John 12:9-17, “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!”
Today’s scripture comes from John 12:9- 17, picking up from where we left off last Sunday. Last Sunday, we covered that Jesus stayed at Lazarus, Mary, and Martha’s house for a week. During the special dinner for Jesus, Mary anointed Jesus with an expensive ointment of pure nard from his head to toe as a burial rite for Jesus.
Today’s scripture vs. 9 informs us that a large crowd found out that Jesus stayed at Lazarus in Bethany, and they came there not only to see Jesus but also to see Lazarus because they heard that Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead after four days passed since he died and already buried in his tomb. We know that when Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead, other people, including Pharisees and religious leaders, also witnessed such a miracle. Therefore, the news of raising Lazarus from the dead after his body was decomposed spread like wildfire.
With that said, we notice from vss. 10 through 13, at least two groups of people surrounded Jesus at that time. One was Pharisees and religious leaders who wanted to kill Jesus, and the other was those who welcomed Jesus as the Messiah they had been waiting for. Both groups saw the same man, the same person, but their reception of Jesus was different: one group wanted to kill Jesus. The other welcomed him as the Messiah. Do you think that Pharisees and religious leaders did not know that Jesus was the Messiah? Then, why did the other group welcome Jesus as their Messiah?
We know that Jewish people knew the Bible to the extent of memorizing it by heart. Ordinary people knew the Bible as well. Then how much more would those Pharisees and religious leaders have known the Bible, who studied it as their vocation? They were familiarized with the Messianic signs in the book of Isaiah and other places in the Old Testament. For instance, Isaiah 35:5–6 lists the signs the Messiah would perform, “Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf unstopped; then shall the lame man leap like a deer, and the tongue of the mute sing for joy….” Isaiah 26:19 adds to this list, “Your dead shall live.”
That was why, in Matthew 11, when John the Baptist questioned Jesus whether Jesus was the promised Messiah or he had to wait for someone else, Jesus responded, “Go and tell John what you hear and see: the blind receive their sight and the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up…” (Matthew 11:4–6).
These people all knew that Jesus performed miracles of healing the blind, mute, deaf, lepers and raising the dead. No one in history performed such miracles by commands. According to the Messianic signs listed in the Bible, Jesus had to be the Messiah. They had to accept Jesus as their Messiah, but the Pharisees and religious leaders did not, but the ordinary people did. Instead, Pharisees and leaders wanted to kill Jesus because Jesus condemned them as hypocrites for not keeping and doing what they were teaching; they were arrogant, loved to be recognized and admired, given important seats, and called Rabbi — teachers. They loved money, extorting money from widows and orphans. They loved their social status and their power over people, sitting in the seat of God, telling and judging people according to their human-made rules, which deviated from the true understanding of the Bible. They put more importance on their interpretation of the Bible than what it actually said. When Jesus repeatedly confronted them for their evil practices, they did not want to correct their ways of doing things. Instead, they wanted Jesus dead. They killed Jesus, which in turn killed their souls.
What does that teach us? Some people cannot see the value of eternal life no matter how much they know the Bible and appear to be religious in the eyes of people. For them, the knowledge of the Bible is nothing more than a means of showing off or getting what they want in this life. If we know the Bible, we need to keep it and practice it by which we become closer to God daily. We need to correct our ways according to the word of God. Our own agenda, pride, opinions, and practices should be surrendered to the authority of the Bible, being conformed to the word of God. Every day, we need to look at ourselves through the mirror of the Bible and correct ourselves daily. Otherwise, our religion means nothing. Religion is not to wear on our sleeves but to live and practice it.
The second thing we notice is that in vss. 12 to 14, we see a large crowd taking palm branches and greeting Jesus, who was riding on a colt. Before this event, we know there was no record of Jesus riding on a donkey or people greeting him with palm branches when entering Jerusalem. Palm branches mean “victory,” so it was a fitting gesture to greet their King, and we know that Jesus riding on a colt was prophesied in Zechariah 9:9, “Rejoice greatly, Daughter Zion! Shout, Daughter Jerusalem! See, your King comes to you, righteous and victorious, lowly and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.” From this, we can easily assume that Jesus entered Jerusalem as their King but not as their political King of this world. At this point, I would like to point out that during the Feast of Passover, palm branches were not to be used; palm branches were for the Feast of Booth or Tabernacle, symbolizing the Millenium Kingdom of Christ’s reign, God living with His people on earth for thousand years. In this sense, greeting Jesus with palm branches and Jesus entering Jerusalem on a colt (a symbol of a peaceful time) were the signs of Jesus’ future kingship as the King of Peace, anticipating and celebrating His ultimate victory over all evils.
Another thing we would like to focus on is whether we know what day Jesus entered Jerusalem. It was on the lamb selection day! Four days before Passover, Israelites selected Passover lamb to be sacrificed. Exodus 12:3-5 tells us that at the first Passover in Egypt, God commanded the Jewish people to take a lamb into each home and scrutinize each Lamb to ensure it was without blemish. The Lamb was to be inspected for four days, and then if it met the criteria – no blemishes – it was slain on the day of Passover. Jesus rode into Jerusalem on Lamb Selection Day! Jesus was thoroughly inspected for four days. Remember Herod, Pilate, the Sanhedrin, and the thief on the cross could not find any faults with Jesus? He was found to be blameless – without blemish. That was why Jesus was sacrificed on the cross as the last Passover Lamb on the day of Passover.
Jesus entered Jerusalem as the Lamb to be slaughtered for sinners like you and me. That leads to the third point. We see those people who greeted Jesus with palm branches and shouted, “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!” I am sure we know what “Hosanna” means by now. It means, “Save us, Lord!” Shouting “Hosanna” can be offered only to God, who can save people. If we paraphrase, “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord (Baruch haba b’shem ADONAI),” it goes like this: Lord God, save us! We might not know from what they wanted Jesus to save them, but Jesus knew, our God knew that we need to be saved from damnation; we need to wash our sins. That was why our loving God willingly died for us for our salvation. Do you need Jesus to save you? Let us shout, “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!” Amen!