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[0:00] Our scripture lesson today is taken from John chapter 12 verses 12 through 36.! Please follow with me as I read. The next day the loud crowd that had come to the feast heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem.

[0:18] 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 and Jesus found a young donkey and sat on it just as it is written.

[0:34] Fear not, daughter of Zion, behold, your king is coming, sitting on a donkey's coat. 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.

[0:52] 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. The reason why the crowd went to meet him was that they heard he had done this sign.

[1:08] So the Pharisees said to one another, You see that you are gaining nothing. Look, the world has gone after him. Now among those who went up to worship at the feast was some Greeks.

[1:24] So these came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, and asked him, Sir, we wish to see Jesus. Philip went and told Andrew, and Andrew and Philip went and told Jesus.

[1:39] And Jesus answered them, The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. Truly, truly, I say to you, Unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone.

[1:53] But if it dies, it bears much fruit. Whoever loves his life, lose it. And whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. If anyone serves me, he must follow me.

[2:07] And where I am, there will be my servant be also. If anyone sees me, the Father will honor him. Serves me, sorry. If anyone serves me, the Father will honor him.

[2:21] Now, is my soul troubled? And what shall I say? Father, save me from this hour. But for this purpose, I have come to this hour.

[2:32] Father, glorify your name. Then a voice from heaven. A voice came from heaven. I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again.

[2:43] The crowd that stood there and heard it said that it had thundered. Others said, An angel has spoken to him. Jesus answered, This voice has come for your sake, not mine.

[2:55] Now, in the judgment of this world, now will the ruler of this world be cast out. And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.

[3:10] He said this to show by what kind of death he was going to die. So the crowd answered him, We have heard from the Lord that the Christ remains forever.

[3:22] How can you say that the Son of Man must be lifted up? Who is the Son of Man? So Jesus said to them, The light is among you for a little while longer.

[3:35] Walk while you have the light, lest darkness overtake you. The one who walks in the darkness does not know where he is going. While you have the light, believe in the light that you may become sons of light.

[3:50] Amen. Thank you very much, Michelle. Well, this morning we commemorate the first of the three big days of Easter, Palm Sunday.

[4:05] But in many ways, Palm Sunday is the often day of Easter. And that's because, though many people commemorate it, there are many who don't understand it.

[4:19] We all know that on Friday, we'll be celebrating Good Friday when Jesus was crucified. And then next week, Sunday, Easter Sunday, celebrating the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ.

[4:35] But what is Palm Sunday about? I think we all know that Jesus, on the first Palm Sunday, rode into Jerusalem on a young donkey.

[4:47] And people waved palm branches and they shouted, Hosanna. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, even the King of Israel.

[4:57] That's what happened on the first Palm Sunday. But what is it about? What's the significance of all of that? And why would we commemorate it and celebrate it in an ongoing way?

[5:13] If you're finding it difficult to articulate in your mind the significance of Palm Sunday, don't feel bad about that. In this passage that we read, even the disciples didn't understand.

[5:28] John tells us that they never understood until after Jesus was crucified. But I think what it should do for us is help us to see that if those who were eyewitnesses of that first Palm Sunday didn't understand, then it is not unreasonable that those who are far removed from that event some 2,000 years may also not understand.

[5:54] And so this morning, my desire is that as we consider this passage in John's Gospel that gives us an account of that first Palm Sunday, that we would draw the significance from it and that we would live our lives in accordance with it.

[6:14] So would you bow in prayer with me as we prepare to do that? Father, we thank you this morning that we are able to gather in this place in the name of Jesus.

[6:27] And Lord, we look back upon what happened almost 2,000 years ago when Jesus rode into Jerusalem in a deliberate way.

[6:41] Father, would you speak to our hearts from this passage this morning and cause us, Lord, not just to grasp the significance of this event in a broad way, but help us to grasp it in a personal way.

[6:56] I pray, Lord, that the truth of this passage will penetrate all of our hearts and transform our lives in a very real and a personal way. And I ask, Lord, that you would grant me grace to proclaim your word faithfully to these who are gathered.

[7:12] Lord, we ask this in Jesus' name. Amen. So what is Palm Sunday about? On Palm Sunday, God displayed the king we all need, not the king we all want.

