And this morning we continue our sermon series in the Gospel of John, today reading in John chapter 12, starting at verse 12. looked at recently, the raising of Lazarus from the dead, followed by the response, response of great fear by the religious leaders concerning Jesus and his growing popularity. And then likewise, the incredible response of faith by perhaps a surprising source, Mary, the sister of Lazarus. Today we'll see some of those same kinds of themes of fear and faith as we read about what happens next. It is the triumphal entry of Jesus into the city of Jerusalem. So let us together give attention to God's Word from John chapter 12 beginning at verse 12 reading through verse 26. 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 He had done this sign. So the Pharisees said to one another, you see that you are gaining nothing. Look, the world has gone after him. Now among those who went up to worship at the feast were some Greeks. So these came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, and asked him, sir, we wish to see Jesus. Philip went and told Andrew. Andrew and Philip went and told Jesus. And Jesus answered them. 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. And 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." Let us pray. Lord, we give you thanks for the truth of your word, its power to convict and to convert We pray that you would have your way with us today, Lord, that there would be that type of death in us that your life might flow through us. In this we ask in Jesus' name, amen. Ever since the first miracle Jesus did, which was turning water into wine in the town of Cana, This is the start of his public ministry about three years prior to what we're reading right now. Jesus has talked about something called his hour. And Jesus has made decisions, things He will do and things He will not do based on His hour. So we've heard repeatedly just in the Gospel of John that the hour has not yet come. Jesus' hour is not yet there. So He does this or does that. So the question is, what does Jesus mean by His hour? We're gonna find out today because in this passage Jesus says, finally his hour has arrived. And it is the hour of the Passover, the time of Passover. And Jesus has waited for this hour, this moment, to be taken, to be tried, and to be crucified. You see, throughout all the time of Jesus' earthly ministry, he was preparing to die, but at just the right time. And that time is Passover, which we're reading about right now. Passover is the highest Jewish festival. It's an annual ceremony that both represents but really reenacts the liberation, the exodus of God's people from their slavery in Egypt, where they had been for many years. Passover, as it would come to be celebrated, included a time of preparation, and it culminated with the Passover meal, also called the Seder meal. Well, the whole meal, Passover or Seder meal, is filled with all kinds of rich symbolism related to that liberation of God's people. But the focus and the focal point is the lamb, the lamb that is prepared and eaten as part of the meal. And the Passover lamb represented the lamb that was sacrificed and whose blood was put over the doorposts of God's people in Egypt. And the blood was over the doorpost of people's homes in Egypt, God's people's homes, because as the angel of death came, the 10th of the 10 plagues, the angel of death was going to take the firstborn son of each family. But when the angel of death saw the blood of the sacrifice lamb, that angel of death would pass over that house. Hence the name that the celebration can be known as Passover. So this is a very significant festival and the entrance of Jesus into Jerusalem that we just read about was the Sunday at the start of the Passover time. And people were coming to the city, they were preparing for the festival. Now this was one of a couple Jewish festivals that every Jewish male was required to attend in person in Jerusalem. So what did that mean for the city of Jerusalem? It exploded. The numbers of people there multiplied many times over. And as they're gathered, as they've heard stories of Jesus, especially about the raising of Lazarus from the dead, we read what happened next when they saw Jesus. So verse 13 from our passage. 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. Hosanna is a translation from the Hebrew word, which means save now, or save, we pray. And it's a quote from our Old Testament passage we heard today in Psalm 118. So in Psalm 118, verses 25 and 26, it says, save us. That would be Hosanna in the Hebrew. Save us, we pray, O Lord. O Lord, we pray, give us success. And blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. Now this whole psalm is a wonderful psalm used in royal processions. It was one used to give praise to God for his faithfulness. But it was also one in which people were looking forward to the coming promised king, the greater son of David. So they would sing that in the annual festivals, especially at this time of Passover. But now what are they doing? They're applying that promise and that prophecy to Jesus as he enters the city. Palm branches were also a sign of royalty and victory. Leviticus 23 verse 40 says, shall take on the first day the fruit of splendid trees, branches of palm trees, boughs of leafy trees, and willows of the brook, and you shall rejoice before the Lord your God." More to the point, at the time of Jesus' entry into Jerusalem, Palm branches were used to celebrate the independence and the victory of God's people. About 200 years before this, there was a thing called the Maccabean Revolt. And the Maccabees, a group of soldiers and leaders, helped liberate God's people. And so they celebrated with palm branches. And coins have been found from this time with that symbol of palm branches on them to show the victory and the independence of Israel. Well, if you're not getting the point that Jesus is King and He's entering in such a triumphal entry, we have the words of the people themselves. They quoted Psalm 118, but they added a little extra phrase, which isn't in Psalm 118, where it says that they shouted out, even the King of Israel. So just picture those people, right? Such great excitement. They're hoping, praying, anticipating that this could finally be the one. that promised son of David who would be king, the fullness of all that had been promised as a leader of God's people. Well, let's not forget the donkey. Even the donkey has a witness and is a sign