John 12:12-19 - The Triumphant King

It was Passover time and there was an air of excitement. Jesus had just raised Lazarus from death. Caiaphas had just predicted that Jesus must die. On the hit list of the religious leaders was not only Jesus but also Lazarus. Everyone was on a lookout for Jesus. They were speculating if He would make His presence in Jerusalem. The situation was not only tense, it was also highly explosive. In was in that context that Jesus would make His Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem as King of Israel.

When the crowd, who came for the feast, heard that Jesus was on His way to Jerusalem, they took palm branches and went out to meet Him. As they did so, they shouted “Hosanna! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord! Blessed is the King of Israel!” The word “Hosanna” means save. When they shouted it that day, they were literally calling on Him “to save us.” It was a prayer, a cry of deep longing to be delivered. Here they saw Jesus as their deliverer. As they shouted they quoted Psalm 118. They were expecting Jesus to help drive out the Romans.

In the midst of all the shouting, Jesus did something that the people did not understand. Something that Zachariah the prophet wrote some 500 years earlier, “Fear not, daughter of Zion; behold, your King is coming, seated on a donkey’s colt.” Here He identified Himself with the long awaited Messiah. Riding into Jerusalem signifies that He was not coming in aggression. Instead He was coming in peace. The donkey is known to be a loyal and peaceful beast. Here is the King riding into Jerusalem in humility. 

There among the crowd were people with all sorts of orientation. Some of them saw Lazarus raised from the dead and were excited. Then there were those who had heard the report of Jesus raising Lazarus from death, and were there to see Jesus and Lazarus for themselves. Then there are those who were afraid to lose their positions and felt that something had to be done. However, we shall see that in the days to come Jesus’ view of saving the people was not confined to only Jerusalem. He was more concerned about the whole wide world. So He sent His disciples out to change the world. What must first take place would be the death of the King. He had to suffer and die to gain mankind the ultimate victory. His method, as we know, is to deny Himself and take up His cross. This was His way. Today, He summons us to follow in His footstep in changing the world. His call to us is: If any man would come after Me (Jesus Christ), let him deny himself, take up his cross and follow after Me. Will we?