John 12:12-15 (Expecting The King)

Thank you for subscribing to the Shepherds Church podcast. This is our Lord's Day Sermon. We pray that as we declare the Word of God that you would be encouraged Strengthened in your faith and that you would catch a greater vision of who Christ is.

May you be blessed in the hearing of God's Word and may the Lord be with you. If you haven't been with us for the last several weeks, we've been in John chapter 12. In John chapter 12.

The Anointing of Jesus and the Six-Century Wait for a King

We get this beautiful.

Picture of Jesus being anointed by Mary and we've talked about that that has kingly implications that Mary was anointing him not just for his burial but was anointing him for the office of King and that's an ironic thing at this time in the In the life of Israel because it had been more than six hundred years 616 to be exact.

Since a king had sat on the throne in Jerusalem. By the time Jesus rides into the city of Jerusalem on 8030 the back of a donkey and fulfillment of Zechariah 9 and other passages the people had a messianic expectation.

They had an expectation that the Messiah would soon come. 600 years they've been waiting 616 years since a king from the line of David had sat on their throne. You think about this rain that was promised would be an eternal rain from David who was king over Israel and then you have after him the notoriety where the kingship goes throughout all the world and the world gets to see the glory of God through the reign of Solomon you Get to see this kingdom revived under a man named Josiah and this kingdom delivered under a man named Hezekiah.

This nation was a kingdom now without these kings. Without these glorious men that they look back to in their history from the Jewish exile when the king was removed until Emmanuel was born there was no king and for a nation that considered themselves to be a monarchy.

This would have been an identity crisis. How can you consider yourself a monarchy without a monarch. How can you consider yourself a kingdom if you don't have a king? Now that vacancy in the Davidic throne did not breed despair.

Although at times it did mostly the people were hopeful. By the time of the first century people were ecstatic. They were waiting. There was this fever pitch of excitement in the first century. We have record in the Dead Sea Scrolls that the people Expected the Messiah to show up in their lifetime in the first century.

They had promises in the Torah that they were leaning on they had promises in the book of Psalms that they were Resting in and they had promises in the prophets that they were clinging to. There was a first century expectation that the Messianic King would come in their lifetime and he did and They missed him.

Now. We've already preached this passage that we're going to be looking at today.

During.

The Easter weekend for Palm Sunday, we preached the triumphal entry of Jesus and we could preach it again but what I wanted to do instead today is I wanted to go a little bit deeper into the expectations that the people had for the Messiah.

I Want to go a little bit deeper than what we went last time and look at what the Old Testament Hope was for a king now. If you remember last time when we talked about the triumphal entry Jesus comes into the city.

Just like Solomon in 1st Kings chapter 1 or in 2nd Kings chapter 1, excuse me Solomon is anointed King. He's put on the back of a donkey people are singing and praising as he rides into the city of Jerusalem.

And he sits upon a throne. That's exactly what Jesus did in the triumphal entry anointed by Mary put on the back of a donkey rides into the city to the praise of Israel and He was put on a throne, but it wasn't the kind of throne that the Jews were expecting instead of David's throne in a palace in Jerusalem.

It was a Roman throne called a cross. He was anointed and he was coronated and he inaugurated his kingdom there in Jerusalem. We also saw How Jesus was the fulfillment of the prophecy of Zechariah and how the Jews missed it.

They missed that the prophecy of Zechariah was talking about a spiritual kingdom that would have impact to the ends of the earth. So today I want us to look at why they missed it. Why did they miss?

Jesus.

How could they look at him raising Lazarus from the dead turning water into wine? Opposing the temple leadership. Healing people from a distance where he commanded that the that the nobleman's son would be healed and he was.

How did they miss this? Well in order to understand that we need to go back into their history. We need to go back into the biblical theology. We need to go back into the language That they had for Messiah.

So today what I want us to do. So I want us to look at the Jewish expectation for a Messiah King. The second thing is I want to understand how their expectation was flawed. That's why they missed Jesus.

Today, I also want us to understand what Jesus's expectation for his kingship is and I want us to understand what his expectation is for us. Who have now become citizens of this great King? So if you will Turn with me to John chapter 12 verses 12 through 15 as we examine this together.

