John 12:12-19. Real Praise?
We have all seen people who have made enthusiastic commitments to follow the Lord Jesus who some months or years ahead have drifted away from him or even joined the opposition.
Robert Robinson, author of the hymn “Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing,” drifted from the relationship he had once enjoyed with the Saviour, and lived in ways that dishonoured his Lord. He became deeply troubled and, hoping to find some relief, he decided to travel. During his journeys, he came to know a young Christian woman. During a discussion, she asked him for his thoughts on a hymn she had recently come across. He was astonished to find that this hymn was none other than the one he had written years before. At first he tried to evade her question, but she persevered. Suddenly he began to weep. With tears he said,
“I am the man who wrote that hymn many years ago. I’d give anything to experience again the joy I knew then.”
Although greatly surprised, she reassured him that the “streams of mercy” mentioned in his song still flowed. Mr. Robinson was deeply touched and his “wandering heart” returned to his Lord.
Palm Sunday demonstrated the height of Jesus’ popularity in earthly terms but, as we shall see, it was just a superficial enthusiasm, not a deep felt conviction. News about Lazarus’ return to life had spread widely. A large crowd came to Bethany to see both what had happened to Lazarus and to see Jesus himself.
“Meanwhile a large crowd of Jews found out that Jesus was there and came, not only because of him but also to see Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead.” John 12:9
You can imagine the consternation of the Jewish authorities as they heard of Jesus’ increasing popularity with the masses.
“So the chief priests made plans to kill Lazarus as well, for on account of him many of the Jews were going over to Jesus and putting their faith in him.” John 12:10-11
Significantly John does not explain what he means by ‘their faith’. Earlier in his public ministry people were amazed at the miracles Jesus was performing, but their superficial faith was not what he was looking for. Two years before Jesus had attended the Passover Feast in Jerusalem.
“Now while he was in Jerusalem at the Passover feast, many people saw the miraculous signs he was doing and believed in his name. But Jesus would not entrust himself to them, for he knew all men. He did not need man’s testimony about man, for he knew what was in a man.” John 2:23
The Worldly Glory
It was just five days before the Passover Feast and thousands of people were packing into Jerusalem and the surrounding areas. It was a Jewish tradition that the last part of the journey, into the city itself, should be made on foot to demonstrate humility. Josephus said that at a subsequent feast, 2,700,000 people were present, not counting foreigners and the defiled. Jesus decided to go against the tradition to make a point.
The account of Jesus entering Jerusalem on a donkey is one of the few stories that all the gospel writers record. Luke gives us much more detail in his record. He explains that Jesus had arranged for this ride into Jerusalem on a young ass (Luke 19:28-44). In Luke’s record, Jesus frequently referred to himself as the Lord. He cried over Jerusalem as he approached it because, in spite of the enthusiastic crowd, he recognised that few really believed in him. He foresaw the judgment that would come on Israel and the reason for this,
“ . . . because you did not recognise the time of God’s coming to you.” Luke 19:44
In such a crowd, rumour spreads quickly and the story that Jesus was returning publicly to Jerusalem would have great appeal to many, especially the pilgrims from Galilee where Jesus had been so active. In addition there were those who had heard of Jesus healing the blind man in Jerusalem, of his teaching in the temple during the Feast of Tabernacles and the Feast of Dedication and those who had recently witnessed or heard of the raising of Lazarus. The antagonism of the Jewish authorities was well known and doubtless increased public interest in Jesus.
“The next day the great crowd that had come for the Feast heard that Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem. They took palm branches and went out to meet him, . . .” John 12:12
There can be no doubt that they came together to welcome Jesus as a saviour. The waving of palm fronds was part of the Jewish ceremony at the Feast of Tabernacles. Palm fronds had been a national emblem for over two hundred years with possible nationalist overtones. Simon the Maccabee had introduced this when the Syrian occupation had been defeated and the temple rededicated. Palm fronds were also prominent on Jewish coins when they first revolted against Rome in 66AD. This suggestion of nationalism may partly explain the extreme antagonism the Jewish authorities had to Jesus; revolt and the Zealots were always a risk lying in the background. There was no difficulty collecting these palm branches as date palm trees were in abundance around Jerusalem.
The cry of the crowd was part of the Hallel, Psalms 113-118, that were sung every morning by the temple choir during the Feast of Tabernacles, the great jubilant feast of the Jewish calendar, as well as at the Feast of Dedication and the Passover. During the Feast of Tabernacles every man and boy would wave their palm leaves, called ‘lulabs’, at the time when the choir reached the ‘Hosanna’ in Psalm 118:25. All Jews would therefore know these liturgical psalms by heart.
As Jesus approached Jerusalem, riding on the colt of a donkey, the crowds shouted out this verse,
“Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!” John 12:13 and Psalm 118:25-26
The word ‘Hosanna’ literally meant ‘Give salvation now’, but as in English carols, it had come to mean simply ‘Praise’.
The Midrash is an ancient commentary on parts of the Hebrew Scriptures which was attached to the Biblical text. The earliest Midrashim come from the 2nd century AD, although much of their content is older. The Midrash on Psalm 118 considers verse 26 to be Messianic; it is about the one who comes in the name of the Lord, the Messiah, God’s chosen king. This is probably why the crowd next addressed Jesus as the ‘King of Israel’, the rumour going about being that he was possibly the Messiah. They shouted,
“Blessed is the King of Israel.” John 12:13
This certainly was a Messianic title. People were blessing and praising the one they felt could be the Messiah. You can feel the fervour of the masses as this scene is described.