[7:31] And the king we all need is a king with a capital K, and the king that we all naturally want is a king with a small K, a king that we can make in our own image, and a king who will do our bidding in our limited and in our fallen minds.

[7:53] And so what I want to do this morning in our remaining time is I want to consider three descriptions of the king we all need from this passage.

[8:06] Three descriptions of the king we all need, whom God put on display 2,000 years ago on the first Palm Sunday.

[8:17] First, the king we all need is a humble king. The context of this passage starts in verse 1 of chapter 12.

[8:30] And we're told that Jesus had come to Bethany, came to the home of his friend Lazarus, a man he dearly loved. And they threw a big feast for him.

[8:41] We're told that Jesus came to Bethany six days before the Passover. Jesus had raised Lazarus from the dead.

[8:53] And we're told in verse 9 that a large crowd of Jews learned that he was there, and they came to Bethany.

[9:05] And we're told they came not only on account of wanting to see Jesus, but they came because they heard that Jesus had raised Lazarus from the dead. And so our text picks up this morning in verse 12, and what John tells us is that the next day, so this would be now five days away from the crucifixion of Jesus.

[9:28] John tells us that a large crowd that had come to the Passover, they heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem for the feast.

[9:40] And so they did a most unusual thing. John tells us in verse 13, look at verse 13 again. 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.

[10:04] Now why did they do this? The taking of palm branches of all the variety of trees that they could have taken branches from, if they just wanted to take branches, why would they take palm branches?

[10:21] They took palm branches as a very deliberate act. And what it shows is that they were going to meet Jesus, not as a religious leader, but as a political leader, indeed as a political savior.

[10:39] The palm was recognized as a symbol of Jewish patriotism. It was a symbol of the Jewish state.

[10:49] It was a symbol of Jewish nationalism. And it showed Jewish pride. And even when the Jews rebelled against Roman rule, and the rule was, the rebellion was put down, that palm, that palm branch, made its way on the coins of the Jews.

[11:08] It was there before the revolution, and it made its way back after the revolution. So this palm was a political symbol. Here they are at a religious feast, and they go out to meet Jesus, and they go out to meet him as a political leader.

[11:29] This palm was a symbol of the deeply held nationalistic aspirations that they had, that one day the Messiah would come and throw off Roman oppression.

[11:42] And they also shouted, Hosanna, which means give salvation now. And they shouted, Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, even the King of Israel.

[11:56] They saw in Jesus all of that. These were the words that were reserved for the Messiah, the ruler, the redeemer, whom God promised for thousands of years that he was going to send to deliver his people and to rule his people.

[12:15] And so this large crowd on that first Palm Sunday saw Jesus as this promised Messiah. But they had a different idea about what this Messiah would do and what he would bring.

[12:28] The salvation they were crying out for was not a salvation that they needed. It was not a salvation from sin and from Satan. Instead, it was a cry for the salvation they wanted, which was deliverance from Roman oppression, which they thought was their greatest problem.

[12:48] The Messiah they wanted was not the Messiah that God was displaying.

[13:03] We're told in verse 14 that in response to this palm-waving and Hosanna-shouting crowd, Jesus does something that is highly unusual.

[13:17] even surprising, no doubt, to the crowd. In verse 14, it says that he found a young donkey. There was effort and deliberation in going after this young donkey.

[13:30] If you're familiar with the other accounts of the triumphal entry into Jerusalem, Jesus sent two of his disciples specifically to find a young donkey.

[13:42] There was deliberation in doing that. So Jesus found a young donkey and sat on it. Why would Jesus, who would have walked to Jerusalem, when it's time to enter Jerusalem, in the face of this crowd, decide that he is going to get a donkey, a young donkey, a clumsy donkey, and sit on that and ride into Jerusalem?

[14:13] Why would he do that? Well, to understand why Jesus did that, we have to look at verses 14 and 15 together. Look at what it says.

[14:24] And Jesus found a young donkey and sat on it, just as it is written, fear not, daughter of Zion, behold, your king is coming, sitting on a donkey's colt.

[14:36] Here John tells us that Jesus did what he did in fulfillment of a messianic prophecy in Zechariah 9, verse 9.

[14:48] A prophecy about the Messiah, a reminder to the crowd that the kind of Messiah that God had promised to his people was not the one that they had in mind.

