Steve Hopkins delivers a sermon titled 'The Triumphal Entry,' focusing on John 12:12-19, which describes Jesus' entry into Jerusalem. The event occurs shortly before Jesus' crucifixion, marked by a large crowd celebrating His arrival with palm branches, symbolizing victory. This act fulfills the prophecy in Zechariah 9:9, depicting a king entering humbly on a donkey. The crowd, driven by the miracle of Lazarus' resurrection, views Jesus as a political deliverer from Roman rule, chanting 'Hosanna,' reflecting a misunderstanding of His true mission. The sermon emphasizes that Jesus came to offer spiritual salvation, not political liberation, and challenges listeners to recognize their own need for spiritual deliverance. The religious leaders' opposition highlights their blindness to Jesus' true identity and mission. Hopkins underscores the transient nature of the crowd's adulation, which would soon turn to rejection, paralleling how many seek Jesus for temporal benefits instead of spiritual reconciliation. The sermon concludes with a call to faith in Jesus as the sole source of salvation and eternal peace with God.

John chapter 12 verses 12 through 19 will be looking at the triumphal entry of Christ into Jerusalem. Let's read together beginning with verse 12. On the next day much people that were come to the feast when they heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem took branches of palm trees and went forth to meet him and cried, Hosanna, blessed is the king of Israel that cometh in the name of the Lord. And Jesus, when he had found a young ass, sat thereon as it is written, Fear not, daughter of Zion, behold thy king cometh, sitting on an ass's colt. These things understood not his disciples at the first.

But when Jesus was glorified, then remembered they that these things were written of him, and that they had done these things unto him. The people therefore that was with him, when he called Lazarus out of his grave and raised him up from the dead, bear record. For this cause the people also met him, for that they heard that he had done this miracle. The Pharisees therefore said among themselves, perceive ye how you prevail nothing, behold the whole world is gone after him." Let's pray. Father, we praise you, God, for your infinite greatness, your infinite goodness, your infinite wisdom, your infinite love, your infinite mercy, your faithfulness of God.

And we ask God in this time once again that you might be pleased to give the Spirit in power, with power, to illuminate the text before us and open our understanding and conform us more to the image of Christ for we ask it in His holy name amen. Let's be seated. So verse 12 if you have your Bibles open to John chapter 12 verse 12 first thing we read here is on the next day that is this is talking about the day after Jesus had been honored at the supper with with Martha and Mary and Lazarus, who he had raised from the dead. This was less than a week before Jesus' crucifixion. This was the day after Mary had poured out this vial of perfume, most valued earthly possession on Jesus feet in preparation for his burial and after she wiped his feet with the hair of her head.

This was on the day after after Judas had rebuked Mary as though her gesture had been wasted because she poured it out on Jesus' feet saying it could have been sold for the poor but really just wanted to sell it and put the money in the bag so he could help himself to the bag from time to time. This was the day after all these things took place and it says here that much people that were come to the feast. There were many people that came to the feast. In other words, vast numbers of people had come from other areas. Multitudes of probably hundreds of thousands and some say possibly even millions came to Israel and from all over the world for the celebration of Passover.

And when they heard that that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem, It says they they took up branches they cut branches and took branches and went forth to meet him The Jewish historian Josephus records that two point five million people were in Jerusalem for the Passover in 64. That's six years before the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple. And, or six or seven years. And here are these massive crowds gathered for the Passover. And the scripture says here, when they heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem, when they heard that he was coming, the one who had raised the rotting corpse of Lazarus, a thing only God could do.

They are going forth with this great expectation and great excitement to meet Him. And then verse 13, look at verse 13. It says these multitudes of people took branches of palm trees as they went forth to meet him. You have to understand what's what's going on here at this at the triumphal entry. The waving of palm branches was symbolic of victory.

