John - Chapter 12, Part 2

JESUS ENTERS JERUSALEM IN TRIUMPH

JOHN 12:12-19

The entry of Jesus into Jerusalem in triumph is recorded in all four Gospels and is unlike any other event in His life. 

Before this moment we have seen Him again and again withdraw into Himself, retiring into the wilderness, not seeking public acclaim, not willing to display Himself.

We are taught in Matthew 12:19 that he did not cause His voice to be heard in the streets. In Matthew 16:20 He told His disciples that they should tell no one that He was the Christ. In Mark 5:43 when He raised the daughter of Jarius He told all that no man should know of it. When He came down from the Mount of Transfiguration He gave orders that the disciples tell no man what they had seen (Mark 9:9).

How are we to account for this startling change of policy?

Why did the Lord send for the ass, and ride it into the city? Why did He allow the crowds to hail him with the “hosannas”? Why did He permit them to claim Him as their King, when less that a week later he would suffer all for them in shame and lay down His own life as their sin sacrifice?

The answer is that He did it because scripture required it.

Loving obedience to the Father who sent Him was the hallmark of His ministry. The Father's plan had all along been to have the Son fulfill all prophecy and so it was done exactly in that fashion. We remember His cleansing of the temple was foretold in Psalms 69:9 and we will see in John 19:28 that when He cried on the cross “I thirst”, John notes it was done so that “the scripture might be fulfilled” (Psalms 69:21).

Prophecy was given in more than a few scriptures concerning this moment. We see in Daniel's prophecy of the 70 weeks that the time of the cutting off of the Messiah was given (Daniel 9:24-27). Daniel foretells of the Prince presenting Himself to the holy city. The entry of Jesus into Jerusalem was Him presenting Himself as their Prince.

Luke 19:42 shows Jesus saying:

“If thou hadst known, even thou, at least in this thy day, the things which belong unto thy peace! But now they are hid from thine eyes.” The time of the visit of their Prince had come.

Further scripture prophecy gives clear evidence of this need to fulfill that Jesus met completely in this entry into the city.

Zechariah 9:9 “Rejoice greatly O daughter of Zion, shout O daughter of Jerusalem, behold thy king cometh unto thee: he is just, and having salvation; lowly and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt, the foal of an ass”.

The people welcomed Him with palm branches just as foretold in Lev 23:40:

“Ye shall take you... boughs of goodly trees, branches of palm trees, … and ye shall rejoice before the Lord...”.  We will see this scene again as foretold by John in Rev 7:9:

“innumerable multitude before the throne and before the Lamb, … and palms in their hands”.

The Lord of all glory was about to lay down His life for sacrifice & victory over sin, death, hell, and the grave, but before He did so, He fulfilled all scripture. His own disciples did not remember these things until they saw Him glorified (verse 16). 

Perhaps they still clung to the hope that this moment would overcome the awful things Jesus Himself had confided to them about His hour to come. He said in Luke 24:25-26 that they were fools and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets had spoken and He challenged their understanding that Christ must suffer these things before  He comes into His glory.

The suffering comes before the glory. The cross before the crown.