2017.04.30 John 12: 12-
26
Five days to the Cross
Good Morning…. I am glad to be with you this morning… I
have Good News for You! His name is
Jesus… We are on a great adventure… We are Experiencing the Life and ministry of Jesus… Once again this
morning we are studying the Gospel of
John…
We are very close to the cross of Christ… Open your Bible
to John’s gospel chapter 12… We have come to the last week of His life in
Jerusalem… Jesus is headed for the cross on Friday… We have already begun this twelfth chapter… Last
week… We looked at the supper that Jesus had with Mary and Martha and Lazarus
at the home of “Simon the former Leper”… Clearly Jesus had cleansed him… No one
had ever heard of healing a Leper… He had a wonderful time on that Saturday spending
time with those He loved… They showed that they were genuine disciples… Martha served… Mary worshipped at Jesus
feet… and Lazarus had great fellowship with the one who had raised him from
the dead…
There was huge crowd already gathered in Bethany… They had come to see Him… There was also a
massive crowd of perhaps hundreds of thousands in the city of Jerusalem… They were getting ready for the many events
leading up to Passover... The
year is A.D. 30… It is Jesus final
Passover… It is the time that God has planned
for Him to die… He will be killed as the
Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world… All of the sacrifices that
died through those years could not take away sin... They pictured Jesus´ death on the cross… He
is the one true sacrifice…
It is His
sacrifice that allows God’s mercy, compassion, loving-kindness, and grace
to reach the sinner and provide eternal life…
Two weeks ago… On
Palm Sunday…. We looked looked at the entry of Jesus into Jerusalem… This
morning we will revisit the triumphal
entry of Jesus into Jerusalem… That is fine because… It is one of the most
important events in all of human History… It was prophesied by Daniel 500 years
before Jesus was born… So looking back at the Triumphal entry… Let´s read
John´s account… look with me at John
12:12…
John
12: 12-26 NKJV slt 2000
12
The next day a great multitude that had come to the feast, when they heard that
Jesus was coming to Jerusalem, 13 took branches of palm trees and went out to
meet Him, and cried out: “Hosanna! ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the
Lord!’ The King of Israel!”
14
Then Jesus, when He had found a young donkey, sat on it; as it is written:
15
“Fear not, daughter of Zion; Behold, your King is coming, Sitting on a donkey’s
colt.”
16
His disciples did not understand these things at first; but when Jesus was
glorified, then they remembered that these things were written about Him and
that they had done these things to Him.
17
Therefore the people, who were with Him when He called Lazarus out of his tomb
and raised him from the dead, bore witness. 18 For this reason the people also
met Him, because they heard that He had done this sign. 19 The Pharisees
therefore said among themselves, “You see that you are accomplishing nothing.
Look, the world has gone after Him!”
20
Now there were certain Greeks among those who came up to worship at the feast.
21 Then they came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida of Galilee, and asked him,
saying, “Sir, we wish to see Jesus.”
22
Philip came and told Andrew, and in turn Andrew and Philip told Jesus.
23
But Jesus answered them, saying, “The hour has come that the Son of Man should
be glorified. 24 Most assuredly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls
into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much
grain. 25 He who loves his life will lose it, and he who hates his life in this
world will keep it for eternal life. 26 If anyone serves Me, let him follow Me;
and where I am, there My servant will be also. If anyone serves Me, him My
Father will honor.
The raising of Lazarus has put an exclamation point on
His three years of impossible miracles… Incredible… He raised Lazarus from the
dead… It is His last great public miracle…
When He comes into the city of Jerusalem… Word was spreading everywhere… The crowds
heard about raising Lazarus from the dead… This could be the Messiah… He arrives to their, “Hosannas, hail the Son
of David,” This is a Messianic title….
They are thrilled... They are
hopeful… Many believed in Him… At least on the surface… Many of them were only
fans of Jesus…
By the time Jesus comes to the end of His earthly ministry…
He had ministered to hundreds of thousands of people all over Galilee… Here at
this Triumphal >Entry…. There are huge crowds that have now hailed Him as King Messiah… And yet
when we get to the early church in
the Book of Acts… There are 120 believers in Jerusalem and 500 in
Galilee… Perhaps a few more… But a very few in comparison to the many
who had heard His words of Life…
Now we all know how they responded His entry that day… scroll down to v12-15…
In verse 13… He
was greeted with cries of “Hosanna.” By the way…. The triumphal Entry is
recorded in all of the Gospels… It was a
Glorious day…. Finally Jesus has allowed Himself to be proclaimed for Who His….
