If you have your Bibles, turn to John's Gospel, chapter 12. We'll begin in verse 12 of this gospel. We're gonna cover a lot of verses. We're gonna go all the way through the end of the chapter. I think the chapter illustrates and unpacks the cries of the people when they cried, Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, the King of Israel. And these final verses really unpack all that that means, even though they didn't understand what they were saying, really. Jesus explains it to them. He points them in the right direction. So let's begin in verse 12 of chapter 12. The next day, the large crowd that had come to the feast heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem. So they took branches of palm trees and went out to meet him, crying out, Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, even the king of Israel. And Jesus found a young donkey and sat on it, just as it is written, fear not, daughter of Zion, behold, your king is coming, sitting on a donkey's colt. His disciples did not understand these things at first, but when Jesus was glorified, Then they remembered that these things had been written about him and had been done to him. The crowd that had been with him when he called Lazarus out of the tomb and raised him from the dead continued to bear witness. The reason why the crowd went to meet him was that they heard that he had done this sign, the raising of Lazarus. So the Pharisees said to one another, you see that you are gaining nothing Look, the world has gone after him. May the Lord bless his word to our hearts and minds. Now, these people were expecting a king. They were expecting the Messiah, but their expectation was faulty. It was misplaced. What they were viewing was for an earthly kingdom. We've talked about this before. We're familiar with that. And so Jesus is going to explain to them what his purpose really is. in coming into Jerusalem. At least six months prior to this, in Matthew's gospel, it starts in chapter 16, that Jesus announces to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem. And he's gonna be arrested, he's gonna be beaten, he's gonna be killed, but on the third day, he's gonna rise again. And to subsequent occasions, Jesus repeats that, and even expands on a little bit where he says, I'm gonna be betrayed. But ultimately, he's gonna be arrested, beaten, killed, and die. But he says on the third day, I'm gonna rise again. And so their expectation was for an earthly king. And they're quoting here when they say the king of Israel, fear not, daughter of Zion, behold, your king is coming, sitting on a donkey's colt. That quote there is from Zechariah chapter 9 verse 9. The Hosanna and blessed he who comes in the name of the Lord goes back to Psalm 118 verses 25 and 26. You see the people were basing their expectation on scripture, but it was an incomplete understanding of scripture. They were all excited about a king. They were all excited about someone to kick Rome out of Jerusalem and out of Judea. But they weren't very excited when they got into the servant passages, particularly of Isaiah, in chapter 42 and 49, 52 and 53. They weren't excited about the suffering servant. They were excited about the king, but not the suffering servant. And Jesus is gonna tell them that the suffering servant is his main role, that it allows him to be exalted as the king. And in Zechariah, the subsequent verses, after verse nine, tell us three things that this king is going to accomplish. First of all, he's going to secure victory over war. He's going to establish peace and he's going to bring deliverance. And these are the three things that Jesus talks about in this passage, that he's going to bring a victory. He's going to bring a victory for us and all who believe in him over sin. He's going to bring a victory for us and all who believe in him over death in the grave. He's going to bring a victory for us who believe in him, a victory over the devil. And so Jesus came to establish a victory, but Jesus also came to establish peace. You know, scripture informs us that we're in a bad position in relationship to a holy God. Paul describes it in Colossians that we're at enmity with God, that there's a hostility in our heart toward God. Now, most people kind of hesitate to maybe acknowledge that. They think they're pretty good in their being and in their conduct. And they have a misunderstanding of the reality that God is a God of love, that God is love. But he's also a holy God. He's righteous. And he must deal with sin, he must punish all sin. He would violate his holiness if he just winks at sin. And though he is a God of love, I think his love is an outflow of his holiness. Because he must deal with sin, God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son. And so his love is an expression, I think, that comes out of his holiness. And so God must deal with sin. he must judge all sin. And he will, and it's going to be done. We're in a position of being fallen. We're in a position of being again hostile to God. Really chapter one of Colossians. And you who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, he is now reconciled. So there was a position without Christ, we're in hostility, we're at enmity with God. And so Jesus came to establish peace between God and us. And Romans 5, 1 says, therefore being justified by faith, we have what? We have peace with God. Jesus came to reconcile us. He has now reconciled in his body and flesh by his death in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him. So through Jesus, not only peace between us and God, but peace between us and others. Paul describes this in Ephesians 2, where he tells us that Jesus is our peace. Isaiah the prophet recognized the Messiah as the prince of peace. See, the king is coming to secure victory, to establish peace, and so we're