Get ready for something huge
Every year we celebrate Palm Sunday, we remember that Jesus fulfilled prophecy and rode into Jerusalem on a donkey foal, but what was it all for? Millions of people welcomed Jesus as their King just seven days before standing by and letting their leaders crucify Him. Thinking about what happened, and why God planned and gathered such an enormous crowd of witnesses helps us look at our own hearts and prepares us for another massive event, one that nobody should miss.
Scripture
John 12:12 ESV The next day the large crowd that had come to the feast heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem. 13 So they took branches of palm trees and went out to meet him, crying out, “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, even the King of Israel!” 14 And Jesus found a young donkey and sat on it, just 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 had been written about him and had been done to him. 17 The crowd that had been with him when he called Lazarus out of the tomb and raised him from the dead continued to bear witness. 18 The reason why the crowd went to meet him was that they heard he had done this sign. 19 So the Pharisees said to one another, “You see that you are gaining nothing. Look, the world has gone after him.”
Bible Study Questions
Twelves full hours
Jesus comes to raise Lazarus knowing that the religious leaders want to murder Him. He tells His disciples not to worry about this because there are 12 hours in a day. What does this tell us about God’s sovereign will?
John 12:9 ESV When the large crowd of the Jews learned that Jesus was there, they came, not only on account of him but also to see Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead. 10 So the chief priests made plans to put Lazarus to death as well, 11 because on account of him many of the Jews were going away and believing in Jesus.
John 11:8 ESV The disciples said to him, “Rabbi, the Jews were just now seeking to stone you, and are you going there again?” 9 Jesus answered, “Are there not twelve hours in the day? If anyone walks in the day, he does not stumble, because he sees the light of this world.
Man’s Timing
The leaders wanted Jesus dead but didn’t want to try it until after the Passover for fear that the crowds would riot and defend Jesus. Why did they then end up arresting and executing Jesus on the Passover, even though they only wanted to do it afterwards?
Matthew 26:3 ESV Then the chief priests and the elders of the people gathered in the palace of the high priest, whose name was Caiaphas, 4 and plotted together in order to arrest Jesus by stealth and kill him. 5 But they said, “Not during the feast, lest there be an uproar among the people.”
John 1:29 ESV The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!
God’s Timing
Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a young donkey. Where was this foretold in the Scriptures, and how long before it happened was it written?
John 12:14 ESV And Jesus found a young donkey and sat on it, just 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 had been written about him and had been done to him.
Zechariah 9:9 Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your king is coming to you; righteous and having salvation is he, humble and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.
The People Prepared
The massive crowd that was in Jerusalem for the Passover were from a people that had been prepared for thousands of years to expect and respond to God’s plan. When they saw Jesus on the donkey’s foal riding into Jerusalem, knowing that He had raised Lazarus from the dead, they began singing the words of a Psalm. Which Psalm were they singing and why?
John 12:6 ESV So they took branches of palm trees and went out to meet him, crying out, “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, even the King of Israel!”
Psalm 118:25-26 ESV Save us, we pray, O LORD! O LORD, we pray, give us success! 26 Blessed is he who comes in the name of the LORD! We bless you from the house of the LORD.
The Witnesses
There are at least four different types responses from the people who witnessed Jesus enter Jerusalem. The disciples knew the Scriptures and later understood what had happened. What were those who saw Lazarus walk out of the grave doing, and what effect did it have? Are we testifying to the same effect?
John 12:17 ESV The crowd that had been with him when he called Lazarus out of the tomb and raised him from the dead continued to bear witness.
Matthew 28:16-20 ESV Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. 17 And when they saw him they worshiped him, but some doubted. 18 And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
The Curious
The majority of the Passover crowd was praising and welcoming Jesus. Why were they responding this way? How would we have responded, how will we respond when He returns?
John 12:18 ESV The reason why the crowd went to meet him was that they heard he had done this sign.
Matthew 24:27 ESV For as the lightning comes from the east and shines as far as the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man.
The Lost
While the disciples, witnesses and the curious crowd all responded in a positive way, the Pharisees and religious leaders took another view. Why did they respond this way, and what did they intend to do about Jesus? What will happen with those who respond in this way?
John 12:19 ESV So the Pharisees said to one another, “You see that you are gaining nothing. Look, the world has gone after him.”
Zechariah 12:10 ESV “And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and pleas for mercy, so that, when they look on me, on him whom they have pierced, they shall mourn for him, as one mourns for an only child, and weep bitterly over him, as one weeps over a firstborn.
Revelation 7:9 ESV After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, 10 and crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!”