A Snapshot of Jesus as King - Its Significance and Its Value for Today

John 12:9-18

The British Monarchy

Was/Is Jesus King?

⁹ Then a large crowd of the Jews learned he was there. They came not only because of Jesus but also to see Lazarus, the one he had raised from the dead. ¹⁰ But the chief priests had decided to kill Lazarus also, ¹¹ because he was the reason many of the Jews were deserting them and believing in Jesus. (John 12:9-11)

¹² The next day, when the large crowd that had come to the festival heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem, ¹³ they took palm branches and went out to meet him. They kept shouting:

“Hosanna!�Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord —the King of Israel!” (John 12:12-13)

¹⁴ Jesus found a young donkey and sat on it, just as it is written:

¹⁵ Do not be afraid,�Daughter Zion. Look, your King is coming,�sitting on a donkey’s colt.^�16 His disciples did not understand these things at first. However, when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that these things had been written about him and that they had done these things to him. (John 12:14-16)

¹⁷ Meanwhile, the crowd, which had been with him when he called Lazarus out of the tomb and raised him from the dead, continued to testify. ¹⁸ This is also why the crowd met him, because they heard he had done this sign. ¹⁹ Then the Pharisees said to one another, “You see? You’ve accomplished nothing. Look, the world has gone after him!” (John 12:17-19)

⁹ Then a large crowd of the Jews learned he was there. They came not only because of Jesus but also to see Lazarus, the one he had raised from the dead. ¹⁰ But the chief priests had decided to kill Lazarus also, ¹¹ because he was the reason many of the Jews were deserting them and believing in Jesus. (John 12:9-11)

⁹ Then a large crowd of the Jews learned he was there. They came not only because of Jesus but also to see Lazarus, the one he had raised from the dead. ¹⁰ But the chief priests had decided to kill Lazarus also, ¹¹ because he was the reason many of the Jews were deserting them and believing in Jesus. (John 12:9-11)

The Context and the Meaning of the Triumphal Entry

Part A

The Triumphal Entry to Jerusalem

Matthew 21:1–11; Mark 11:1–11; Luke 19:29–38; John 12:9-18

¹² The next day, when the large crowd that had come to the festival heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem, ¹³ they took palm branches and went out to meet him. They kept shouting:

“Hosanna!�Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord —the King of Israel!” (John 12:12-13)

Palm Sunday

D. A. Carson, The Gospel according to John, The Pillar New Testament Commentary

“Josephus (Bel. vi. 422–425) describes one Passover, just before the Jewish War (ad 66–70), when 2,700,000 people took part, not counting the defiled and the foreigners who were present in the city. Even if his numbers are inflated, the crowds were undoubtedly immense.”

¹² The next day, when the large crowd that had come to the festival heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem, ¹³ they took palm branches and went out to meet him. They kept shouting:

“Hosanna!�Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord —the King of Israel!” (John 12:12-13)

D. A. Carson, The Gospel according to John, The Pillar New Testament Commentary

“When Simon the Maccabee drove the Syrian forces out of the Jerusalem citadel he was fêted with music and the waving of palm branches (cf. 1 Macc. 13:51, 141 BC), which had also been prominent at the rededication of the temple (2 Macc. 10:7, 164 BC)…Palms appear on the coins struck by the insurgents during the Jewish wars against Rome (ad 66–70, 132–135); indeed, the use of the palm as a symbol for Judea was sufficiently well established that the coins struck by the Romans to celebrate their victory also sported it.”

¹² The next day, when the large crowd that had come to the festival heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem, ¹³ they took palm branches and went out to meet him. They kept shouting:

“Hosanna!�Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord —the King of Israel!” (John 12:12-13)

Psalm 118:25-26

²⁵ “Lord, save us!

Lord, please grant us success!�

²⁶ He who comes in the name

of the Lord is blessed.

From the house of the Lord we bless you.”

Psalm 118:25-26

²⁵ “Lord, save us!

