Living for the Glory of God - John 11:45-12:36

©April 5th, 2020 by Rev. Rick Goettsche PALM SUNDAY

Today is Palm Sunday, the day when we remember Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem at the beginning of Holy Week. This year, with the coronavirus pandemic, things feel a little different than usual on Palm Sunday. Typically, Palm Sunday is a triumphant day, Good Friday is a solemn one, and Easter is another triumphant one. Just because there is a pandemic going on doesn’t mean that has to change. The truths surrounding the life of Christ are just as relevant today as they were 2,000 years ago.

With that said, I want to look at Palm Sunday through the eyes of Jesus. Jesus resolutely entered Jerusalem knowing full well what was awaiting him. This was simultaneously his greatest triumph and the greatest pain he would ever face. We can learn a great deal from the way Jesus approached Palm Sunday.

Background

We pick up the story at the end of John 11. Jesus had just raised Lazarus from the dead, and word began to spread about what he had done. When the religious leaders found out what had happened, they began to panic, and decided that something must be done about Jesus. So they convened the Sanhedrin (the high council of religious leaders) to decide what their next move should be.

The Sanhedrin was made up primarily of two groups of people. The first group was the Pharisees, and they were the religious conservatives of the day. They believed in the resurrection, and also believed in following a very strict set of rules in order to show obedience to God. The second group was the Sadducees, and they were the majority in the Sanhedrin at this time. The Sadducees did not believe in the resurrection, and tended to be those who had amassed wealth and power through their positions. The Sadducees allied themselves with the Roman government in order to solidify their positions of power.

The high priest was a man named Caiaphas. He was the high priest for 18 years, and at this time had probably been in that position for 15-16 years. Under Old Testament law, the high priest was to serve in his position for life, but when the Romans took over, they made it so they selected the high priest, and they allowed him to remain in office as long as he didn’t cause any problems for them. So Caiaphas’ position was not secure. He (along with many of the Sadducees) was concerned that Jesus would upset the “good thing” they had going with Rome. Jesus was a threat to the status quo.

Of course, the Sadducees also opposed Jesus on other grounds—they didn’t believe in the resurrection of the dead. So, the story that Jesus had raised Lazarus from the dead was doubly infuriating to them. He was claiming there was life after death and he was claiming to have divine power (Quite convincingly, I might add!) Their conclusion was that Jesus needed to die in order to save Israel from destruction.

John points out the irony in this statement by Caiaphas: Jesus would do exactly that, but not at all in the way he imagined it. Jesus would indeed bring salvation to Israel and the world through his death. But he would not save the people from the Romans, but from their own sin. The Life Application Commentary makes a wonderful point,

Of course, the Jewish leaders missed the prophetic implications of Caiaphas’s statement, and from that day on they plotted to take his life. NIV But evil leaders, no matter how long they have power or how evil their actions, are always under God’s control. God permits them to exercise power for a time. Though it may not seem so to those who suffer, all that happens is according to God’s timing and under his control. God is always watching over his people.[1]

This is something for us to remember when the world seems out of control. God is still always in control. He is working in ways we cannot see yet.

Think about some of the things we have seen happen in the last month. We’ve seen tremendous disruption of the status quo, but we’ve also seen families who had been too busy to be together sitting down for dinner together nightly. We’ve seen people looking for creative ways to care for each other. We’ve seen ourselves gaining a greater appreciation of the simple blessings we once took for granted. We’ve seen churches that haven’t been able to meet together find ways to take their message outside the walls of the building. I think about how many more people are being exposed to our ministry through YouTube than would ever come into our church normally and I’m shocked. I don’t know the full extent of what God is doing right now, but rest assured, the world is not out of control. God has a plan. Evil will not ultimately prevail. Palm Sunday and Easter remind us of just how true this is.

The People’s Response

After the religious leaders decided to kill Jesus, they issued a standing order that anyone who saw Him was supposed to report him to them. It was akin to the Most Wanted posters in the post office. So now Jesus was faced with a choice. Should he hunker down and hide, hoping to avoid the wrath of these evil men, or should he continue to Jerusalem, knowing what awaited him there?

Jesus delayed for a day, then headed toward Jerusalem, where people had been talking about him and wondering whether he would come for Passover. The people who had seen Lazarus raised from the dead had been busy telling everyone they saw about Jesus. As a result, lots of people were eager to see Him. What a good reminder that is for us. We have a unique ability to prepare people’s hearts for Jesus. When we tell people about what He’s done for us, it opens their eyes to who He really is. We don’t have to give a long, drawn-out presentation of the gospel. But when we tell people about what Jesus has done for us, it can have a profound impact. We should learn something from these people who told everyone they could about what Jesus had done.