It will be exciting. Verse 12 begins this way on the next day. This is after the wedding feast or the dinner that Lazarus and his sisters have thrown for him on the next day. The large crowd who had come to the feast when they heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem.

Took the branches of the palm trees and went out to meet him and they began to shout Hosanna. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord even the king of Israel. Jesus finding a young donkey sat on it as it is written.

Fear not daughter. Zion behold your king is coming seated on a donkey's colt colt. You have to forgive me and I'm a southerner. I mispronounce everything. Let's pray Lord Jesus. Thank you for your kingship.

Thank you for the fact that you're a great and mighty King. Lord, I pray today that we would see the expectation that the Jews had. Then we would see areas where they got it, right areas where they got it wrong and Lord I pray that we would see how us today Must have a faithful expectation of your kingship.

Lord, I pray that we would not be like the pagans who ignore it. We would not be like the Jews who missed it. Lord, I pray by the power of your Holy Spirit every single person in this room would see How you have become King and they would see how you have become a king.

How you have become a king and they would see that that is the greatest news in the world and That all of us Lord would live as citizens faithfully in your kingdom is in Christ's name. We pray. Amen. Again, the Jews had a messianic expectation and that is clear from the New Testament.

We see immediately in John chapter 1 where John begins preaching and baptizing and the Pharisees send a delegation and they say Are you the Messiah? They because they had an expectation that the Messiah was coming.

John says no they say okay. Where are you the prophet? That Deuteronomy said we're supposed to be looking for he's again. He said no they said okay. Are you the Elijah? That we're supposed to be looking for again.

Moses said no or John the Baptist said no. We see the Samaritan woman Saying that we know the Messiah is coming. That's fascinating that even outside of Judah the Samaritans were anticipating a Messiah that would be coming in their lifetime.

We see in John 6 that they try to take Jesus by force and crown him to be king. All of these little breadcrumbs in the forest of John's gospel are meant to show us that there is a messianic expectation.

They are looking for a coming King. Now this expectation developed because of several streams of thought. It developed because of their language. It developed because of their history. It developed because of their biblical text in the Torah the Psalms and the prophets and For a moment.

I want us to just look at these together. So first the language. The meaning of the word Messiah in Greek is Christos. We translate it as Christ in Hebrew it's Mashiach. We translate that Messiah. The word means anointed one in the Old Testament.

If you were anointed King you were anointed to be a messianic figure if you're anointed as a prophet. You were anointed to be a messianic prophet. If you're anointed to be a priest you were anointed to be a messianic priest.

These three roles were anointed ones. Christ came as the true and perfect anointed one, but at that time they had no idea that. A man was going to come and occupy all three offices. They were looking for a king, but the Kings weren't powerful enough.

So they thought a perfect King would need to come and save them. They were looking for a priest because their priests weren't holy enough to cleanse them of their sins. They were looking for a perfect priest.

They were looking for a prophet because their prophets were not compelling enough to get them to stop breaking covenant with God. So they were looking for a perfect prophet. But they weren't looking for a man who fulfilled all three roles.

There was a debate actually going on at this time on which one it was going to be. With the end time prophet come. With the end time priest come or with the end time King come at that time. Most people believe that it was going to be the king.

Because of their situation in their background if you remember the Jews at this time were subjugated people. They were not free. They didn't have their own nation. They were Enslaved to the nation of Rome.

So a lot of the people were like we don't need the priest right now. He can come later. We don't need the prophet right now. He can come later. We need a king who's gonna lead us in rebellion against Rome.

Who's gonna give us sovereignty as a nation? Who's gonna lift us up high above all of the other peoples on earth so that we can be? What God has called us to be? That's what they were believing based off even the word Messiah.

Now that expectation also is is is more developed through the history of the Jewish people. The history of the Jews does not go back to Moses. The history of the Jews does not even go back to Abraham.

The Jews trace their lineage all the way back. To the Garden of Eden just like all of us. Now the Jews saw patterns in the Old Testament scriptures that they Began noticing and they began expecting things would be the same as they always had been.

Just like when we see patterns today there's a pattern that happens in our life like for instance every Monday morning I go to work and Joe is angry. Well every Monday morning. I avoid Joe well in the Old Testament, they saw patterns in the text and It began to inform their expectations.