Lord, please grant us success!

​

²⁶ He who comes in the name

of the Lord is blessed.

From the house of the Lord we bless you.”

Psalm 118:25-26

²⁵ “Lord, save us!

Lord, please grant us success!�

²⁶ He who comes in the name

of the Lord is blessed.

From the house of the Lord we bless you.”

¹² The next day, when the large crowd that had come to the festival heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem, ¹³ they took palm branches and went out to meet him. They kept shouting:

“Hosanna!�Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord —the King of Israel!” (John 12:12-13)

The People’s First Attempt to Make Jesus as their King

John 6:15

¹⁴ Jesus found a young donkey and sat on it, just as it is written:

¹⁵ Do not be afraid,�Daughter Zion. Look, your King is coming,�sitting on a donkey’s colt.^�16 His disciples did not understand these things at first. However, when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that these things had been written about him and that they had done these things to him. (John 12:14-16)

 Colin G. Kruse, John: An Introduction and Commentary, vol. 4, Tyndale New Testament Commentaries

“The quotation is from Zechariah 9:9, where the Lord is portrayed not in a militaristic fashion mounted on a war-horse but as a king of peace sitting on a donkey. In fact, the following verse, Zechariah 9:10, says he will take away chariots and war-horses from Ephraim and Jerusalem, and proclaim peace to the nations.

In conscious fulfilment of this prophecy Jesus entered Jerusalem on a donkey to show he was the king of the Jews, not the militaristic Messiah of popular expectation but the universal prince of peace.”

¹⁴ Jesus found a young donkey and sat on it, just as it is written:

¹⁵ Do not be afraid,�Daughter Zion. Look, your King is coming,�sitting on a donkey’s colt.^�16 His disciples did not understand these things at first. However, when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that these things had been written about him and that they had done these things to him. (John 12:14-16)

“What does “Jesus as King” mean to to us?”

Part B

2Samuel 7:12-13

“¹² When your time comes and you rest with your ancestors, I will raise up after you your descendant, who will come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. ¹³ He is the one who will build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever.”

JESUS IS KING

If Jesus is King, it must evoke a response of confidence.

Jesus’ reign as King had no beginning and it has no end. �Jesus is King forevermore. �

Revelation 11:15

“The kingdom of the world has become�    the kingdom of our Lord and of his Messiah,�    and he will reign for ever and ever.”

Jesus is King is because He is great, not because He came in glory, but because He stepped down to to reign on High.

Revelation 19:13

“He wore a robe dipped in blood, and his name is called the Word of God.”

John Piper, Desiring God

“What he wants us to hear – what Jesus wants us to see – is that, yes, he is king, yes his kingship is not provincial or tribal or national, but international and global and universal. But it is for now meek, lowly, welcoming, seeking, forgiving, patient.”

John 3:17

¹⁷ For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.”

Jesus is King because He is for you and me.

John 18:36

³⁶ “My kingdom is not of this world,” said Jesus. “If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would fight, so that I wouldn’t be handed over to the Jews. But as it is, my kingdom is not from here.”

If we declare Jesus as King, it transforms: �(By David Wollen from Haven Today)�

1. How we understand salvation — It’s all His work, not ours.
2. Where we find security — In God’s faithfulness, not our performance.
3. What we prioritize — His glory becomes our ultimate goal.
4. How we face trials — Trusting His sovereign purposes.

Jesus was King in the beginning. Jesus was King in the Flesh. Jesus is King Right now.

Has He changed your heart to recognize Him as YOUR King?

¹⁷ Meanwhile, the crowd, which had been with him when he called Lazarus out of the tomb and raised him from the dead, continued to testify. ¹⁸ This is also why the crowd met him, because they heard he had done this sign. ¹⁹ Then the Pharisees said to one another, “You see? You’ve accomplished nothing. Look, the world has gone after him!” (John 12:17-19)

Remember…

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