Ep. 268. John 12 | The Triumphant Entry

EPISODE 268

THE TRIUMPHANT ENTRY: JOHN 12

This is the third Passover celebration John has recorded for us. The first was in John 2, the second in John 6, and the third here in John 12 (though it was introduced in 11). We don't know that these were all the Passover celebrations that happened during Christ's public ministry, but these mentions do give us a bit of a framework for the timeline of Jesus's earthly ministry.

Even at this point, the week Jesus was going to die, the "Disciples did not understand" what was going on. They still expected Jesus to be an earthly King. The people celebrated with shouts, "Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, even the King of Israel." And there it was, "The King of Israel." The crowds were still expecting a man of the line of David to come and sit on the throne in Jerusalem and route the enemy that oppressed them. Little did they know he left a throne and was returning to one. Little did they understand he came to set them free from the enemies of sin, death, and the Devil. At this moment, they are celebrating him but mostly missing who he was and where he had come from. For the gospel to bear fruit, Jesus would have to die. For, "unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit."

This is also the third instance of God speaking from heaven to or about Jesus. The first was at his baptism, the second on the Mount of Transfiguration, and the third, here, on the week he would die. But, "Though he had done many signs before them, they still did not believe him." This was the future fulfillment of Isaiah 53, "Lord, who has believed what he heard from us." And Isaiah 6, "He has blinded their eyes and hardened their heart."

I know that we all say we would not have crucified Jesus if we had been there. We would have been noble enough to put a stop to it, but then we also would have robbed the Father and Son of the glory due to their names, and we would have robbed the world of salvation. This is the way the events of the day/week had to unfold, and it was "According to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God." So maybe it's best we weren't there at the time.

ADDITIONAL READING: Zechariah 9:9; Philippians 2:5-11; John 17:1-2; 1 Corinthians 15:36-38; John 8:28; John 3:14; Isaiah 52:13; Isaiah 53:1; Isaiah 6:9-10; 1 Peter 1:10-11; John 5:44; Matthew 23:5-7; 1 John 2:22-23; John 3:17