Would you open your copy of the Word of the Lord to John chapter 12? John chapter 12. We'll read our passage in just a moment, but my mind goes back to decades ago. I believe it was my ninth grade year and a high school soccer game that we got to play against our dreaded rivals back then even, Rosemount. Yeah, that's what I thought. Yep, Rosemount. Ninth grade year, Rosemount was by far better than we were at soccer that year. We had no business winning that game. But the game went like this. It was a fall Minnesota day. It wasn't snowing yet, but it felt like it was cold enough to be snowing. And the wind was blowing 35, 40 miles an hour. And Rosemont was dominating from the beginning, shot after shot after shot, but the goalie on our team was having the game of his life. He was making Superman saves, he grew a third arm, whatever he had to do to make the save, and so many of their shots hit the crossbar, hit the posts, just barely missed, and they never scored. But we scored one goal. But here's how we scored our goal. Remember what I said about the wind? We had one random play where our defenseman just booted it down the field, and their goalie happened to misplay it. It bounced over his head and blew into the goal. That's how we scored our goal. And the horn sounded, and we won the game. One to nil. That's how you say it in soccer, I think. One to zero. And I remember my friend Jeff, after the game, We're walking towards our bus and he's talking to one of the Rosemount players. The Rosemount player said, man, you guys didn't really win that game. You know that, right? You know that you really didn't win that game. And all my friend Jeff had to do was what? Scoreboard. Scoreboard. One Southwest, nil Rosemount. As you read through the Gospels, as you read the account of Jesus Christ, and had you been there in the real moment of Jesus' ministering, you wouldn't be far off to wonder from one day to the next, is Jesus winning or is Jesus losing? What is the scoreboard? In our passage this morning, or this evening, excuse me, sorry, it's been a long weekend, This evening talks about one of those passages where it appears that Jesus is winning, humanly speaking. But the emotion flips pretty quickly. Let's read together John chapter 12, starting in verse 12. On the next day, the large crowd who had come to the feast, when they heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem, took the branches of the palm trees and went out to meet him, and began to shout, Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, even the king of Israel. Jesus, finding a young donkey, sat on it. As it is written, fear not, daughter of Zion, behold, your king is coming, seated on a donkey's colt. These things his disciples did not understand at first, but when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that these things were written of him, and that they had done these things to him. Verse 17, so the people, who were with him, when he called Lazarus out of the tomb and raised him from the dead, continued to testify about him. For this reason also the people went and met him because they heard that he had performed this sign. So the Pharisees said to one another, you see that you are doing no good. Look, the world has gone after him. Now there were some Greeks among those who were going up to worship at the feast. These then came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida of Galilee, and began to ask him, saying, Sir, we wish to see Jesus. Andrew and Philip came and told Jesus, and Jesus answered them, saying, 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. Verse 25. He who loves his life loses it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it to life eternal. If anyone serves me, he must follow me, and where I am, there my servant will be also. If anyone serves me, the Father will honor him." Let's pray together, shall we? Father, it's such a joy to be here. Thank you for the opportunity. I pray right now in Jesus' name that the Spirit would encourage our hearts. Lord, I pray for those here under the sound of the authority of the word of God who have not yet placed their faith in Jesus Christ, who might be playing a game or who might be seeking that they would see the true Jesus here, why he came. He did not come to establish a political kingdom, but to crush the head of the serpent and to give us spiritual salvation. And I pray today that they would believe. And Father, I pray for my brothers and sisters or walking in faith not by sight, that you would encourage their hearts. Father, we know that you know what you're doing, but we don't always understand why it has to be this way. So encourage our hearts to walk trustingly by faith. In Jesus' name we pray, amen. Jesus has been establishing and building his ministry throughout the Gospel of John, and we come to this point, the last week of his earthly life before the cross, and we ask ourselves the question, what does the scoreboard say? So as we answer that question, which scoreboard, or what is the price or the score on the scoreboard, let's walk through this narrative by looking at a few points. First of all, number one, the mystery of the circumstances. Excuse me, the mystery of the circumstances. We read verses 12 through 18 and we see a few particular phrases in these verses that John records to just get us a sense of what's going on. We read that there is a large crowd. And this is the feast of Passover, which is about to take place. There are at least six figures, some people say even seven figures of people who are in the city of Jerusalem. And I just want us to see for a moment, all of those people lining up the Mount of Olives, waiting for Jesus to crest the hill. to ride into the eastern gate into the temple court. Do you see them there? The large crowd who was there to celebrate their coming king and all of the excitement