It's the thing that they would do when troops would come back from a great victory. Ever since the days of Judah Maccabeus, when the rule of the Seleucid Empire over Israel was overthrown and the temple worship restored, this was the tradition. This is how a victorious leader or king is received by the people of Israel. So it's deeply rooted in their tradition. They go out and they get branches.

Matthew tells us in his gospel in chapter 21 that they then strawed these palm branches in the way, and then they took their garments, their outer garments, off and threw them onto the ground, showing just great humility. And by this, they made a pathway for Jesus' triumphant entry into Jerusalem, assembling this quick coronation tarp, so to speak. What we might look at today as the red carpet being rolled out for a victorious conqueror. And there's excitement everywhere. This is one who has raised the corpse of a man to life after four days in the grave.

He can do anything. And of course, what they want him to do is to destroy their enemies. They're saying this is Hosanna, the son of David. This is the one who comes in the name of the Lord. This is obviously the Messiah.

No one could do the things he's doing if God were not with him. He is the long-awaited prophet. He's our long-awaited Christ, a messiah, anointed of God, and he will deliver us from the tyranny of Rome and put down the occupation of the Roman Empire. Misunderstanding the prophets they expect a new David who would deliver them, who would deliver them, listen, not from their sins, but from Roman occupation. That's where their minds are set.

So he comes into view and when he comes into view the crowds cry out, Hosanna, blessed, is the King of Israel who comes in the name of the Lord. It's from that psalm known as the Hallel, and it's sung at Passover. And here Jesus is entering into Jerusalem at the height of his popularity. And this is the psalm that is on the lips of the people as they throng to meet him. Back in John chapter six of verse 15, we read that they had at one point tried to take Jesus by force and make him a king, but Jesus withdrew from them and went into a mountain to be alone.

Now the masses have come in from all over the world for the Passover celebration, possibly millions of Jews here. And as the crowds enter the city of Jerusalem, they've heard all about what he's been doing, what he's done. They've listened to the witnesses of the greatest miracle of Jesus' earthly ministry, raising a man whose body has already begun to rot in the grave. His fame has just spread everywhere. He's at the height of his popularity.

Further on in verse 17, we read, "...the people therefore that was with him, when he called Lazarus out of his grave and raised him from the dead, bear record. So they've been hearing this and it's spreading like wildfire through the crowd. The eyewitnesses of Jesus raising of Lazarus from the dead, a born record to the crowd. They're in the crowds, mingling in the crowds, they're testifying, he raised it from the dead, I saw it. I saw it roll back and take off the clothes, the stench of the grave, and he brought him back to life.

The word of Jesus and the sign he's recently performed traveled through the crowds, gathered for Passover like fire spreading through a forest of tinder. Certainly this is the King of Israel, awaited by their people. In Psalm 118, 25 is their cry, words reserved to glorify the Christ of God, Messiah alone, reserved for him alone. Hosanna, they cry, which is being interpreted as, save us now, blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord. Blessed is the Messiah, they're saying.

Blessed is God's representative on earth who has come to deliver us so there's this this great expectation you know in a few weeks we'll be in that time of the Christian calendar where actually we'll be looking at this. We'll be looking at, where Christians around the world, as they approach Easter, we'll be looking at this triumphal entry and thinking about this. So we're a little ahead of the game here, but There is this great expectation that this Jesus who raises the dead to life is the Messiah awaited by Israel, the coming King who will save them, and He has come to save, but not in the way they want to be saved. So in a few days, when things don't work out the way that they thought they would, he's not installed as this king and overthrows the Roman Empire. When things don't turn out the way they expected, the same masses who are crying, Hosanna to the king of Israel, and throwing their garments on the ground and spreading the palm branches upon the ground for his triumphant entry into Jerusalem will be crying away with him, give us Barabbas." How quickly things change when the expectation of fallen man is not met.

But at this point there is euphoria. In Jesus We read in verse 14, when he had found a young ass sat there on. Matthew's gospel provides the details in Matthew chapter 21 where John abbreviates it here, because his gospel is the last one written. The information is already recorded. But again, this is prophecy fulfilled.