focusing on that just this moment. in Ephesians 2.14, for he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility by abolishing the law of commandments and ordinances that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace, and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, therefore killing the hostility. He came and preached peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near, Gentiles and Jews. For through him we both have access in one spirit to the Father. So you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone in whom the whole structure being joined together rose into a holy temple in the Lord. And so Jesus came to secure victory for us. Jesus came to establish peace for us, peace between us and God and peace between one another. And he also came in that passage in Zechariah 9, says he came to bring deliverance. Jesus came to set us free from the bondage of sin. Jesus came to set us free from the darkness of our life and bring us into the glorious light of the gospel. Jesus came to set us free from death, that we might be victorious over death in him. You know, Paul talks about in 1 Corinthians 15, he says, if we're not risen, then Jesus hasn't risen. But because Jesus has risen, and he's the first fruits from the grave, we too are gonna be victorious and we're gonna be delivered from death because of all that Jesus has accomplished. And so let's go back to the passage here in chapter 12 and see how Jesus unpacks this, how Jesus explains this. You see, the people were basing their expectation on scripture, but it was an incomplete understanding of scripture. In fact, that's what the disciples, John says his disciples did not understand these things at first, But when Jesus was glorified, they remembered that these things had been written about him and had been done to him. So they understood some of scripture, but they didn't see the complete picture. They understood the coming king. They understood the promise that God gave David back in 2 Samuel, I think chapter 7. where he says to David, one of your descendants, I'm gonna raise up one of your descendants and he's gonna sit on your throne forever and ever and ever and ever. Yet they were anticipating that one. In fact, they even refer to that in this passage when Jesus talks about dying, about being lifted up, they understood he was talking about being crucified and being put to death. And they said, well, how can you say that? because we heard from the law that Christ remains forever. So they understood the promise partly about David and his descendant, but they didn't see the whole picture. So Jesus is giving them the whole picture. So the scene here now is now among those who went up to worship at the feast were some Greeks. So these came to Philip, who was from Messenia in Galilee, and asked him, sir, we wish to see Jesus. And Philip went to Andrew, and Andrew and Philip went and told Jesus. And Jesus answered them. You see, they came, they heard about this guy performing these signs. They heard about this guy who was raised a guy from the dead, was dead four days, was in a tomb, stones across the opening of the tomb. They opened up the tomb, and Jesus calls Lazarus out. And so they hear about this, they wanna see him. But Jesus gives an explanation that they didn't anticipate. And so Jesus is saying, if you really want to see me, this is how you must see me. And Jesus answered them, The hour has come. Now, this hour was the day of judgment, was the hour of wrath, where Jesus was going to drink this cup of God's judgment, that he was gazing in Gethsemane. You see, this is kind of John's explanation or connection to Gethsemane, where Jesus said later on, Father, should I ask you to deliver me from this hour? This hour was the day of judgment. Go back to chapter two, when Jesus met Cana with Mary and some of the disciples, and they were at the wedding feast and run out of wine. Mary comes to Jesus and says, do something. They've run out of wine. And he says, woman, my hour has not come. And subsequently through this gospel until this point, Jesus refers to that over and over again. My time has not come. My hour has not come, but now it's here. And so Jesus says, the hour has come for the son of man to be glorified. Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone. But if it dies, it bears much fruit. Whoever loves his life, loses it. Whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. If anyone serves me, he must follow me. And where I am, there will my servant be also. If anyone serves me, the Father will honor him. And so Jesus gives this illustration that a current of wheat falls on the ground and it must die before life can come forth. And so Jesus is saying, for me to secure the victory, for me to establish peace, for me to bring deliverance, I must die. If you want to see me, he's saying to these guys from Greece. They were probably proselytes. They had come to Jerusalem to worship, and you had to be submitted to circumcision before you could come to the court of the Gentiles to worship. So there were people that were called God-fearers. They were kind of attracted to Judaism, but they hadn't gone to the next step of circumcision and become a proselyte. But these guys probably were, and they were attracted to the monotheism of Judaism, and they were submitted to circumcision and trying to keep the law. But Jesus said, if you want to see me, see, I'm not just a miracle worker. I'm not a philosopher. I'm not a good teacher. I'm not just a good guy. If you want to see me, you have to see me at the cross. That's why I came. He said, tell us, in this passage, that was the reason he came. So verse 27, now my soul is troubled, what shall I say? Father, save me from this hour, but for this purpose I have come to this hour. Jesus came to die. I read this week that someone