For instance in the Garden of Eden what happens? The first man who's the prototypical King and the first family which is the prototypical nation fall Under subjugation to a tyrant named Satan the serpent and in their fall they become enslaved and in their slavery God comes and provides a promise that one day a Serpent crushing king is gonna rise up and he's gonna free the people from their slavery.

So that's the first Instance of this pattern and it repeats itself all throughout the Bible.

For instance.

Moses the time of Moses the people were enslaved to Egypt who had a serpent on his head. Very interesting. They were in slavery for 400 years. So what does God do God? Here's their cries for help God.

Here's their prayers and God raises up a deliverer named Moses. Who leads them out of the land of Egypt and he leads them to the promised land where they receive the law and they're back in fellowship with God.

Immediately after that you have the book of Judges after Moses dies and Joshua dies you have the book of Judges where the people are supposed to conquer the land of Israel and they were supposed to cast out of Israel these people called Canaanites and.

Those Canaanites worshipped a god named Baal. Did you know that Baal is often depicted as a serpent. Ironic. So the people were supposed to cast out the serpent people from the garden land of Judah sound familiar.

It's the story of Eden all over again. And what happens instead of casting them out they become enslaved to them and they cry out to the Lord and the Lord provides a judge who will deliver them and. Then everything is great until they get in slavery again, and that's the book of Judges.

They get in slavery cry out to God. God delivers them they get into slavery. They cry out to God. God delivers. It's like a seven cycled book where this happens over and over and over again. You think about the people during the time of Saul after the judges the last judge is Samuel.

Saul is.

Going against these people called the Philistines. The Philistines have a god named Dagon who looks like a fish servant. Dagon calls himself in the mythology of that time the high god of heaven. Isn't it fascinating that Without Israel lifting a finger against this pagan God.

There's a story in the in the book where the Ark of the Covenant is stolen they bring it into the temple of Dagon and the in the Idolatrous statue falls down and worships. It happens twice. They get so freaked out that they send it back and they leave it in the middle of the field.

God provided to deliver even without their own hand. The same is true during the time of David when Saul plunges the Nation into chaos and they're almost getting ready to to forfeit everything that God had given them.

God raises up David. Same thing happens in the time of Josiah. When the people are are falling headfirst into idolatry, there's this woman named Athaliah who's ruling the kingdom. They're worshiping idols.

It's depraved. God raises up Josiah. An eight-year-old boy puts him on the throne. Cast out all of the idolaters in the nation. And God rescues them through a coming King. Same thing happens during Hezekiah's time.

The Assyrians are coming. The Assyrians are going to crush the people. Hezekiah cries out to God and God delivers them over and over and over in the in the Israel's history. Whenever they fall into trouble whenever they fall into slavery whenever they fall into sin God raises up a king a deliverer.

So do you see the expectation that they have now every time this happens to us God will raise up a king. It happened even after the exile. During the exile our brother Lawrence last week came and he preached a sermon to us on what it means and what it looks like.

To live life during an exile. Now the reason that they got into exile was because they disobeyed God. Right before the exile they were sacrificing their children on the altar. It was an abomination to God and God gives them over to their sin gives them over to their depravity and This time during the exile God doesn't rescue them immediately.

He makes them wait 70 years before he rescues them and then he raises up an unlikely King. Now what's so fascinating about this is that this man is called an anointed King Messiah King. But this man was not a Jew.

This man didn't have Jewish heritage. This man didn't have Jewish lineage. This man was not connected to the people of Israel at all. God raised up an anointed Deliverer named Cyrus who was the king of Persia?

Who grants the people freedom. Who lets them go back and rebuild their walls. Who lets them go back and rebuild their temple? God again is showing that when his people Fall into depravity and sin and selfishness and slavery.

He will deliver them from the most unlikely Sources this time from Cyrus look at how the book of Isaiah 45 verses 1 through 7 describes this. Thus says the Lord to Cyrus his anointed that means Messiah.

Cyrus is not the Messiah, but he's a messianic figure Whom I have taken by my right hand. To subdue nations before him and to loose the loins of Kings. To open doors before him so that gates will not be shut.

I that's God will go before you and make one make the rough places smooth. I will shatter the doors of bronze and cut through their iron bars. I will give you the treasures of darkness and hidden wealth of secret places.

