Good weekend to you my ‘Walking with Jesus’ friends,
I’m sure you’ve had the experience of looking forward to an event on your calendar for a long time, and then FINALLY that week arrives! Remember how excited you were? That is what was happening, deep in the soul of Jesus, as He rode that donkey, down the slope of the mount of Olives, to the cheers of thousands of people, as we saw in the Gospel accounts in the Bible yesterday. Why?
Because, from eternity past... yes, my friends, from before He created planet earth, Jesus had been looking forward to that spontaneous parade we call “Palm Sunday”! Did you know that? How do I know? Listen to what the apostle Paul wrote to the Ephesian Christians about 30 years after that historic Passover/Easter weekend: “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ…For He chose us in Him, before the creation of the world, to be holy and blameless in His sight. In love He predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with His pleasure and will – to the praise of His glorious grace, which He has freely given us in the One He loves!”(Eph. 1:3-6)
Oh my!! That is so powerful. May I ask you, do you see these important truths in those words?
1. First, that spontaneous “Palm Sunday” parade and EVERYTHING else about the incarnation, the earthly life, the miracles, teachings, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, are ALL for the glory of God the Father!
2. Second… God chose us, BEFORE planet earth was created, to be holy people with our sins forgiven. But that would only be possible if God Himself came up with a plan, because none of us can do anything about our sin problem. Why? Because it’s not so much about the sins we DO, it’s about the fact that sin is SYSTEMIC inside us... we each are born with a sin nature! It’s in our DNA, inherited from Adam and Eve, and only God can fix that!
3. Third… Jesus is the answer, the ONLY answer, for only Jesus can pay our sin debt price, earning our sin forgiveness AND our adoption into God’s family! Why? Because Jesus is God incarnate!
4. Fourth… it’s all GRACE! God’s kindness toward us sinful people. A kindness we sure don’t deserve!
Now friends, can you see WHY Jesus must have been so excited riding that donkey during that spontaneous parade? Finally, from eternity past, the week in which Jesus would accomplish God’s great Redemption Plan had arrived. And that parade was the launch, the ‘grand opening’, of this world changing week!
John tells us that it may have been during, or shortly after that remarkable parade, that some Greeks, who had come to Jerusalem for the Passover festival, approached Philip, one of the disciples, with a special request. I’ve often wondered how often that happened, especially as Jesus became quite famous due to His miracles and large crowd teaching events. John gives us this scene in John 12:20. “Sir’, they said, ‘we would like to see Jesus.”
Pause. Has that ever happened to you? Has someone ever asked you to help them see or speak with or encounter Jesus? Wait a minute now. Don’t blow off that question!
In these latter weeks, before that Passover, people were taking note of the 12 guys who were always with Jesus. And people assumed these guys probably knew Jesus better than anyone else did. They were close friends with Jesus and so, if you wanted to have a few personal minutes with Jesus, I believe, people began to see those guys as the best way to get to Jesus! Now, should that be a fair expectation for those of us who claim to know and be followers of Jesus?
Jesus’ response is very significant, both that day and today: “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified!“ Jesus said. (John 12:23) Over the past few weeks, as we’ve been following Jesus and these guys, we’ve seen several times when Jesus said, “not yet”, or “don’t tell anyone”. And I’ve suggested it was both a timing issue, and that the disciples simply did not understand Jesus well enough to be able to answer the questions people would have. But now, with this spontaneous parade and the inquiry of these Greeks, Jesus is saying NOW, the time has come!! But time for what?
The time for Jesus to accomplish the mission for which He had come to earth… God’s Redemption Plan! And we’re going to follow Jesus very carefully over these next days to that Passover/Easter weekend, trying to understand it fully! While it began with great celebration in the spontaneous parade calling for Jesus to be King, what Jesus said next was shocking to everyone who heard Him: “Truly I tell you, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds… Now my soul is troubled, and shall I say, ‘Father, save Me from this hour? NO, it was for this very reason I came to this hour. Father, glorify Your Name!” (John 12:24-27)
Do you understand what Jesus was saying? His atonement death was going to be essential to His mission of providing deliverance to the entire world! Deliverance from what? Deliverance from our sin bondage and our sin condemnation.
Jesus knew it would be horrific in every way, and the human part of Jesus would be tempted, many times in these next days, to abandon or even abort the mission because of the humiliation, the physical torture and the spiritual separation from His Father. But Jesus was determined to carry out everything required of Him so you and I, 2000 years later, could live free from the stranglehold of sin, and have certainty of eternity in heaven with Jesus!
John records that suddenly a voice from heaven was heard saying: “I have glorified it and will glorify it again!” (John 12:28) For a third time in the Gospels, we are told God’s voice from heaven was heard by human beings, who were with Jesus at that strategic moment! Do you remember the other times? Matt. 3:17, Jesus’ baptism and Matt. 17:5, Jesus’ transfiguration! God the Father is wanting us to understand that HE was watching carefully every event, every moment, during the earthly life of Jesus. And more than that, God wants us to know He was well pleased with the obedience of His Son, Jesus. Have we learned that? It is in OUR obedience to God His truth, that Jesus is glorified?!
Let’s pause right here and embrace the remarkable significance of this moment as the count-down to the most significant weekend in human history has begun! Do you see that? I wonder what the Holy Spirit has said into your heart today about how your life and mine is intended to bring God glory…ALL the time!?
As always important “lessons learned” notes are ready for you at the link below, as is a great worship song which calls us to consider WHY we seek to see Jesus as these Greeks did! And please come back to join me tomorrow, right here in John 12, as we continue our journey with Jesus toward that historic, Passover/Easter weekend.
Today’s Scripture: John 12:20-28.
Choose below to read or listen.
 |  |
Bible images provided with attribution to www.LumoProject.com.
Have a comment or question about today’s chapter? I’m ready to hear from you, contact me here.
Pastor Doug Anderson
“Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, with our eyes fixed on Jesus…” (Heb. 12:1,2)
Archived back issues of “Walking with Jesus” and other resources are available by clicking here to open our ‘home page’ (or go to HOME at upper right of this page).
Share with friends. Subscribe below for daily “Walking with Jesus”.