said that when Jesus entered the manger there in Bethlehem on that night of glory where God stepped into his own creation, that the word became flesh and pitched his tent among us, that when Jesus stepped into that manger, that was the first step to Calvary. That was the first step on that journey to Calvary because he said, this is why I came. If you want to see me, you have to see me at the cross. It's not our opinion of Jesus. It's not what we think about Jesus. It's what Jesus says about himself. He says, this is why I came. Now, Let's back up a second when he says, whoever loves his life is going to lose it. If we become preoccupied with this world, if we become preoccupied with what's going on in this world, Jesus said we'll lose our life. You know, other places he said, what profits a man if he gains the whole world but loses his soul? He says to us that whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. Now is Jesus saying we need to stand before a mirror and abuse ourselves and say you're no good bum and hate us? No, he's not talking about that. He's doing contrast here. He's contrasting being preoccupied with the temporal and ignoring the eternal. You know, Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians, what is seen, what is seen is temporal. What is unseen is eternal. Jesus is telling us to invest our life in the things that are eternal. so that we can find eternal life. And so if we're gonna see Jesus, we must see him at the cross. And so he says, again, Father, glorify your name, verse 28. Then a voice came from heaven. I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again. The crowd that stood there and heard it said that it had thundered. Others said an angel had spoken to him. Jesus answered, this voice has come for your sake, not mine. Now is the judgment of this world. You see, this is where God is going to judge sin. He's going to judge sin at the cross. We are so familiar with sin, we're so comfortable with sin, we really can't comprehend what Jesus was anticipating. Paul tells us in 2 Corinthians 5, he who knew no sin. You see, Jesus was the sinless one. He was the lamb without spot and blemish. He says there was no guile, no deceit found in his mouth. And every thought of Jesus was pure. Every word of Jesus was pure. Every deed of Jesus was pure. It was in complete harmony with the Father. In fact, Jesus tells us that in this passage, that he has done everything, over there in verse 49, For I have not spoken on my own authority, but the Father who sent me has himself given me a commandment, what to say and what to speak, and I know that his commandment is eternal life. What I say, therefore, I say as the Father has told me." You see, Jesus is the sinless one. But as he looked into that cup in Gethsemane, just a few days from here, he looked that cup of judgment. And he saw every sin that I have committed, every sin you have committed. And he who knew no sin became sin for us. He bore my sin. He took my sin. He drank the cup of God's wrath for my sin. And so he says, Father, should I pray that you save me from this hour? But this is why I came. I came to die for the sin of the world. If you wanna see Jesus, you gotta see him at the cross. You have to see that he died for you, that he died for your sin, that he paid your sin debt. If you think you're okay and you're hoping that you've been better and done more things good than bad, and God's got a scale in heaven, he's gonna weigh your good deeds against your bad deeds, and you're banking on your good deeds being more than your bad deeds, forget it. The only way that we are able to enter into God's presence is through the Son, because He bore our sins on the tree. He secured the victory for us. He's established peace for us. He has brought deliverance for us as the King of kings. He says, now is the judgment of this world. Now is when Jesus is gonna go to the cross and bear our sins. But not only that, but it says, Now will the ruler of this world be cast out? You see, Satan is referred to as the little G God of this world. He's not the big G God, not the capital G God. There's only one God and he sits on his throne. This is one of my little pet peeves here. Satan does not rule in hell. God rules over all creation and God rules in hell. In fact, Jesus tells us in Matthew 25 that Gehenna, the lake of fire, hell, the eternal place of judgment and separation from God, was created by God to cast Satan into hell, and Satan's gonna be damned to hell, and Satan's gonna be punished in hell. He doesn't rule in hell, but he is the little g-god of this world. Paul talks about in Ephesians 2, he's the little p, prince of the power of the air, that is the orchestrator and instigator of rebellion against God. He comes through many ways and entices us to reject God and to follow our sinfulness. But Jesus said, now will the ruler of this world be cast out. See, Jesus brings to us victory over sin and over the grave and also over the devil. In 1st John, Jesus, what John tells us, two things that Jesus accomplished in His coming. And in 1st John 3, verse 5, you know that He appeared to take away sins. And in Him, there is no sin. And then in verse 8, whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil. And in Colossians 2, Jesus did something for us at the cross that secures this victory. Let me begin. Let me begin in verse 13. And you who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses by canceling the record of death that stood against us with its legal demands. That means every sin that I have committed, it would be like God wrote all those down on a sheet of paper. And he wrote all those down, every sin of my thoughts, of my words, of my deeds, God has written down on this, King James says, calls it the handwriting of ordinance that was against me. And this says, it all