So that you may know that it is I the Lord the God of Israel who calls you by name For the sake of Jacob my servant in Israel my chosen one. I have also called you By your name and I have given you a title of honor this anointed title.

Though you have not known me. I am the Lord and there is no other Besides me. There is no God. I will gird you though. You have not known me. That men may know from the rising to the setting of the Sun that there is no one besides me.

I am the Lord. There is no other the one forming light and creating darkness causing well-being and creating calamity. I am the Lord who does all these things. This man who did not know God has been raised up by God.

So that the peoples of the earth may know who God is. He will rescue Israel and he won't get the credit for it. God will and That is the story of all of our lives. That God will raise us up to do things for him that we don't need the credit for we give all the credit the glory.

And the honor back to God. What I find so fascinating about Cyrus just a brief aside for a moment is that he is a Christ figure. Not only is he called a Messiah figure, but he points to Christ. He's the one who was raised up at just the right time who sets the people free and calls them to go back and rebuild Their city and to rebuild their temple.

Isn't that what Jesus Christ has done for the church? God raised up Jesus at just the right time and he came from a foreign land called heaven and he set the captives free you and I and His mission was to call us to rebuild the city.

What is the city the New Jerusalem the kingdom of God and He's called us to spread the temple out. Not just in one city like Cyrus called them to spread the temple out in the city of Jerusalem. We've been called to spread the temple out to the ends of the earth the temple of God.

To the ends of the earth, you know that that's happening now. You and I've been called temples of the Living God every single time a new Christian is made the temple grows larger. Another stone is added until eventually the temple will fill the entire earth.

This is what Christ has done but again This contributes to their expectation they believed every time they got in trouble God was going to rescue them with a deliverer and So far it's happened every single time.

After the exile they go back to the city under the book of Ezra. You can read about it and they rebuild the city or the temple. During the book of Nehemiah they go back and they rebuild the city walls during the book of Malachi.

They kind of Recommit themselves to God, although it says that they're apathetic. And because they were apathetic they became pathetic. They fell into all kinds of problems all kinds of calamities that the Bible doesn't even record.

After Malachi, there's 400 years of silence where we have to look at history to find out what happens to them. And it's awful what happens to them because they turn their back on God. After the Persians set them free the Greeks conquered them after Alexander the Great died the Empire was torn into four parts and Israel became The ground zero for everybody wanting to fight over them.

They had a nation in the north the Seleucids and then a nation in the south the Ptolemies. Who were fighting to have control over Israel and Israel was in the crosshairs of all of it. You can imagine I can't think of one right off the top of my head.

But if there's two countries that are warring against each other and there's a country in the middle who keeps getting destroyed. That was what Israel looked like in that time. Eventually the Seleucids gain ascendancy and they were especially evil.

They call the sacrifices in the temple to be ceased immediately or they would kill everyone. They caught they told the Jews to stop practicing circumcision, which was central to their identity. They told the Jews that they had to sacrifice pigs on their altar if they were going to sacrifice anything at all and Antiochus Epiphanes He was the leader at this time erected a statue of Zeus in the middle of the holy place so the Jews once again cried out to God and Once again, God raises up this unbelievable Figure to lead them to freedom to lead them in an improbable victory.

I know it's not in the Bible, but if you read the book of Maccabees, there's four of them. So read one and two especially that's where it talks about it in an eight days war the Jews these little band of rebels overthrew the Seleucids and It was clear that God was with them and causing them to to be free.

And that's where Hanukkah comes from is this eight-day war where God freed them from this massive superpower by the most improbable circumstances again this expectation Happened over and over and over they fell into slavery.

God saved them. They fell into slavery. God saved them. They fell into trial. God rescued them. It's happened throughout their entire history. So why when we get to the New Testament, wouldn't they think the same thing?

We're here Jesus comes upon the scene they're enslaved to Rome and the people are like hey God's gonna save us. God always saves us except this time. They believed that it was going to be the final king.

Who would deliver them once and for all and what set them high above the nations? That was their expectation. That this was going to happen. We also see this in their biblical writings. So they didn't just get this from their history and they didn't just get this from their language.

