The Hero or Our Story: A Hero’s Welcome

Have you ever been misunderstood? I know I have. As a Pastor, people have all kinds of expectations of who a pastor is and what a pastor does. Here’s a list of expectations I came across this week of a Pastor’s expectations: He is to be a great preacher, a good teacher, an evangelist, a crisis manager, a counselor, a public realtions director, a prayer leader, a web-master, fundraiser, social worker, visioneer, CEO, leadership trainer, strategic planner, personnel director, a discipler, a life coach, a moderator and a media minister. And that’s just some of the expectations people have of pastors. Now on the other side of the coin, a common misperception a pastor is that he works only works for thirty minutes a week. That would be great if all I had to do plug myself into the Holy Spirit, so He could supernaturally download a message into me, and then I could just show up here on Sunday mornings and start talking. But even if I could do that, there’d still be all kinds of expectations thrust on me for that 30-minute message. People come here asking “Encourage me, challenge me, feed me, help me, fix me…“ So I know a little bit expectations and perceptions. And because of that there have been more than a few times I’ve been misunderstood. And so have you. But have you ever wondered how often people misunderstood Jesus? Have you ever wondered how often people didn’t really get what Jesus was all about?

Well if there were ever a person who’s been misunderstood or misperceived it is Jesus.   After all, over the years, the church itself has been guilty of putting its own spin on Jesus. So much so, that our world has a hard time comprehending who Jesus really is. For example, we’ve introduced Jesus with some pretty misleading images. For some of you, the image you grew up with was the “Taskmaster Jesus.” You get out of line with this Jesus and your knuckles were immediately introduced to the back-side of a ruler. Or maybe you were introduced to “Postcard Jesus” – the Coppertoned, blond-haired, blank staring Jesus who told moral tales to help you become a better person. Or maybe the image of Jesus you heard of most was the “Get-out-of-Hell-Free Jesus.” You know, that fire and brimstone Jesus who inspired you to say a prayer to get your ticket to heaven, to get His forgiveness, but somehow you missed out on learning much about a life-changing relationship with Him.   But then there’s those of you who were introduced to “Hippie Jesus” who like the Doobie Brother’s sang, “Jesus is just all right” this Jesus became your “cool friend.” Or maybe you’ve become acquainted with “ATM Jesus.” You know, the Jesus who’s quite popular today, because all you have to do with ATM Jesus is turn on your TV and learn that Jesus just wants you to be happy, successful, and most of all rich.  Yes, Jesus has often been misunderstood, misperceived and definitely mis-marketed… even by people in the Church.

And perhaps where you find yourself today. You’re unclear on who this Jesus really is.  You’re still not sure what to make of Jesus.  And if that’s you, you’re not alone. For on this day we call Palm Sunday, Jesus arrived in Jerusalem at the peak of his popularity. For three and a half years, Jesus had put himself out there. He lived among the every people. He included in his crowd the kind of people most would have nothing to do with. But at the same time, when he taught in their synagogues they heard a message like they’d never heard before. His words were full of grace and truth and hope. He loved the unlovable, fed their hungry, confounded the religious and cured their diseases. And now, just a few days removed from raising his good friend Lazarus from the dead, Jesus was making his way to Jerusalem to fulfill the mission His Father had given him.  But as he is his headed to Jerusalem, we’re going to see one of the great misperceptions of Jesus ever recorded. For as Jesus makes His way to the city of peace, he receives A Hero’s Welcome. And that’s where we pick up the story of Jesus today in John 12:12-19, where in the midst of the greatest misperception of Jesus, Jesus subtly reveals for us who He truly is. But the question for us, just as it was for them, is this: Will we see Jesus for who He truly is? Or will we just see what we want to see? So let’s pick up the text in verse 12, where we see now…

A Hero’s Welcome: The next day the great crowd that had come for the festival heard that Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem.  They took palm branches and went out to meet him, shouting, “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Blessed is the king of Israel!” John 12:12-13

Here’s the scene: There was a great crowd gathered in and all around Jerusalem for the Passover Feast. Now, Josephus the historian, one time described the throng of Jews that would ascend to Jerusalem for the Passover Feast included as many as 2.5 million people. The city was bursting at the seams. People were everywhere. This number doesn’t even include the foreigners who would also make their way to Jerusalem for the Passover Feast.

