I would ask and encourage that you consider inviting persons to the Easter service.

Let's not confuse attending an evangelical church with doing the work of evangelism.

if you have your Bible please go ahead and open up to John chapter 12 today

This year we have been working through a series entitled Hope for Everyday Life.

And if you've been with us you know that we've been mainly studying in the book of first Peter. However for the next two Sundays, this and the next one, we are going to be taking a pause from that series.

We're going to be looking at today the triumphant entry of Christ into Jerusalem. And we're pausing to do that because we want to consider very carefully what Christ’s death, burial and resurrection means for us this year, as we consider the hope that we need for everyday life.

My goal with our time here today is for us to see... The Hope of the Coming King.

And what I think we'll notice in our text here today are three things that I hope will give us the hope that we need they're going to give us in fact 3 Reasons to Rejoice in Jesus our Savior.

Now the text that we're looking at we don't have time to do as much background and in-depth study as we would like. So for those of you who are interested in some of the background information. A couple of years ago our church did a verse by verse study in the gospel of John. You could go ahead and look up that study that we did. And it would be a very helpful study for you to do.

But before we get to our text and the meat of this sermon, I would like to highlight at least one of our overarching goals for today's message that aren't really mentioned directly. And it's this, that all of us would walk away with a firm belief and the actual historical portion of Christ going in to Jerusalem.

Sometimes we can think about the story of Easter as just that, a story. My hope and prayer is that as we study today's passage and we consider not only what happened but what it means, that everybody here would be more and more convinced of the historicity of the actual events that happened.

I would also say this that after hearing our sermon and spending time investigating these things, if there's anyone in the room who is confused or has more questions, I know I speak on behalf of the pastoral staff in saying that we would love to sit down with you.

We want to make sure that everyone in this room has had the gospel clearly and passionately explained to them. Jesus Christ died for their sins satisfying God's wrath and because of this, for those who would repent and believe, their sins can be forgiven and they can come to a saving knowledge of Christ. Having heaven secured for them forever.

So if you find yourself after listening to this sermon today thinking well that sounds very nice, but I need something better, I need something true, we would love to talk with you more about the historicity the actual nature of all of these things.

Please follow along with me as I read from our text today.

John 12:12-19 ¹² On the next day the large crowd who had come to the feast, when they heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem, ¹³ 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.” ¹⁴ Jesus, finding a young donkey, sat on it; as it is written, ¹⁵ “Fear not, daughter of Zion; behold, your King is coming, seated on a donkey’s colt.” 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. ¹⁷ So the people, who were with Him when He called Lazarus out of the tomb and raised him from the dead, continued to testify about Him. ¹⁸ For this reason also the people went and met Him, because they heard that He had performed this sign. ¹⁹ So the Pharisees said to one another, “You see that you are not doing any good; look, the world has gone after Him.”

I. Jesus fulfills the Promised Davidic King

Now this first point might be a bit confusing for you, but in order to understand its importance, you have to have a little bit of Old Testament background, but it is super important to the storyline of Jesus.

1. It is how God ordained it.

1. Jesus was in fact the rightful King.
   
   We often fail to talk about the fact that Jesus was the rightful king. Not just because he was the second person of the Trinity…and when God setup Israel at its founding…God was supposed to be their king…and the nation of Israel wanted a king like the rest of the nations.

What is important to remember, both by his blood of being a descendant, and by being God…he was the legitimate heir to the throne.

1. It shows God’s character. He made a promise and he kept it.

In 2 Samuel 7:12-16, God promises David that his throne will be established forever and that one of his descendants will be the ruler of Israel forever. This promise is often referred to as the Davidic Covenant.

Later, in the book of Isaiah, the prophet predicts that a shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse (David's father) and that this shoot will bear fruit and become a great ruler (Isaiah 11:1-10).

There are other prophecies that we could look at, but these two are really important. When we open up the other gospels, for example, Matthew, we see the authors trying to highlight that Jesus is a descendant of David and that by Jesus coming to earth and being the type of king that was foretold, he is fulfilling a very important aspect to the Messiah.

