The Country Church Bourbon Indiana

Introduction:

Victory and triumph. Words we love to hear. I’m not really the competitive sort, but even the non-competitive enjoy victory.

*Tell story of basketball game at ABC – never won a game, fouled out, terrible ugly shot for the win, crowd went wild.*

And of course a triumph is an even bigger deal. It’s like a victory but more complete, right?

Well one Sunday each year we celebrate something called Palm Sunday. But another name for that event is the triumphal entry. Today we are going to be examining what people thought about Jesus’ triumphal entry and what Jesus would have us to learn about it.

We’re going to be seeing what Triumph is, according to Jesus. And what it means for us believers who would follow Him.

Text: John 12:12-26

Theme: Triumph According to Jesus

Verses 12-19

Here is the scene: One crowd is coming into Jerusalem with Jesus. This crowd comes from the nearby town of Bethany. Bethany is about 1.5 miles from Jerusalem: easy walking distance. This crowd is made up of those who had been with Jesus when He raised Lazarus from the dead. They are His disciples, and they are witnessing to others about this truth, probably by shouting the truth out as they come and going up to individuals and crowds to announce it.

The crowd in Jerusalem has heard about this sign. Some maybe heard rumors of it in the days before, others are hearing about it from the testimony of those coming with Jesus. Both crowds are probably very large, especially the one coming out to meet Him.

It is nearing the time for the Passover and faithful Jews and God-fearers from all over the land would swarm into the city. The population of the city would swell to over 1 million at this time, not counting people who would stay in nearby towns like Bethany.

It was one of the most important times of the year for the Jews. Only the Day of Atonement would be considered more important. If you could go to the Passover, you went. Passover was the celebration of the time when God rescued Israel from slavery in Egypt.

The name “Passover” came from the deciding judgment that ultimately led to Israel’s rescue from Egypt – when the angel of the Lord came through Egypt and struck down all the firstborn amongst those who did not apply the blood of a lamb to their doorframe. All those who, in faith, obeyed God’s command to paint the blood of a lamb on their doorframe were passed over.

There are many parallels between Passover and Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection. Jesus is the lamb who was slain. At Passover, the slain lamb was supposed to be spotless. Jesus is without sin. At Passover, all those trusting in the slain lamb to spare them from judgment were spared. Today, all those who trust in Jesus’ shed blood for salvation will not experience the second death. In the Passover, it was the firstborn that would die. Jesus is called several times in the Bible the firstborn.

It is a scene rich in Gospel imagery.

To the capital city of God’s chosen people, during a time when a huge number of them are present in the city; and they are all mindful of sin, sacrifice, faith, and salvation; the true Lamb of God approaches as people shout that He has the power to raise the dead to life.

It is very rich in Gospel imagery. But the people are not thinking of these things. The Bible says that disciples themselves did not understand what was going on.

This scene of declaration and celebration and palms is often described as Jesus’ triumphal entry.

The word “triumph” comes from Roman history. A triumph was awarded to a successful conqueror returning from a campaign. A crowd of people would follow along with the person leading the triumph. These were usually soldiers, but in Jesus’ triumph they are His disciples. They would be met by the people of the city as they entered in, and there would be a lot of them. The triumphal procession would enter the city to much applause, bringing captives in their wake and displaying the spoils they gathered from war. For Jesus, He enters the city to declarations of His power to raise the dead. Their face would be painted red like the Roman god Jupiter, indicating that for the duration of the triumph at least – they were divine. Jesus comes as the embodiment of YHWH, the incarnate God. The procession would make its way to the temple where the triumphing general would offer sacrifice to Jupiter. Jesus went to the temple in Jerusalem, but it was to overturn the tables of the money changers.

And, Roman triumphs would feature palms. Palms were a symbol of victory. When lawyers won cases, they put palms over their doors. When a general celebrated a triumph, they would wear a toga with palms on it. When Caesar rose to the position of sole power after a battle, a palm tree was supposed to have sprung up in celebration of his victory.

There are a lot of similarities, but Jesus made several very important changes to this triumphal procession to communicate how His triumph would be different from the triumph of the Romans.

Most notably, He comes in on a young donkey. A donkey was an animal used for work and service. It is a beast of burden. When Romans triumphed, they rode in on a magnificent, rich chariot led by the best and strongest and most well-trained horses. Jesus comes in on a little donkey. People must have noticed the change. It probably even looked a little comical. The disciples noticed the donkey, but they didn’t understand the statement that was being made.

Jesus is saying my triumph is not like the triumph of others. I think of when Jesus said “the Son of man came not to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.”