says to me is, Mike, you're guilty, guilty, guilty, guilty, guilty. And Jesus took that and nailed it to his cross and paid the price for my sin. And when he said it is finished on the cross, the telestai, sometimes that's translated paid in full. God has stamped on you. paid in full through the Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus came to deliver us from our sin. Jesus came to nail that handwriting of hardness that was against us to the cross. And he disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open a shame by triumphing over them in it. These rulers and authorities, this is that demonic force in Satan, and Jesus has triumphed over Satan. Jesus has defeated Satan at the cross. And so if we want victory, if we want peace, if we want deliverance, we have to see Jesus. Jesus said, if you're gonna see me, you have to see me at the cross. And so Jesus says, Now is the judgment of this world, now will the rule of this world be cast out. And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself. That means from every tribe, every nation. The picture in Revelation is that around the throne are those that have been redeemed from every tribe, every nation, all around this world. Jesus isn't just the savior of the Jewish nation, he's the savior of the world. So the Jew first, yes, because they had all the benefits of covenant relationship. They had the word of God, they had the prophets, they had the revelation of God, they had the anticipation of the Messiah. But there were to be a light to the Gentiles, the prophet Isaiah tells us. And the gospel is not just simply for the Jew first, yes, but also for the Greek. And so from every tribe, every nation, Jesus is going to draw people to himself. And we have to come to Christ through the cross. We have to accept him and his finished work. at the cross. In verse 33, he said this to show what kind of death he was going to die. So the crowd answered him, we have heard from the law that the Christ remains forever. How can you say the Son of Man must be lifted up? Who is the Son of Man? Jesus answered, then the light is among you for a little while longer. Walk while you have the light, lest darkness overtakes you. The one who walks in darkness does not know where he's going. while you have the light, believe in the light, that you may become the sons of God. That's why we proclaim the gospel. That's why we share, that's why we have worship, why we study God's word. We want to sow the seed of the gospel. We pray that it falls upon good soil. Now Jesus told us that sometimes it falls on the wayside, it falls in shallow ground, it falls among thorns and thistles, but it falls upon good soil. And Jesus is saying, you know, Paul says, The Bible tells us today is a day of salvation. Now is the accepted time. Respond to the light that God is shining in your heart today. Now, it's the work of the Holy Spirit. In 2 Corinthians 4, Paul says, the same God who said, let there be light in creation, causes light to shine in our heart. Because the God of this world, the liturgy God of this world, has blinded the eyes of those who are lost, lest they see the glorious light of the gospel. So it takes God's intervention. It takes the word of the Holy Spirit to come and bring that light. And Jesus is saying that light is shining. I am the light of the world. It's shining today. It's shining through this message. It's shining through the word of God. It's shining through the word of the Holy Spirit in our life. And Jesus says, come to the light. Believe in the light because he is the light. And when he says, while you have the light, believe in the light, that you may become sons of the light, sons and daughters of the light. When Jesus said these things, he departed himself from them. Though he had done so many signs before them, they still did not believe. Isn't that amazing? Some people say, if I could just see Jesus, I'd believe in him. Probably not. In fact, Paul tells us in Romans 8 that We don't have the ability to believe and we don't want to believe because we're fallen in our sin. In our fallenness, we're in rebellion against God. And again, it takes God's intervention. It takes the gospel being proclaimed so we can hear the gospel and that seed planted. You know, Paul told Timothy in 2 Timothy 3, right around 14, 15, He says, continue in what you've learned from your infancy, because the scripture has made you wise in salvation. It's why we proclaim the gospel. It's why we tell people to read God's word. It's why we want to sing the gospel through gospel songs, so that the seed can be planted in the heart of those. And God, by his Holy Spirit, can bring conviction of sin and convincing that Jesus is their only hope. If I could see Jesus, I'd believe in him. No, probably not. If you don't see him in his word. In fact, what Jesus says at the end of this chapter, he says, I'm not going to condemn you. When we stand before a holy God, he says, I'm not going to condemn you. I didn't come into the world to judge the world. I came into the world to save the world. What's going to condemn you when you stand before the holy God on that last day are my words. When you heard the word of God and you rejected it. You heard the gospel and you rejected the gospel. That's going to be, I think, part of the torment of hell is remembering you saw the light, but you didn't embrace it. You heard the truth, but you didn't believe it. It's a very dangerous position to hear the gospel over and over again, because if it doesn't soften your heart, it's going to harden your heart. They still did not believe in him, so the word spoken by the prophet might be fulfilled. Lord, who has believed what he has heard from us, and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed? Therefore they could not believe, for again Isaiah says, he has