that was being spread from one person to the next as they realized what was happening? Do you see them waving the palm branches? By the way, what's with the palm branches? Why palm branches? There doesn't seem to be an Old Testament connection to palm branches with the coming Messiah. But palm branches did mean something to these Jewish people. For just a short while before Jesus, there was another political messiah, a political ruler, so to speak, by the name of Judas Maccabeus. Do you remember him? And what was Judas Maccabeus known for? He was the one that put down the reign of the Seleucid king Antiochus Epiphanes, who had desecrated the temple. And upon the rededication of that temple, after it had been cleansed, palm branches were a part of the ceremony. That's important for us to understand because these people are recognizing Jesus to be something that they want him to be, a political figure. a political messiah who will save them, because the text continues to go on and say, they went out to meet him, which is a Greek phrase which is used to describe going out to greet a dignitary. a political figure, they are going out and they are greeting the one who they think is coming to establish a political kingdom. And I want you to think about the people who were there in John chapter six when Jesus miraculously, supernaturally multiplied the loaves and the fishes and they tried to make him king at that point and he said no. And today they think that their plans are coming true. the excitement that is happening. Furthermore, they're quoting from Psalm 118, Hosanna, blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, even the king of Israel. Why are they quoting from Psalm 118? Well, if you were a Jewish person going up to Jerusalem, it was tradition to sing, to recite, to chant the Psalms, Psalm 113 through 118. Specifically, they remember God leading his people through people like Moses. And David, and others, and the end of Psalm 118 is a prayer. Hosanna, save us now. And they're praying that one would come in the name of Yahweh, even the King of Israel. And who are they ascribing the answer of their prayer to? To Jesus. The excitement cannot be overstated or understated. What's happening right now with Jesus riding into Jerusalem? But it's mysterious, because what's happening in the eyes of the people? Political salvation, but what is Jesus coming to actually accomplish? Look at verses 17 and 18 again with me. Just get a sense again of the excitement of these people. So the people who were with him when he called Lazarus out of the tomb and raised him from the dead continued to testify about him. For this reason also the people went and met him because they heard that he had performed this sign. Let's exercise our minds for a second with some sanctified speculation, shall we? If you were about to go to a war, if you were about to commit to warfare against your enemies, why would Jesus make you so excited if you were a Jew? Well, what do you need in warfare in real time? You need hydration and you need food. John chapter two, what did Jesus do? Turned water to wine. John chapter six, what did Jesus do? Multiplied the loaves and the fishes. If this guy is our general, unlimited food and drink, we can't lose. Furthermore, if you're going against the Romans, and inevitably, because it's gonna happen, war is war, and you take a Roman spear through the shoulder, you're out, right? War's over for you, right? No, what can Jesus do? He can not only lay hands on and heal you, but John 4, he can heal from a distance. We can't be stopped. And if that Roman centurion happens to be really good with his aim and you take a spear through the heart, it's over for you, right? No. John 11, Lazarus. Even if we should die on the battlefield, we will be raised. Guys, we cannot lose. This is the day of our salvation. Hosanna, he's coming. But there's something that the people miss. Turn over to Luke's gospel, chapter 17. The people are missing something. Even the disciples themselves, as Jesus ministers to them, struggle with this concept of the kingdom Christ is building. Luke 17, look at verse 20 with me. Scripture says, now having been questioned by the Pharisees as to when the kingdom of God was coming, he, Jesus, answered them and said, the kingdom of God is not coming with signs to be observed. Nor will they say, look, here it is, or there it is. For behold, the kingdom of God is in your midst. And he said to the disciples, the days will come when you will long to see one of the days of the son of man, and you will not see it. They will say to you, look there, look here. do not go away and do not run after them. For just like the lightning, when it flashes out of one part of the sky, shines to the other part of the sky, so will the son of man be in his day. But first, but first, he must suffer many things and be rejected by this generation. The people are excited for the glory of the kingdom to be restored, but it will not come the way they think. Jesus is building a misunderstood kingdom. It's a mystery. So what did the crowd miss? Go back to John's gospel, chapter 12, and John cites for us Zechariah 9, verses nine through 10. Fear not, daughter of Zion, behold, your king is coming, seated on a what? Now, stop and think for a second. If you were going to parade your wartime general into a city to invoke fear and awe on your enemy, what would you have Jesus ride in on? A donkey? No. A donkey's colt? No. What would you have Jesus ride in on? A war horse, a stallion, the biggest and strongest of horses. But Jesus rides in on a donkey's colt. as Scripture foretold. The crowd smells blood. What would they outfit Jesus with? War armor, war weapons, war chariot, war trumpets, war armies. But how did Jesus outfit himself? He was just Jesus on a donkey's colt, normal clothes. And Jesus is announcing a kingdom, but it's