John 12:12-19: “Jesus Triumphal Entry Into Jerusalem”

By

Jim Bomkamp

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1.                  INTRO:

 

1.1.         In our last study we looked at verses 47 of chapter 11 through verse 11 of chapter 12.

 

1.1.1.  In our previous studies, we saw that Jesus had performed this greatest of His miracles by the raising of Lazarus from the dead.   Then, we saw that instead of this miracle proving once for all that Jesus was the Messiah it instead caused the Sadducees and Pharisees to conspire together on how to kill Jesus.

 

1.1.2.  In the previous study, we saw that Jesus had come to Bethany six days before Passover and that a banquet was held in His honor because of His raising Lazarus from the dead.  The banquet was held at the house of Simon the Leper and Mary and Martha were there along with Lazarus.  Martha served Jesus and Mary took the opportunity to anoint Jesus feet with very costly perfume.

 

1.1.3.  The anointing of Jesus’ feet with this costly perfume had a bad effect upon Judas (and the rest of the disciples) for he stated that the money should have instead been given to help the poor.  Jesus rebuked Judas and told him to leave Mary alone for what she had done was a good thing and prepared His body for burial.

 

1.1.4.  We looked at the fact that our worship of the Lord is never a waste of time, even if it is extravagant.  Also, we must never allow any service of the Lord take priority over the worship of the Lord.

 

1.2.         In our study today, we are going to look at verses 12 – 19 of chapter 12.

 

1.2.1.  What we are going to study today is what is normally celebrated in the traditions of the church on “Palm Sunday,” namely what is referred to as, “Jesus Triumphal Entry Into Jerusalem.”

 

1.2.2.  Jesus’ triumphal entry is of such central importance to the scriptures and the story of Jesus that it is reported by all four of the gospel writers (Mark 11:1-11, Matthew 21:1-11, Luke 19:28-44, and John 12:12-19).

 

1.2.3.  Jesus had been staying in Bethany after having a banquet in His honor at the home of Simon the leper at which Mary (Martha’s and Lazarus’) sister anointed His feet with perfume and wiped them with her hair.

 

1.2.4.  Jesus and His disciples head for Jerusalem and the Passover feast, most likely in the morning so that they would be ceremonially clean for the events), and Jesus has His disciples go and find a donkey so that He can ride her in Jerusalem.  The disciples place their coats under Jesus on the donkey and then the multitude begins to place their coats and palm branches in the road for Jesus to ride on them as He makes His triumphal entry into Jerusalem.

 

1.2.5.  The online encyclopedia, Wikpedia, writes the following concerning the symbolism of the people placing the palm braches in the road for Jesus to ride over on His donkey on this day, “It was a common custom in many lands in the ancient Near East to cover, in some way, the path of someone thought worthy of the highest honour. The Hebrew Bible reports that Joshua was treated this way, and many of the pre-Christian mystery religions, particularly that of Dionysus, report that their central human-divinity figure entered a major city in this way, usually before their death and resurrection.  Both the Synoptic Gospels and the Gospel of John report that people gave Jesus this form of honour. However, in the synoptics they are only reported as laying their garments and cut rushes on the street, whereas John more specifically mentions palm fronds.  The palm branch was a symbol of triumph and of victory, in Jewish tradition, and is treated in other parts of the bible as such (e.g. Leviticus 23:40 and Revelation 7:9). Because of this, the scene of the crowd greeting Jesus by waving palms and carpeting his path with them has given the Christian festival its name.”

 

1.2.6.  Charles Spurgeon, the great English preacher of a century and a half ago, once preached the following concerning what was going on in people’s minds on this day Jesus rode triumphally into Jerusalem “There was an expectation upon the popular mind of the Jewish people, that Messiah was about to come. They expected him to be a temporal prince, one who would make war upon the Romans and restore to the Jews their lost nationality. There were many who, though they did not believe in Christ with a spiritual faith, nevertheless hoped that perhaps he might be to them a great temporal deliverer, and we read that on one or two occasions they would have taken him and made him a king, but that he hid himself. There was an anxious desire that somebody or other should lift the standard of rebellion and lead the people against their oppressors. Seeing the mighty things which Christ did, the wish was father to the thought, and they imagined that He might probably restore to Israel the kingdom and set them free. The Saviour at length saw that it was coming to a crisis. For him it must either be death for having disappointed popular expectation, or else he must yield to the wishes of the people, and be made a king. You know which be chose. He came to Save others, and not to be made a king himself in the sense in which they understood him.  The Lord had worked a most remarkable miracle, he had raised Lazarus from the dead after he had been buried four days. This was a miracle so novel and so astounding, that it became town talk. Multitudes went out of Jerusalem to Bethany, it was only about two miles distant, to see Lazarus. The miracle was well authenticated, there were multitudes of witnesses, it was generally accepted as being one of the greatest marvels of the age, and they drew the inference from it that Christ must be the Messiah. The people determined that now they would make him a king, and that now he should lead them against the hosts of Rome. He, intending no such thing, nevertheless overruled their enthusiasm that by it he might have an opportunity of performing that which had been written of him in the prophets. You must not imagine that all those who strewed the branches in the way and cried "Hosanna" cared about Christ as a spiritual prince. No, they thought that he was to be a temporal deliverer, and when they found out afterwards that they were mistaken they hated him just as much as they had loved him, and "Crucify him, crucify him," was as loud and vehement a cry as "Hosanna, blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord."”