The Great King Messiah… And yet by Friday… Some of this crowd will be
screaming… “Crucify Him! Crucify Him!” We don’t want this man to reign over us. “We have no king but Caesar.” John 19:14–15…
They did not understand the big picture… We had a street
outreach yesterday… Thank you everyone who helped… It was awesome… It is always
an eye opener to talk to people about Jesus… I received a fresh reminder of the
very narrow way people look at Jesus… They do not want to be told about the
need to repent and turn from sin… Culture has almost totally rejected the fact
that Man is sinful by nature…
I witnessed to a man yesterday who was very upset to hear
that the wages of Sin is death… He said… I don´t like that… I don´t want to
hear that… That is offensive to me… You people should not be talking like this…
I grew up Evangelical… That is not the Jesus I learned about… People want a Jesus who is
warm and loving… He like many “Christians” do not understand the Gospel… He
like many in the crowd with Jesus that day… Are either unwilling to repent… Or
they have not counted the cost of following Jesus yet…
Look with me at the Ambassadors for Christ passage… in 2
Corinthians 5… Paul said we Christians are not crazy to warn you… read the
whole chapter when you can… for the sake of time let´s begin at v14…
2
Corinthians 5: 14-21 NKJV slt 2000
14
Either way, Christ’s love controls us. Since we believe that Christ died for
all, we also believe that we have all died to our old life. 15 He died for
everyone so that those who receive his new life will no longer live for
themselves. Instead, they will live for Christ, who died and was raised for
them. 16 So we have stopped evaluating others from a human point of view. At
one time we thought of Christ merely from a human point of view. How
differently we know him now! 17 This means that anyone who belongs to Christ
has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun! 18 And all
of this is a gift from God, who brought us back to himself through Christ. And
God has given us this task of reconciling people to him. 19 For God was in
Christ, reconciling the world to himself, no longer counting people’s sins
against them. And he gave us this wonderful message of reconciliation. 20 So we
are Christ’s ambassadors; God is making his appeal through us. We speak for
Christ when we plead, “Come back to God!” 21 For God made Christ, who never
sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God
through Christ.
Like Paul… We are not crazy to warn others… It is the love of God that moves us… He moves us
to reach out to this lost and dying world with the Good News…. There is mercy and forgiveness to be found… It
is at the foot of the cross… That is
why we plead with people to repent and receive
the Lord Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord… That is why we ask every week
that Jesus would fill our mouths with His words of life… And
as Jesus… said… “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and
take up his cross daily, and follow Me… Luke 9:23… Wenn einer von euch mit mir gehen
will, muss er sich selbst verleugnen, jeden Tag aufs Neue sein Kreuz auf sich
nehmen und mir nachfolgen.
Back to John 12…
verses 16-19…
The scriptures were all being fulfilled in every detail…
Some of these things did not make sense to them at the time…. But v16… after it
is all over then … They said…. Now we understand… I know that this is true in
our own lives… Often we have no idea why the things that we are going through
could ever be part of God´s good and grace filled plan… But they are… That is
what we see all through the scriptures… Well on this day… They were ready to
crown Him King Messiah and put a real royal crown on His head… But sadly…
Instead in just a few days…. They will put a crown of thorns on Him instead...
They were ready to lift Him up on His forever kingdom throne…
They ended up lifting Him upon a cruel Roman cross… From “Hosanna to the King… To “Crucify Him!”
When
Jesus entered Jerusalem that day…. He was giving them one last chance to repent
and turn from their sin…
Israel was given a final offer… The leaders made a final rejection… Verse 17 tells us the people were
talking about the resurrection of Lazarus...
The people who had been with Him
when He called Lazarus out of the tomb… They spread the word… This had a tremendous effect… Many came to
Him… verse 18…
Were people attracted to Him? Absolutely… Were they stunned by Him? Of course they were… Had they ever seen anything like it? Not at all… A man who raises dead people… a
man who heals everyone who came to Him… There was never a person like this… This is
the most attractive human being that ever drew a crowd on the planet, but in
the end… For most them… their interest was only superficial…
Let´s look ahead at John
chapter 12, verse 42…
John
12: 42,43
NKJV slt 2000
42
Nevertheless even among the rulers many believed in Him, but because of the
Pharisees they did not confess Him, lest they should be put out of the
synagogue; 43 for they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God.
Even some of the religious leaders believed… But their
position and power was far more important to them… They loved the approval of
men more than the approval of God… And like many others… They believe in Jesus in some sense... But they will not commit to Him...
That is because they were unwilling to commit their lives
to Him… They had a superficial interest
in Jesus… But it never turned into repentance from the heart… It did not become
genuine saving faith… Back to John
12…v19… scroll down…
v19… you
are accomplishing nothing. Look, the world has gone after Him!”