that Jesus is king. We tend to think that a donkey doesn't seem fit for a king, but listen to the passage, verses 14 and 15. It says, 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. Remember how Jesus controlled the timing of his coming into Jerusalem where he would give his life. He's also controlling the vehicle, the way that he enters, because this, too, is a fulfillment of prophecy and promise. We read it in our call to worship today from Zechariah chapter 9. It says, Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your king is coming to you. You hear it, this king? Righteous, having salvation as he, humble, and mounted on a donkey. So the donkey doesn't mean the king is weak. You need to understand that. It means the king is one. He's not weak, but he's one. He can come in peace because he has great power. And the victory is already secure. The whole context of Zechariah 9 is about the conquest of God, defeating his enemies, protecting his people, extending his rule. So Jesus comes. He comes in peace, and he is humble. But that doesn't mean he's a lesser king or a weaker king. What it means is this, and what you need to understand. Don't miss it. He is a different kind of king. Are you with me? Real king, not weak. The real ruler, but he is humble. He's different, and he's not what the people expected. We know the week is going to unfold. But even here, John, the human author of this passage, admits that he and his fellow disciples, they didn't get it. So in verse 16, it says, 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. It would take the disciples getting the whole picture. And what's that whole picture? Jesus entering as king, but then being betrayed, being rejected, being crucified, and then being raised from the dead. That whole picture was what it would take to truly understand what kind of a king Jesus is and what kind of a kingdom he's bringing. Because, you know, a different kind of king means a different kind of kingdom. That's what people have got confused with back then. And let's admit it, we get confused today. We want a certain type of king, perhaps, because we're anticipating a certain kind of kingdom that we're going to be part of. You've got to get the right truth about the king so that you know what it means to follow him and to be part of his kingdom. Well, as we've seen many times in our study of the Gospel of John, we're going to see immediately two radically different responses. And just like last week, fear and what was the other? Faith. Remember? Fear and faith. The response of fear, once again, by the religious leaders. So verse 19 says, the Pharisees said to one another, you see, that you, really meaning we, are gaining nothing. All these things they've tried to do to stop Jesus. Hasn't done anything. And then they continue, look, the world has gone after him. Yeah, fear has been a theme of this section of the Bible. And again, last week we saw the fear of the religious leaders. And we noted that they were controlled by fear. And remember, that's what fear tends to do. Fear controls. And the kind of ways that fear controlled the religious leaders has been their dangerous connections. They'll connect with anyone, even if it's not healthy for them. We've seen the selfish preoccupation. When people are afraid, they tend to look inward and they focus on themselves. And then, you gotta love this one, exaggerating their problems. Remember last week, the religious leaders made this comment. They said, everyone's going out to him. What did they say this week? Not just everyone, the whole world has gone after him. You get a sense of their fear. And John, again, the human author of the gospel, he picks up on this and how important fear is. Because fear for all people at all times is gonna do the same thing. It's gonna control us. Maybe we'll exaggerate. Okay, we will exaggerate how bad things are. We will be selfishly preoccupied. And we might make dangerous connections and bad choices. But anyway, so John is picked up and he does something that might be easy to miss, but it's very significant. Remember John quoted Zechariah 9 about the promised king coming on a donkey. And if you read Zechariah chapter 9, it says, rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion. Your king comes to you. But that's not what John says. John actually does this. He takes another Old Testament passage from Isaiah 40, and he yokes it to that passage from Zechariah. And so instead of rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion, it says, fear not, O daughter of Zion. Well, why would he do that? Because as we've seen, fear can grip all people. Fear can keep you away from the life of faith that God intends. So this is very important for the scriptures, for God ultimately, but for John to really cue us in on that. Well, just as the previous passage, we saw not only those controlled by fear, the religious leaders, but we saw one who was not controlled by fear, but compelled by faith. the sister of Lazarus named Mary. And so too do we encounter faith in this passage. Again, it comes from a surprising place. Notice how the passage continues, verses 20 and 21. It says, now among those who went up to worship at the feast were some Greeks. So these came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, and asked him the most beautiful question and the most beautiful statement, isn't it? Sir, we wish to see Jesus. Well, the request of these Greeks to see Jesus is a desire to have a more personal interaction to Jesus. We don't know if they're ready to commit their lives to him in faith, but they're moving in the right direction, are they not? They, there were converts from the Gentile world to Judaism. That's probably what is meant by these Greeks. And if you, in a sense, converted to Judaism, you're called a proselyte. And depending on how much you adapted Jewish truths and ceremonies, depending how far you could enter into that life of the community. But get this, you could never go all the way. you would always be a type of an outsider. Even the structure of the temple showed you that. You couldn't go all the way into the heart of knowing God and worshiping with God. Well, Jesus responds to their request, and he gives maybe some curious words. Verse 24, it says, 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." Again, maybe curious words to that request, but Jesus is seeing what lies ahead. It is good news that there's a gathering in of people from every nation and