A King Revealed

Order of Service

• Call to Worship — Psalm 117
• Hymn — From All That Dwell Below the Skies
• Prayer of Invocation
• Apostles' Creed
• Scripture Reading — Zechariah 9:9-17
• Sacrament of Baptism — George Ransom Valma
• Offering
• Hymn — Crown Him with Many Crowns
• Sermon
• Sacrament of the Lord's Supper
• Hymn — My Jesus, I Love Thee
• Benediction

---

Sermon Title: A King Revealed

Scripture: John 12:9-19

I. A Saving King

A. The crowd's cry of "Hosanna" comes from Psalm 118:25-26, part of the Hallel Psalms (Psalm 113–118), sung at Passover festivals

1. Palm branches were waved as worshippers sang "Hosanna" — meaning give salvation now
2. The Hallel Psalms oriented Israel toward both past salvation (the Exodus) and future deliverance (a new Exodus under the Messiah)

B. Psalm 118 was understood in many Jewish circles as a Messianic psalm anticipating the coming king who would deliver Israel

C. The Passover context is theologically significant

1. After the fourth cup at the Passover meal, the final Hallel Psalms (Psalm 115–118) were sung
2. In Matthew 26:30, Jesus and his disciples sang a hymn — almost certainly the Hallel — immediately before going to Gethsemane
3. In Gethsemane Jesus cries, "Let this cup pass from me" — his own anguished hosanna — but submits to the Father's will

D. Our cries of hosanna are answered because Christ's was not; he bore the cup of wrath so we would not have to

1. Colossians 1:13-14 — God has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son
2. Today is the day of salvation; the Passover Lamb has been offered for us

II. A Humble King

A. The second Old Testament reference in this passage comes from Zechariah 9:9, which the prior Scripture reading expounded — the king comes riding on a donkey, not a war horse

B. Palm branches also carried militaristic and nationalistic symbolism

1. Two centuries earlier, Simon Maccabeus drove Syrian forces from the Jerusalem citadel and was met with palm branches — a symbol of military glory
2. The crowd would have associated palms with hopes for a conquering military king

C. Yet Christ comes on a donkey, fulfilling multiple Old Testament threads

1. Genesis 49:11 — Jacob's prophecy that the king from Judah would come with a donkey's colt
2. Deuteronomy 17 — the law of the king: no many horses, many wives, or excessive wealth; a self-effacing, humble king
3. 1 Kings 1:38 — Solomon rode David's mule at his coronation; no earthly king ever fulfilled Deuteronomy 17's standard
4. Jesus fulfills it perfectly — no place to lay his head, no wealth, no wives

D. The disciples themselves did not understand this until after Christ's glorification (John 12:16)

1. John 14:26 — the Holy Spirit would bring all things to their remembrance
2. With Christ's glorification comes the Spirit's clarification; understanding Christ as the humble, crucified king is spiritually discerned, not humanly grasped
3. Early Christians were mocked for worshiping a crucified king (the Alexamenos graffito), but the foolishness of God is wiser than man

E. John 18:36 — "My kingdom is not of this world"; this is an otherworldly king who fulfills the standards Yahweh set for kingship

III. A Rejected King

A. The chief priests plot to kill not only Jesus but also Lazarus, because his resurrection was drawing crowds to Christ

1. The logic of wicked power: neutralize the witness and the crowds will disperse
2. Lesson: Satan targets those who are recipients of Christ's resurrection life, not only Christ himself — if your testimony is "I was dead but God made me alive," you have a target on your back

B. Much of the same crowd shouting "Hosanna" will within days cry "Crucify him"

1. The very psalm they sang — Psalm 118:22 — declares: "The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone"
2. The rejection of Christ by the builders and the crowd is tragic, yet it is the Lord's doing and marvelous in our eyes

C. The rejected stone becomes either salvation or destruction

1. For those who trust Christ, he is the Cornerstone on which living stones are built into the temple of God
2. For those who reject him, he becomes a crushing, destructive Cornerstone
3. "Hosanna — today is the day of salvation; kiss the Son lest he be angry" (cf. Psalm 2)

D. Application: keep lifting high the banner of the rejected and now glorified Christ; his rejection and crucifixion is our victory over the world