Jesus will enter just as the prophets foretold as it is written, verse 15, Fear not daughter of Zion behold thy King cometh sitting on an asses colt. Prophecies found in Zechariah chapter 9 verse 9. If you have your Bibles you might want to turn to Zechariah 9, 9. This is the fulfillment of the prophecy of Zechariah, the prophet 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. He is lowly and riding upon an ass and upon a colt the foal of an ass. Zechariah prophesies that the king of Israel will come lowly.

Matthew says, meek. Jesus himself says it in 1129, take my yoke upon you And learn of me for I am meek and lowly in heart and you shall find rest for your souls." Zechariah says having salvation. Jesus brings salvation. Do you want salvation? Peter says in Acts 412, there is salvation in no other name, because there is no other name, none of the name under heaven given among men, whereby we may be saved with the name of Jesus.

He alone saves from sin, from guilt. If we will be saved, we will be saved through him. He alone saves from the horrifying wrath of God that is coming upon the sons of disobedience. In Luke's account, in Luke 19, we read, beginning with verse 37, that as they come to the descent of the Mount of Olives that place where we're in a few days Jesus will return and enter Gethsemane and Sweat as it were great drops of blood The whole multitude of the disciples it says began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works that they had seen. Verse 38 says, saying, blessed be the King that cometh in the name of the Lord, peace in heaven and glory in the highest." But, verse 39, some of the Pharisees, this is Luke 19, some of the Pharisees that were in the crowd said to Jesus, Master, rebuke your disciples.

Tell them to stop. They looked at this as blasphemy. Rebuke your disciples. And Jesus responds to them, if these people were to do as you're suggesting, as you're asking, and to hold their peace, the stones in the pavement of the streets would immediately cry out. Verse 41, and as they come to Jerusalem, Jesus sees the city.

And remember what He does? He sees the city and He weeps over it. Why? The city is rejoicing at His coming. But Jesus knows their hearts.

So he weeps, and he knows what's in your hearts. And the next verse says, he weeps and he says, if you had known, even thou, at least in this thy day, the things which belong unto your peace. If you could only have known the things that belong to your peace, but now they're hid from your eyes. The city is filled with spiritual blindness and a hard-hearted people that can only savor temporal salvation from earthly enemies. You are they who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you by God, Jesus will say later.

Jesus knows the Hosannas will shortly turn into away with him in just a matter of days. So as he approaches Jerusalem, he predicts the destruction of the city, which will occur in AD 70 as a result of the Jews' rejection of him. In verse 43, he says, the days will come upon you. Jesus is saying this with tears. He's weeping the days are going to come upon you, that your enemies are going to cast a trench about you, and they're going to compass thee about, they're going to surround you.

It happens in 70 AD with Titus and his legions, and they're gonna keep you in or hem you in on every side and they're gonna lay you even with the ground, verse 44, and your children within you. They're not even going to leave one stone upon another because you did not recognize the time of your visitation. You know, when we read these things, every one of us should ask ourselves, did you, have you recognized the time of your visitation? The offer made by God. The Jews rolled out the red carpet, so to speak, when they thought Jesus would be the means by which they could get what they wanted.

Deliverance from Roman occupation. A king like David or Solomon who would make them great again, economically, militarily. Prosperity preachers offer people to Jesus who will give them the things they want in this life. It's not what Jesus came to do. The Jesus of the Bible came to save sinners and to reconcile them to God.

The Jews were all excited about Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead and rolled out the palm branches and gave him the shirts off their backs because they wanted him to be their king and overthrow their Roman occupiers. They wanted to make Israel great again. But that's not what Jesus came to do. And many do the same kind of thing. They get all excited about, especially in the the charismatic movement about Jesus, because they think if they follow Him, they'll get the things that they want.

