The Road to the Cross | John 12:12-19 | When Jesus Disrupts Our Expectations

Watch This Sermon: “The Road to the Cross”

What kind of King are you looking for?

On Palm Sunday, the crowds welcomed Jesus with palm branches and shouts of “Hosanna,” expecting a political hero. But Jesus didn’t come to sit on a throne of gold—He came to bear a cross of wood. In this message, Pastor Mark explores the triumphal entry through the lens of Scripture, helping us see the tension between our expectations and God’s redemptive plan.

This sermon is a call to see Jesus clearly—not as we imagine Him, but as He truly is: the humble King, the suffering Savior, the risen Lord.

📖 Click to Show the Transcript of this Sermon

Imagine with me for a moment a child that is excited for their tenth birthday. Now you've told them that there is going to be a big birthday celebration for them. They are reaching the decade mark, and it's going to be a special event. And you don't give them too many details, but you accidentally let it slip that there is going to be a surprise ride to the party. Well, when they heard that detail, as kids tend to do, their imagination goes wild. And, of course, as most kids also do, they don't keep their speculation to their to themselves. They are sure that this special ride to the party is going to be a stretch limousine. One that has plenty of space for all of their friends and has all their favorite snacks and beverages all stocked up for this ride to the party. In the days leading up to the event, you can hear this child telling their friends about this speculation, and the friends invited to the party are nearly as excited as the child with the birthday.

Well, the big day of the party arrives, and the child and their friends are waiting in the driveway, and the surprise pulls in. And it's not a limo. It's their own family minivan. You know, the one with crumbs, stray French fries in the seats, the van that has the ding by the back rear left bumper because of something that happened in a parking lot, that van. Well, in the blink of an eye, the smile on the face of the child is gone. This is not what they had imagined. It wasn't the dream ride that they had described to all of their friends. But then emerging from behind the squeaky sliding door of this family vehicle is the grandmother that the child absolutely adores. She has flown in for their birthday, and in that moment, the crumbs in the seat don't matter anymore. The ding in the bumper doesn't matter. All that matters is who had come to be with them. What for a moment was a major letdown, it's now something better than they could ever possibly have imagined.

Well, each year, when we come to the triumphal entry of Palm Sunday, we're reminded that the story of Palm Sunday is somewhat similar to what I just described. The arrival of Jesus is not what we would expect for the arrival of the king. And the people in the time of Jesus, they had a particular expectation of what the Messiah would do. He was going to be a political leader who overthrew the Roman government that was occupying Israel. The expectation was that when he came to ascend to his throne in Jerusalem, he would come with conquering forces. But instead, the man that they have heard is the Messiah, this Jesus. He shows up on a donkey. No armor, no swords, no armies. But you and I, we know the fullness of the story. The king was coming, but his throne was not one that was made of precious metals. It was a wooden cross. And he came not to conquer, but to suffer to save his people from the wrath of God.

And as we start to look at this passage, it's really important that we quickly orient ourselves in the book of John. It's always good to know where you are, but that is especially true when you're reading the Bible. And in John 11, the previous chapter, that is where we see Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead. Well, then we move on to chapter 12, and Mary anoints the feet of Jesus at Bethany. And then there's a short little passage between the anointing of Jesus' feet and John 12 here, or where we're at in John 12, it's at the beginning of John 12 actually, where we see that there are large crowds starting to follow Jesus. There's always been large crowds, but these crowds are coming also to talk with Lazarus because the story of his being risen from the dead by Jesus has gotten out. And people are really starting to embrace this idea of Jesus being the Messiah. And so we're told that the chief priests are plotting to not only kill Jesus, but they're also plotting to kill Lazarus because his testimony of what Jesus has done are causing many people to follow Jesus even more than there were before.

So as we approach this passage that we read from this morning, we find that people had heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem. Now as I said, crowds have been following Jesus for a while, but this is a different type of crowd. The crowd being spoken of here is the crowd that has come to Jerusalem for the Passover. So the buzz around Jesus has been substantial, and the raising of Lazarus has amplified that substantially. Essentially, it has taken the spark of an idea that Jesus is the Messiah, and it has turned into a raging fire. Remember, this period of history was filled with great messianic expectation. The prophecies of Daniel could be worked out that they were going to be fulfilled in this general time period. They didn't have a day. They didn't have an hour, but they knew that the seventy weeks of years, that the sixty ninth week was going to come to fruition in this general period of time. And so there was a great expectation that the Messiah was coming.

