John 12:12-19
April 13, 2025
When you were growing up, some of you may have played a game known as , “King of the Hill.” The rules for this game were pretty simple. You designate an area as the “hill.” This usually consisted of a mound of dirt, or a hill in someone’s backyard; or a pile of snow in the wintertime. The person on top of the hill was the king and everyone else had one goal: to push or pull or wrestle the king off of the hill so that you could become the king. And if you became king, you then had to fight the others to prevent them from knocking you off the hill. I don’t know if children play this game very often today, but I would guess that it was a game that children have played for many years – probably for generations.
In our Gospel lesson for today we hear about a king – King Jesus. However, this King did not fight to stay on top of a hill. Rather, King Jesus revealed what kind of King he is by willingly coming down from the hill in peace, humility, friendship, and love. The Bible tells us that Jesus was at a hill called the Mount of Olives when He sent two of His disciples to get a colt for Him to ride. Jesus got on that colt and as He came down the hill, people starting lining the street to see Him as He approached Jerusalem.
I’m sure this had to be quite a sight as large crowds of people were scrambling to get a glimpse of the man they heard about, but maybe had never seen in person. However this was not the first time that large crowds of people had gathered to see Jesus. Many times in the Gospels we are told that Jesus taught or healed large crowds of people who came to see Him. Or consider the story of when Jesus fed over 5000 people with just 5 loaves of bread and 2 fish. So large crowds coming to see Jesus was not necessarily unusual, but there was something different about this day – something different in the actions and words of the people. They waved palm branches and placed their cloaks on the road to welcome Jesus, something that was reserved for
the arrival of a king. As Jesus entered Jerusalem, the people shouted, “Hosanna! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord! Blessed is the King of Israel!” The word “Hosanna” means “save us,” but from what did the crowd want Jesus to save them? What exactly did they want Jesus to do?
Save them from the Roman government that was ruling their land, treating them like second-class citizens and taxing them into submission? Save them from the problems they had at home, such as a difficult marriage, unemployment, a disease, the pain from the death of a loved one, or loneliness and make life more enjoyable?
“Save us, Lord” is kind of a natural response when tragedy strikes, when sorrow or sadness comes, when we’re facing financial difficulties, when we’re facing limitations, or when our future seems uncertain. But again, from what are people looking to be saved? Save us from the things we don’t like, from things that make us uncomfortable, or from things that are scary? What were the people looking for Jesus to do for them? What do we want Jesus to do for us?
Jesus certainly cares about the things that you are I are going through today. In fact, God invites us to call upon Him when we are hurting saying, “Call on me in the day of trouble and I will deliver you, and you will honor me” (Psalm 50:15). Jesus definitely sees and cares about our struggles, fears, problems, and sorrows. He loves us and wants to help us. Just look at Jesus’ life and ministry. He was interested in people. He was involved in their lives. His miracles relieved people’s suffering and allowed them to enjoy life more fully. I’m sure He saves us from problems and struggles or gives us the strength to endure them more than we realize. But if that’s all we re looking for Jesus to do, then like many in that Palm Sunday crowd, we will also have miss who this man riding into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday truly is for us.
If Jesus came only to save us from the struggles of this life and to make us comfortable for now or for the next 70, 80, or 90 years, knowing that when the end comes, we will be lost
forever, separated from Him for eternity in hell, then Jesus isn’t much of a Savior at all. The fact is, Jesus does not want you to be temporarily comfortable or happy, He wants you to know real joy and peace forever.
It’s kind of like going to the doctor, because you have chronic pain. The doctor says, “You can have surgery that will permanently relieve the pain, although the recovery will take a while; or I can treat your symptoms with some medication that will bring temporary relief, but the pain will continue to come back.” Wouldn’t it be better to treat the cause of the pain even with the recovery time, rather than to live with an endless cycle of pain?
Jesus came into this world as one of us not merely to treat the symptoms of our problems, difficulties, and suffering, but to address the cause of our problems, difficulties, and suffering. The problems we face in this life are symptoms of a much larger problem – a problem called sin. We see the symptoms of sin all around us. We see them in relationships, as selfishness and anger cause people to harm others with their words and actions. We see the symptoms of sin in our bodies and minds through sickness, disease, and loss of abilities. We see the symptoms of sin in nature as natural disasters suddenly strike causing damage, destruction, and even death. And we see the symptoms of sin as we stand beside the grave of a loved one, as sadness sweeps over us with the separation we now face.
Jesus did not come into this world to give us some temporary relief from sin, He came to be the cure for sin. He came to save people from their sin. So what would it take to make that rescue possible? It would take Palm Sunday. It would take God, the creator of the world, to come into this world as one of us and to take our place, to live like us with the same limitations and challenges we face every day. But He came not only to take our place in life, but also in death. Therefore, Jesus comes into Jerusalem for you and me, knowing what is waiting for Him and what would happen to Him over the next week – hatred, betrayal, desertion, suffering,
crucifixion, and death. Jesus goes to Jerusalem to offer His perfect life in the place of imperfect people, like us, who have at times tried to manipulate Jesus to be the type of Savior we want Him to be, instead of the Savior we need Him to be for us. He goes to Jerusalem to die and to suffer the eternal separation from God that our sin deserves, so that when our life comes to an end here in this sinful world, it will not be the end of our relationship with God, but the beginning of real joy, happiness, and peace that will have no end in heaven. That’s what the empty tomb on Easter assures us is waiting for us at the end of this life – a perfect life with God that has no end.
One week after Palm Sunday, Jesus would rise from the dead and proclaim that He has the power to rescue people permanently from this sinful world. Jesus would transform death so that for all those who believe in him, death in this world would become a glorious reunion with fellow Christians in heaven, the beginning of a life away from every symptom of this sinful world. Jesus did not come into this world to bring temporary relief from the symptoms of sin, Jesus came to be the cure for sin. And that is the cure Jesus delivers every time a child is baptized. He gives to that child what He has promised – forgiveness of sins and the promise of eternal life in heaven. That is the cure Jesus delivers every time a person hears about Him and trusts that He is their Savior who will bring them eternal life. That is the cure that strengthens us to face the symptoms of life in this sinful world, knowing that one day they will all be over, that Jesus will deliver, save, and rescue us from this world to be with Him in heaven forever.
Palm Sunday clearly demonstrates what a great king Jesus is, but if you or someone you know is still not convinced, then come back here for worship this Thursday evening, and on Good Friday, and on Easter morning next Sunday, because over this week you will learn of the depths that Jesus went to serve and to save us.