So when Jesus made his way up to Jerusalem the number of people that were with him along the way, and the number of people coming out of the city was significant. There literally could be tens of thousands lining the way and casting palms before Jesus to welcome him as their king. The crowd was immense. The only thing I can compare it too was when we lived in Tacoma when Seattle won the Super Bowl. Tens of thousands of people lined the streets to celebrate our championship team. And here now, were tens of thousands of Jews were celebrating who they believed was their champion, their Deliverer, their hero… the promised Messiah.

And so they shouted, “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Blessed is the king of Israel!” This indeed was a hero’s welcome. This was a royal welcome. Triumphal entries were common in the ancient world. A conquering hero or king would return to his city, bringing the spoils of his battles and stories of conquest.   And when they returned the whole city would shout, “Hosanna!” And these Jews, they had adopted this practice. And now on this day, literally thousands came out, laid their palms at the feet of Jesus, and shouted “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Blessed is the king of Israel!”

You see when they shouted “Hosanna” they were literally shouting, “Give Salvation Now!” or “Save us Now We Pray!” Then they added the words of the psalmist that are recorded for us in Psalm 118. Words that were so familiar to them. Words that were sung year after year as they made their way to the Feasts of Tabernacles and the Passover Feast. Hosanna! “Save us Now We Pray! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!  And when they shouted “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord” that blessing was reserved for one person, the person who had come to deliver them, the promised Messiah.

All at once the enthusiasm of this crowd gave Jesus a hero’s welcome. The day of deliverance had come. Their conquering King had come. So in the enthusiasm of the moment they began to proclaim, “Blessed is the king of Israel!”   This was heady stuff. Everyone was caught up in the moment. Every Jew who’d ever suffered and prayed, waited and longed for their Messiah to come were now swept up in the excitement of Jesus coming into Jerusalem.

But here’s the thing… As enthusiastic as this great crowd was – as full of praise for Jesus each one expressed, not one of them understood what Jesus had come to do for them. Sure, they had one thing right. They believed that Jesus was their Messiah. But their image of the Messiah was a worldly image, a political image. They were praising Jesus for what they hoped he would do FOR THEM: DELIVER THEM from Roman Rule. They believed Jesus would rally the Jews and He would soon drive out the Romans by force. And soon thereafter, He would restore the fortunes of Israel.  He would make Israel Great Again!  He would make their lives better. No wonder they gave Jesus a hero’s welcome.

But let me ask you: Don’t we sometimes do the same thing with Jesus? We want Jesus to make our lives better. We want Jesus to save us from whatever it is wrong or hurtful in our lives. “Save us now we pray!” “Save me from this difficulty in my life!” “Get me out of this bad marriage!” “Deliver me from this lousy job” “Save me from this cruel cancer!” Ever prayed something like that? Of course you have. Now, the good news is that Jesus can and sometimes does deliver us from those things.   But that is not why Jesus came. Jesus did not come to just make your life better. He didn’t even come to make your life comfortable and safe. And He didn’t come to remove you from suffering. If that’s your image of Jesus, you don’t know the Jesus that God sent. Listen to how Paul says it for us in Philippians One, For it has been granted to you that for the sake of Christ you should not only believe in him but also suffer for his sake. Philippians 1:29

And Jesus lived as one familiar with suffering. And Jesus came to Jerusalem that day to suffer and die for everyone of them. But not one person understood this about Jesus as they were shouting “Hosanna” “Save us now we pray.” All they saw in Jesus that day was a person they believed was going to make their life better. And they had no idea the kind of revolution Jesus was actually about to set in motion. And so in the midst of a Hero’s Welcome, Jesus is about to set them straight on the kind of King he truly was… with

His Humble Entrance: And so we read: Jesus found a young donkey and sat on it, as it is written: “Do not be afraid, Daughter Zion; see, your king is coming, seated on a donkey’s colt.” John 12:14-15

As Jesus comes near Jerusalem, he sends two of his disciples ahead of him to find a colt there that no one has ever ridden, and asks them to bring it to him.   He then mounts the donkey as he makes his way into the city. The image is clear to those who know their Old Testament. For entering Jerusalem in this manner, Jesus fulfills the prophecy written by Zechariah that reads: See, your king comes to you, righteous and victorious, lowly and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey. I will take away the chariots from Ephraim and the warhorses from Jerusalem, and the battle bow will be broken. He will proclaim peace to the nations. His rule will extend from sea to sea and from the River to the ends of the earth. Zechariah 9:9-10

The crowd missed this image of Jesus that day, but we must not. For when Jesus rode in on that donkey, He portrayed the image of a humble and yet, victorious king. Jesus was not a king who brings a revolution by force, but He is a humble king who brings a revolution of peace.