 

2.                 VS 12:12-13  - “On the next day the great multitude who had come to the feast, when they heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem, took the branches of the palm trees, and went out to meet Him, and began to cry out, ‘Hosanna!  Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord, even the King of Israel’.” –  When Jesus comes to Jerusalem the crowd that met Him placed palm branches on the road and began to cry out to Him hailing Him as their Messiah and King

 

2.1.         The multitude of Jews and proselytes of the Jews were coming to Jerusalem for the week of festivities of the Passover.  Hearing that Jesus would be coming to the feast, they prepared to give Him a king’s welcome.  They tore off palm branches and laid them in Jesus’ path, along with their coats.  Matthew records in 21:9, the multitude as saying, “The crowds that went ahead of him and those that followed shouted,  "Hosanna to the Son of David!" ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!"  "Hosanna in the highest!”

 

2.2.         The multitude was hailing and inaugurating Jesus as the reigning Messiah and King when they gave Him this entrance into Jerusalem.  ‘Hosanna’ means “save us” or “save us now.”

 

2.3.         The multitude was showing honor and respect to Jesus, as well as submission (by acknowledging His dominion and power), by inaugurating Him as the King of the Jews.  However, as we consider the response of the multitude on this day, it would be good to ask you if are giving Jesus today all of the honor, respect, and submission He deserves if He is truly king of your life?  Is He the Lord of your life?  Are you giving Him dominion and power in your life?

 

3.                 VS 12:14-18  - “And Jesus, finding a young donkey, sat on it;  as it is written, ‘Fear not, daughter of Zion;  behold, your King is coming seated on a donkey’s colt’.  These things His disciples did not understand at the first;  but when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that these things were written of Him, and that they had done these things to Him.  And so the multitude who were with Him when He called Lazarus out of the tomb, and raised him from the dead, were bearing Him witness.  For this cause also the multitude went and met Him, because they heard that He had performed this sign.” -  John tells us about how that the scripture had foretold that the Messiah would come to them seated upon a donkey, but that the disciples hadn’t understood the significance of this moment until Jesus was glorified

 

3.1.         In our previous study we looked at the fact that on this day when Jesus rode the donkey into Jerusalem that this was a fulfillment of prophecy from Daniel chapter 9 and his timetable for the end times given him by the Lord:  Daniel 9:24-27, “24 “Seventy weeks have been decreed for your people and your holy city, to finish the transgression, to make an end of sin, to make atonement for iniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy and to anoint the most holy place. 25 “So you are to know and discern that from the issuing of a decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem until Messiah the Prince there will be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks; it will be built again, with plaza and moat, even in times of distress. 26 “Then after the sixty-two weeks the Messiah will be cut off and have nothing, and the people of the prince who is to come will destroy the city and the sanctuary. And its end will come with a flood; even to the end there will be war; desolations are determined. 27 “And he will make a firm covenant with the many for one week, but in the middle of the week he will put a stop to sacrifice and grain offering; and on the wing of abominations will come one who makes desolate, even until a complete destruction, one that is decreed, is poured out on the one who makes desolate.””

 

3.1.1.  Notice at the beginning of this passage what this 70 weeks timetable brings to conclusion, and observe that this covers all of God’s plans for completing the end times which the Bible speaks about:

 

3.1.1.1.Finish the transgression.

 

3.1.1.2.Make an end of sin.

 

3.1.1.3.Make atonement for iniquity.

 

3.1.1.4.Bring in everlasting righteousness.

 

3.1.1.5.Seal up vision and prophecy.

 

3.1.1.6.Anoint the most holy place.