background. That was the very point of the mission of Jesus, not only to save His people, but to save all people. And so it's good news. And the good news is these will no longer be simply outsiders and bystanders, but they're going to be truly one, one with Jesus, one with each other. And that's the fruit. And that's the fruit that's going to come. But what is it going to take for that fruit to come forth? It's going to come at a great cost. It will come through the death of Jesus. And Jesus uses the analogy of a seed to describe what he is about to do and what his kingdom is truly like. The fruit of new life and a growing kingdom comes from a seed. Where does that seed go? The seed goes into the ground. It suffers a type of death. It's buried. It's small. It seems to be of no use at all. But through its death, there's life. There's abundant life. And there's fruitfulness. And again, this, of course, is what Jesus will do. He will suffer, even though he is the true king. He will die. He will appear to be of no consequence. But through him, through his death, he will defeat death, he will rise, he will bring the blessing of life and fruitfulness. And he will bring life to all who belong to him. Different kind of king, right? A different kind of king. One who comes not to be served, but to serve. One who comes not to create a physical kingdom, limited to a nationality, limited to a geographic place on earth, but a kingdom that is for all and is touching all and reaching all. Jesus is the son whom the angel of death will not pass over. He will die, but his death will bear fruit, and many will come to know and believe this multiplication of seed. As it was prophesied in Isaiah 53, he shall see his seed. It's you, by the way, right? He shall prolong his days, the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his hand. He shall see the travail of his soul and shall be satisfied. That's the multiplication. The life that comes from death. Different kind of king, right? But here's where it applies to you. Different kind of king means a different kind of kingdom. And the pattern that Jesus followed is the pattern that you are to follow as well. Jesus continues, clarifies that, verse 25 and 26. 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. Remember that different kind of king. And where I am, there will my servant be also. If anyone serves me, the Father will honor him. Let's admit it, that seems hard, doesn't it? Maybe not very pleasant. Just take a moment and put yourself there. And you've never done this before, right? I bet no one has done this before. Imagine yourself as a seed, all right? So you're a seed. And let's say in your seed kind of mind, you think, this is my best life now. I am a seed, so I need to hold on to all my seed-ness. And you think, why should I sacrifice? Why should I look beyond myself? Why should I look outside myself? In fact, God made me a seed. Surely he wants me to stay just as I am. So in your clever seed thinking, you don't sacrifice. You don't go in the ground. You don't risk losing yourself. You don't give yourself. You don't deny yourself. And what happens at the end of your seed life? You still die. Don't miss it. You still die, but you bear no fruit. Your life doesn't have an impact on others, and your life doesn't connect you to God. But now, let's imagine you're a different kind of seed. Let's imagine now that you're a seed that sees and accepts a different kind of king. You see, you accept, you believe the one who made you and gave himself for you, the one who showed you that the way to real life and fruitfulness is through sacrifice, even unto death. And with your eyes fixed on him and faith in his promises, you let go. You let go of yourself. You sacrifice your pride, your prejudices, your privileges. You let go of your schedule, your dreams, your fears. It is death. Death to your seed self. You go under and into the ground just like your Lord, King Jesus, and more importantly, with with your Lord King Jesus. For you know the truth of the words of the Apostle Paul, to live is Christ and to die is gain. And you know that in losing your life you actually find it. As Galatians 2 verse 20 says, I have been crucified with Christ It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me, who loved me, and gave himself for me. It's a different kind of kingdom, for it is a kingdom born of a different kind of king. A king who loves you. He loves you. He really, really loves you. And none of this would make a lick of sense if you didn't start there. That he loves you. And what comes next in that verse? He gave himself for you. And he really did. He went to the cross for you, that your sins would be covered. And He not only did that, but again, don't miss it, He orchestrated every step of His life for these last three years, waiting for the right hour, the right time, and why did He do that? So that you would know that you can trust Him. Remember, Jesus doesn't simply overcome evil in his life. He uses evil in his life. That's the point of where we've been these last few weeks, right? So that the suffering that you're going through and the questions and the challenges you're facing, you know God uses them. There's a plan and a purpose through it all and it is not easy. And it is not always obvious. But the Lord did all this just the way he did it. Just the way he did it. So you could rest in this great assurance. So you could follow him. So you could do the most unnatural thing in the whole world, right? Which is what? This is not natural. It's going to take supernatural grace. But you do that because you know He loves you. You know He gave Himself for you. You know that He followed years and years through His life to give the great assurance and affirmation that He is in control and He has a plan and purpose in all things and not only that, that He is with you. He's with you. Remember the words Jesus said as he talked about this incredible sacrifice, right? Of the seed losing its life that it might bear fruit in God's time. And Jesus said what? For where I am, there will my servant be. Our hope, our joy, our great promise is to be within. For he is not just a life, he's the life. As Paul wrote in Romans 6, we know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death. We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death in order that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk. and newness of life. There is life when we are united to him. May that be true of us.