The people shouting and celebrating have the Roman kind of triumph in mind. That is why they bring out the palms. Jesus is going to be our King. Jesus is going to fight back the Romans. Won’t He be a marvelous king, this one who can raise others from the dead and feed five thousand with merely a few loaves and fish? He will be like a new Caesar, but a Caesar for the Romans. Isn’t it wonderful?

As Jesus approaches, the people shout “Hosanna (Save Now)! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord, even the King of Israel!” Verse 16 says “His disciples did not understand these things at first” – Let’s take a look at where the phrase “Hosanna! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord” comes from in the Bible, and you will begin to see what it is they aren’t understanding.

Turn to Psalm 118:19. In Psalm 118:19-27, we will begin to see what Jesus’ triumphal entry really means. *Read Psalm 118:19-27*

Consider these verses in light of what is happening.

Jesus is entering into the righteous city – Jerusalem.

He is coming into Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover – give thanks to the Lord.

He Himself is righteous and He enters into the city. Jesus is about to die, but He will be saved from death – He will be resurrected.

The leaders of the city, the chief priests, scribes, and elders – the ones building its laws and culture and buildings: the builders – they have rejected Him and determined that He must die.

But upon Jesus the Church will be built. He will become the cornerstone, the foundation stone, upon which the Church – God’s new temple – will be built.

The righteous one comes through the gates of righteousness to celebrate the Passover. He will be rejected but He will be saved and become the cornerstone. This is the day – a triumphant glorious day – made by the Lord, it is His doing and it is marvelous. We will rejoice and be glad in it.

“Save us, we pray, O Lord!” Hosanna means “Save now!” They want salvation from Rome, but Jesus has come to give them salvation from sin. Jesus is called Lord here. It is the Tetragrammaton, a word you might not have heard before. The Tetragrammaton is the name of God. Any time you see LORD in all caps in the OT, it is the Tetragrammaton. If it is lower case, it is Adonai, which actually means lord.

YHWH – Yahweh. He comes in the name of God. Yahweh is His name. And Yahweh is God. He doesn’t come with a red painted face in the name of Jupiter. He comes as the incarnation of Yahweh, the One True God.

I’m fairly certain the ones saying “Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord” did not understand what it was they were saying, in the same way Caiaphas did not understand what He was saying when He said that “it is better for one man to die for the people then that the whole nation should perish.”

They were saying – Here comes the conquering king! Please save us from Rome!

And I’m even more certain that the bombshell that is verse 27 was not understood. “Bind the festal sacrifice with cords, up to the horns of the altar.” If anyone was thinking of this verse at all, they would have been thinking “Hey! It’s Passover. It’s a festival and we sacrifice lambs on the altar this time of year. We are watching this prophecy be fulfilled! Neat!” If anyone thought that, they are more insightful than I would have been.

But in hindsight, we have a double entendre. A phrase with two meanings. This is Passover and people are celebrating and giving festal sacrifices. But Jesus is about to become the once for all festal sacrifice for the sins of the whole world. The altar is the cross, its horns the arms, and He is bound to it by nails.

So, what’s really going on is that this triumphal entry is not for the installment of a new king over Jerusalem. Jesus has come to triumph, but his triumph will be that of becoming the once for all sacrifice for the sins of the whole world. The hour of His glorification approaches. The battle will be fought on a cross and victory over sin and Satan will come by His death and resurrection. His victory will come by dying and it is through death that death will be defeated. Jesus will save them, but it will be a much better salvation than from the tyranny of the Romans. He will save them from the tyranny of their sins.

The people shouting “Save now! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!” and Jesus’ choice to arrive on a donkey were the clues pointing to His coming death, burial, and resurrection to be the Savior of the world. But it was not understood.

The leaders of the city saw the event as a political threat to them. “You profit nothing” the NIV reads “This is getting us nowhere.” “We’re losing and He is winning, look how many people are celebrating Him!”

Link: As immediate evidence that “the world has gone after him” some Greeks wish to see Jesus.

Verses 20-26

The significance of Greeks seeking Jesus is that even the people who weren’t a part of the Exodus and didn’t have the prophets or the law; they are now coming after Jesus.

In response to this, Jesus tells them what is about to happen to Him and what it means for those who would follow Him.

Here Jesus speaks to say what His triumphal entry really means: He is going to die and live again.

And He also tells them: this is the path forward to triumph and glory, and anyone who would follow me must also follow this path.

