Do
you know what the performance of a miracle will do for a person? Why,
place him in a position of social, spiritual, and even political
prominence, is what! And so it was for Jesus. What better candidate
for King of the Jews than the King of Creation?! Just think of all
the great things that could happen, with Jesus as your King! Healing
miracles, and resurrection miracles would just be the beginning.
Israel had waited long enough, so...Hosanna! Save us now!
This
is one passage that all four Gospels record pretty much as is. And a
pretty unusual portrayal of Jesus it is, too, when compared to
anything else we read in the New Testament. Of course, this account
is recorded by Holy Spirit in fulfillment of prophecy, just as many
other scriptures are. And the prophecies go all the way back to
Genesis 49, and the record of the blessing of the children of Jacob,
including Judah, who is named as being the son from whom the line of
Christ was to come. And the prophecies continue all the way through
the Old Testament, right up through the Psalms, as far as Zechariah.
But I don't have much discernment when it comes to prophecy, so that
should be enough to get you started on a study of your own.
Well,
as I've already said, this is a very unique picture of our Lord as He
made His way to Jerusalem to fulfill His eternal purpose, and the
time seemed like it would never come (see chapt. 6.15 and 7.6, eg.).
And then, there are other events not recorded for us in John's
account, of course. For example, there is no mention of Jesus
weeping, or of the possibility of the stones crying-out their
praises; but what an event! So let's consider the first point in our
passage...
1.
The crowd, Jn. 12.12-18
Now
I'm not too much on Bible symbolism, either; the literal account is
difficult enough for me to percolate, but sometimes it's pretty
obvious. The fact of the matter is, Israel wanted a King, and to
them, Jesus had all the qualifications; and there was enough of a
crowd gathered in Jerusalem for the Passover to elevate Him to their
throne, if He was to allow it. At the very least, cause an uproar
that Rome wouldn't forget for awhile...or the Chief Priest or the
Pharisees either. It was pretty clear that their concern was not for
the spiritual significance of Jesus' arrival, or for the eternal
significance, either one. This crowd had their own purposes in
mind...selfish purposes...political purposes. They had been
suppressed and repressed, and they were getting de-pressed, but now,
to them it seemed, their time had come.
You
know, very little has changed in all this time. We still have people
today, being elevated into the political arena with some agenda or
another in mind. I know...I've been there! It's a pretty appealing
prospect for most people...except Jesus! He knew the cries of,
"Hosanna...blessed is He that cometh in the Name of the Lord",
would soon turn to, "Crucify Him", and "Give us
Barabbas!" But, the Lord's will be done, that the Scripture
might be fulfilled.
Now
as I've mentioned, this crowd was gathering at Jerusalem, the capital
of Israel, the center of Jewish worship, and the location of the
temple, and many of them, as we see from vss. 12 and 18, had been
anticipating Jesus' arrival, at least since the spread of the news of
Lazarus' resurrection. And there was already a holiday atmosphere
there, just like at your Municipal exhibition or at the church
picnic. And the things that were taking place were not out of place,
either, because back in Leviticus, where the account of the Feast of
Tabernacles was instituted, being the week prior-to Pentecost, God
had commanded that a family holiday should be observed, which
included the use of palm branches to build brush tents to stay in, so
there would have been lots of palms available to use in their worship
of Him!
Now
we've already established that prophecy was being fulfilled in these
verses, as John points out there in vss. 13-15. But notice that
neither John, nor the other disciples, understood that at the time.
It was not till after Jesus appeared to them in His glorified body
that their spiritual eyes were opened. See how like those original
disciples we are? And like those later, Spirit-filled disciples we
could be?! Just think of the potential there is, just in one tiny
church fellowship! My oh my...the things we could do for Jesus! And
the key to eternity is in the door! Jesus drew attention to Himself
by entering Jerusalem in the way, and at the time that he did. And He
was later to draw sinners to Himself, in the way that, and at the
time that He did. And He is the Door, and He is the Key, and He is,
and was, Salvation itself, for Israel, and for us! In fact, although the key was right in the door..."these things understood not, His
disciples." So let's consider for a minute...
2.
The commotion, vss. 19-22
Luke's
account in Luke 19.37-40 has this to say...(read).
We
humans have a very human nature, don't we? Jesus had power to rebuke
His disciples, and had done just that, on previous occasions. He had
power to rebuke the wind and the waves, along with the rest of His
creation, if He had a mind-to. But rebuke those who worship Him?!
Never! The Pharisees were concerned at the conduct of Christ, as well
as His cause. They had their own cause, and their own politics and
their own reputation to be concerned-with, and Jesus proved to be
more than a match for them. And they were at a loss as to how, and
why. So there was a commotion in the temple, and in the power houses
of the day. But there was also a commotion from the come-from-aways.
The Greeks, who were in town for the Feast, got wind of Jesus. And
this is also, right in line with what we know from Scripture,
that..."Jesus came to the Jews first, and then to the Greeks"
(Acts 1.8). This was all within the will of God. And notice vs. 21;
they desired Him..."Sir, we would see Jesus"! Do you desire
Jesus? Do you wish to see Jesus? Well look no further; you can see
Him right here in the Book, and, I pray, in your church, and in the
lives of the saints. All you need to do, is open your spiritual eyes!
Remember
that we read back in chapt. 1.11-12...(read).
God's
purposes and timing are right on track. You and I are right where we
need to be, in order to see Jesus, just like those Greeks.! The veil
of the temple would soon be torn in two, which would allow those
Greeks, and us too, to have direct access to Him; we don't have to go
looking for permission anymore, thank-you Jesus! He tells the whole
story, as recorded there in vs. 23..."The hour has come...".
Those Greeks had the green light; The "Sir, we would see...",
had turned to the ..."Come unto Me..."!
All
the miracles, all the teaching and all the truth is summed-up right
here..."The hour is come..."; and it had come for all,
and when Jesus was glorified, it was in order for us and for those
Greeks to be glorified, if they chose to believe and receive. And so,
men and women and children still come to Jesus, not because "seeing
is believing", but because "believing is seeing"!
King,
indeed!
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