Jesus On My Own Terms
Our passage this week (John 12:12-50), encapsulates a prayer with one word: “Hosanna!” (vs. 13) It means, “Oh save!” and is an exclamation of adoration. More than just a cry of "help" it encompasses God’s mighty acts and purposes in bringing salvation and peace. It embraces deep longings for the completion of all God's promises. And those promises are centred in the person of the Messiah, the anointed one, the coming King.
In the jubilation of welcoming the King it is easy to forget his proclamation is set in times of deep tension. Those tensions become apparent as we look at three groups of people and their responses to the King. Hopefully we will find ourselves among those noisy throngs and find that we have our own tensions that we also bring to proclaiming Jesus as King.