At first His disciples did not understand these things, but after Jesus was glorified they remembered what had been done to Him, and they realized that these very things had also been written about Him.His disciples didn’t 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.These things understood not his disciples at the first: but when Jesus was glorified, then remembered they that these things were written of him, and that they had done these things unto him.These things understood not his disciples at the first: but when Jesus was glorified, then remembered they that these things were written of him, and that they had done these things unto him.
6 sermons cite this verse
… for you and I. Now, let me read the passage from John chapter 12, verses 12 through 16. Picking up right here, mid-flow, the next day, the great crowd that had come for the festival heard that Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem. 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. Now, watch what Jesus did, a study in contrast. Here are these loud shouts from the crowd. And Jesus, verse 14, found a young donkey and sat on it, as it is written. Do not be afraid, daughter Zion. See your king is coming. Isn't that good news? Your king is coming. Doesn't that bless you to know your king is coming? somebody next to you, the king is coming. See, your king is coming, seated on a donkey's colt. That's unexpected. Last week, we talked about the staying Jesus. Week one, we talked about the seeking Jesus. This week we're going to talk about the seated Jesus, seated on a donkey's colt. Now, one more verse I want to give you, then you can be seated. This is what I want to talk to you about today. At first, his disciples did not understand all this. Only after… See, some things only make sense after. Only after. Don't worry too much right now about what you don't understand. Some things only make sense after. Only after Jesus was glorified did they …
… And that's the chapter or the book I've selected for today. And then, of course, John chapter 12, verses 12 to 19. John records it from his eyes. Why is this important? I don't want to get too much into this, except that the Bible says that before two or three witnesses, the truth shall be established. Which, by the way, if you're an attorney, or maybe you're a judge, or maybe you're involved in law, did you know that our jurisprudence of the United States of America is founded upon the biblical requirement of you not being able to be convicted without multiple witnesses? Did you know our founding fathers got that from the scriptures? and God brings it on the stage and says, here are, watch this, here are three eyewitnesses that are going to record the events of other eyewitnesses and I've added a fourth, John's Gospel, and it's a beautiful thing to look at because we love, for example, quadraphonic sound. Remember those days? Some of us are old enough. …
John chapter 12, verses 12 to 19. Hear the word of the Lord. The next day, the large crowd that had come to the feast heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem. So they took branches of palm trees and went out to meet him, crying out, Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, even the King of Israel. And Jesus found a young donkey and sat on it, just 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 had been written about him and had been done to him. The crowd that had been with him when he called Lazarus out of the tomb and raised him from the dead continued to bear witness. The reason why the crowd went to meet him was that they heard he had done this sign. So the Pharisees said to one another, you see that we are gaining nothing. …
… See, your king is coming, seated on a donkey's colt. 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 these things had been done to him. Now, the crowd that was with him when he called Lazarus from the tomb and raised him from the dead continued to spread the word. And many people, because they had heard that he had performed this sign, went out to meet him. So the Pharisees said to one another, see, this is getting us nowhere. Look how the whole world has gone after him. Massive crowd, big momentum, lots of energy, all focused on this powerful, miracle-working Jesus. But Jesus, he's thinking something else in this moment, far greater than they can understand. He's fulfilling prophecies. Riding on the colt of a donkey is a prophecy that he's fulfilling. But there's another prophecy that I want you to see about him that's giving us insight into what Jesus is thinking in this moment. …
… Look, your king is coming, sitting on a donkey's colt. His disciples did not understand these things at first, but when Jesus was glorified, they remembered that these things had been written of him and had been done to him. This is the word of God. For you, the people of God. Thanks be to God. Then they remembered that these things had been written of him and had been done to him. To be human is to know suffering, to experience suffering. To be human is to wrestle with the nature of suffering. For as long as humankind has gathered together in community, we've sat around campfires poking the embers and raising questions about the causes of suffering, the meaning of suffering, the right responses to suffering. A good chunk of humanity's earliest literature can be classified as tragic. These ancient plays and stories explore the causes of human pain and the depths of human anguish. The Greek playwright Aeschylus wrote his historical tragedy, the Persians, in 470 BC. …
… of it. In John 12, 16, we read this, these things His disciples did not understand at first. They did not understand. But when Jesus was glorified, after He had gone back to glory, they remembered these things were written of Him and that they had done these things to Him. This takes into account Luke 24. You remember after the resurrection, Jesus met the disciples on the road to Emmaus and went back to the Old Testament and told them all the things in the Old Testament that He had to fulfill, and that would have been one of them, the colt, the foal of a donkey as the animal bringing Him into Jerusalem. They didn't understand things until they began to understand the Old Testament, and that That was the greatest moment in their disciples' education. Post-resurrection, Jesus went back through the Old Testament and explained all the things concerning Himself. Look at it in Luke 24. It's repeated twice, verses 25 to 27, 44 to 46. But at this point, they don't understand what's happening. …