John 12:12-19: a reflection

12On the next day a great multitude had come to the feast. When they heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem, 13they took the branches of the palm trees and went out to meet him, and cried out, “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, the King of Israel!” 14Jesus, having found a young donkey, sat on it. As it is written, 15“Don’t be afraid, daughter of Zion. Behold, your King comes, sitting on a donkey’s colt.” 16His 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. 17The multitude therefore that was with him when he called Lazarus out of the tomb and raised him from the dead was testifying about it. 18For this cause also the multitude went and met him, because they heard that he had done this sign. 19The Pharisees therefore said among themselves, “See how you accomplish nothing. Behold, the world has gone after him.”

A great crowd, gathered for the feast, hears that Jesus is coming to Jerusalem, and they pour out to meet him waving palm branches and shouting, Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, the King of Israel. It is a moment of jubilant welcome. But the manner of the King's arrival is quietly significant: he comes not on a war horse but seated on a young donkey, exactly as the prophet foretold.

The choice of a donkey says everything about the kind of King Jesus is. The prophecy the disciples later remembered runs, Do not be afraid, daughter of Zion; behold, your King comes, sitting on a donkey's colt. Here is a King who comes in gentleness, not to conquer by force but to save by humility. His own followers did not understand it at the time; only after he was glorified did they see what they had been part of.

The King still comes this way, gently, not overwhelming you by force but inviting your welcome. The crowd's Hosanna is a fitting cry for your own heart: blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. Do not be afraid of this King. He comes humble and lowly, riding toward a cross for your sake. Welcome him gladly today, and let him reign in you not by compulsion but by the glad surrender of a heart that has seen how he comes.

Lord Jesus, you entered your city not on a war horse but on a donkey, a King who comes in gentleness to save by humility. I welcome you with the crowd's glad cry: blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. Do not let me fear you, but let me surrender to you gladly. Reign in me not by force but by the love that rode toward the cross for my sake. Amen.