not going to be a kingdom of physical warfare. It's going to be a kingdom of peace. Jesus has come to establish peace, not through physical warfare, but through self-sacrifice. It's as he told Pilate in chapter 18, my kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, what would be happening? My servants would be fighting. so that I would not be handed over. But as it is, my kingdom is not of this realm. Jesus is mysteriously telling this crowd who cannot understand, a kingdom will be established, but it will not be through the shed blood of Romans, it will not be through the shed blood of Greeks or of Jews, it will be through the shed blood of one, Jesus, the Son of God, who will self-sacrifice himself. We see the mystery of the circumstances. And secondly, in the midst of it all, number two, we see the misunderstanding of the disciples. The misunderstanding of the disciples. Look at verse 16. These things his disciples did not understand at first. But when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that these things were written of him and that they had done these things to him. Just put yourself in the shoes of the sandals, in the sandals of the disciples for a second. Just imagine how they feel. Not long ago, we read in John chapter 11 that Jesus announced to his disciples, guys, we're going back to Jerusalem. And did that strike warm fuzzies in their heart? Yay, Jerusalem. No, what did they say? Lord, just to remind you, they're trying to kill you. So what does Thomas say when Jesus makes it clear? He says, let's go with him so that we may die with him. They're expecting death. They're not expecting a warm welcome, hosannas and palm branches. So can you imagine how their hearts soar when they're walking down and saying, guys, we're winning, the scoreboard just changed, we're winning, we're winning. It's been an emotional roller coaster for them. They're excited for the kingdom. Yesterday, everyone hated them. Today, everyone loves them, but they do not understand what is happening. We saw a similar statement by John back in chapter two. When Jesus spoke of his temple of his body being broken down and raised up on the third day, they did not understand until after his death, after his resurrection, after his ascension, after his glorification. And Jesus continues to minister to his disciples regarding this. In chapter 13, verse seven, he tells them as he washes their feet, you don't understand what I'm doing right now, but you will understand. And in chapter 14, verse 26, he connects this to the ministry of the Holy Spirit that is coming. He tells them, but the helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you. And Jesus says a very similar thing in chapter 15, verse 26, and John 16, verse 13. The disciples, Get it, but they don't got it. They get it, but they don't completely understand. This is a roller coaster for them. Does that sound like the Christian life for you? Do you know where you're going when you die? Can you say amen to that? Do you know what's gonna happen tomorrow? Do you know God is in control of everything that he does? Please say amen. But do you understand why? Do you have hope? Are you ever afraid that your hope might disappoint you? In Romans chapter five, Paul begins a four chapter section on the marvelous, just the marvelous concept of justification by faith. And the implications of justification and sanctification and glorification. And he says in chapter five, verse one, therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have obtained our introduction by faith into this grace in which we stand and we exult in hope of the glory of God. Amen and amen. to the reality of justification, and knowing that what God has declared justified, no one can declare unjust, and no sin can undo that declaration. And yet, in verse three, Paul goes on to say, and not only this, but we also exult in our tribulations? Really? Knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance. Yeah, but why do I need perseverance? Why can't God just make the path easy for me? And perseverance, proven character. When am I good enough, Lord? And proven character, hope. And hope does not disappoint. Have you ever hoped for something and been disappointed? Any Minnesota Twins fans in the house? Still not as bad as the White Sox. That's our only hope. Can we be better than the White Sox? Which isn't too hard. But have you ever had a hope that disappoints? You know the truth, beloved. God is holding you. You know where you are going. You know what the end looks like. You know that you are going to be glorified, and yet on the way you struggle through sanctification. You do things that you're not supposed to do. You don't do things that you know you're supposed to do, and we are living right now in the fog of war. Do you feel it? Do you feel it? I'm hearing bombs going on around me. I'm seeing things whiz past my head. That was close. I think we're winning. I think we're winning. I'm not sure though. Are you my friend or are you my enemy? We don't know where we are all the time, but we know God is holding us and keeping us and taking us to the end. through the ministry of the Spirit, verse five, and hope does not disappoint because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us. And Paul continues to go on to say, if God went to such great lengths to purchase our salvation, how will he not also freely give us all good things and bless us and hold us and keep us But beloved, the point is we walk by faith and not by sight. Are we winning? Yes. Does it feel like we're winning? Not always. Sometimes we say like Jeremiah did in chapter 12, verse two, why are the wicked prospering? Why are all those who deal in treachery at ease? Sometime we say with David in Psalm 13, how long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever? And yet through the gracious gift that God