Well and there was another reason to believe that the Messiah should come because they had the ever present in front of their faces reality of Rome, of an occupying force in their nation. And so they would have seen them, and just inherently, they would have seen this rule and this reign of Rome as a reason that the Messiah should come and get them out of there. They are expecting the Messiah not only because they understand the prophecies of Daniel, but because they want them to come to pass. Well, then add into this inherent messianic expectation to the fact that these people are coming to the feast. They're coming for the Passover. And when they would come, they would sing Psalms. And as we've seen, as we've looked at scripture together many times, the truth of the coming Messiah is dripping from the psalter. They are continually talking about this coming reign, this one who has been promised, the one who will crush the head of the serpent.

And so they're singing Psalms coming to the Passover, Psalms filled with this messianic expectation, and now you are hearing that there is someone who is doing miracles. This could be the Messiah. And then you're hearing of this ultimate miracle, the raising of Lazarus. Imagine how the minds and emotions of these faithful pilgrims making their way, singing these Psalms to Jerusalem are hoping that they, with their own eyes, will see what their fathers really could have dreamed of. Thinking I'm gonna see the Messiah, the one that has been promised. I will be there. He is going to restore the kingdom.

And so we get a clear indication of their expectations from their actions and their words as John describes them to us. John tells us that they took palm branches and went out to meet him. This is not just about waving something for fanfare for these people. Palm branches are significant to the Hebrew people. The palm branches are a symbol of national victory, of national renewal from a previous military victory in their past. They didn't grab these palm branches because it was something to wave. They grabbed them because palm branches meant conquest. They meant victory, and they meant restoration for Israel.

But isn't just the grabbing of the palm branches or their actions that tell the story for us so well. They cry out hosanna. That word means save us now. And they aren't asking for salvation from their sins. They are crying out for salvation from the Roman occupation. Well, then they say, blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. And I'm sure a light went on when we read that from John because we just read that in Psalm one eighteen. Right? Just a few moments before we saw those words. These are not random words here. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. They are filled with this messianic expectation of the songs of the people of God. This is a psalm that they sing. Their words here exhibit deep hope and the longing that they have for the Messiah to come.

And then even the five words tagged on at the end here express the story for us as well. It says even the king of Israel wait. Don't they have a king? How does this show that they're looking for the Messiah? Well, there was a king in the time of Jesus, but it was Herod. He wasn't of the Davidic line, and he was essentially just a prop for the Roman government. So by asking for a king here, they are wanting revolution. They want a different king. They want Herod gone, and they want a Davidic king. They want a messianic king. They're wanting the king that was fulfilling the promise of the covenant made with David. This shows us what they're wanting, and it is a deep seated thing. It is baked into these people from birth. It's in the songs they sing. It's in the stories they tell.

And now they think that their conquering messianic king is on the way into the city, and they're there to see it. And so they grab the palm branches, and they sing a song. Try to set aside what you know about the story and imagine what you would think the arrival of the Messiah might be like if you were them. What comes to mind? Is Jesus on a horse or maybe riding in a chariot? How big is the army that's accompanying him? Does he have armor on? Well, no matter how much I encourage you to forget what you know about the story, what you know about the story is gonna be there because this story is so well known.

And you know that the contrast between expectation and reality here is greater than the difference I described between a limo and a minivan. Donkeys are not for conquering kings. That's not what they ride. Donkeys are beasts of burden. They're small. They are unimpressive, but yet this is exactly how the king comes. Not with weapons drawn, not with a military parade of force, but he comes with meekness. And the donkey doesn't diminish his majesty. Instead, it declares his mission. Right? He is a suffering king who comes to defeat sin, death, hell, and the devil. Not the Roman government.