They also they read this in the Old Testament that God was going to do this for them. For instance in the book of Genesis. When Israel was basically founded by a man named Jacob who God renamed Israel.

He gives a blessing to one of his sons and in that blessing He says that the scepter will always be in the tribe of Judah. This is what he says. The scepter shall not depart from Judah nor the ruler staff from between his feet until Shiloh comes.

All the way back in Genesis chapter 49 God's been promising these Jews that that a figure that a king is Gonna come and he's gonna deliver them. That word Shiloh means peace. So he's they're not only gonna have a king come out of the line of Judah, which they did they had David.

They had Solomon that Hezekiah. They had all of these kings. They're gonna have a future king who is not only a king of power. But he's a kingdom of peace and he's gonna lead their nation finally to an era of.

Peace.

Sort of a millennial type of peace. This was an expectation that they had in the first century. This passage shows up in their writings in the Dead Sea Scrolls. There's another passage in the Torah you remember the episode of Balaam or Balaam.

This man who was hired to curse the people of Israel and yet every time he tried to curse the people of Israel He ended up only blessing the people of Israel. You remember in one of his blessings where he says this in numbers 24 17.

I See him he's talking about the Messianic King here. But not now. I Star shall appear from Jacob a scepter shall rise from Israel and shall smash the forehead of Moab and overcome all the sons of Sheth.

This wicked pagan King who's trying to curse Israel Ends up talking about the cosmic King who's gonna come and set his people free. You look up at the sky and you see the stars the stars overlook us. He's saying that a star shall rise out of Jacob a cosmic King not a king over Judah.

Not a king over Israel king over the entire cosmos is gonna rise up and he's gonna lead these people Into everlasting freedom. That's what they saw in the text. They saw it in the Psalms. We're gonna sing some of them today.

Psalm chapter 2 verses 6 through 8. They saw this coming King. This is what it says, but as for me, that's God speaking I have installed my king upon Zion My holy mountain and I will surely tell of the decrees of the Lord.

He said to me you are my son. Today I have begotten you. Ask of me and I will surely give the nations as your inheritance in the very ends of the earth as your possession in the Psalms God is promising that his son is gonna become king over all the earth.

Now I just want to stop for a second and just say if you have a view of the kingdom of God where we lose. You have to reckon with Psalm 2. Because Psalm 2 says he's gonna be king over all of the earth.

The entire earth is in the possession of Christ and then he's gonna be victorious To the ends of the earth. That is the kind of King That God is bringing through Jesus. That's in the Psalms. That's not in the New Testament That contributed to their expectation.

You wonder why the Jews thought that they were gonna be the nation that was bigger and more powerful than all the nations because they Read passages like this where their King is gonna crush all of the enemies and he's gonna Elevate them to this high position.

They they were reading the text just like we are. They were missing its implications, but they were reading it nonetheless. Look at Psalm 110. The Lord says to my Lord, that's. That's Yahweh says to David's Lord.

Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet. New Testament says this was accomplished in Jesus Christ When he ascended to heaven and sat at the right hand of God. And then it says the Lord will stretch forth your strong scepter from Zion means Zion is the starting point of Jesus's kingdom.

Saying rule in the midst of your enemies and Your people will volunteer freely in the day of your power and holy array from the womb of the dawn. Your Youth are to you as the dew the Lord has sworn and will not change his mind.

You are a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek. The Lord is at your right hand and he will shatter the Kings in the day of his wrath. He will judge among the nations. So now the kingdom has moved outside of Judah to the entire world.

And he will fill them with corpses. That's those who oppose him. He will shatter the chief men over a broad country. He will drink from the brook by the wayside. Therefore he will lift up his head. Do you see how this image of the king is now being filled in with lots of theology?

He's gonna be a divine King the Son of God. He's gonna be a priest King after the order of Melchizedek. He's gonna lead his people to righteousness. He's gonna lead his people to victory. He's gonna lead his people to worldwide Dominion.

This is what the Messiah is gonna do and that's what the Jews were expecting. A Messianic King who would lead them to worldwide victory. Their expectation Was built on Scripture although faulty interpretation.

They also had expectations from the prophets. I'm gonna read or sorry from the Covenant of David. This is a fascinating passage. You can't explain this other than Jesus. This is what it says to David.