[15:02] In Zechariah 9, 9, God speaks to his people through the prophet Zechariah and he tells them that their king, their king, your king, is coming different from the ordinary kings of the world.

[15:19] But the people of Israel, including the disciples of Jesus, had a different king in mind, had a different Messiah in mind. And so this act of Jesus finding and riding on a donkey into Jerusalem was a deliberate act.

[15:39] As deliberate as the act of the crowd was, finding their palm branches and waving them, Jesus was deliberately showing them the kind of king that he was and the kind of kingdom that he offered and he was saying to them, you have it all wrong.

[15:56] The kingdom that I have come to bring is not a nursery kingdom, not a political kingdom, not a kingdom that advances through military might like the kingdoms of this world.

[16:08] I am a king, but not your kind of king. My exaltation is in my humility. My strength is in my weakness. My might is in my meekness.

[16:23] Jesus was saying to them, my kingship and my kingdom are represented more by a king on a donkey, a symbol of servanthood and a symbol of peace rather than a king on a horse, a symbol of privilege and war.

[16:47] That's the king and the kingdom that was on display on the first Palm Sunday. But it was unattractive to the crowd.

[17:01] And indeed, it is unattractive to the world today. John tells us in verses 16 to 19 that there were three reactions to what Jesus did.

[17:14] First, in verse 16, he tells us that the disciples of Jesus didn't understand what was happening and they only understood it after Jesus was glorified.

[17:30] And this reference to Jesus being glorified is a reference to him being crucified. Second, John tells us in verse 17 that the crowd that was with Jesus when he called Lazarus from the dead, they continued to be a witness to him.

[17:52] Now, it's important to see that John is referring to two different crowds of people. There's a very large crowd that had come to the feast. But then there's this other crowd, this group that had seen who were present when Jesus called Lazarus forth.

[18:14] And this was the most miraculous thing. Jesus didn't raise Lazarus from the dead kind of like going to him and saying, get up. He called him from the dead and that spoke to far more authority than if he had gone to Lazarus and touched him and probably done some magic or something and got him up from the ground.

[18:33] But this crowd who had seen Jesus say, Lazarus, come forth, and they saw Lazarus come forth, this crowd was testifying to Jesus.

[18:45] And what they were doing was, in a sense, they were rallying up the crowd and said, this is the Messiah. He is the powerful one. He is the one who can do whatever we want him to do. He is the one who can deliver us from Roman oppression.

[18:57] And they continued to testify to him even after he had walked on the donkey. I guess they were saying to him, look, don't worry about that. He is our man. He is the one who can actually do it. They continue to testify to the miraculous power of Jesus.

[19:15] And they were the reason, we are told in verse 18, that the crowd, the large crowd, went out to see Jesus because they heard that he had performed this miracle.

[19:27] The large crowd didn't see it, but they heard about it through this eyewitnessing crowd who had seen what Jesus did at Lazarus' tomb. But they too ignored the king that was on display on that first Palm Sunday.

[19:46] And then third, in verse 19, John tells us that even the religious leaders of Israel, the Pharisees, the ones who were to be steeped in the word of God, they missed what happened on that first Palm Sunday.

[20:02] If there was anyone who should have understood the significance of Jesus taking a donkey, riding on a donkey, it should have been them. But they totally missed it.

[20:16] They missed that Jesus was fulfilling Zechariah 9.9. And they missed it because they were too busy being occupied with the power of politics and self-serving.

[20:31] And all they saw was that Jesus was more popular than them and Jesus was a threat to them and he had large crowds of people flocking to them and they said, look, the whole world has gone after him.

[20:46] But they misread the situation. Jesus didn't misread the situation. Jesus knew those people and what was in their hearts. And though the Pharisees thought he had this huge crowd, Jesus knew he didn't have a huge crowd.

[20:59] Didn't have a huge crowd of followers. Those who followed Jesus were following him because of signs and wonders and his ability to do everything that they wanted him to do.

[21:12] They followed him because they hoped that he would be all that they wanted him to be and fulfill all they wanted him to do.

[21:23] I'm sure there were other views present on that day. John doesn't tell us about them. But he tells us about these three, these three groups and they all miss the significance of Jesus riding into Jerusalem that day in fulfillment of Zechariah 9.9, a great messianic prophecy.

