John 12 is a hinge, closing the public ministry of Jesus in John, and opening the private ministry He enters with his disciples in Chapters 13-20. In John 12, we see Jesus’ fame growing, but so is opposition to Him. But finally, what Jesus has been waiting for has arrived – “His hour.”
So Jesus moves from Bethany into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, His most public declaration of His Messiahship. But when He is a different kind of King – He arrives with humility as a fulfillment of prophecy; He arrives not to judge rebels, but to lay down His life to save them, He arrives to set up His kingdom, a kingdom of peace that will stretch to the ends of the earth (Zephaniah 9:10-11). And while not everyone will believe, He boldly calls us to believe Him and walk in the light.
Scripture: John 12:12-50; Zephaniah 3, 9:9-11; 1 Timothy 6:19; John 2
