Sermon Snippet – Remember – Part V
INTRODUCTION – All four gospels record the triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem. John 12:12-16 includes the word “remembered,” which connects directly to the twofold use of “remembrance” in the inauguration of the communion service in I Corinthians 11:23-26. Let us remember our Lord as we walk into Jerusalem with Jesus on that first Palm Sunday.
1. THE IMMEDIACY AND INTENSITY OF THESE EVENTS ARE OVERWHELMING
Reliable historians and Biblical scholars estimate that nearly 3 million people would have surged into Jerusalem to celebrate Passover, the remembrance of God’s miraculous deliverance of the Israelites from savage slavery in Egypt. This swirling crowd had one unifying hope – the coming of a Messiah to deliver them from the ongoing oppression of the rough and relentless Romans. When Jesus appeared, speaking total truth and performing many miracles, the people correctly applied Old Testament prophecy to Him, including Psalm 118:25-26: “Hosanna: Blessed is the King of Israel that cometh in the name of the Lord” (John 12:13b). We should note that “King of Israel” is not in the original quotation in Psalm 118:26a; it was a common Jewish expression in first-century Israel for the promised Messiah and indicated a fervent desire for political freedom. The use of “branches of palm trees” (John 12:13a) is also political; for two centuries, since the Maccabees overthrew the vicious and vulgar rule of Antiochus Epiphanes, the palm frond had become a national symbol of Israel. All of these details provide an exposition of the excitement and expectation sweeping across Israel and streaming throughout the capital city of Jerusalem. It was an extraordinary time.
2. WE DO NOT ALWAYS UNDERSTAND RIGHT AWAY
John 12:16 confirms mankind’s limitations: “These things understood not His disciples at the first: but when Jesus was glorified, then remembered they that these things were written of Him, and that they had done these things unto Him.” We have the privilege (and the luxury) of reading “these things” twenty centuries later; we have the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John that give us an organized account of the life of Jesus, with considerable emphasis on the week of His crucifixion and resurrection. We might be tempted to ask how it is possible that His closest disciples could not piece “these things” together quickly, even immediately. Rather, we should recognize the emotions and the breath-taking speed of these events and thus appreciate that the disciples’ frailties are also ours. Certainly, applications abound, for we struggle to understand our personal hardships.
3. DETAILS MATTER; CONTEXT DOES, TOO
Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey (John 12:14-15). In so doing, He distinguished Himself from the world’s way of conquering (Isaiah 31:1-3). He also fulfilled Zechariah 9:9-11. The specific use of a donkey is compelling. Furthermore, this passage predicts the nature of the Messiah’s ministry. His salvation (remember “Hosanna” in John 12:13) is not political but spiritual and eternal. It is not limited to one nation but “to the ends of the earth” (Zechariah 9:10, which is itself a quotation of Psalm 72:8, part of the promise to David of an everlasting ruler from his line). This salvific ministry is initiated “by the blood of Thy covenant” (Zechariah 9:11), pointing us to the Passover and its fulfillment in the sacrificial atonement of Jesus (“For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us” – I Corinthians 5:7b); only through the cleansing power of the blood of Jesus can all “prisoners” be set free forever.
CONCLUSION – As Jesus approached Jerusalem, all of “these things” were before Him. He willingly – even joyfully (Hebrews 12:2 – “Who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross”) – accomplished His saving work. “It is finished” (John 19:30) was His shout of triumph from the Cross. In faith, may each one of us walk in this eternal victory of our Savior.