[21:49] They miss that he was God's humble king. They miss that he was God's Messiah. They missed that he was the savior of the world a mere five days away from his crucifixion.

[22:08] And brothers and sisters, what God displayed for the world on the first Palm Sunday is that Jesus is the humble king. he's the humble king who left the glories of heaven and he came to this earth as the greatest servant.

[22:25] And in his own words he said, I did not come to be served, I came to serve and to give my life as a ransom for many.

[22:37] And the kingdom that he offered is the exact opposite of the kingdoms of this world. Brothers and sisters, let us not miss the nature of God's king and his kingdom that were on display on that first Palm Sunday.

[22:56] That king hasn't changed. His kingdom hasn't changed. They are still the same. And we who follow Christ are followers of a humble king and we who belong to his kingdom are of a kingdom that is not of this world.

[23:19] And it is a travesty when we try to make the kingdom of God to be like the kingdom of this world. It isn't.

[23:31] And so we must live our lives not for the approval of the world, not for the applause of the world, not to be accepted by the world. we must get used to this picture of Jesus riding into Jerusalem on a clumsy donkey.

[23:55] We must get used to him that that is the king we follow in comparison to all that the world offers, all the glitz and all the glamour and all the attractions of the world.

[24:07] because we know that this world and all that's in it is passing away but those who do the will of God will abide forever.

[24:21] And so this is the first description of the king we all need. He's a humble king. The second description of the king we all need from this passage is he is an obedient king.

[24:36] And we see this in verses 20 to 26. John tells us that there were some Greeks who came to Jerusalem to worship at the feast of Passover.

[24:49] Look again at how he records it starting in verse 20. Now among those who went up to worship at the feast were some Greeks. So these came to Philip who was from Bethsaida in Galilee and asked him, sir, we wish to see Jesus.

[25:09] Philip went and told Andrew. Andrew and Philip went and told Jesus. Now these Greeks who had come to the feast had converted to Judaism.

[25:22] They had left the multi-theistic religions of Greek mythology and they had come to monotheism to believe in the one true God and they demonstrated their commitment by making their way to the feast of Passover to celebrate one of the feasts just as the Jews would do.

[25:50] But we don't have a lot of details about them. We don't know how large this crowd was. We don't know why they wanted to see Jesus other than the fact that they wanted to see Jesus.

[26:04] We don't know. But what Philip does is a most unusual thing. They go to Philip and they say we want to see Jesus. And Philip doesn't go to Jesus.

[26:15] He goes to Andrew and he says these Greeks want to see Jesus. And then the two of them we're told in verse 22 the two of them go to Jesus and they tell him these Greeks want to see you.

[26:28] So why does Philip do that? Why doesn't he go straight to Jesus and tell Jesus the Greeks want to see you? The text doesn't tell us explicitly.

[26:40] But it seems that Philip was so impressed and so excited that Greeks wanted to see Jesus that he felt the need to go and share it with Andrew before both of them no doubt with great excitement came to Jesus to tell Jesus even the Greeks want to see you.

[27:10] But as surprising as Philip's response was to the Greeks wanting to see Jesus, Jesus responded to the request in an even more surprising way.

[27:23] Look at how he answered Philip and Andrew starting in verse 23. And Jesus answered them. He ignores the request altogether. The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.

[27:39] Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains alone, but if it dies, it bears much fruit. Whoever loves his life loses it.

[27:52] And whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. If anyone serves me, he must follow me. And where I am, there will my servant be also.

[28:06] If anyone serves me, the Father will honor him. Notice how Jesus answers by reaffirming his mission.

[28:18] He reaffirms the mission because he understood that what Peter, sorry, not Peter, what Philip and Andrew were proposing to him was contrary to his mission.

[28:32] They didn't have his mission in view. They did not have his death in view, though it was a mere five days away, and though Jesus had repeatedly told them on the way to Jerusalem, I am going to Jerusalem to suffer.

[28:46] And it went through one air and out of the next for them. Jesus recognized that they did not have in view his mission.

[28:58] He was on his way to Jerusalem to be crucified, and so they had different aspirations for Jesus, and those aspirations did not include his death.

[29:11] They had a different path for him. They had a different glory for him. And so with the cross in view, and undistracted and unimpressed by the Greeks, Jesus says to Philip and to Andrew, the hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.