When Jesus came, He did come to deliver us, not to give us a better life, but a new life. A new life of peace: A new life of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. A new life with Jesus who preached peace, made peace and who now is our peace. And this revolution he set in motion that day, is a revolution of peace for nations. For now, anyone who puts their faith in Jesus Christ will have peace with God, once and for all and forever. This is why Jesus is the Hero of our story. He didn’t come just to give you a better life, but a new life, by giving His life for us.

And yet not one person understood this about Jesus on that day. Not one person got this about Jesus. Not even his closest followers. They all missed why He came to them. How do I know this? By their reactions to Jesus that day. Look now at verses 16-19 with me where we now see that there were…

Four Reactions: At first his disciples did not understand all this. Only after Jesus was glorified did they realize that these things had been written about him and that these things had been done to him. Now the crowd that was with him when he called Lazarus from the tomb and raised him from the dead continued to spread the word. Many people, because they had heard that he had performed this sign, went out to meet him. So the Pharisees said to one another, “See, this is getting us nowhere. Look how the whole world has gone after him!” John 12:16-19

The ignorant: These were Jesus’ disciples who had been with Jesus for three and a half years. Even though they had seen Jesus turn water to wine, heal the sick, calm the seas, feed the five thousand, give sight to the blind and raise the dead… at this moment they were just as ignorant of Jesus the Messiah as was this crowd. For they too were hoping for a political Messiah. They too were caught up in the hope of a conquering Messiah who would make their lives better. But it would not be until after Jesus suffered and died, was buried and resurrected… only when Jesus was glorified and the Holy Spirit descended, would Jesus as the King of Peace make sense to them. Like the rest, they too were ignorant of the new life of peace that Jesus would bring.

That’s why we must continually preach the gospel of Jesus Christ. The gospel is called “good news” for a reason. For people today are still ignorant of the true nature of Jesus. Yes, he is a great teacher. Yes, he is a good model for living. Yes, he did miraculous works. Yes, he was kind and compassionate. But until people hear of the good news that this King humbled himself, and gave himself as a sin offering, took upon himself the punishment we deserved, and died on that cruel cross, was buried for three days in a tomb, then rose victorious over sin and death… not until a person hears that because Jesus did this for them, they can be forgiven and experience peace with God by faith in Jesus. Not until they comprehend what Jesus has done for them will they grasp who Jesus truly is. For Jesus is the Savior King, who died to Save You.   And the moment He rose from the grave His revolution of peace began. He won the victory. And now because Jesus lives anyone who believes in Him can be saved. That’s the good news… But on that day, even His disciples didn’t understand. Nor did the enthusiastic crowds…

The enthusiastic crowd:  They believed Jesus was a hero. They believed that if Jesus had the power to raise a man from the dead then nothing could stop him. So they hitched their hopes on this miracle-worker. They were caught up in what they thought Jesus could do for them. But as soon as Jesus’ fortunes turned, they too turned away. Then there were the…

The curious:  They had no idea who Jesus truly was either. Oh, they were quick to get got caught up in the enthusiasm of the crowds. When they heard the story of Lazarus, they wanted it to be true. So they too came out to meet Jesus too. But like the rest, they too never got Jesus.  And then there were, who I like to call…

The exasperated:  The Pharisees. These are the ones who had already made up their minds about Jesus. They weren’t going to believe Jesus was the Messiah, even if the whole world believed in him, for they were already opposed to him. He would never be their Messiah. So how ironic were their words: “See, this is getting us nowhere. Look how the whole world has gone after him!” This is perhaps the saddest reaction of all. For it was for the whole world that Jesus had come, just as he said, For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.  John 3:16-17

The Pharisees didn’t get Jesus. Even with the whole world shouting, “Hosanna” “Save us now, we pray.” They refused to believe that Jesus was the King who had come to save the world.  In fact, on Palm Sunday, no one really got Jesus. His disciples didn’t get him, the crowds definitely missed it, and the Pharisees refused to see it. But they were close. For when they shouted “Hosanna” “Save us now, we pray.” That’s exactly why Jesus came that day. For in just a few days, this humble king, this King of peace, would lay down His life as Savior of the World.

The only question that remains then for us today is this… Is this the Jesus you see?