The king on the donkey’s colt (John 12b)

John 12:12-19
Key verse 12:13-15

In the previous passage, Mary honored Jesus with her expensive perfume, wiping his feet with her hair. Jesus is worthy of all our offering and worship. In today’s passage, Jesus enters Jerusalem and he is welcomed and honored as King by the crowd. I pray that through this passage we may also welcome and honor him as our king. The title of my message is “The king on the donkey’s colt.”

12 The next day the great crowd that had come for the festival heard that Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem.

“The next day” here was the day just after Jesus was honored by Lazarus’ family. Probably it was Sunday of Passion Week. Since it was near the Passover, a lot of people came to Jerusalem. And they heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem. According to verses 12:17-18, the crowd who saw Lazarus’ resurrection continued to spread the word. The word went viral on Jerusalem SNS. People were amazed by Jesus’ power to bring life back. This great crowd was likely those who already heard about it.

13 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!”

The crowd took palm branches. The palm tree was the symbol of victory, triumph, and peace. It was a Jewish national symbol. During their journey in the wilderness, Israel found hope and strength when they saw palm trees because they grew around oasis. So, during the Festival of Tabernacles, Jews processed through Jerusalem and in the Temple, waving a bunch of leafy branches of palm trees, remembering their life in the wilderness and reciting Psalm 118. This crowd welcomed Jesus with palm branches in their hands, meaning that they saw Jesus as the one who would bring victory to them. They also spread their cloaks on the road for Jesus. (Mark 11:8) They greeted him with honor.

Recently, President Moon from South Korea visited North Korea. He was greeted and welcomed so warmly and even crazily by the North Koreans. Probably, these Jews greeted Jesus like the North Koreans. They shouted, “Hosanna!” The meaning of Hosanna is “Save” and it was used when they praised king or God. Why did they greet Jesus in that way? From their shouts, we can learn about their understanding of Jesus and their hope from him.

First, they recognized that Jesus was the King. Their shout was actually from Psalm 118:25-26, which say,

25 Lord, save us! Lord, grant us success! 26 Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. From the house of the Lord we bless you.

The crowd saw or heard about Jesus’ signs. They had never seen or heard such power. It was divine power. Especially, Lazarus’ resurrection was the work of God. It came as a great amazement and shock. Its impact was so enormous that people believed Jesus as the King who was prophesied in Psalm 118:25-26. So, they chanted these verses.

What was their hope from Jesus? They shouted, “Hosanna!” This one word tells us their situation and their hope. For about 500 years until Jesus came, they had been invaded, occupied, ruled by other nations. Israel once enjoyed her prosperity during the period of King David’s rule. However, since then she declined and suffered from other nations because of her sin against God. The Northern Kingdom of Israel was conquered by Assyria in 722 B.C. Then the Kingdom of Judah was invaded several times by Babylon and was finally destroyed in 586 B.C. The elite people in Judah were exiled to Babylon three times. When Jerusalem was sieged and then destroyed, Jews suffered from starvation so that even mothers ate their babies (Jer 2:20; 4:10).

With their own hands, compassionate women have cooked their own children, who became their food when my people were destroyed. (Jer 4:10)

Tens of thousands people were slaughtered. But that was just the beginning of their real suffering. Many of them (about 10,000) were deported to Babylon and some others fled to other countries and the rest of them barely survived in the devastated land of Israel. Though some of the exiles came back after 70 years and rebuilt the temple, Israel was still ruled by other countries. Particularly, Israel was devastated by the kingdom of Ptolemy and kingdom of Seleucid. The temple was defiled with abomination and Israel was Hellenized in force. Many of them forgot their language, their culture, and their identity as God’s people. Even when Jesus came, they were ruled by the Roman Empire. They lived as a colonized people for about 500 years since Jerusalem was destroyed, except about 100 years of independence under the rule of Hasmonean dynasty.

Korea was occupied and treated brutally by Japan for 36 years, from 1910-1945. During that period, a great number of people were killed. So many young men were forced to go to the frontline of Japan’s war and died. Many young girls were taken to sexually comfort Japanese soldiers. Japan tried to erase the Korean language, Korean culture, and all Korean things. Koreans are still suffering the scars and trauma from Japan’s occupation. How much more than with Israel who lost their country for 500 years? Their sorrow and suffering were beyond our imagination.

They suffered because of God’s punishment on their sins according to the curses of the covenant. (Lev 16; Deut 28) Israel’s suffering was greatly aggravated or contributed by their evil kings. Jeroboam’s bad influence, in particular, was so great. He was the one who first enticed people to worship idols. Other than a few kings, Israel kings turned away from God and followed the way of Jeroboam and led their people to destruction. While suffering so much under the rule of foreign nations, the people of Israel longed for the appearance of a powerful king like King David who was promised in the Scripture. While they groaned and cried, they yearned and waited more for the coming of the promised king.

The crowd in this passage were people with such a longing. Then they heard about the power of Jesus, the power to raise even the dead. They believed that Jesus was the promised king who would defeat their enemies and bring them peace. Through Jesus, they saw the end of the long tunnel. Their excitement, joy, and expectation were so great that they rushed out to the street to greet the king and they waved the palm branches. They truly believed and honored Jesus as the king. They praised God for Jesus the king.

“Hosanna!” “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!” “Blessed is the king of Israel!”

Can you hear their shouts? Can you see their longing eyes toward Jesus? How did Jesus respond, then?

