The crowds shout 'Hosanna' while Jesus weeps — He alone sees what is coming.
What kind of King did Jesus come to be? In this expository sermon on John 12:12-19, Dr. Toby B. Holt examines the Triumphal Entry, where a great Passover crowd hailed Jesus with palm branches, crying, "Hosanna! 'Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!' The King of Israel!" Yet He came not as the political deliverer they wanted but as the humble, saving King foretold by the prophet, "sitting on a donkey's colt." From a Reformed vantage, this passage exposes the gap between shallow enthusiasm and saving faith, and it sets the true Lamb of God on His path to the cross.
0:00 — The King Comes to Jerusalem. Crowds hail Jesus with palm branches (John 12:12-13).
4:47 — The Lamb Selected. Entering at Passover, the true Lamb comes to be sacrificed.
14:22 — A King on a Donkey. Humble yet royal, fulfilling Zechariah's prophecy (John 12:14-15).
17:24 — From "Hosanna" to "Crucify." The same crowd's praise soon turns to rejection.
18:07 — Which Will It Be for You? Every heart must answer who this King is.
"Hosanna" comes from Psalm 118:25, "Save now, I pray, O Lord," and was a cry pleading for deliverance. The crowd joined it to Psalm 118:26, "Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!" So the shout was both a plea for salvation and a confession that this One came with the Lord's own authority, even if many misread what kind of saving He had come to bring.
Jesus deliberately fulfilled Zechariah 9:9, "Behold, your King is coming to you; He is just and having salvation, Lowly and riding on a donkey." John quotes it as "Fear not, daughter of Zion; Behold, your King is coming, Sitting on a donkey's colt." A donkey, not a war horse, signaled a King who brings peace and salvation rather than military conquest, overturning the crowd's political expectations.
Having just seen Lazarus raised, many hoped for a political liberator who would throw off Rome and restore Israel's earthly glory. They cried, "The King of Israel!" with national zeal. But Jesus came as the humble, suffering King who saves from sin, not from Caesar. The collision between their expectation and His mission helps explain how quickly the same city would later call for His death.
Crowd religion is fickle because it rests on excitement rather than regeneration. The acclaim of John 12 gave way to the cry of the Passion week, exposing hearts that wanted benefits from Jesus but not submission to Him as Lord. Scripture teaches that true faith is the gift of God, not mere enthusiasm. Without the Spirit's work, admiration of Jesus collapses the moment He disappoints fleshly hopes.
Jesus arrives as Jerusalem fills with lambs for Passover, and He is the reality those lambs foreshadowed. John the Baptist had already announced, "Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!" (John 1:29). The timing is not incidental; the true Lamb enters the city precisely when sacrifice is in view, coming to be slain for His people.
It reveals a King who reigns through humility and saving mercy. The Westminster Shorter Catechism (Q. 26) says Christ executes the office of a king "in subduing us to himself, in ruling and defending us, and in restraining and conquering all his and our enemies." On the colt, He is not less a King but the true King, whose throne is established through the cross before the crown.
No. John records, "His disciples did not understand these things at first; but when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that these things were written about Him." Only after the resurrection did the Spirit illumine the prophecy. This shows that spiritual understanding is granted by God, and that the events of redemption were planned and Scripture-shaped, not accidental.
Frustrated and threatened, they said, "You see that you are accomplishing nothing. Look, the world has gone after Him!" They spoke in alarm, yet unwittingly testified to the truth: Christ would draw people from every nation. Their words echo Jesus' own promise a few verses later that, lifted up, He would draw all peoples to Himself.
Two texts converge. The crowd's words draw on Psalm 118:25-26, and the donkey fulfills Zechariah 9:9. The unity of Scripture is on display: centuries earlier the coming King's manner and welcome were foretold, and here they are enacted. This confirms the reliability of God's Word and frames Jesus as the promised Messiah arriving on schedule.
It presses the question of whether you receive Jesus as the King He actually is. Shallow admiration is not saving faith; the same lips can cheer and later reject. The call is to bow to the humble, saving King with genuine trust and repentance. As the Westminster Confession (14.2) teaches, saving faith receives and rests upon Christ alone for salvation.
1. A King, but Not the King They Wanted
The crowd crowned Jesus with their words, shouting, "The King of Israel!" while waving palm branches of national triumph. But their idea of kingship was political and earthly, shaped by hope for deliverance from Rome. Jesus accepted the title and refused their definition. He is King, yet His reign advances through humility and sacrifice. The tragedy of the passage is a people who wanted a king on their terms rather than the King God had sent.
2. The Lamb Enters at Passover
John frames the entry within Passover, when the city swelled with lambs prepared for sacrifice. Into that scene rides the true Lamb. John the Baptist had testified, "Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!" (John 1:29). The King comes not first to conquer but to be slain. His path runs through the cross, where the deliverance the crowd dimly cried for, "Save now," is truly accomplished for sinners.
3. Praise That Did Not Last
The shouting of "Hosanna" was real, but it was not rooted in saving faith, and within days the mood of the city would turn against Him. This is the danger of crowd religion: enthusiasm without regeneration. Jesus is not seeking admirers who praise Him for the benefits they want; He calls for disciples who rest on Him as Lord. The question the text leaves is personal and unavoidable: who do you say this King is?
The Scripture Text: John 12:12-13 (NKJV)
"The next day a great multitude that had come to the feast, when they heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem, took branches of 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!'"
Continue studying: explore the full Gospel of John sermon series, or browse the complete Reformed Sermon Archive.
About The Speaker: Dr. Toby Holt serves as the third President of New Geneva Theological Seminary (Colorado Springs, CO), founded 1993. An expository preacher with over 1.9 million sermon downloads on SermonAudio.com, Dr. Holt brings over 17 years of pastoral experience to his verse-by-verse Bible teaching. New Geneva offers fully online Reformed theological education — M.Div., Th.M., D.Min., and other degrees.
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