 

3.1.2.  From the time of that decree (which you can read in Ezra 6:1-15), which most scholars agree occurred around 458 BC (According to Parker and Dubberstein it was Sat 3 of 458BC), there will be a total of 69 weeks (69 x 7 years = 483 years), making Jesus entry into Jerusalem on the donkey this last week before the Passover in the year 33 AD.

 

3.2.         John quotes Zech. 9:9 as being fulfilled when Jesus came into Jerusalem on this day:  9 Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout in triumph, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your king is coming to you; He is just and endowed with salvation, Humble, and mounted on a donkey, Even on a colt, the foal of a donkey.

 

3.3.         The scriptures were very clear that a king over Israel was not to multiply horses to himself (nor wives or silver and gold), and had Jesus ridden into Jerusalem on a horse it would have been in violation of what the Law of Moses required of kings:  Deuteronomy 17:14-17, “14 “When you enter the land which the Lord your God gives you, and you possess it and live in it, and you say, ‘I will set a king over me like all the nations who are around me,’ 15 you shall surely set a king over you whom the Lord your God chooses, one from among your countrymen you shall set as king over yourselves; you may not put a foreigner over yourselves who is not your countryman. 16 “Moreover, he shall not multiply horses for himself, nor shall he cause the people to return to Egypt to multiply horses, since the Lord has said to you, ‘You shall never again return that way.’ 17 “He shall not multiply wives for himself, or else his heart will turn away; nor shall he greatly increase silver and gold for himself.”

 

3.3.1.  Jesus riding upon a donkey is appropriate for this was the time of His humiliation and the laying aside of His glory as God the Son. 

 

3.3.2.  A king seeking to make peace with a people might ride upon a donkey into a city, whereas a conquering king might ride into a city upon a horse.

 

3.3.3.  Jesus will one day ride upon a horse, the white horse of Revelation chapter 19, but at that time He will not be coming in humiliation and for the purpose of being crucified, He will be coming in His glory and as the conquering prince to rule over the world in power and judge the nations.  Then, He will be called “King of kings and Lord of lords.”

 

3.4.         Prior to this time, Jesus had consistently tried to do all that He could to stay out of the public light, and in fact when He performed His miracles He was constantly telling people not to tell anyone of the things that He had done, for example:

 

3.4.1.  After healing the leper in Matt. 8:4.

 

3.4.2.  After healing the two blind men in Matt. 9:30.

 

3.4.3.  After Peter’s confession that Jesus was the Messiah the Son of God, in Matt. 16:20 Jesus told the 12 not to tell anyone that He was the Messiah.

 

3.4.4.  After the vision of Jesus in His glory on the Mount of Transfiguration, in Matt. 17:9 Jesus told Peter, James, and John not to tell anyone of this vision they had seen until He had been raised from the dead.

 

3.4.5.  When Jesus was casting out demons, the demons were declaring that He was the Son of God, and in Mark 3:12 Jesus rebuked the demons telling them to tell no one who He was.

 

3.4.6.  After raising Jairus’ daughter from the dead, in Mark 5:43 He gave strict orders that they were to tell no one about what He had done.

 

3.4.7.  After healing a deaf and dumb man, in Mark 7:36 Jesus gave them orders to tell no one.

 

3.5.         Here, in our story a dramatic change has occurred in Jesus’ life.  Jesus is suddenly making Himself known in the most public of ways, and it is clear that His intention is to be he King of the Jews (after His death and resurrection of  course).   Observe also that He takes the initiative and is the one who is responsible for all that happens in this triumphal entry He makes into Jerusalem.  Knowing that the road ways were filled with the Jewish pilgrims coming to the yearly Passover events, and that most had heard of Him and the incredible miracles and deeds He was performing, He finds a donkey to ride upon.  He gets upon the donkey to ride into Jerusalem.  Some have even gone so far as to say that it was through Jesus’ divine power that He inspired the people bringing palm branches with them to Jerusalem for the making of tabernacles for themselves to take those branches and their coats and clothes and place them in the road before Him, and begin to hail Him as Messiah and King shouting, “Hosanna!”

 

3.6.         Luke 19:35 tells us that many were even throwing their clothes in the path that Jesus might ride His donkey over them as He rode into Jerusalem on this day.   

 

3.7.         In John 2:4, when Jesus’ mother had asked Him to turn the water into wine at a wedding (Jesus’ first miracle), He told her at that time that “His hour” had not yet come.  In Matthew’s account of the events of this day, Matt. 26:18, Jesus tells His disciples to go and to find a man and tell the man that Jesus’ disciples need his room for the Passover, and then Jesus tells them that “His hour” (or time) is now at hand. 

