Title John 12:12-19
But what happened? In just a few days, Jesus was mercilessly crucified and crucified. Where has all the "whole world" been so enthusiastic and cheering? But what is truly absurd is the fact that the people who shouted that Jesus should be crucified were the same people who, just a few days ago, hailed Jesus as “our King and our Messiah” with so much enthusiasm.
When the chief priests and elders who were jealous of Jesus (Mark 15:10) urged him to kill him, all the crowd got up and took him to Pilate, the Roman governor, saying, “When we saw this man, we deceived our people and gave him a tax on Caesar. He forbids offering them, and calls himself Christ the King” (Luke 23:1-2). Why did these crowds cheer so much when they would so easily fall for the impulse and conciliation of the chief priests and elders?
When Pilate, who knew that Jesus was innocent despite the accusations of the Israelites, tried to release Him, they all shouted that Jesus should be crucified. They shouted that Jesus had to be crucified and killed. Even when Pilate declared that he was not responsible for the death of Jesus, saying, "I am innocent of this man's blood, see it to you" and all replied, "Ascribe the blood to us and our children." (Matthew 27:24-25). Why were the people with blood in their eyes and saying that they had to kill Jesus until the very day before with so much enthusiasm and cheers?
Their demand to kill Jesus was so intense that Pilate feared that a riot would arise if the demand was not met (Matthew 27:24). What an absurd turn of events. Mark 14:1-2 records: "After two days passed, the Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the chief priests and the scribes sought a way to arrest Jesus and put him to death, saying, "Let's not do it during the festival, lest there will be a riot." what do you mean? At first, the crowd that was likely to cause a riot if someone tried to kill Jesus turned into a group that would cause a riot if Jesus didn't kill him overnight. Why did those who change their attitudes in such sharp contrasts cheer so much?
It was the same with the disciples, who did not understand the Lord, his teachings, and his work in the kingdom of God. Verse 16 of today's text says: "The disciples did not understand this at first, but after he was glorified, they remembered that this was written about him and that men had done this to him." In other words, the disciples did not know why Jesus rode on a colt and the great crowd came out to meet him with palm branches and cheered, and neither did John himself, one of Jesus' closest aides and "beloved disciple" of Jesus. That's not the only thing the disciples didn't know. Although Jesus had already foretold that He would die on the cross several times, the disciples did not understand His words. He did not know the meaning of death that the Lord was saying and about to suffer, nor did he know that he was going to die.
(For simultaneous interpreters: If there is not enough time due to the sacrament meeting, the paragraph below will be omitted)
Only Judas Iscariot, a smart, intelligent and quick-witted person, foresaw that Jesus was going to die soon, and quickly withdrew. It didn't just remove my feet, I took everything I needed to take care of. The Gospel of John gives us information about how much money Judas Iscariot was. John 12:3, like today's text, says that it was Judas Iscariot who "troubled the woman" (Matthew 26:10) with resentment, what should be done if the woman who poured expensive perfume on Jesus should sell it and give it to the poor. is revealing. Verse 6 also adds the following explanation: "He did not say these things for the sake of the poor, but because he was a thief, who had the money box and stole what was put into it." He showed the agility and cleverness of collecting thirty pieces of silver while cooperating with the arrest of Jesus, who was going to die anyway.
Even so, Judas Iscariot, what of the disciple Peter?
(This is a part that can be omitted when there is not enough time)
If we do not know the Lord, His works, and the kingdom of God, we have no choice but to forsake the Lord. Today we learn that cheers toward Jesus from those who are captivated by people's thoughts and do not think about the things of God and do not understand the meaning of death in Christ can rather betray him and turn into actions that go against the things of the kingdom. You should definitely know.
The Korean church, in which the number of people who gathered and cheered for Jesus Christ surged unprecedentedly in the history of Christianity, suddenly turned away from the Lord, dishonored God on this earth, and became a tool of Satan's work to obstruct God's kingdom. We should be able to look back. You will have to see if you have left the Lord by refusing to deny yourself and avoid taking up the cross. By ignoring the teachings of the Lord, "Whoever wants to save his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it," we should ask ourselves whether we have not been rejected by the Lord and this society. We hope this week will be a week of asking ourselves why we cheered for Jesus.