Focus

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL OF JOHN

FOCUS

John 12:12-16

12 The next day the great crowd that had come for the Feast heard that Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem. 13 They 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!" 14 Jesus 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."   16 At 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.

NIV

The triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem is what John is picturing for us here, briefly, as some others spend more time explaining the how of all this. But we are here and as we know from scholars those who were kings came into a town either upon a horse as a conquering king or on a donkey as a king coming in peace. Jesus was in fact a king, he was The King, the Prince of Peace, the Messiah, the Christ, he was coming to save his people, but no one at that time really knew and understood what was happening and what was about to happen. They were thinking he was coming to set them free from Roman rule, to become their new king, replacing the oppressing rule of Herod, who seemed to be in league with the Romans. For the most part people are always looking to their immediate situation, seeing with only human comprehension. Their interest in Jesus was because their interest was in themselves. They were looking to what Jesus was going to do for them, as they waved their palms shouting “Hosanna!” “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!” How often that scene is repeated throughout history even to this day. People looking to Jesus because of what he can do for them. Yes, he is in fact the King of kings, and we should shout, “Hosanna!” because he did free us, but not from the Romans, or from some earthy oppressive king, but he freed us from slavery to sin. He freed us from death, from destruction, from perishing in the lake of burning sulfur. He has done it all and as he said on that cross, “It is finished”. Yes, although he continues to do things for us, anything, if we ask, which is what he said, we should not be living our lives in such a manner as those people who only saw him for what he was going to do for them. True, as we first come to Jesus, that is the motivation of being freed from death, of what he did for us, and although it is true he continues to provide for us in so many ways, but if all we think about is what Jesus did and does for us, it is a self-centered view of life. Do we live our life for what Jesus can do for us, or do we live our life for what we can do for Jesus? Are we focused on us, or on him? Why do we worship our King? Yes out of gratitude, yes, out of thankfulness, yes, out of pure delight that we are saved and because he is God, the creator of all things, the giver of life itself. But again is not all that because we are focused on us? Should we not be living focused on Him? Where is our focus?