Palm Sunday was one of those days for me growing up, and even when I began to attend church, I could never quite wrap my head around it. I understand its significance, as seen in Jesus’ march to the cross and the beginning of Holy Week, if any of you are familiar with that.

It wasn’t until later in my life that I got serious about my relationship with Jesus that this particular passage came alive to me and impacted my personal view of this day. 

• John 2:4 Water into wine: My time has not yet come
• John 7:6 at the Feast of Booths: My time has not yet come
• John 7:30 when he was teaching publicly, so they attempted to arrest him: But his time has not yet come
• John 8:20 On the same trip, he was teaching in the temple, but not arrested: Because His time had not yet come
• As we look to John chapter 12 today, something shifts as the coming moment is now hear. 

Passage

12 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.” 

Some Greeks Seek Jesus

20 Now among those who went up to worship at the feast were some Greeks. 21 So these came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, and asked him, “Sir, we wish to see Jesus.” 22 Philip went and told Andrew; Andrew and Philip went and told Jesus. 23 And Jesus answered them, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. 24 Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. 25 Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. 26 If anyone serves me, he must follow me; and where I am, there will my servant be also. If anyone serves me, the Father will honor him. 

John 12:12–26.

Jesus and the disciples arrive at Jerusalem for Passover and we get a look at a sense of the hype that was around Jesus. An estimated 2.7 million people were gathered in every street, alley, and market to celebrate what God had done to free His people from Egyptian captivity, but most had no concept of what was about to go down in just a few days. 

vv. 12-13:

People lined the streets to lay down palm branches and cloaks. This was a symbol of liberation, which can be traced back to the Maccabees, who fought to preserve God’s people and their faith. 

• The people were also shouting “Hosanna” which simply means, He saves.
• They believed that Jesus coming as the Messiah, meant that he was coming to free Israel from the Roman oppression that had plagued them. 
• We have the privilege of what is called “hindsight.” Meaning that you and I know what went down in the next few days. Jesus didn’t pull out a sword and call fire down on the Romans. He didn’t lift a staff and unleash plague after plague either. Rides into town on a donkey. 

Vv. 14-19: 

• Verse 14-15 quote Zechariah 9:9. 
• Verse 16 The disciples still had not grasped Christ’s nature and work, even as long as they had been with him. Writing many years after these events, John admitted that only after the glorification of Jesus (probably a reference to both resurrection and ascension) did they really grasp what had happened to them. Indeed, we find them trying to recreate this kind of event in Acts 1 when they asked, “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?” (Acts 1:6). Like the disciples, our faith may have slow formation, but it should lead us to rock-solid commitment.
• Verse 17-19: The confrontation and misunderstanding led to hostility. Actually, we find nothing new here. The common people, still affected by the Lazarus event, came out to see Jesus. The religious leaders rejected him with increasing malice. Their exaggeration makes us wish they had spoken the truth, but public miracles do not always produce personal faith.

Vv. 20-26

• “The grain of wheat must fall into the ground and die that it may produce fruit. Even so, eternal life for the many comes through the sacrifice of the One. And the same providential law is applicable to each individual believer. He must disown the imperious authority of his selfish ego, if he is to live the life of an integrated person; he must abandon ruthlessly a self-centered existence lived in conformity to the standards of the world, if the higher element in him is to be preserved unto life eternal. This he cannot do by himself. He must have an example to follow. Jesus is that example. By looking to Him, a life of service to Him is made possible; and that life of service constitutes the “dying in order to live” which is the theme of Jesus’ teaching in this passage” -Tasker