Three Years That Changed the World – Lesson 14

Hosanna in the Highest – Blessed is He Who Comes in the Name of the Lord

(Jesus in John 12)

At the conclusion of John 11 we learned that the religious leaders were so spiritually blind that they openly rejected the one who claimed “I am the Resurrection and the Life”. They objected so vehemently that they were about to hatch a plan to have Jesus arrested, tried and put to death, hoping to forever silence him. Jesus knew that the Sanhedrin was plotting to have him arrested and ultimately killed but it wasn’t in God’s timing quite yet. There was still more for Jesus to do.

Jesus, the one who had been ministering for the past 3 and a half years performing miracles, wonders, and signs was on his way to Jerusalem (with a few brief stops) in what is commonly called the “triumphal entry” where He formally/officially presents Himself to Israel as the Messiah and Son of God. When this takes place, it will infuriate the religious leaders which will set in motion the chain of events that will quickly lead to his death at the precise time that was foreordained by God. In fact the remaining 10 chapters of the Gospel of John (John 12-21) cover approximately a 7 day period.

It might have been perceived by the crowd (perhaps they hoped) that Jesus would prove to be the promised Messiah that (they thought) would liberate them from Roman rule and domination and establish the promised kingdom (II Samuel 7:1-16). Jesus was their king, but their deliverance would come later when he is nailed to a cross for the sins of the world and raises from the dead, ascends to heaven, and awaits his final return to rule and reign as promised.

John records for us in chapter 12 of the anguish that Jesus felt knowing of his soon death on the cross where he would bear the sin of the world and the ultimate shame that would bring on him (someone who knew no sin) and for a brief moment separate him from the Father. John will close out the chapter with a rebuke by Jesus against the spiritual blindness of the Jews (those who will call for him to be crucified) who refused to believe in Him.

My prayer is (if you haven’t already done so) that you will open your eyes and see that Jesus is the Savior and Messiah and accept Jesus as Lord and Savior (“That if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation, Romans 10:9-10) and be able to say; Hosanna in the Highest, blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.