John 12:12-19 Click here for Bible Verses
Hi GAMErs,
Today’s passage is John 12:12-19. Let’s go!
John 12:12-16 (NIV)
12 The next day the great crowd that had come for the Feast heard that Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem.
13 They took palm branches and went out to meet him, shouting, “Hosanna!” “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!” “Blessed is the King of Israel!”
14 Jesus found a young donkey and sat upon it, as it is written,
15 “Do not be afraid, O Daughter of Zion; see, your king is coming, seated on a donkey’s colt.”
16 At first his disciples did not understand all this. Only after Jesus was glorified did they realize that these things had been written about him and that they had done these things to him.
On verses 12-16: Here Jesus arrives in Jerusalem for the Feast of the Passover. His entrance is met with great fanfare from the massive crowd who were expecting him. Jesus’ entrance into Jerusalem is eye-catching for a number of reasons. First, Jesus is riding on a donkey (v14). Second, the people were greeting him with palm branches (v13). Why a donkey and why palm branches? Let’s look at that now.
There are at least two reasons Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey.
First, Jesus rode on a donkey into Jerusalem to fulfill Old Testament prophecy about the Messiah. Centuries before Jesus was born, the prophet Zechariah wrote that the Messiah would enter Jerusalem on a donkey: “Rejoice greatly, O Daughter of Zion! Shout, Daughter of Jerusalem! See, your king comes to you, righteous and having salvation,gentle and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.” (Zechariah 9:9) Jesus, knowing what the Scriptures say about the Messiah and knowing that he is the Messiah, decides to fulfill Old Testament prophecy by riding on a donkey. He picks a time when all Israel is gathered at Jerusalem, the Feast of the Passover. He picks a place where huge crowds could see him: at the eastern gate to the temple area, later known as the Golden Gate. Before when people would try to publicly declare that Jesus was the Messiah, Jesus would shush them. Now, with just a few days left before he would be crucified, Jesus is bringing attention to the fact that He is the Messiah, though his disciples would not get it at the time (v16).
Second, Jesus rides on a donkey to show that Jesus is a king who comes with peace. Back in Jesus’ time, if a ruler entered a city on a horse, it signified that the ruler was ready to go to war. But if a ruler entered a town on a donkey, it signified that the ruler had come in peace. Jesus enters Jerusalem on a donkey to communicate that he is the king who comes to bring peace.
Now why palm branches? While palm branches tend to evoke thoughts of vacation for me, back in Jesus’ time, palm branches evoked thoughts of victory and peace after a long struggle. In ancient Rome, when a runner would win his race, he would be welcomed to the winner’s circle and be given a palm branch. By greeting Jesus with palm branches, the people were declaring that Jesus is their conquering and victorious king.
The kind of welcome and celebration that accompanied Jesus’ entrance into Jerusalem is a reminder that when Jesus enters your life, it is something worth celebrating. That’s because our victorious, conquering king, the one who brings us peace that the world cannot give, has arrived. His name is Jesus.
John 12:17-18 (NIV)
17 Now the crowd that was with him when he called Lazarus from the tomb and raised him from the dead continued to spread the word.
18 Many people, because they had heard that he had given this miraculous sign, went out to meet him.
On verses 17-18: The crowd that witnessed Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead “continued to spread the word” about what Jesus had done (v17) and were leading people to Jesus (v18). Likewise, may we not stop spreading the word about Jesus and what He has done. May we not stop leading others to encounter Jesus.
John 12:19 (NIV)
19 So the Pharisees said to one another, “See, this is getting us nowhere. Look how the whole world has gone after him!”
On verse 19: Try as the Pharisees might, they could not stop the move of God. They could not keep people from following Jesus. Whereas the Pharisees would later think they had stopped Jesus with the crucifixion, little did they know that through their own evil actions they would help light a fire that would never die out and that continues to burn to this day. It reminds me of what a Pharisee Gamaliel would later say about the Christian movement: “…if it is from God, you will not be able to stop these men; you will only find yourselves fighting against God.” (Acts 5:39) As Jesus Himself would say, “I will build my church, and the gates of hell will not prevail against it.” (Matthew 16:18) If you believe in Jesus, you are part of the only movement of people in human history that will never end. For just as in the Pharisees’ mind the whole world had gone after Jesus 2,000 years ago, so in the future “the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord, just as the waters cover the sea” (Habakkuk 2:14).
Lord Jesus, You are my conquering king and the one who brings us peace. Yours is the only kingdom that will never end. Thank You that today I get to be part of the one movement of people, nations, and kingdoms that will never stop but will continue on for eternity, the movement of honoring Jesus as the king. In Jesus’ name, AMEN!