And John wants us to know that this shouldn't be surprising because he points us to those prophetic words we heard from the Old Testament in during the children's message. Jesus is exactly who the Messiah was always supposed to be. It is our human expectations that get in the way, isn't it? All the time. Especially in this case, in our fallen human minds, our biggest problem is always gonna be what's right in front of us. That's how we are going to think. Whatever is in front of our faces, we think is the biggest problem that there is. Very rarely will we acknowledge that our biggest problem is our sin.

Yes. The people on the streets of Jerusalem, they were wrong to assume that the Messiah was coming to set up an earthly kingdom, but we miss the point if we think that this only serves us in telling us that the people were wrong. We need to realize that this story confronts you and I as well. The expectations of the people did not match up with scripture, but we can be just as easily guilty of crafting Jesus in our image instead of what has been revealed to us in God's holy word. Fallen human minds make Jesus in our image all the time by assuming he 110% lines up with my particular political views and my cultural opinions, Or we make him into our own personal life coach who smooths out the rough edges of our lives, and he can make us happy and or successful. We invented Jesus who we think blesses all of our plans, and we forget that the Jesus of the Bible calls us to die to ourselves.

And this day that we remember today is about more than just lining things up for our celebration of Maundy Thursday during the week and read the resurrection next Sunday. We don't just celebrate Palm Sunday to set up that sequence. Right? This story is important. It reminds us that Jesus didn't come to meet our desires and our expectations. He came to meet our need. We didn't need a king marching through the city with his conquering army to take up a throne of earthly power. That is not what we needed. What we needed was a king who would bypass all those things, set them aside, and instead make his way to the cross.

The humiliation of the Messiah on a donkey is nothing compared to the humiliation of God himself hanging on a Roman cross. But it is there that God, the son, bore the wrath of God for the sins of his people, and it is in his death and resurrection that our true enemies are vanquished. And it isn't just the people lining the streets that miss this. We we miss it, and we read in verse 16 here that even the disciples who spent three years with Jesus missed it as it was happening. It wasn't until they saw the fullness of the story when Jesus was glorified that they get it.

But when they understand it, when they get it, it becomes the only message on their lips. Follow their story after the resurrection and the ascension. Work through the book of Acts, and you'll find that these men are not out there proclaiming that Jesus is going to be a political savior, and they most assuredly aren't out there telling people that they can have personal fulfillment and easy lives if they follow Jesus. No. Their message is Christ and him crucified. Period. That was the message. Their message was believe on the lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved. Not saved from Roman powers, but from the wrath of god.

So how does this passage apply to us today? You and I are on the road in Jerusalem with palm branches, but we are still guilty of putting our own assumptions and expectations on Jesus. And so I challenge us to reflect on areas where our understanding of Jesus matches up more with our own desires than on who he has been revealed to us to be in scripture. Does your understanding of Jesus fit neatly into your comfort zone? Do you assume king Jesus is here to meet your demands? Are you willing to daily take up your cross and receive your king who comes humbly on a donkey and suffers to set you free from sin? Which Jesus are you hoping in.

And what a blessing it is to know the fullness of the story that we have read here today. Because we know Jesus didn't give in to the shortsighted desires of the people. He came, and he accomplished the mission that he took on our flesh to accomplish. He is the king we didn't expect, but he is the king that we undeniably need. And when you come to understand this and you see him for who he is, not just a religious figure or a cultural symbol, but as the lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world, you realize that he's the only hope that you have, and we put our faith and our trust in him alone.

And what is most amazing about this story is that his humility and his suffering led to his glorification. He is now the ascended king overall. The suffering servant is the one to whom every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that he is lord. So may you and I humbly bow before him as he is and put our trust in him that we might be his witnesses to the ends of the earth, that he might be glorified for the work that he has done and is doing in his people. Amen.

Let us pray. Great and merciful god, we praise you for the gift of your word and for the blessing of this story that we see that Jesus comes in humility not to conquer earthly things and our human expectations, but to conquer our greatest enemy, sin, death, hell, and the devil. We pray, oh, lord, that we would look to this truth and that we would trust in Christ alone for what we need. And may we be blessed to have the knowledge of the gospel in our hearts and in our minds, and may it be on our lips that others might hear and believe and find joy in the salvation that the king brings. He has saved us. Blessed is the one who came in the name of the Lord for the salvation of his people. Amen.

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