The result was that when Jesus did come into Jerusalem, the city was abuzz. The city would already have been busy, because Passover was a time when many out of town travelers would come to Jerusalem. The main street leading up to the city would have been crowded with travelers. But when people heard that Jesus was coming, they flocked to the streets, lining them to cheer for him and greet him. They praised him and cut down palm branches and laid them down in front of him, rolling out the “green carpet” in effect for the one they had waited for. This welcome stands in stark contrast to what would happen at the hands of a different crowd just five days later. But these people rallied around Jesus, welcoming him as they would a conquering hero. Of course, that is exactly what he was (and is), but not in the way they imagined. He did not overthrow Rome by political or military might, but He set up a new Kingdom that will stand forever.

The result of this vast crowd welcoming Jesus was that the religious leaders were stymied in their efforts to kill him. They knew where he was (surely with all the fuss being made about Jesus, they had to know about it), but they concluded that,

“There’s nothing we can do. Look, everyone has gone after him!” (John 12:19b, NLT)

While that may have been an overstatement on their part (after all, they were still unconvinced), the effect was the same. They were unable to kill Jesus as they had desired. And they saw that much of the city had simply ignored their orders. They had ordered the people to report this usurper to the proper authorities, but the people simply ignored them and praised Jesus instead.

Jesus’ Response

As Jesus entered Jerusalem, it might have been tempting for him to assume that maybe he had misjudged the situation. Maybe he wouldn’t have to die after all. Maybe the people would stand up to protect him from the religious leaders. But Jesus didn’t fall into that trap. He knew exactly what was going on. He knew his purpose was to come and give his life as a ransom for many. He knew he was coming to Jerusalem to die. But his disciples still didn’t understand that. I suspect they were walking behind Jesus looking excitedly at the crowd, thinking that finally things were going their way. But Jesus made one more attempt to help them understand.

A couple of Greeks (we don’t know much about them, but it is significant that they were Gentiles) wanted to come and meet Jesus. Jesus took this opportunity to help his disciples understand what was coming next.

23 Jesus replied, “Now the time has come for the Son of Man to enter into his glory. 24 I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat is planted in the soil and dies, it remains alone. But its death will produce many new kernels—a plentiful harvest of new lives. 25 Those who love their life in this world will lose it. Those who care nothing for their life in this world will keep it for eternity. 26 Anyone who wants to serve me must follow me, because my servants must be where I am. And the Father will honor anyone who serves me.

27 “Now my soul is deeply troubled. Should I pray, ‘Father, save me from this hour’? But this is the very reason I came! 28 Father, bring glory to your name.” (John 12:23-28, NLT)

Jesus knew he was coming to Jerusalem in order to die. He was trying to help his disciples to understand his mindset as he came to this point. I doubt they understood then, but later they did. Before we look at what Jesus told his disciples, let’s look at the end of this and see what he said about himself.

He started by saying his soul is deeply troubled. Jesus was conflicted. On the one hand, he didn’t want to die. More than that, he didn’t want to bear the punishment for our sin that would be necessary as part of his death. From a very human perspective, Jesus was dreading what was about to come. But look at his response:

“Should I pray, ‘Father save me from this hour?’ But this is the very reason I came! Father bring glory to your name.” (John 12:27-28, NLT)

What a declaration of faith! Jesus didn’t dare think about asking God to deliver him from this difficult circumstance. He was not looking forward to it, but He also knew what it would accomplish. He was willing to go through whatever was necessary in order to bring glory to the name of the Father.

When we see Jesus’ mindset, it brings a greater force to his statement to his disciples,

25 Those who love their life in this world will lose it. Those who care nothing for their life in this world will keep it for eternity. 26 Anyone who wants to serve me must follow me, because my servants must be where I am. And the Father will honor anyone who serves me. (John 12:25-26, NLT)

Jesus was calling his disciples to answer a very simple question: what do you love most? Do you love the comforts of this world more than you love the Lord? If you were forced to choose between honoring God and giving up the things you value in this life, what would you choose? Jesus said that anyone who wants to serve Him must follow Him. This means that we have to approach life with the same attitude as Jesus—that the only thing that matters is glorifying God. I made a list of some of the things we might struggle to give up in order to glorify God.

