John 12:12-27
(sermon note: 03-29 sermon note)
12 The next day, the news that Jesus was on the way to Jerusalem swept through the city. A large crowd of Passover visitors 13 took palm branches and went down the road to meet him. They shouted,
“Praise God!
Blessings on the one who comes in the name of the Lord!
Hail to the King of Israel!”
14 Jesus found a young donkey and rode on it, fulfilling the prophecy that said:
15 “Don’t be afraid, people of Jerusalem.
Look, your King is coming,
riding on a donkey’s colt.”
16 His disciples didn’t understand at the time that this was a fulfillment of prophecy. But after Jesus entered into his glory, they remembered what had happened and realized that these things had been written about him.
17 Many in the crowd had seen Jesus call Lazarus from the tomb, raising him from the dead, and they were telling others about it. 18 That was the reason so many went out to meet him—because they had heard about this miraculous sign. 19 Then the Pharisees said to each other, “There’s nothing we can do. Look, everyone has gone after him!”
20 Some Greeks who had come to Jerusalem for the Passover celebration 21 paid a visit to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee. They said, “Sir, we want to meet Jesus.” 22 Philip told Andrew about it, and they went together to ask Jesus.
23 Jesus replied, “Now the time has come for the Son of Man to enter into his glory. 24 I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat is planted in the soil and dies, it remains alone. But its death will produce many new kernels—a plentiful harvest of new lives. 25 Those who love their life in this world will lose it. Those who care nothing for their life in this world will keep it for eternity. 26 Anyone who wants to serve me must follow me, because my servants must be where I am. And the Father will honor anyone who serves me.
27 “Now my soul is deeply troubled. Should I pray, ‘Father, save me from this hour’? But this is the very reason I came!”
This morning’s reading reminds me of the one about a lady who was walking down the street one day and saw a parrot in the window of a pet store. She stopped to admire the bird. The parrot said to her, “Hey lady, you are really ugly.” Well, the lady was furious! She stormed past the store to her work. The next day she saw the same parrot in the window. When the parrot saw her it said, “Hey lady, you are reeeeally ugly.” She was livid and stormed off. A day later the lady saw the same parrot and once again it said, “Hey lady, my God are you ugly!” The lady was so furious that she marched into the store and threatened to sue the store and have the bird killed. The store manager apologized profusely and promised the bird wouldn’t say it again. The next day when the lady walked past the store the parrot said to her, “Hey lady. Lady!” She paused, scowled with an icy stare, and said, “Yessss?” And the parrot said with a smirk on its face, “… You know…”
For some reason, it seems like it’s been a long, plodding walk through the season of Lent this year. Perhaps it’s because we’ve been digging deep into the last 24 hrs. of Jesus’ life. The powers that be must have felt that our Holy Week reflections on that important day just weren’t giving us enough time to really dig into the text. So what if we dedicate TWO services to the texts each and every year! I guess Maundy Thursday AND Good Friday aren’t enough, so we’ll dedicate FIVE more services to the texts this year! Oh well, I think we were able to pull out some new stuff this year but boy, it seemed like somewhat of a plod. And we get a little reprieve today on Palm Sunday as we go back to earlier in the week when Jesus triumphantly rode into Jerusalem for the very last time. It’s a funny celebration because we know that the visit doesn’t end well for Jesus. By the end of the week, Jesus will be hanging on the cross. Not much of a triumph…or was it?
The people of Jerusalem certainly didn’t know what awaited Jesus at the end of the week. They were joyful that he would somehow save them, but they didn’t know exactly how he would do it. Nothing about Jesus’ 3-year ministry ever seemed to make any sense. He did things and taught things that no one could understand let alone explain, even those closest to him. Of course no one expected that he would have to die in order to save them. No, Jesus was quite the “backward King” as we reflected on in last week’s children’s time. Everything he said and did seemed to be backwards to what people expected of him.
Well, maybe not everything. God did promise to save us and sure enough He delivered on that promise. Of course He did! God always delivers on his promises! Just like that pet store owner delivered on his promise that the parrot wouldn’t badmouth that poor lady anymore. The parrot cleverly found a way around the promise though, didn’t it?! Animals can be quite clever at times….WE can be quite clever sometimes! I mean, we came up with the silly joke, didn’t we?! But back to God always delivering on his promises…
Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey to fulfill a promise God had made. Jesus was arrested, tortured, and crucified to fulfill a promise. Jesus was resurrected to fulfill a promise. And all three promises were one and the same: to save us. To free us from fear and doubt. To free us from our slavery to sin. We don’t have to be afraid anymore. We don’t have to give into temptation anymore. There is an alternate way: Jesus’ way. His way has no fear and temptation. Only joy and contentment are found in Jesus. If we experience anything else, then we have strayed from him. In Jesus there is only peace and harmony.
Just look at how entered into Jerusalem. He wasn’t afraid or anxious. We did hear Jesus confess, “Now my soul is deeply troubled,” but I don’t think his troubles overwhelmed his sense of purpose and resolve. He boldly proclaimed, “But this is the very reason I came!” No, he was living very much in the moment, allowing the events of his final week to unfold unnaturally. He knew that the only way he could truly save us was to conquer death. And the only way he could conquer death was to go into death itself. Jesus knew all this which enabled him to have such a strong purpose and resolve. In Jesus, God delivers on his promise of salvation. Paul writes in his letter to the Philippians, “And this same God who takes care of me will supply all your needs from his glorious riches, which have been given to us in Christ Jesus.” (4:19) God supplies for ALL our needs and believe it or not, salvation is a need. The sin of this world is too strong. Temptation is too powerful. We need something, someONE, stronger to save us from sin and temptation. God so graciously gave us Jesus as the answer to sin and temptation. Paul writes in his second letter to Corinthians, “For all of God’s promises have been fulfilled in Christ with a resounding ‘Yes!’ And through Christ, our ‘Amen’ (which means ‘Yes’) ascends to God for his glory.
As we head into Jerusalem and Holy Week alongside Jesus, let us be particularly mindful of how it’s just another instance of God keeping his promise. God promised to save us, and He most certainly delivered on it! As Hebrews tells us, “Let us hold tightly without wavering to the hope we affirm, for God can be trusted to keep his promise.” (10:23) We ought to grateful to have such a gracious, faithful God! Thanks be to God!
