Download “He Comes In The Name Of The Lord” John 12:12

“He Comes In The Name Of The Lord”
St. John’s – East Moline
John 12:12-19
04/17/2011
Intro.: It was a glorious day! All along the road going down the Mount of Olives to the Kidron Valley and then
up to the gates of the holy city, crowds were gathering and growing. People stretched their necks and stood
on their tip toes to see who was coming. There was such a commotion as people placed their garments on the
road to show their respect or at least their excitement. Others waved or laid down flowers and palm branches
as they saw the parade draw near. The question on everyone’s mind was, “Who is this that is causing such a
stir?”
I. Who He Is. (vv.12-16a)
A. Many of the people who were swept up by the excitement really did not know who that guy in the parade
was. Some simply said “This is the prophet, Jesus, from Nazareth.” Others proclaimed that He was the Son
of David and King of Israel, but even the disciples did not fully understand these things. [Nt. v.16] To the
people on Palm Sunday and for many people yet today Jesus’ name and titles do not mean much. But when
you remember that He is the One who comes in the name of the LORD, they signify far more than just a name,
rank and serial number.
B. The people were right in calling Jesus a prophet, but He is not just any prophet. He is the prophet
promised by Moses, when he told the people, “The LORD God will raise up for you another prophet like me
from among you, from your brothers, it is to him you shall listen.“ (Deut. 18:15) Earlier in his Gospel John,
identified Jesus as that prophet when he wrote, “..the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came
through Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father's side, he has made him
known.” (Jn. 1:17-18) Jesus, who is the exact representation of the Father and the One in whom the fullness
of the godhead lives bodily, is the ultimate prophet sent not only to proclaim God’s message but to be God’s
message for us.
C. The people were also correct in identifying the man at the center of the parade as Jesus from that nothing
little village of Nazareth. The question that had to be on the minds of many was so what? Jesus, which means
the LORD saves, was a very popular name. There could have been hundreds of men named Jesus going into
Jerusalem that day, so why the parade for this one? What made him so special? Something the people did
not yet know was that this Jesus had received His name directly from heaven when an angel told Joseph:
“that which is conceived in [Mary] is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you shall call his name
Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” (Nt. Matt. 1:20b-21) This Jesus is different from all the
rest because He is the only one the name actually fits. He enters Jerusalem in the name of the LORD as LORD
to save us.
D. Let’s see…what was the other thing that the people said about Jesus? Oh, yes…they called Him the Son of
David and the King of Israel. As Jesus rode into the city on that donkey many of the people recognized it to be
the fulfillment of the prophecies of Isaiah and Zechariah: “Fear not, daughter of Zion; behold, your king is
coming, sitting on a donkey’s colt!” [Nt. Is. 62:11; Zech. 9:9] They declared their hope that this was the long
promised King who would sit upon the throne of His father David forever. They shouted, as if by doing so they
could make it come true, that this was the Messiah who would redeem His people and restore the kingdom of
Israel. Many others had claimed to be messiahs, but none had raised a man from the dead the way Jesus had.
Many had come, but none like this one who came, not with a pretense of power that He did not possess but
with complete confidence in His Father who sent Him to be the Savior of the world.
Transition: So whether they knew it or not the crowds that lined the streets and shouted their praises were
not far off the mark. Jesus was the promised prophet, the LORD who saves, and the King of Israel who comes
to redeem His people. But this led to their next question: what was the one who came in the name of the
LORD supposed to do for them? What was another prophet going to do about their real problems? How was
a country boy from Galilee going to save them? And how was a humble king riding on a donkey instead of a
warhorse going to redeem them?
II. What He Did. (vv. 16b-18)
A. Our Gospel reading says that “when Jesus was glorified, then the disciples remembered the things that
had been written about Him and what had been done to him.” (v.16b) Jesus had come to be glorified and
to bring glory to the Father, but not in the way that the people expected or planned for Him. Some of the
people had been with Him when he called Lazarus out of the tomb and raise him from the dead, still others
came out to Him because they had heard about it and they expected more of the same. They had plans for
Him – plans to declare Him king so that He could restore the glory of Israel. But He had not come to save the
people from a temporal tyrant or an enemy out there. He came to save all people from the tyranny of the
devil and the enemy in here. His glory and the glory of the Father would come according to God’s plan, when
by being bruised He would crush the head of the ancient serpent, forever.
B. As He came to the city Jesus heard the people crying “Hosanna!” which means “save us now!” He looked
out at the people who did not understand who He was or what He was about to do for them and He loved
them, even as He loves all of you.
So humbly, He marches on. He marches into the city accepting the praise of the crowd, but not reveling in
it. Only He knows how soon their shouts of praise will turn to bloodthirsty curses demanding His death. Only
He knows that the throne awaiting Him at the end of the parade is a cross where He will offer His life - His
holy, innocent life - for the life of the world. In the week to come He will give His response to their hosannas
and to our cries for salvation. And after enduring the shame of the cross and death as a sacrifice for our sins
He will again display His resurrection power. As He told His disciples, “I am the good shepherd…I lay down
my life for the sheep… No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay
it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This charge I have received from my Father.” (Jn. 10:11a,
15b, 18) Jesus comes in the name of the LORD to answer the cry of His people, Hosanna! Save us please! He
comes to suffer, die and rise again in glory to save us from our sins.
III. The Result. (vv.17-19)
A. The result is that this once humble king, riding upon a donkey, has gone out to the whole world and just
as the Pharisees said, the whole world has gone after him. Christ has been raised, glorified and exalted to the
right hand of the Father. And now we with the disciples remember all these things that have been written
about Him, all the things that have been done to Him, and we bear witness to all that He has done for us and
for the whole world. With the crowds that were with him when he called Lazarus out of the tomb and raised
him from the dead we bear witness to the glory of Christ’s resurrection. We join the saints throughout the
ages who have waved their palm branches and welcomed him on this day with shouts of hosanna to our King.
We welcome the One who comes in the name of the LORD, the One who died to take away our sins and rose
again to give us new, abundant and everlasting lives.
B. Still, today, He hears our hosannas. He hears us crying, “Lord, save us now!” and answers us. He comes to
us riding upon the humble waters of Holy Baptism so that we may share in His death and resurrection. There
by the power of the Holy Spirit the old sinful man in us is crucified and we are made alive in Christ and raised
again to a new life with Him. He comes to us in the simple elements of bread and wine at the altar and gives
us His crucified, risen and glorified body and blood so that by eating and drinking we may have forgiveness of
sins, life and salvation. He comes to us in His Word, read, proclaimed and sung and with same power with
which He called forth Lazarus from the tomb works in us a spiritual resurrection now, and promises us that on
the last day we will hear His voice again and our bodies will be raised to share in His glory.
Concl.: What a blessing to be part of this never ending parade! Look your King comes to you, here today! He
hears you shout hosanna! He looks at you and loves you and answers, “Yes, I have come to save you and still
come to bring you that salvation.” So let us follow our LORD Jesus, to the upper room and the garden, to the
judgment hall and the cross, and finally to the empty tomb. Let us join the whole world that has gone out to
Him singing, “Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD!” Amen.