 

3.8.         “His hour” spoke of by Jesus refers to the hour of His crucifixion when He will die for the sins of the world, and raise from the dead three days later.  This was the mission for Jesus laid out from all eternity in the councils of God.

 

3.9.         Jesus’ hour had now come, and the fact that Jesus realized this is inferred in Luke 19:39-40 when some Pharisees in the crowed at this time told Jesus that He ought to rebuke His disciples for hailing Him as Messiah in this way, “39 Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Him, “Teacher, rebuke Your disciples.” 40 But Jesus answered, “I tell you, if these become silent, the stones will cry out!””

 

3.10.    Luke in his account of this story tells us Jesus was weeping when He entered Jerusalem because He realized that judgment and decimation awaited the nation of Israel now for having rejected Him as their Messiah:  Luke 19:41-44, “41 When He approached Jerusalem, He saw the city and wept over it, 42 saying, “If you had known in this day, even you, the things which make for peace! But now they have been hidden from your eyes. 43 “For the days will come upon you when your enemies will throw up a barricade against you, and surround you and hem you in on every side, 44 and they will level you to the ground and your children within you, and they will not leave in you one stone upon another, because you did not recognize the time of your visitation.”” 

 

3.10.1.This corresponds to what Luke records Jesus saying at another time in Luke 13:34-35, “34 “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, just as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you would not have it! 35 “Behold, your house is left to you desolate; and I say to you, you will not see Me until the time comes when you say, ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!’ ””

 

3.10.2.Arthur Pink suggests that this event should be called, “Jesus Tearful And Triumphal Entry Into Jerusalem.”

 

3.11.    Matthew, in His account of this story tells us that just as happened with that first Passover feast attended by Jesus after He began His public ministry, that Jesus went at this time into the Temple and ran out all of those buying and selling merchandise along with the money changers.  In Matthew 21:13-14, Matthew describes Jesus remarks and actions:   “13 And He said to them, “It is written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer’; but you are making it a robbers’ den.” 14 And the blind and the lame came to Him in the temple, and He healed them.

 

3.12.    Jesus rode this donkey into Jerusalem in order that the scriptures might be fulfilled (Zech. 9:9, and Dan. 9’s 69th week).  I did a search on the phrases "might be fulfilled," “cannot be broken," "was fulfilled," "is fulfilled" in the gospels and found 35 references to Jesus fulfilling Old Testament prophesies through the things that He did.

 

3.13.    At the time though, the disciples did not understand the significance of what was done on this day.  It was only after the Holy Spirit had fallen upon the church at Pentecost, that many of these obscure events began to suddenly come to their remembrance, and prophecies were seen to be fulfilled.  John’s honesty at his own expense shown here is yet another evidence that the gospel writers did not conspire together and make up these stories which they wrote about.  Conspirators would never have written about being slow to comprehend and understand, as the gospel writes did.

 

3.14.    The multitude was bearing witness to Jesus, having seen Him raise Lazarus from the dead, and probably also having heard the testimony of Lazarus about this.

 

4.                 VS 12:19  - “The Pharisees therefore said to one another, ‘You see that you are not doing any good;  look, the world has gone after Him’” -  The Pharisees notice how that Jesus’ popularity is increasing

 

4.1.         The Pharisees began to realize the futility of trying to stop people from believing in Jesus.  They had already made an edict that if anyone believed on Him that he should be put out of the synagogue, however more and more people continued to believe in Jesus. 

 

4.2.         Jesus will only be crucified by the Jews when He determines that it is time!

 

4.3.         It is always futile to try to impede Jesus and His work.  In the end He will always conquer and bring down whatever walls that need bringing down in order to accomplish His purposes!

 

 

5.                  CONCLUSIONS:

 

5.1.         It is clear that Jesus is a king (in fact the King of kings and Lord of lords), but is He king of your life?  Are you His faithful subject?

 

5.2.         The people placed their coats in the road before Jesus and yelled out to Him to save them.  They wanted to political Messiah, a man to rise up against Rome and conquer and obtain their freedom, but in this first advent He came instead to save the people from their sins.  In His Second Advent He will conquer the nations, establish His rule, and make His people rule the world.  Has Jesus saved you from your sins?  Is He your Lord and your Savior?

 

5.3.         Do you hail Jesus as King and long for Him to come quickly and set up His kingdom?

 

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