blinded their eyes and hardened their hearts, lest they see with their eyes and understand with their heart, and turn, and I would heal them. Now I believe Isaiah is referring to the sovereignty of God, he's referring to the result of the fall, that our heart is hard, in fact, The prophet Isaiah describes our heart as a heart of stone. But God in the New Covenant, God in his grace in Christ, as we come to Jesus Christ, he takes that heart of stone and he replaces it with a heart of flesh. He takes what is dead and makes it alive. Isaiah said these things because he saw his glory and spoke of them. Nevertheless, even many of the authorities believed in him, but for fear of the Pharisees, they did not confess him so that they would not be put out of the synagogue. For they love the glory that comes from man more than the glory that comes from God. Now there comes a time that we all have to step forward and say, I identify with Jesus Christ. I am a Christ follower. I am a believer in Jesus Christ. I think Nicodemus was one of these that John's describing here, but Nicodemus finally had to step forward. When Jesus died and Joseph Amalthea went to Pilate and asked for permission to take his body and to put it in a tomb, Nicodemus shows up with a sack of spice, either 80 to 100 pounds of spice to anoint the body of Jesus. Nicodemus had to show up. And if you're going to be a follower of Jesus Christ, you need to show up. You need to step forward and say, yes, I believe in him. I want to follow. I don't want to fear man. I don't care if people ostracize me, if they put me out of relationships. I want to follow Jesus Christ. You see, if you want to love your life here, you're going to lose it. But if you hate your life, if you want to pursue Jesus Christ, you're going to follow and experience eternal life. And Jesus cried out, whoever believes in me, believes not in me, but in him who sent me. And whoever sees me, sees him who sent me. If you want to have a right relationship with God, the only way is through Jesus Christ. Again, one of my favorite verses of scripture, John 17 3, in Jesus' high priestly prayer. He says, Father, this is eternal life. that they may know you, the true and living God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent. If I want to know the true and living God, the only place I can find him is in his Son, the Jesus Christ. And whoever sees me sees him who sent me. I have come into the world as light, so that whoever believes in me may not remain in darkness. If anyone hears my words and does not keep them, I do not judge him, for I did not come to judge the world, but to save the world. The one who rejects me does not receive my words as a judge. The word that I have spoken will judge him on the last day. For I have not spoken on my own authority, but the Father who sent me has himself given me a commandment, what to say and what to speak, and I know that his commandment is eternal life. And I say, therefore, what I say, therefore, I say as the Father has told me. So here's the picture. Jesus is entering into Jerusalem. I saw a donkey. That was a sign of peace. He didn't come in on a white horse. He's coming on a white horse when he comes back. He's coming victoriously when he comes back. But on this day, he enters in on a symbol of peace. But Jesus is coming back. Let me just read real quickly. Then I saw heaven open and behold a white horse. The one sitting on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he judges and makes war. His eyes are like a flame of fire, and on his head are many diadems, and he has a name written that no one knows but himself. He is clothed in a robe dripped in blood, and the name by which he is called is the Word of God. And the armies of heaven arrayed in fine linen and white and pure were following him on white horses. From his mouth comes a sharp sword, with which to strike down the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron. He will tread the winepress for the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty. On his robe and on his thigh, he has a name written, King of Kings and Lord of Lords. You see, Jesus is coming on a white horse. But on this coming, he comes on a donkey, a symbol of peace, because he came to secure victory for us. He came to establish peace for us. He came to bring deliverance for us. It's all through His death. You see, we're saved by His life because He fulfilled the law for us, and we are saved by His death because He paid the penalty of our rebellion and our failure to keep the law. You know, Paul says in Romans 8, what the law could not do, God did by sending His Son. And Jesus condemned sin in the flesh so that we can have an eternal life and we can have the forgiveness of sin. So if you're like the Greeks, you want to see Jesus. It's not the Jesus of your imagination. It's not the Jesus of the world that they understand, but it's the Jesus of Scripture. And Jesus said, if you want to see me, you have to see me at the cross. Would you let Jesus enter into your life triumphantly today and trust in him and receive him as your Lord and Savior? The Philippian jailer said, what must I do to be saved? And Paul said, believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved. Father, thank you for this time of worship. Thank you for the victory that we have in Jesus. Thank you for the peace that we have in Jesus. Thank you for the deliverance that we have in Jesus. And it's all because Father, he was obedient, and he came to that hour, and he drank that cup, and he stretched out his hands, and he stretched out his feet, and he died on the cross for our sin. And thank you, Father, that on that third day, he came out of that tomb that we're gonna celebrate next Sunday. That Father, He is risen just like He said. We ask these things, Father, in Jesus' name. Amen.