And that's not limited to the charismatic movement. There are some, and I've seen them in the homeschool, reformed, family integrated church movement, the conferences. They're all excited. They're going to the conferences and everything. But their focus is on temporal things.

If I follow Jesus, then I'll get whatever. You know, you want to be married, You want to have a good job? You want to do these things? But the question remains, do you recognize the time of your visitation? Do they understand that every time they hear the Gospel, they're being visited in a sense?

In the gospel, Jesus Christ is exhibited as merciful and as gracious, arms wide open, slow to anger, abounding in love and mercy, prepared to put away your sins as far as the east is from the west, so far as He removed our transgressions from us when we turn from our sin and embrace them by faith. But like the Israelites when Jesus came in his triumphal entry, they want a different Jesus for a different reason. This Christ comes lowly And he comes to save from sin, not to give them everything they want in this life. On the other hand, you have those who weary themselves trying to be good enough to get free of their guilt. But the load of sin doesn't fall off of one's back because they're good enough.

It falls off their back when they realize they're not good enough. But Jesus is. And they begin to trust him alone for their acceptance with God and their salvation from the penalty of sin. I know I'm kind of rabbit trailing here, but we have to understand that while when a person adopts the mentality that they need to try to be good enough to be saved, they're just increasing their load of guilt. So you're saying don't try to obey God.

That's not what I'm saying at all. I'm saying that the Bible says that by the keeping of the law, there's never been one soul ever justified in God's sight. It means there's never been anyone who has gotten themselves into a position of favor with God by their own effort. You don't have the strength to keep the law of God perfectly. And that's the way God requires it to be kept perfectly.

Only one person ever did that, Jesus, the God man, God the Son. And he did it on your behalf in our place, doing for us what we could not do for ourselves. So, you know, I look at this passage and I see people, and it's just like people today, They want Jesus for many different reasons. For their benefit. How can I be benefited by Jesus?

If I come to Him, will I get this? Will I get that? Rather than looking at him as the only one who could reconcile them to God, the load of guilt falls off our backs when we look to Jesus and Him alone for our acceptance with God, to the one who kept the law of God perfectly in our place, to the one who suffered God's wrath in our place and died in our place. Is it possible that the guilt of your sins once rolled onto the shoulders of Christ on the cross will ever be rolled back onto your shoulders again. Who put their trust in Him?

The universe would sooner dissolve. Do you see how you are destitute of strength to save yourself? Jesus said, come to me all ye who are weary and heavy-laden that is burdened with sin and I will give you rest for your souls. My yoke is easy, my burden is light. Have you recognized the time of your visitation, the offer made by God.

I just want to encourage looking to Jesus, Looking to him who never sinned, paid the penalty for your sins. Looking to him who always obeyed the Father. Look upon on Christ, who was rejected by all those crowds at Jerusalem. Look upon him who never sinned and always obeyed the Father. Look upon him hanging on the cross, bearing your sin and bearing your guilt and shame before God and dying in your place.

And believe him when he says that in him you will find rest for your souls and in him alone you will find rest for your souls. And in Him alone, you will find rest for your souls. As we close, Jesus died for our sins. He rose again the third day. He ascended to heaven.

He's coming again one day in the heavens with great power and glory to judge the earth and To receive to his own unto himself to dwell in his presence His people his children all who have put their trust in him To be in his presence in the presence of God forevermore hosanna blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. May we all say that from the heart. Let's pray. Father, we thank you Lord for giving your Son a sacrifice for our sins. We thank you Lord that though we deserve eternal separation from you God forever that through Christ and what he has done for us we have eternal communion with you God and will be with you forever.

God we also cry Hosanna blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. Blessed is he who came in the name of the Lord. Blessed is the name of our Lord Jesus. And Lord, we put our trust in him alone for our acceptance with you and ask Lord that you would help us to live our lives Lord in such a way that we show forth the praise of Him who suffered and died for our sins and rose again the third day. For we ask it in His holy name, amen.