If you only take this from all I am about to say in the next few minutes…that is fine…I mean, I would appreciate if you get more…but if I end up loosing you in the weeds…keep in mind that…

Jesus being the Davidic king was important because after Israel had turned from their idolatrous ways, they were looking for the promised king.

Before we get too harsh on Israel, I think that that's a normal thing period I think many of us when we are involved in any sort of thing want to know who is the leader. And who is the leader and what will he be like.

I think it's no different for Israel, they wanted to know who the king was and what would this king be like. Just imagine for a moment at your own work that you didn't know who the boss was and you didn't know what he was like.

During Jesus earthly ministry he did a number of miracles. A lot of people love to get fascinated with the miracles of Jesus.

The reason that Jesus did all these miracles was he was trying to prove that he was the son of God but that he was also something that many believed would be true of the Davidic King

“Then the eyes of the blind will be opened and the ears of the deaf will be unstopped. Then the lame will leap like a deer, And the tongue of the mute will shout for joy....” (Isaiah 35:5–6,)

And we'll get to this in a moment, but look in your Bible real quick to John 11 and you'll see that Jesus did one of the most powerful miracles ever recorded.

He waited for a man to die, Lazarus and then raised him from the dead three days later.

That remarkable event had stirred up so many people that they were ready and longing for Christ to reveal himself as the long promised king.

So what did we see…

A. The Crowds Declared it

¹² On the next day the large crowd who had come to the feast, when they heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem, ¹³ 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.”

I may have noticed in your Bible that there was a section of text that is all caps. If you remember from last week that means that it has to do with the fact that that's an Old Testament reference.

That Old Testament reference is Psalm 118.

This was one of the psalms that the people would sing on their way up to worship during this particular feast. What's remarkable about this Psalm as well, not only do we see this section being fulfilled that the people cry out blessed is the one who came in the name of the Lord, but we also see one of the most famous passages that describes Jesus’s ministry.

“The stone which the builders rejected Has become the chief corner stone.” (Psalm 118:22)

Now of course you know you're by, you know that the idea that Jesus being the chief stone that was rejected is a prediction about what is going to happen. Jesus is going to be rejected as the rightful king, not crowned it.

All of that to say first and foremost this should just take our breath away. Seeing the various connections in God's word we should simply marvel at it.

Second, those who were there and witnessed the resurrection of Lazarus were ready for a new world order. They were ready to install Jesus as their king.

Now some folks often draw their attention to the fact that in a very short period Jesus is going to be crucified. It's important to note that not everyone who was in the streets proclaiming hosanna were the same people shouting crucify him.

Just think for a moment, even in a city like Lafayette, there's no one place that all of us could gather.

So it is highly likely that most scholars believe that it was a different set of people who were crying hosanna and a different set of people who are crying crucify him.

We also see that Jesus is the promised Davidic king when he...

B. Riding on the Colt Represents it

“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.”” (John 12:14–15)

Now again this is to fulfill prophecy, but this one is not in the book of psalms, but this comes directly from the book of Zechariah.

“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.” (Zech. 9:9)

And what is even more remarkable is how old the hints of this prophecy are. Notice this.

““He ties his foal to the vine, And his donkey’s colt to the choice vine; He washes his garments in wine, And his robes in the blood of grapes.” (Genesis 49:11) Now there are a lot of

Over the years church scholars have spilled a lot of ink over understanding what the interpretation of this verse is.

Some of it is fascinating and some of it is conjecture.

The second reason to rejoice as Jesus as king is…

II. Jesus Proved He was the True Messiah

Now there is a difference between Jesus being the Davidic king and him being the Messiah.

The word Messiah has a history of being understood as the savior. For example if you say I have a Messiah complex you would be saying I have a savior complex.

So when we talk about Jesus being the true Messiah what we're saying is he is the true savior.

it wasn't until the prophecy in Isaiah 9:6-7 that there was something different in this prophecy of a child of Dave. It is after this point that the children of Israel began looking for the person who will inherit the throne of David to be something more than a man. To be someone who will save the people.

All throughout Isaiah it talks about the future coming king, who will be the Messiah, who will save the people.

The idea that people would look to some sort of savior leader isn't anything new. I mean look at our own society for a moment. Why are presidential elections and other things so important? It's because we are looking to a leader often to become our savior.