[29:34] Notice again, verse 23, how Jesus viewed his impending death. He referred to it as being glorified. and there's any doubt that by glorified he meant crucified.

[29:49] Look at verses 27 and 28. He says, now is my soul troubled, and what shall I say? Father, save me from this hour, but for this purpose I have come to this hour.

[30:03] Father, glorify your name. When a voice came from heaven, I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again. Jesus knew his crucifixion was in front of him a mere five days away, and he referred to all that he would suffer as the hour.

[30:23] He encapsulated it as the hour. The hour was upon him, and his soul was troubled, and despite the agony of his soul, he refused to ask the Father to take the cup from him, to set him free from that hour that had come upon him.

[30:43] He refused to pray a prayer of deliverance. Instead, he said, it was for this very hour that I've come into the world.

[30:55] This is the purpose for which I have come into the world. The hour that Jesus was facing was the redemptive purpose of God from eternity past.

[31:07] God was the lamb who was slain before the foundation of the world. He knowingly came into the world in obedience to the Father's will.

[31:24] Though he was the second person of the God, and he was God of very God, he came into the world to give his life as a ransom for many.

[31:35] And it was an act of obedience. Let me switch mics. It was an act of obedience. And so rather than pray for deliverance and say, Father, save me from this hour, he instead prayed, Father, glorify your name in this hour of my death and of my suffering.

[32:05] And the Father responded, I have glorified it and I will glorify it again. The Father was glorified in the life of Jesus and now he was going to be glorified in the death of Jesus.

[32:19] And what is clear is that Jesus was helping not just Andrew and Philip to see his purposes, but also these Greeks who had come to him as well.

[32:33] They did not have the purpose of God in view. And so Jesus gives him this illustration of this grain of wheat falling into the ground.

[32:45] And he points out that he, the Son of Man, this grain of wheat, if he refused the path of death, then he would remain alone, he would be the only Son of God.

[32:58] but if he was obedient to death, if he allowed himself as a grain of wheat to fall into the ground and die, then he would produce a great harvest of many sons and daughters of God.

[33:17] And if you, this morning, if you put your trust in Jesus as your personal savior, you are part of that harvest that Jesus had in view. And if you have not yet put your trust in Jesus, turn to him.

[33:34] Come to him. He will never turn you away and you will be a part of that great harvest that Jesus had in view. that he refused to say, Father, save me from this hour, but he submitted himself to the Father's eternal purpose to redeem sinners like you and me.

[34:01] But notice in verses 25 and 26 that Jesus doesn't limit his sacrificial obedience to the Father's will to himself. love. He says it must be embraced by all those who would follow him.

[34:19] Again, look at what he says in verses 25 and 26. Whoever loves his life loses it and whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.

[34:32] If anyone serves me, he must follow me. And brothers and sisters, let's hear this follow Jesus, not so much following Jesus as I live my life, but following Jesus in the way of sacrifice and following Jesus in the way of obedience to the Father's will.

[34:50] He says, and where I am, there will my servant be also. If anyone serves me, the Father will honor him. Again, Jesus addressed these words not just to Philip and Andrew and the Greeks, although they're the first ones to hear it, Jesus addresses these words to all of us.

[35:11] Notice he says, all who would follow him, whoever will follow him, whoever loves his life, that's who he's speaking to, whoever hates his life, that's who he's speaking to.

[35:23] And friends, this is the way of the kingdom. The way of the kingdom is that we come and we bring our lives in submission to God, and we don't love it so much that we refuse to do the will of God even sometimes when that path is hard and dark and difficult.

[35:44] We submit to the Father's way. And I think we would all agree that we are creatures of comfort.

[35:55] We do whatever we can to preserve our lives, both biologically and otherwise. do the love. It is unnatural for us to want to give up our comforts.

[36:12] But we hear in this passage with absolute certainty that if we love our lives, meaning that we want to preserve it, meaning that we want to control it, to do whatever we want to do, Jesus says, you will lose it.

[36:27] you will lose the very thing that you strive to preserve. He says, but on the other hand, if we hate our lives, and that's just strong language to help us to see that our lives are not something that we are to love so much.