gives us of lament, we can turn with David at the end, but blessed is the one who puts their trust in you. Have you ever been tempted, like in Psalm 37, to be envious and to get yourself worked up over wrongdoers who seem to be the ones who are winning and you choose not to trust? But the psalmist says, delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord. Trust also in Him and He will do it. Guys, do you? I hate not understanding what the Lord is doing. Do you hate it? I hate not knowing the details of what God is doing. But it's not our job to understand. It's our job to trust. Some of us need to hear this this evening. Your faithful God does not do things arbitrarily. Some of us need to hear this. God does not wake up and have a bad day and choose to make your life miserable and take it out on you. It's not how our God operates. Our God loves us. Do we trust him, even though we don't understand? God has a perfect plan and is working it out now in ways that we cannot even begin to understand. But it feels like a rollercoaster. Are we winning? Are we losing? I don't know, I don't understand. But God will make it real one day. God will make it plain one day. So I will trust God. I will not fix my eyes on the wrong scoreboard. I may not get it, but God's got me. The misunderstanding of the disciples. Speaking of a rollercoaster of emotions, look at verse 19. So the Pharisees said to one another, you see that you are not doing any good. Look, the world has gone after him. We see the misery of the Pharisees. The misery of the Pharisees. The Pharisees right now are looking at the scoreboard and who do they think is winning? Jesus. And they're not too happy about it. And I think John is putting our minds back to chapter 11 where Caiaphas makes a prophecy. And he says, guys, let's stop complaining. It's better for us. It's to our advantage that one man die for the nation. Let's just let this run its course, and Jesus will be taken care of. Well, the Pharisees right now are looking at their head coach Caiaphas and saying, Caiaphas, your game plan stinks. And you're fired. You've lost the locker room, coach. The culture of the team stinks, and you're done. The world's going after him. The rollercoaster has just begun for them, for at the end of the week, they'll think they're winning again. They will pierce Jesus Christ through to the cross. And at the end of the week, they will be rejoicing, but some 50 days later, they will be grieving. And God, in his amazing grace, will offer salvation to those who pierced his son through. But right now, they're miserable, because Jesus's glory is outshining their glory. We move on, number four, we read of the motivation of the Greeks. The motivation of the Greeks, verse 20. Now there were some Greeks among those who were going up to worship at the feast. Who are these Greeks? Why does John suddenly mention Greek people here in our text? Well, John's ultimately silent as to why, but it's likely to mention what was said back in verse 19, that the world has gone after him. For example, the Greeks. The Greeks are likely either God-fearing Greeks who had not embraced Judaism and would be welcome in the court of the Gentiles, or they would be Greeks who had embraced Judaism and were full-blown proselytes and had been circumcised and celebrated the feasts, the sacrifices, the liturgy, and they could go farther into the temple. But why do they seek out Philip? Why Philip? Why not Peter? Wasn't Peter the leader? Well, the scripture says that Philip was from Bethsaida in Galilee, which is near the region of Decapolis, which was a Greek dominant area. Maybe they recognized him. Maybe they heard his name was Philip and said, that's one of us. He knows our language. Let's go talk to him. But why do they want to talk to Jesus? Do they sense the political salvation that's coming? And they're saying to themselves, we got to get on the right side. We need to make sure we're on the winning team. So can we go talk to your general to make sure we can be with this? Send the word. We'll go back to Decapolis right now. We'll send the word and all of our troops will be rallied and we'll put the win on the scoreboard. Furthermore, are Andrew and Peter not sure what to do here? Are they thinking to themselves, is the kingdom for the Gentiles? Can we do this? Are we authorized to do this? We better go to Jesus. And I want you to see all of them come to Jesus. I want you to think of them in the locker room. Jesus, draw up the play on the whiteboard. They're in the war room. What is the strategy? How are we gonna win, the Jews and our international allies? What is the play, Jesus? And Jesus says, I have a play. It's a secret play. And guys, trust me, they'll never see it coming. They will never see it coming. Look at verse 23. And Jesus answered them saying, the hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. And at that moment, I think they all cheered. Because they have a certain glory in mind. But then the energy is taken out of the room when Jesus says in verse 24, truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat dies, falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone. But if it dies, it bears much fruit. The disciples have been told multiple times that Jesus' hour had not yet come. But now, Coach Jesus says, the hour has come, guys. Yes, let's go get the W. But Jesus tells them, no, this victory is not the type of victory that you have in mind. This is a different type of victory. You want the glory of the political kingdom of Israel. You want the glory of the political king of Israel. You want your place in the kingdom. These guys argued over and over and over who was gonna be the greatest in the kingdom. Even after the resurrection, they asked Jesus in Acts 1-6, are you now gonna restore the kingdom to Israel? They loved the idea of glory. But Jesus says, no, I