Our comfort

Our money or stuff

Our plans for the future

Our feeling of control

Our position or popularity

Our relationships

Our power or influence

Our very lives

Jesus reminds us that we are to have the same attitude that he did—walking into Jerusalem, knowing it would cost him dearly, but also knowing it would accomplish

God’s purposes. Friends, you may be facing a difficult decision in your own life. You may be facing a scenario in which you know that doing the right thing will cost you. Doing the right thing might hurt or it might mean you don’t get what you want. Let me challenge you to trust God enough to do what you know is right. His plan is perfect. No pain is wasted. When we do what God tells us, when we seek to glorify Him, it is always good, even if it’s painful for a season. If you need proof, just look at Jesus.

Here is how one commentator summed up Jesus’ teaching,

If your soul is cast down, think of the personal pain Christ endured for your salvation and peace, then remember that now, as an object of redemption, he continues to lavish that same self-sacrificing care upon you. If we are going through difficult times, whether the death of a loved one or a painful marital relationship or feelings of worthlessness or uncertainty about our future, we must look to Jesus. When we see Jesus’ soul as here portrayed, we will find great strength. As Jesus said in the upper room, “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me” (John 14:1).[2]

Conclusion

I realize this is a slightly different take on Palm Sunday than we often do. That’s ok. I think this perspective is exactly the one I needed to see, and I suspect you may need to as well. There are several lessons we should take from this passage.

First, we all have the same evidence in front of us, the question is what do we do with it? Jesus raised a man who had been dead for 4 days back to life! This was incredible proof that he was who he said. But the religious leaders refused to believe the evidence. I have spoken to many people who have told me there just isn’t enough evidence for them to believe. When I push further, I discover that the real issue isn’t that there isn’t enough evidence, it’s that they are choosing to disbelieve the evidence there is. No matter what might happen, they will find a way to explain it away.

Friends, we have a mountain of evidence before us. We have evidence that Jesus was exactly who he said he was. We have evidence that he came back to life after willingly allowing himself to be killed. We have evidence that God is in control of all things, even things that make no sense to us. The question is what will you do with that evidence? Will you believe it enough to change how you live? Or will you simply ignore it and continue on the path you’ve been on, like the religious leaders did? Evidence such as this demands a choice.

Second, we can have a profound impact on others simply by telling them what we have seen God do. The people who came into Jerusalem and told them all about what Jesus had done were what led to the Palm Sunday celebration. If it hadn’t been for these people, it is unlikely there would have been much of a crowd at all. But because they were eager in telling others what Jesus had done, many people were drawn to him.

I know many of us are afraid to talk to people because we are afraid we don’t have all the answers. Let me set your mind at ease—you don’t! And neither do I! But we are not called to have answers to every question people have. We are simply called to testify to what we have seen and what we know. And doing that is far more powerful than you may even realize.

This is a time when people are searching for answers, for meaning, for purpose. People’s worlds are turned upside down, and they are finding that the things they had been living for, the things they had placed such emphasis on, are actually completely powerless. We have an answer! We have a profound opportunity to tell people about the One Thing that is bigger than coronavirus, bigger than the governments, bigger than our jobs, our sports, or our friends. We have the answer to the only thing that will satisfy! We should seize this opportunity to point people to Jesus. You never know how your one simple act of obedience may forever change another person’s life and eternity.

Finally, we are reminded that living for God’s glory is always worth it. Jesus gave us the prime example of what this looks like. And our current situation should reinforce his message. If we place our primary emphasis on the things of this world, we will eventually find that those things do not last. Those things can all be wiped out in an instant. But if we focus on holiness, on orienting our lives around the service of our Lord, we will never be disappointed. Yes, there will be difficult times. There may be times when we even question whether it’s worth the sacrifice. But we must believe that at the end, God’s way is the best way. If we need evidence, we need look no further than the cross.

My prayer for you this week is that you’ll use this disruption of the status quo to your advantage. Things are different, but that doesn’t have to be a tragedy. Rather, it’s an opportunity for us to start building new priorities into our lives. Be intentional about how you spend your time. Work at spreading the Word to others—call up your friends and encourage them, sharing what God’s doing for you. Check in on each other and show Christ’s love to the world around you. Invite people to worship online with you during this time—people may be more receptive now than they otherwise would be. Strive to honor the Lord in all you do—be obedient in the big things and also in the little things, even if obedience might be costly. And remember the Lord who loves you and is always working behind the scenes. May you be emboldened to live for His glory.

[1] Barton, Bruce B. John. Life Application Bible Commentary. Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House, 1993.

[2] Hughes, R. Kent. John: That You May Believe. Preaching the Word. Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books, 1999.