[36:44] we hate our lives, and we are willing to lay them down in submission to God's plan and purpose for our lives, just as Jesus was doing, we will truly keep our lives, not just in this life, but for eternity as well.

[37:06] And if the lesson that Jesus is teaching about discipleship is not clear enough in verse 25, in verse 26, it is abundantly clear.

[37:18] If anyone serves me, he must follow me, and where I am, there my servant will be, and if anyone serves me, the Father will honor him.

[37:31] Those who will serve Christ, brothers and sisters, those who will be his disciples must follow him as their obedient king, and likewise, they must submit to the Father's will for their lives.

[37:49] This calls for an attitude towards our very life, and we don't hold it so dearly that it prevents us from obeying whatever path God calls us to.

[38:05] And so, brothers and sisters, this morning, we're able to see that coming to Jesus is not so much coming to live the way we want to live, but it's to die to the way that we want to live, and to live to the way that he wants us to live.

[38:26] We die to sin, we die to self, and we live to righteousness, and we live to Christ. Christ. And I pray that this is our view this morning of what a life of following Christ is all about.

[38:42] I wonder this morning, as you contemplate this example of Jesus being obedient to the will of the Father, and you think of your own life, are you in some area or some aspect of your life loving your life so much because you see God's purposes or potential purposes for your life to be contrary to what you may want for your life?

[39:10] Or are you trusting him with your life and trusting him with whatever he calls you to do and to be, even if that seems difficult for you?

[39:25] If you seek to preserve your life rather than lay it down for God and his purposes, Scripture says you will lose it. But if you lay it down, you'll preserve it for eternity.

[39:42] And so from this passage, we see that Jesus is the king we all need. He's a humble king.

[39:53] He's an obedient king. And third and finally, we see in this passage that the king that we all need is a saving king. We see Jesus as a saving king in verses 27 to 36.

[40:11] Early in verse 23, Jesus referred to the hour of his death as the time to be glorified. And in verse 27, we see the urgency and the weight of this hour resting upon him.

[40:25] The anguish of it had come upon him even though it was some five days away. And this moment captures the apex of the life of Jesus, the ministry of Jesus.

[40:39] This is the apex of the redemptive purpose of God. Throughout all history, all the Old Testament sacrifices, and all the promises in the Old Testament, they were climaxing in this moment upon the Lord Jesus Christ.

[40:56] This was the hour that had come upon him, and he knew what awaited him. He was not going to be surprised by what was going to be done to him. He knew it to the smallest detail.

[41:10] He knew that he was going to bear the sin of sinners. He knew that he was going to endure the wrath of God for sin.

[41:24] Jesus knew what awaited him. He was not going to be surprised by it. And his awareness of that begins to rest upon him in this hour. Jesus goes on in verses 31 and 32 to point to the significance of the hour that had come upon him and all that would be accomplished.

[41:45] Look at what he says. Now is the judgment of the world. Now will the ruler of this world be cast out, and I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.

[42:02] Through the sacrificial death of Jesus, the world has been judged. Satan has been cast out. And it is through the death of Jesus on the cross that he draws all people to himself.

[42:18] The world that Jesus is referring to that's been judged is this world of humankind and organized rebellion against his rule. The world has been judged, and Satan, the ruler of this world, he has been cast out.

[42:35] There's a lot that we can say about these two events that Jesus refers to. But it's enough for us to see this morning that when Jesus died on the cross, it included more than the redemption of sinners.

[42:55] It also included the judgment of a rebellious world and the casting out and the defeat of Satan. Now, yes, there's coming a day when Satan and the world will be judged in a final sense.

[43:08] But it all began in the death of Christ on the cross. And that wasn't evident to the naked eye. If you looked at it on that day, you would think Satan was winning, but he was being defeated.

[43:21] You would think the world was having its way with Jesus, but no, God was having his way with Jesus, and God was dealing with the world.

[43:32] There will be a final judgment, but we must remember that in the death of Christ, as he hung on that cross, God judged the world, and God defeated Satan.

[43:47] But it is in verse 32 that we see Jesus declaring himself to be the saving king. He says, and I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.

[44:00] And here Jesus is not speaking about ascending to heaven. John tells us in verse 33 that he was speaking about the kind of death he was going to die, meaning that he would be lifted up on a cross.

[44:20] And his cross would be the means of salvation for all people. not salvation for all people without exception. That would be universalism.

