As a Methodist circuit preacher came riding into town on an
old, broken-down horse, a young boy sat at the corner with rolled-up pants and
his shirttails hanging out. The preacher said, “Son, which one of these roads
will take me to Stoughton, the one to the right or the one to the left?” The
boy said nothing. He just sat there.
The preacher said, “Son, which way to Stoughton?” The boy
just sat there. Finally, the minister got down off his horse and walked over to
the boy and tapped him on his shoulder, “Which way, son?” The young boy looked
up and asked, “Who are you?” The preacher said, “I am a follower of the Lord!”
The boy said, “Well, it don’t matter which way you take, you’ll never catch him
on that hoss.”
When Jesus rides into Jerusalem to begin the last week of
His earthly ministry it’s not to catch anybody. It’s the opposite. He’s there
to be caught. He’s riding to His death. With this entrance the die is cast, and
no gospel-writer comprehends this fact any better than John. Indeed, chapter 12
marks the great divide in his gospel. Chapters 1 to 12:11 detail the first 155
weeks of Jesus’ earthly ministry. Chapters 12:12 through chapter 21 detail the
last week. Among the four gospel writers, no one is more thorough in his
treatment of Jesus’ final days than John, and he starts where they all start,
with this ride.
Now the truth is that John’s account of the Triumphant Entry
is the leanest of all accounts. In fact, John’s 8 verses are rarely read or
preached on Palm Sunday. While his words describing this event are often
overlooked, that’s a mistake. For here in 8 verses he gives us a glimpse into
the Kingship of Jesus that everyone there that day misses, and many still miss.
In fact, John seems to highlight the extent of the blindness in verse 16 when
he says, “His disciples did not understand 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.”
This Sunday, the first communion of the decade at Hebron, we
will dig deeply into John’s 8-verse-account of this famous ride. We will look
at four “D’s”: the DESIGNATION (verse 13), the DETERMINATION (verse 14), the
DELUSION (verse 18), and the DECLARATION (verse 19). In preparation for
Sunday’s message, “His Royal Highness” you may wish to consider the following:
1. How does Jesus prove He’s in charge of the events of Palm
Sunday?
2. Why does He wait for Lazarus to be raised from the dead
before riding into Jerusalem?
3. How does this ride reflect the words of Isaiah 53:4-5?
4. What does John mean in verse 16 when he refers to his own
blindness to the events of this day?
5. What is the importance of Zechariah 9:9 to John?
6. Why do the crowds cry out what they do?
7. What’s the meaning of a king riding a donkey in the First
Century?
8. How do they miss Jesus’ clear, visible message?
9. What’s the primary motivator for the crowd that day? (See
verse 18)
10. What do the Pharisees mean in verse 19? Are they right?
See you as we prepare to come to His table on Sunday!