14 Jesus found a young donkey and sat on it, as it is written: 15 “Do not be afraid, Daughter Zion; see, your king is coming, seated on a donkey’s colt.”

Interestingly, Jesus did not show any particular response to the crowd. He did not wave his arms to them in return to their welcoming. Instead, he took a young donkey and sat on it and processed through the crowd. It was a little strange and even awkward to see a king sitting on a young donkey. It even looked funny since the young donkey was not tall and his feet almost touched the ground. It is like an adult riding a tricycle for children. It was appropriate that a king ride a horse, tall and triumphant. But this donkey did not bear such an image. Why did Jesus sit on a young donkey and not on a horse? It was because he intended to fulfill what was written in Zachariah 9:9.

Rejoice greatly, Daughter Zion! Shout, Daughter Jerusalem! See, your king comes to you, righteous and victorious, lowly and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey. 

By fulfilling what was written in the scripture, Jesus demonstrated that he was the king who was prophesized in the scripture, as they believed and expected. To better understand this, we need to know about Zechariah and his time.

Zechariah was a prophet and a member of a priestly family. He was born in Babylonia and came to Judah along with other Jews after the 70 years of exile. Zechariah delivered God’s promise to Israel that he would restore her through a king. The king would defeat their enemies and bring peace. The description of the king is quite intriguing. The king the crowd wanted was a powerful and victorious king. But the promised king would not only be victorious and righteous but also humble. He was so righteous and just that he would judge evil and their sin. He was so powerful that he would defeat enemies and deliver his people from sin and death. And he was so humble that he would serve people and anyone could come to him.

This king would be presented dramatically on a donkey’s colt because the donkey was a symbol of such characteristics – righteousness, victory, and humbleness. The donkey was an animal that was redeemed as it was born. (Ex 13:13) The donkey was ridden by the king in the time of peace.

Zechariah said to Israel that they should not be afraid anymore. (Zech 8:13) Rather, they should rejoice greatly because the king would save them and remove their fear and suffering. By sitting on a donkey’s colt, Jesus revealed that he was the shepherd king prophesied by Zechariah. He is righteous, victorious, and humble. He would defeat Satan and save his people and shepherd them. For the first time, he revealed himself as King in public because it was God’s time for him to be glorified. However, this was not understood at that time.

16 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.

The disciples of Jesus realized later that these things had been written about Jesus and had been done to him. What is interesting here is that the disciples came to understand all this after Jesus was glorified. Here his glory refers not only his resurrection and his ascension but also his death in view of the book of John. For example, verse 12 intentionally links this event to the Passover as it does in the previous passage. In other words, Jesus brought salvation and peace through his death and his resurrection. Jesus is the King but he would save his people by his death, which was explained more in the next passage – a kernel of wheat. By his death, he would save his people from sin and death.

In the book of Zechariah, this king was described as a shepherd king. (9:16; 11:16). The main characteristic of a shepherd is sacrificial, laying down his life for his sheep. The king would be a king who has power from above and authority that comes from his sacrifice for his people. Jesus said in John 10:11, “11 “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.”

17 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. 18 Many people, because they had heard that he had performed this sign, went out to meet him. 19 So the Pharisees said to one another, “See, this is getting us nowhere. Look how the whole world has gone after him!”

As Jesus entered Jerusalem triumphantly, more people came out to meet him because they heard that he had raised Lazarus from the dead. They believed that Jesus is the Messiah and the King. But seeing the crowd going after Jesus, the Pharisees were frustrated. Though there was ample evidence about Jesus, they did not believe in Jesus. Rather, they tried to kill Jesus.

Today’s passage shows us that Jesus is the King who was prophesized in the Bible and came to save his people and this world. This victory and peace were costly, however, because he had to lay down his life. He humbled himself to come down to us. He gave his life to save us. He rules by grace and in peace. Jesus is a shepherd king.

As we saw in history, Israel’s happiness and suffering were determined by who ruled them. That same is true with us. Who rules us makes us happy or miserable. So, it is not too much to emphasize the importance of who rules us. Our president affects our lives directly and indirectly. Some peoples’ lives are also affected and ruled by work, greed for money and fame, fear, depression, video games, etc. Everyone has a king, whether he is a person or something else. Most of all, this world is ruled by Satan and so by sin and death. So basically, we humans are run-down and doomed.

Who can save us? Who can save you and me from sin and death? Behold, the king is here. He is Jesus the Son of God sitting on a donkey’s colt. See his power. See his love and care. See his humbleness. See his sacrifice for us. Isn’t he the king you and I should welcome and accept? My boss is a hard worker. But he is the type of person who unnecessarily makes his people stressed out. So sometimes I am frustrated all day long at work. Though I am ruled by my boss at work, thankfully I have Jesus as my king. He has saved me from my sin and death. He has ruled me in grace and peace. He protects me and provides for me. I am his people. This gives me great comfort and strength when I have troubles. I begin each day by accepting him as my king so that he may reign in me. “Lord, be my king today. Come into me and rule me. I need you.” It is because I know that otherwise I would be ruled by sin and by the world.

What about you? Who is Jesus to you? Here is your king. Jesus is your salvation. He is the good shepherd king. He is humble and approachable. He is coming to you riding a donkey’s colt. Come out and greet him with respect and excitement. Honor him and worship him as your king. He died for your sins. He has purchased you by his blood. He wants to be your king. He will come again with glory and honor.

By David Yun 

“Hosanna!” I pray that this may be your shout. Let’s welcome and honor Jesus our king! Amen!