They did not know what to do about Jesus… Nothing was working… And now He is being proclaimed King And Messiah…
By now all of the leaders were trying to stop Jesus…
But they could not stop the plan of God... No matter what they did… They tried to arrest Him… They couldn’t do it… So
they rejected Jesus… God will
move through their rejection to take the gospel to the world… He will move in
the hearts of the Gentiles… He will bring bring the world to Christ… It is not yet true… But soon the whole world
will hear about Jesus…. And will come to Him…
Notice what happens immediately in verse 20... scroll
down for v20-26
v20…
Now there were some Greeks There were some Gentiles... It means all non-Jews… There were some Gentiles among those who were
going up to worship at the feast, proselytes…
They were called God-fearers...
Did God know Israel would reject their Messiah…? Yes of
course… That’s why God prophesied the
time would come when He would call a new people who were not His people… Romans 9 and Hosea 2… Do you remember what happened in John 4… Jesus first revealed Himself as the Messiah
to a Samaritan woman… She was not Jewish… In John 10 when He was talking
about being the Good Shepherd, He said, “I have sheep of another fold,” He was
talking about the Gentiles…
So here in verse 20… Right after the final rejection of
Jesus by the Jewish leaders… Jesus greets these gentiles… Jesus begins to
reveal Himself as the Savoir of the World… Showing that He saves everyone who
cries out to him… Now we have a new day… This is the dawning of a new era… Gentiles seeking
Jesus… v21…
v21… Sir, we wish to see Jesus
Whatever they had already heard about Jesus… they wanted to learn more about Him… Maybe they knew Haggai 2:7... You know what that
verse speaks of? It’s
Messianic... When the Messiah comes… He
will be the desire of all nations...
Jesus
was about to become known as the Savior of the Gentiles… The world is beginning to come to Him… and
here are some non-Jews who demonstrate it…
This is the beginning of the church… It is made up of
Jews and Gentiles… These Greeks become the symbolic
first fruits of the global harvest to come… v23…
v23…“And
Jesus answered them saying, ‘The hour has come for the Son of Man to be
glorified.’”
“Son
of Man” is a Messianic term found in Daniel 7...
Daniel ch 7 says… The Son of Man will be glorified in His
kingdom and establish it forever and ever… Jesus again goes on the prophesy His
coming death… …
v24…
“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.” It is finally time to establish my Kingdom…
But there will not be a kingdom unless I die first... He
will be glorified in His substitutionary death in our place...
That’s why in Luke
24: 25-27… He told those disciples on the Road to Emmaus, the Messiah must
suffer and die… He puts our sin away by the sacrifice of
Himself…
This is why the cross is so Important… It is
a stumbling block to those who refuse to
repent… Most people will not even admit that man is sinful… But it is the truth and Jesus says it…. You cannot
save yourself… I must die… This is the wonderful power of Calvary’s
cross… The harvest comes only through His death and
resurrection… That was the joy that was
set before Him and why He endured the
cross… Hebrews 12: 1,2…
After Jesus predicts His death… He gives this invitation…
Notice verse 25…
V25… 25 He who loves his life will lose it, and he who
hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life…
Then in verse 26,
“26 If anyone serves Me, let him follow
Me… and then again toward the
end, “If anyone.”
This is a wide open invitation… but it is an invitation to
die. It is an invitation to die… If you love your life… You
lose it… If you love the life you have…
you lose your life forever... If you
hate the life in this world… if you hate what your life is… If you charish your life of sin and selfishness… If
you refuse to give it up…. You will die godless and hopeless… but if you
hate that kind of life… and you abandon it
for Me… You will receive eternal life...
It isn’t simply believing that Jesus is… It is
necessary that you turn from your sins and repent and believe the Gospel… It
is the first step… Then as we call Him Lord… We also learn to do what He tells
us to do… Why do you call me Lord… Lord… and not do what I tell you to do… Luke
6:46… This is why there are so many false converts… They love the life they have in this world…
and they are unwilling to abandon it…. The scriptures are clear… It is not that
someone cannot believe… It is that they refuse to repent and turn from their
sin and pride and rebellion…
Look with me at one last scripture… Luke 9:
Luke
9: 23-25
NKJV slt 2000
23
Then He said to them all, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny
himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me. 24 For whoever desires to
save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will save
it. 25 For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and is
himself destroyed or lost?
Salvation does not come to people who merely believe in
the Lord Jesus Christ… but rather to (
Sondern?) people who turn from their sin… repent and call out to God to forgive
them and save them from sin and self…
That is why Jesus
said… Count the cost… It involves
hating your life in this world… giving up your life… and following the Lord
Jesus Christ… verse 26… The benefits of
genuine repentance include peace and Joy and life eternal… And
one more thing… If we serve the Lord Jesus… Then the Father will
honor us… That is way better than the praise of men… Follow the Lord Jesus Christ… deny yourself… For some… We may even face death for the sake
of the gospel…
The Pharisees were right… The world has begun to go after
Him… What about you… Today is the day…
Tomorrow is promised to no man… Repent and cry out to Him… He will forgive you
and wash your sins away… Let´s pray…
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