Jesus says it is the hour that He is to be glorified. But He says nothing about sitting on a throne in Jerusalem, warfare, or hordes of treasure. He says that for a grain of wheat to bear much fruit, it must first fall into the earth and die. His glorification, His triumph, will be that of a dying seed which sprouts into a magnificent fruit tree. A seed is buried in the ground and then rises again in new life.

There will be glory and riches and honor and power, but the path forward is not going to be an easy one where He sits up a throne in Jerusalem and immediately receives these things. The path to glory is death and resurrection. Jesus did not come to be served but to serve and to give His life as a ransom for many.

The Pharisees say “the world has gone after Him,” the Greeks say “we wish to see Jesus.”

Jesus says, if anyone really wants to serve and follow me, then they must follow me on my path. And they must know that where I am headed goes first into the grave before it leads into life.

The one who loves his life – who chooses the self-indulgence of sin, this one will lose their life. The one who hates their life – who chooses to follow Jesus over sin, this one will keep their life for eternity. Those who choose to follow Jesus over life itself, they will go to be where Jesus is in heaven and the Father will honor them.

This is what Jesus’ triumphal entry means and this is how one triumphs with Jesus. First there must be death, and then there will be eternal life, fruit, and honor.

Link: So, how are we to understand these words in harmony with other verses which say that “you are saved by grace through faith, and this not of yourselves, it is the gift of God, not a result of works?”

Is Jesus saying that you have to work, serve, and follow to earn eternal life?

Some have taught that He is saying that. But we believe that God doesn’t contradict Himself. He does not in one verse teach salvation by faith and in another verse teach salvation by works.

And we also believe that we should believe the entire Bible, not just the verses we prefer. We shouldn’t ignore what Jesus says here as if it isn’t important. Jesus said it. It’s important and it’s true. When Jesus says “whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life” it is true and unwise to ignore that.

One important truth to remember that helps bridge the gap between verses which say salvation is by faith and which seem to say that salvation is by works – that truth is that salvation changes us.

The Bible speaks of this in many different ways and terms. It talks about being born again. It talks about being created in Christ Jesus for good works. It talks about receiving the Holy Spirit. It talks about the new man. It talks about bearing fruit.

The decision to trust in Jesus Christ, who is the Lord God, as Savior was more than a purchase of fire insurance – just in case Jesus was right. Like they would say a prayer and then go home and say “eh, that wasn’t important.”

No, it was and is a life-changing thing to trust in Jesus. It was a real decision with real life-changing consequences. When someone trusts in an individual who claimed to be the Lord and claimed to be the Son of God – that trust ought to amount to something. It ought to amount to a new life that is willing to put Jesus before life itself. A new life that is about serving others – not being served. A new life that is willing to follow Jesus into the grave if must be.

Link: Today, it is still a real decision with real life-changing consequences to trust in Jesus as your Savior.

Jesus said my followers choose to serve rather than be served. I didn’t enter into Jerusalem in a chariot; I entered on a young donkey. And I didn’t enter Jerusalem to have heaps of gold thrown at me, I entered to die. Those who would call themselves my servant must actually serve.

To triumph with Jesus Christ, then, is to follow Him and do as He did. To love as He loved. To serve as He served. And there will be glory and honor in that. Jesus’ glorification is like that of the seed which is buried in the earth but rises into a magnificent tree filled with fruit. The believer who chooses to die to themselves will also bear glorious fruit.

And even in choosing to die to yourself, there is life in that! Jesus said “I came that you might have life, and that you might have it more abundantly.” For all this talk of death, service, and dying – abundant life is also true!

How can it be true? The self that you die to is the ugly self – the dying self. The one that won’t make it into eternity anyway. The self you die to is the one that would trample others, be filled with pride, lie, cheat, steal, be sexually immoral, and all manner of ugly sin.

The self that you die to is the one that is keeping you from living.

I hope in all this talk of self-denial that you don’t miss that. The one that you deny is not the self that brings life; it is the self that brings death.

The self that you die to is the foolish one that would trade their soul for the world. That self is not going to be in eternity, period. There will be no lies or immorality there. So best to get used to killing that now.

The self that lives is the one that loves others, has rich giving relationships, blesses others, is thankful, and is filled with joy, mercy, and grace. That is abundant life.

It is life to die to sin. It is life to serve. And it is life to follow Jesus into the grave if need be as you do.

And this new life that Jesus gives you, you will keep into eternity. That is why heaven will be heavenly, because the ugly self that is killing you won’t be there – instead it will just be Jesus’ new life all the time. And through serving Him, you will also be honored by God the Father.