Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord

Now a great many of the Jews knew that He was there; and they came, not for Jesus' sake only, but that they might also see Lazarus, whom He had raised from the dead. But the chief priests plotted to put Lazarus to death also, because on account of him many of the Jews went away and believed in Jesus.

The next day a great multitude that had come to the feast, when they heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem, took branches of palm trees and went out to meet Him, and cried out:

"Hosanna!

'Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD!'

The King of Israel!"

Then Jesus, when He had found a young donkey, sat on it; as it is written:

"Fear not, daughter of Zion;

Behold, your King is coming,

Sitting on a donkey's colt."

His disciples did not understand these things at first; but when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that these things were written about Him and that they had done these things to Him. Therefore the people, who were with Him when He called Lazarus out of his tomb and raised him from the dead, bore witness. For this reason the people also met Him, because they heard that He had done this sign. The Pharisees therefore said among themselves, "You see that you are accomplishing nothing. Look, the world has gone after Him!"

- John 12:9-19

In yesterday's reading, we learned that Jesus is on His way to Jerusalem for His final Passover. He stopped on His way at the house of his friends, Mary, Martha and Lazarus (whom he had raised from the dead) at Bethany. There, Mary poured a flask of expensive ointment on his feet, and wiped them with her hair - to the objections of Judas, who was rebuked by Christ. See The poor you have with you always, but Me you do not have always. Today's reading marks Jesus' triumphal entry into Jerusalem.

Now a great many of the Jews knew that He was there; and they came, not for Jesus' sake only, but that they might also see Lazarus, whom He had raised from the dead. But the chief priests plotted to put Lazarus to death also, because on account of him many of the Jews went away and believed in Jesus. These verses are continuing the story of Jesus' visit to the home of Mary, Martha and Lazarus in Bethany. Clearly, Lazarus has become an object of great public curiosity. As someone who has been raised from the dead, people come to see him - and he also serves as a kind of guidepost to faith in Jesus. I think it's significant to understand that when we are touched by this power, we are not the same. We are changed. We become a part of Christ's ministry too, a part of the flock. Often this change means that we are thrown out of the "group" to which we ostensibly belonged; as He was, we may be rejected by "our own." It's similar to the story of the healed demoniac. In Lazarus' case, the tremendous miraculous power of the sign shown through him also makes him a wanted man - a target of the chief priests, an identity he shares with Jesus.

The next day a great multitude that had come to the feast, when they heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem . . . My study bible notes, "Earlier Jesus had come to Jerusalem in a hidden, private way (7:10). But now He enters the Holy city publicly." It is His time.

. . . took branches of palm trees and went out to meet Him, and cried out: "Hosanna! 'Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD!' The King of Israel!" My study bible points out that Hosanna is a liturgical shout which means "save now." These first two lines are from Psalm 118, verses 25 and 26. The people call him a king, but this reflects popular expectation - not Jesus' ministry nor His displayed intention on this day.

Then Jesus, when He had found a young donkey, sat on it; as it is written: "Fear not, daughter of Zion; Behold, your King is coming, sitting on a donkey's colt." My study bible notes here: Jesus' deliberate action of riding in on a donkey signifies He is the prophesied Messiah of peace (Zech. 9:9), for kings and military leaders rode on horses or in chariots. The Triumphal Entry marks a high point in Jesus' ministry as He brings His message to the Holy City and encounters the central authorities. This event is celebrated on Palm Sunday, an acclamation of the lordship of Christ as King of kings." It's important that we note that the "King of kings" is the man of peace who rides a young donkey. It is for those under Him to display the signs of "earthly power." His is a power of a different order of reality that encompasses ours. As John writes in the beginning of his Gospel: "In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it."

His disciples did not understand these things at first; but when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that these things were written about Him and that they had done these things to Him. In the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, the disciples come to understand all of these events. But this will happen only after Jesus is glorified.

Therefore the people, who were with Him when He called Lazarus out of his tomb and raised him from the dead, bore witness. For this reason the people also met Him, because they heard that He had done this sign. Lazarus' raising from the dead is the great and final focal point of the seven signs of Jesus' ministry. It is the inescapable power of life and death that declares Jesus to be Who He is, and His union with the Father. We are told that the people with Him at that time bore witness - and the people meet Him for this reason. Lazarus cannot help but share the fate of Jesus, to be a hunted man.

The Pharisees therefore said among themselves, "You see that you are accomplishing nothing. Look, the world has gone after Him!" There seems to be a kind of fury of confusion here in the picture that we have on this day of the last week of Jesus' life. His Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem is like a snowball effect that culminates His ministry, and especially from the raising of Lazarus. The witnesses to that event bear things along, they tell others who rush to follow Jesus with great expectation. And the Pharisees are left feeling useless, defenseless to guard their own positions of authority. "The world has gone after Him!" are the words of those whose sole authority is being taken away, and out of self-interest, this is all they can see. This is what is precious to them.

This is a picture of evil, in effect, on this day of Jesus' Triumph. But the Triumphal Entry is not to last, because "the darkness does not comprehend" the light. All the Pharisees can consider are their own positions. They neither understand Jesus nor bother to try to listen to His words. We are told in the Gospel that there are those among the leadership who do, in fact, become followers. But the majority - at least those in charge of the final decisions of the council - are opposed. They are worried for their places, and their power under Roman rule. Does the crowd understand Jesus? Or is it the signs - especially the raising of Lazarus - that they seek? Will they also learn discipleship? We have seen that Lazarus and his family will also suffer with Jesus. Eventually, according to tradition, they will leave Jerusalem and go to Cyprus. Lazarus will die there of natural causes in Christian ministry with his sisters. But the "praise of men" is always untrustworthy and misleading, and those who seek this as their primary aim in life are the most deluded in the Gospels, the ones who fail to understand or to "see the light." To seek only that sort of triumph is to open oneself up to all evil - to envy, lies and and hardness of heart. "The world has gone after Him!" once again, as the words of Caiaphas in his prophetic capacity as high priest, are bizarrely apt and true. It just proves that the aim of the heart can delude us from perceiving even our own wisdom as to what is right in front of us, uttered out of our own mouths. We are unable to see and to read the signs of the times. The Triumphal Entry in fact ushers us in to a nightmarish time, when truth is disguised and the reality of life is upside down - and envy shows what it will do.