Now Jesus proved that he was the true Messiah That had been predicted and foretold...

A. By Showing Power over Death—Lazarus (John 11)

The section that we were studying tries to tie together the events that happened just right before it, with the previous chapter in Chapter 11. Notice in verse one of chapter 12 for a moment who is being talked about? It's Lazarus. This had just happened.

It's also important to note that the story of Lazarus is not recorded in any of the other gospels. And what happened right before the events of Jesus coming into Jerusalem.

He showed his power over death.

Just pause and appreciate for a moment the picture that is being painted for you.

[Read from John 11]

“So Jesus then said to them plainly, “Lazarus is dead,” (John 11:14) …

And as he is talking with Martha what does he say to her?

“Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me will live even if he dies,” (John 11:25)

Jesus makes a clear declaration to those around him who he is. He tells them that he is the Messiah. He is here to save people.

And in a remarkable demonstration of the power of God, so that they would believe in Jesus he raises Lazarus from the dead.

““I knew that You always hear Me; but because of the people standing around I said it, so that they may believe that You sent Me.”” (John 11:42)

So Lazarus is raised to prove that Jesus was sent by God and by being sent by God he was the Messiah. This Messiah was coming to save the people from their sin.

We also see that Jesus was the true Messiah when he was in Bethany at the beginning of chapter 12. What did we see.

B. By His Anointing from Mary (John 12:1-8)

after this amazing series of events Mary comes up and anoints Jesus with expensive perfume.

Now it was a common thing for people of great importance to be anointed. We often saw in the Old Testament prophet priests and kings were anointed. They were anointed when they were being consecrated into their office.

When God is choosing King David to be the next king, what does Samuel do? He anoints David with oil.

You may have even heard recently the news of King Charles of England being consecrated with organic vegan oil and not the traditional recipe that's apparently been used for thousands of years.

Well why are they talking about consecrating the king with oil? Because it was a way of symbolizing the start of something very important.

But what is fascinating here is that we're told that's a different reason that he is being consecrated with oil.

And the reason that she does this we are told comes from the mouth of Christ.

“Therefore Jesus said, “Let her alone, so that she may keep it for the day of My burial. “For you always have the poor with you, but you do not always have Me.”” (John 12:7–8)

Now there was no other reason that she was anointing him with oil for his burial unless that was very close.

Now I'm not saying that Mary had a clear understanding of the resurrection and the crucifixion. The other gospel narratives make it very clear that no one understood what was happening. We'll get to that in a moment.

But we even see in the previous chapter when the high priest predicted that Jesus was going to die we're told from the text that he did not do this on his own initiative.

Meaning God was working in incredible divine ways to move in the hearts and the minds of people to show that he was in charge and that he was doing something.

So then what is the point of all of this?

big deal Jesus is the Messiah why does that matter?

It matters because of the passage that I just referenced a bit ago if you are looking for salvation it is only through Jesus Christ that any of us can be saved.

The point here on Palm Sunday is very simple. Jesus Christ is the Messiah and he is the only way that you can be saved. He proved it in his resurrection of Lazarus, and it was proven by his consecration by Mary.

Everyone here in this room will have to do something with the fact that Jesus is the Messiah. And that will change how it is that you live your very life.

The third the third reason to rejoice that Jesus is our savior...

III. Jesus knew his purpose even when others did not.

Would you agree with me that one of the most frustrating things in life is to be misunderstood.

I think we've all been there where we are trying to communicate something to folks and they do not understand us at all.

This of course is a regular theme and pattern in Jesus’s life. He is constantly being misunderstood by others. He has a message, and it appears that no one really understands.

But the point that I'm trying to highlight here is that even in the midst of everybody not understanding his purpose.... Jesus truly understands what his purpose is.

So the first group that we see that did not understand what Christ was saying and his own purpose was...

A. The disciples did not

“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.” (John 12:16)

These were the people that Jesus had spent years with, and communicating who he was and what was the purpose of the coming Messiah. And they didn't understand.

Well the text does not mention it you got to believe that Jesus was a bit frustrated in all of this.

Well we don't want to push the point too far, it is worth at least noting and mentioning that even those that we are in close relationship with and have spent a lot of time with, can still very much misunderstand us.

