Living In Response

Written by Ed Allen
Sunday, 05 April 2009 09:00

Sermons - General Sermons

Sermon Notes

What part do we play in our relationship with God? How are we to respond to what He is doing around us?

John 12:12-19

The Triumphal Entry

¹²The next day the great crowd that had come for the Feast heard that Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem. ¹³They took palm branches and went out to meet him, shouting,

"Hosanna!"

"Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!"

"Blessed is the King of Israel!" ¹⁴Jesus found a young donkey and sat upon it, as it is written,

¹⁵"Do not be afraid, O Daughter of Zion;
see, your king is coming,
seated on a donkey's colt."

¹⁶At first his disciples did not understand all this. Only after Jesus was glorified did they realize that these things had been written about him and that they had done these things to him.

¹⁷Now the crowd that was with him when he called Lazarus from the tomb and raised him from the dead continued to spread the word. ¹⁸Many people, because they had heard that he had given this miraculous sign, went out to meet him. ¹⁹So the Pharisees said to one another, "See, this is getting us nowhere. Look how the whole world has gone after him!"

Ruminations and Musings about John 12:12-19

• THere is a buzz throughout Jerusalem about whether Jesus was coming or not... (John 11:56)
• A spontaneous celebration bursts out when Jesus arrives
  • They think the revolution is about to begin
• Jesus draws a unique image from a totally different spot
  • Instead of riding in on a great stallion like a triumphant king, He rides in on a donkey.
  • This is from Zechariah 9:9
• The disciples are clueless. They are in the midst of one of the most momentous occasions in history and have no real idea about what is going on. Yet they are still praising and magnifying Jesus.
• The days leading up to the triumphal entry... Jesus was anointed at Bethany
  • John 12:1-11 – Mary pours perfume on Jesus.
  • Mark 14:1-11 – People rebuked Mary but Jesus said “Leave her alone” and that she was preparing him for burial.
  • Mary was completely abandoned to everything but her response to Jesus without regard to what she was supposed to do.

Application points

Recognizing that we are often clueless about what God is doing:

1. It creates appropriate spiritual humility.
2. It creates appropriate dependence on God.
3. It creates a desire to seek God and to live in response to Him.

Small Group Questions

1. Read John 12:1-8
2. Who are the characters in this passage and what do we know about them?
3. What was Jesus response after Mary pours the perfume on him?
4. Mary responds to the overflow of her love for Jesus. How did you first respond when you met Jesus? How do you respond today?
5. Jesus goes against the grain when he chooses to enter Jerusalem on a donkey. Are you willing to go against the culture in how you live for Jesus? What would that look like?
6. As you reflect on Jesus coming into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, spend time in prayer as a group. Close your eyes and imagine and share out loud during your prayer time what words you would use to announce Jesus entrance into the capital city.
7. Ed shared that as he recognizes Jesus unique response to his situation, it created a spiritual humility, a dependence on God, and a desire to seek God in him. What does this create in you? How will you remember the Passion week differently this year as we lead up to Easter?