This is God's promise to David. When your days are complete and you lie down with your fathers means you die. I Will raise up your descendant after you who will come forth from you. That's Solomon and I will establish his kingdom and He shall build a house for my name and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever.

And I will be a father to him and he will be a son to me when he commits iniquity. I will correct him with the rod of men and the strokes of the Son of Man. But my loving-kindness shall not depart from him as I took it away from Saul whom I removed from before you.

This is where it gets interesting. Your house and your kingdom Shall endure before me forever. The throne your throne shall be established forever in Accordance with all of these words and all of the vision that would David that Nathan spoke to David.

So we see that it applies to Solomon. Solomon's gonna build the temple. Solomon's gonna have a kingdom but God promises that this Davidic line is gonna have a an eternal kingdom a forever kingdom. There he's promising that David is gonna have a lineage that will never end.

He's gonna have a kingdom that will never perish and When you understand this you understand why the Jews were were so. We're so broken at the time of the New Testament because they had seen 600 years.

Without David reigning on the throne without a son of David reigning on the throne. They read this promise this covenant from God and they saw that is God gonna make it true. This God who promised us his God has God lied to us that was the thing they were asking at the time of Jesus they were wondering is David's kingdom really gonna last forever.

Is it really gonna be an eternal kingdom. And they missed The king that it was pointing to the whole time. Just Jesus. The shine though as Genesis says the star as number says the priest king after the order of Melchizedek in Psalm 110.

The Lord the Son of God in Psalm 2 they missed him. They saw their expectation for a king and the prophets after the exile the prophets looked forward to a time period when God would restore the fortunes of Israel and he would bring them a new king.

The Old Testament Hope for a Messianic King

I Want to read you some passages? These are beautiful. I'm not gonna give any commentary whatsoever. I'm just gonna read the passages. They are astounding. Listen to this. This is promises. But as for you Bethlehem Ephrathah.

You're too little to be among the clans of Judah, but from you one will go forth for me to be ruler in Israel. That's King. His goings forth are from long ago from the days of eternity. Therefore he that's the Messiah will give them up until the time when oh, that's God.

Sorry when she who is in labor has born a child and the remainder of his brethren will return to the sons of Israel and he will raise up and shepherd his flock in the strength of the Lord in The majesty of the name of the Lord his God and they will remain but at that time he will be great where to the ends of the earth.

When Jesus was born he was born global King who was going to conquer the earth. It happened in their lifetime Isaiah 7 13 through 14 and then he said listen Oh house of David is It too small a thing for you to try the patience of men.

You will try the patience of God as well. Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign behold a virgin Will be with child and bear a son and she will call his name Emmanuel. We learn about the Son in Isaiah 9 verse 6 through 7 for a child will be born to us a Son will be given to us and the government will rest on his shoulders.

That means he's a king. Governments don't rest on the shoulders of peasants. They rest on the shoulders of Kings and His name will be called wonderful counselor mighty God eternal father prince of peace and There will be no end to the increase of his government or of his peace on the throne of David and over his kingdom.

To establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness from then on and forever. More the zeal of the Lord of hosts will accomplish this. God is promising that he will most certainly bring about a king whose government will not end.

Whose duration will not end whose expanse will not be limited. Isaiah 11 1 through 9. Then a shoot will spring forth from the stem of Jesse. That's David's father and a branch from his roots will bear fruit and the Spirit of the Lord will rest on him the Spirit of wisdom and understanding the Spirit of counsel and of strength the Spirit of Knowledge and the fear of the Lord and he will delight in the fear of the Lord.

This is talking about Jesus Hundreds of years before he came and he will not judge By what he's his I see nor make a decision by what his ears hear but with righteousness he will judge the poor and decide with fairness for the afflicted of the earth and he will strike the earth with the rod of his mouth and With the breath of his lips, he will slay the wicked.

Also righteousness will be the belt about his loins and faithfulness the belt about his waist and the wolf Will dwell with the lamb. I said it wasn't gonna add a lot of commentary. This is a fun fact.

You can win Chipotle over this bets a Christian that the lion and the lamb don't lay down together in the Bible and Then point to this verse it's the wolf and the lamb and you will win Chipotle and you will thank me and the leopard will lie down with the young goat and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together and A little boy will lead them.