As so often happens when the Old Testament is quoted, very meaningful subsequent verses are omitted. It is as if people were meant to remember what comes next. Psalm 118 continues,
“The LORD is God, and he has made his light shine upon us. With boughs in hand, join in the festal procession up to the horns of the altar.” Psalm 118:27
Earlier Jesus had explained,
“I am the light of the world.” John 9:5
The next verses of Psalm 118 are a powerful reminder of the response that the Lord wants from all of us; this is nothing less than a personal commitment to live with him and for him,
“You are my God, and I will give you thanks; you are my God and I will exalt you. Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures for ever.” Psalm 118:28-29
As the disciples looked back at all that had happened around Jesus, they realised, but only later, that their Jewish Scriptures had foretold many of these details. When they subsequently read the following Messianic prophecy they recognised its significance.
“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
‘Daughter of Zion’ was a common way of referring to the inhabitants of Jerusalem. Again the subsequent verse, which John does not quote, is very telling,
“He will proclaim peace to the nations. His rule will extend from sea to sea and from the river to the ends of the earth. As for you, because of the blood of my covenant with you, I will free your prisoners . . .” Zechariah 9:10-11
Only with hindsight could this prophecy be fully understood. The Messiah would enter Jerusalem on the colt of a donkey, would bring peace to the world (hardly the nationalistic principles of the Zealots but a peace with God) because he would seal the covenant with his own blood which he would give for the sin of mankind. His rule will extend all over the earth. This is what is happening today, Christ’s kingdom has extended across most country boundaries. This astonishing prophecy was written in the seventh century BC!
Jesus determined to fulfil this Messianic prophecy by entering Jerusalem on a donkey. It was not on a stallion, surrounded by soldiers, as other victorious conquerors would enter the city. He is a humble friend.
However it was only after Jesus had been raised from death that the depth of this understanding came to the disciples.
“After he was raised from the dead, his disciples recalled what he had said. Then they believed the Scripture and the words that Jesus had spoken.” John 2:2
The depressing fact is that although so many praised Jesus on this occasion, just five days later there is no mention of the crowds standing up for Jesus when he was arraigned before the Sanhedrin, Pilate and King Herod. What sort of faith in the Son of God did they have? It must have been fickle and shallow.
Jesus frequently addressed this problem of pseudo-belief, most famously in the parable of the Sower (Mark 4:1-20). The role of the church is to sow the seed of God’s word, that is what God says, in the hearts of as many as possible. This seed, or word, will fall in different types of hearts. Some seed will fall on the hardened pathway and will immediately be taken away by the birds. It never began to germinate. Other seed will fall on rocky ground. At first it is received with joy but, as it has no roots, the developing seedling soon dies. Jesus explains that in this situation the word results in trouble and persecution and these prevent any growth in the faith. Yet other seed will fall amongst thorns. These people also begin well, they listen to God’s word, but then the ‘worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things come in and choke the word, making it unfruitful’.
The point is that the Lord wants all his people to be very fruitful for him. The last group ‘hear the word, accept it and produce a crop’. They are the ‘good ground’.
God does not want people to have a passing interest in church and just to accept the doctrines of the church. He doesn’t want people who will sing his praises on Sunday but forget about him for the rest of the week. He longs for us to work hard at developing Christ’s character within us. He wants each of us to,
“. . . make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness love.” 2 Peter 1:5-7
This is no casual faith, it entails a single-mindedness, ‘making every effort’, and this will need to go on for the rest of our lives. If we work at these things we will be useful for Christ, the goal of every Christian.
“For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will prevent you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.” 2 Peter 1:8
This is much more than a short term programme, it is an on-going process by which people are being permanently changed into becoming Christ-like people, with Christ’s character and his longing for people to be saved. These can only occur through a deep conviction about and commitment to the Lord Jesus. This requires people to be well taught; we must be more determined in our churches to teach people the word of God effectively. The godly bishop of Liverpool, J.C.Ryle, once wrote,
“It is a miserable thing to be a backslider. Of all unhappy things that can befall a man, I suppose “backsliding” is the worst. A stranded ship, a broken-winged eagle, a garden overrun with weeds, a harp without strings, a church in ruins–all these are sad sights. But a backslider is a sadder sight still. That true grace shall never be extinguished, and true union with Christ never be broken off, I feel no doubt. But I do believe that a man may fall away so far that he shall lose sight of his own grace, and despair of his own salvation. And if this is not hell, it is certainly the next thing to it! A wounded conscience, a mind sick of itself, a memory full of self-reproach, a heart pierced through with the Lord’s arrows, a spirit broken with a load of inward accusation—all this is a taste of hell. It is a hell on earth.”
Popularity brings persecution
Possibly because they saw others praising Jesus and those Jews, who had witnessed the coming back to life of Lazarus, becoming emboldened.
“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.” John 12:17
The interest in Jesus amplified.
“Many people, because they had heard that he had given this miraculous sign, went out to meet him.” John 12:18
As we have already seen, such mass superficial popularity was not what Jesus wanted. He longed for individuals to be personally convinced about who he is and to become dedicated to his service. The Jewish authorities were far from pleased. They wanted to suppress this movement but the opposite was happening, its success was apparent. Their plans were failing. They were only thinking politically however.
“So the Pharisees said to one another, ‘See this is getting us nowhere. Look how the whole world has gone after him.” John 12:19
Jesus’ worldly success may concern the Pharisees but it was not what Jesus wanted. He was entering Jerusalem as a humble king, riding on a donkey. His kingdom was not of this world and he knew he had come to die in order to establish it. The Pharisees were simply playing into his omnipotent hands and they just did not understand.
BVP