[44:32] But salvation for all people without distinction, regardless of who they are, regardless of what they have done. And this is salvation by sovereign grace.

[44:45] And friends, I'll pause here to say this. If the death of Jesus meant the salvation for all people, all people will be saved.

[45:03] Without exception, all people will be saved. If when Jesus was lifted up on the cross from the earth, he drew all people to himself or would draw all people to himself, all people will be saved.

[45:19] And the verses in scripture that tell us that there will be people in hell would make no sense to us. But clearly, Jesus is not speaking about universalism in this passage.

[45:32] But instead, he is saying that he will draw Jew and Gentile, he will draw all people from every kindred, every tongue, every tribe, every nation, without exception, without distinction, sorry, unto himself.

[45:48] No regard for who they were, no regard for what they have done. And he will draw them by his sovereign grace. He was the saving king, and he came to bring salvation to all kinds of people, no matter who they are.

[46:09] He said, we see in verse 34 that the crowds had preconceived ideas about who the Messiah was and what he would do.

[46:22] Look at what they said in verse 34. So the crowd answered him, we have heard from the law that the Christ remains forever. How can you say that the Son of Man must be lifted up?

[46:33] Who is the Son of Man? You would have thought that after all that they did, getting the palm branches, shouting Hosanna, calling him the king of Israel, that they would have no doubts about him.

[46:51] But clearly they had doubts about him. They still had doubts about him. They're saying, well, what are you talking about? The Messiah we know is going to remain forever. You talk about being lifted up. Who is the Son of Man?

[47:11] And what does Jesus do? He doesn't answer them. Instead, Jesus makes a final appeal to them.

[47:22] And it is so important to see how John lays out his gospel. The gospel of John, John, Jesus is going to say some final words to them.

[47:34] John then is going to give some commentary. There's going to be one more quotation from Jesus, and then the entire earthly ministry of Jesus in a public sense is finished.

[47:48] Everything that you'll find beyond John chapter 12 is the private ministry of Jesus to his disciples. And here, these people don't realize the hour that is upon them.

[48:03] They don't realize that this light that is among them is about to be removed from them. And so Jesus answers them in their unbelief.

[48:14] And look at what he says, starting in verse 35. Walk while you have the light. Less darkness overtake you. The one who walks in the darkness does not know where he is going.

[48:29] While you have the light, believe in the light that you may become sons of light. When Jesus had said these things, he departed and hid himself from them.

[48:44] He hid from them. their hour had come to see the Son of God, to see the Messiah of God as he truly was.

[48:56] He was the light. And their preconception caused them to miss who he was. And Jesus would leave them with these words and he would hide himself from them.

[49:09] and it reminds us that we don't come to Jesus when we're good and ready. We don't decide I'm going to come to Jesus at this particular point in my life.

[49:24] No, you come when you have the light. You don't assume that you can come when you are good and ready. Jesus hid himself from them.

[49:39] And so if you're here this morning and you don't know Jesus Christ, I urge you, come to Jesus, who alone is the light of the world. Come while there's time.

[49:58] Brothers and sisters, Jesus Christ is the king we all need. He is a humble king. He's an obedient king. But most of all, he is the saving king. And though in five days he was going to ascend Golgotha's hill and he was going to give his life as a ransom for many, on that first Palm Sunday, he demonstrated that that's the king, who he was, and that was what he was going to do.

[50:32] If you have come to know Jesus Christ this morning, rejoice in your salvation. rejoice that he who was lifted up on a cross has drawn you to himself.

[50:48] But if you don't know Jesus Christ, I say to you, come to him in repentance. Come to him in saving faith. He is the king you need.

[51:01] I assure you, he's not the king you want. None of us naturally wants Jesus. but he is the king that you need.

[51:12] Let's pray. Heavenly Father, we are so grateful this morning that the Lord Jesus Christ came as the king of the nations.

[51:27] you want to thank you. We thank you Lord that he came as the humble king, as the obedient king, and most of all he came as a saving king.

[51:45]  Lord, we rejoice this morning that in mercy you have saved us. and oh Father we pray for those who have not yet come to Christ Lord work on their hearts do for them what only you can do Lord and bring them to yourself and may we all rejoice in this king who we all need we pray this in Jesus name Amen