That's not to minimize or distract from anything that's happening here in the story, but it is at least a true observation of this text and of life that often we see that those who are closest to us don't always understand us.

We also see that not only did the disciples not understand Jesus’s purpose, but also...

B. The Pharisees did not

“So the Pharisees said to one another, “You see that you are not doing any good; look, the world has gone after Him.”” (John 12:19)

Now there's so much that we could say about the Pharisees in this story and then other stories circulating around Christ death on the cross.

But what is at least abundantly clear that we're trying to highlight here is that they did not understand the purpose of the Messiah, or the purpose that Christ had come.

Of course the reason that they didn't understand the purpose was that their hearts were darkened by their own selfish and sinful desires.

They had created a form of worship of God that was focused simply on rules and regulations that was about their own control and exultation, not about worship of the Lord.

What we need to remember when we think about the Pharisees is that this was all about their own power and their own control.

And we see them even trying to control Christ not only in our passage that we're studying here but in the companion passage found in Luke.

What's fascinating when all this is going on and people are crying out hosanna, is the Pharisees get a little upset by all of this.

“Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Him, “Teacher, rebuke Your disciples.” But Jesus answered, “I tell you, if these become silent, the stones will cry out!”” (Luke 19:39–40)

You gotta love jesus's answer here. You have to wonder honestly was that actually gonna happen were the stones literally gonna cry out :)

But the point was this that Jesus was trying to make and that the Pharisees would never understood.

The people were worshipping Christ and declaring hosanna because they had to.

It's a bit like when you see a beautiful sunrise in the morning or sunset, or another piece of art that is just breathtaking and stunning, or even when you're watching out sports game and you see just a spectacular play.

What do you want to do?

You want to praise it you want to declare it and you want to share it with the whole world.

Now the reality was that even before this event, before Jesus rode into Jerusalem the text tells us that the Pharisees had already set their hearts on what they were going to do.

“So from that day on they planned together to kill Him.” (John 11:53)

So it's important to remember that while Christ rode into Jerusalem and the Pharisees were upset and they did not understand his purpose here, they had already planned in their hearts and in their minds that they were going to kill Jesus.

That's going to factor more into the coming sermons on Good Friday and Easter, but it's important to note that when they had already planned and purposed this in their heart there was in many ways no ways going back.

But it's also important to remember that...

C. The Crowds did not

“For this reason also the people went and met Him, because they heard that He had performed this sign.” (John 12:18)

Text is brutally honest about the people who were following Jesus and worshipping him. They wanted to see the signs.

They wanted Jesus who was working miracles, to be the person that they were associated with. They wanted to see him do something amazing again.

They had just seen Jesus raise Lazarus from the dead, they had seen him do all sorts of other things like heal the blind and the deaf and the lame, but to raise someone from the dead was amazing.

They were caught up in the hype and the fervor of the moment.

What we're trying to make here is that no one understood the purpose for which Jesus had come, to save the people by dying in their place.

I think as we think about an application for that there's a few things that come to mind here this morning as we wrap up.

Number one I think one of the implications of all of this is that folks are constantly misunderstanding Jesus, and trying to put him in a box.

We see this in our own society where people are constantly trying to control and manipulate this Jesus that they think he should be.

There was a movement even rather recently in the history of studying the Bible where they were trying to discover the authentic Jesus.

And they were doing that because when they read through the gospels they came to be convinced that Jesus in the gospels had been distorted.

So they were trying to find the real Jesus who had been obscured by the text of scripture.

We shouldn't be surprised by such wicked attempts to distort who Christ is, but nor should we be ignorant of their schemes either.

Christ has been constantly misunderstood for who his purpose is. And that is happening even today. So the main courage all of us here as we consider on this Good Friday and what it is that Christ came to do that we would tether our beliefs about Jesus and his work to what the scriptures actually say about who he is and what he did.

as we consider this Palm Sunday come on let us keep before us the true purpose that Christ came... he came to save us from our sin. He came so that we might have life and have it abundantly.

He came so that we would have that life and have it in him.

When Jesus was here on the earth he proved that he was the true Messiah and he proved that he was the true Davidic king.

Because of that we can place our hope in him.