have a different game plan that they'll never see coming, and let me express it through an agrarian illustration. How about this, guys? Instead of all of you going out there and fighting, instead of all of us going out there and killing many so that a few can have life, how about this? How about I go die by myself so that you can all live? What? Jesus, I don't think you understand what glory is. If we lose you, we don't win. You understand that, right? And Jesus is saying, guys, you're looking at the wrong scoreboard. This is not what winning looks like to establish this political kingdom. If I do not die for you, nobody wins. I'm not here to give you what you want. I'm here to give you what you need. And what you need more than anything is not a political kingdom over an enemy called Rome. You need victory over your enemies of sin and death. I'm not here to crush Rome. I'm here to crush the head of the serpent. That's why I'm here. This must happen. While the crowd is cheering and singing and celebrating, that Jesus is coming into Jerusalem to restore the kingdom in this glorious day. What was Jesus doing as he wrote on that colt? Luke 19 tells us he was crying because he knows they don't get it. They're like sheep without a shepherd and they're not going to listen. And this humble king will be processed like a king into the eastern gate today, but in five days, he will come out of that gate again, carrying a cross, and he will be charged to die a death of a rebellious criminal, not so glorious. But on the third day, what appeared to be a seemingly futile death is revealed to be the most meaningful thing to ever happen in human history. The Son of God is risen with power. So we've seen the mystery of the circumstances. We've seen the misunderstanding of the disciples. We've seen the misery of the Pharisees. We've seen the motivation of the Greeks. We've seen the mission of Jesus. And now we see number six, the message for us. The message for us. He who loves his life, verse 25, loses it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it to life eternal. If anyone serves me, he must follow me, and where I am, there my servant will be also. If anyone serves me, the Father will honor him. Jesus came to die for us so that we might live, but living in Jesus is to die to this world and follow his example. What are you looking at in life right now that you are tempted to look at to determine whether or not you are winning? Idaho is a very political state. They're pretty excited that Donald Trump is in office. They think that means God is happy with us and we're winning. They think it a little too much, and I'm sorry for all the Idahoans who are watching me, Are you looking at your career right now and saying, the things are going well, God must be happy with me, the scoreboard is in my favor. Are you looking at your family and saying, my spouse loves me, my kids are wonderful, or are you looking at them and saying, my marriage is on the rocks, and my kids used to profess Jesus, and now they've walked away. Is that the scoreboard for you? You look at the economy, how many lost a lot of money in the last month in their stock portfolio? Is that your scoreboard? How many of your sports teams are not doing well? How about your church? You look at your church and you say, our church is in a good spot, so things are well, or the church is not in a good spot, whatever that means for you, so things aren't well. However we're progressing or how much is happening, what scoreboard are you looking at? Or how many of us tonight are saying, God, why me? Why do I have to carry that burden? Do you even love me? Have I lost favor with you? Why do I suffer when the wicked prosper? What scoreboard are you looking at? What kingdom are you worried about? Are you worried about building your kingdom on this world? Or are you secure knowing that God has transferred you from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of light, the kingdom of his son, so that you are leaving this world behind and living for the glory that awaits you? Jesus came to die so that we could be delivered. His death does not mean he lost. It means he wins. Are you on the winning side of the scoreboard because you have placed your faith and trust in Jesus Christ? Have you denied yourself and the futile attempt of loving your life and trying to accomplish salvation or sanctification in any other way but the finished work of Jesus? Which scoreboard are you looking at this evening? And what about if you know that you're on the winning side, but right now it really feels like you're losing? Well, my friends, I would encourage you to remember the example of Jesus. Jesus is not calling us to do something that he himself did not do. He set the example for us. Jesus knows what it means to weep at the tomb of a good friend who has died. Jesus knows the lament and the pain and the suffering that comes from living in a broken world. He made the world. He came into the world. He witnessed the fall of the world. And He will take the sin of the world upon Himself. He knows. No one will taste the bitterness of sin and death more than Jesus did. No one knows more than Him how horrible this world is, but He entered into our world and died to lift us up to the hope of glory in suffering. He's summoning us tonight to trust Him and to look to Him in faith. Which scoreboard are you looking at tonight? What you see around you is not the scoreboard. When you are tempted to doubt, look at the blazing, perfect righteousness of the finished work of Jesus Christ, your Savior and mine, and say, that is the scoreboard that I am gonna fix my eyes on. Father, give us grace to walk as Jesus walked, giving up our rights lamenting but not complaining, wrestling but trusting. And may you give us grace like His to see that suffering lifts us to glory. In Jesus' name we pray, amen.