John 12:1-19 - How Will We Receive Him? - March 25, 2018

Everyone loves a good homecoming, right? From football games welcoming alumni back to campus to family and friends welcoming their warrior home from a tour of duty – we love to throw a party when distant friends or family come home. Recently, McFarland had a unique homecoming of its own: welcoming back Olympic curling champion Matt Hamilton. This is merely anecdotal on my part, but I understand that when Matt returned to town he was greeted at not one but two different local restaurants. And – this is merely a guess – but I’m guessing that Matt didn’t have to buy his own food and drinks that night. It’s an unwritten rule, right? You welcome home loved ones and heroes by giving them food and drink and gifts.

Almost 2000 years ago, our Lord Jesus rode into Jerusalem for the final time. And the rule held true for him – people gathered to welcome the Son of David (Matthew 1:1) to the city of David (2 Samuel 5:9-10) with a food and gifts, praise and palms. While we don’t expect Jesus to ride through those doors on a donkey today, he is here with us as certainly as he was in Jerusalem long ago. We have his Word on it: where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them. (Matthew 18:20) Jesus still comes to us – not only on festivals like Palm Sunday, but daily and weekly through Word and Sacrament. How will we receive him?

The first people to welcome Jesus as he came home to Jerusalem to die for the sins of the world were his friends in Bethany – a little town only a few miles from Jerusalem. Mark tells us that this meal was hosted by Simon the Leper (Mark 14:3) – presumably one of the many who was cured by Jesus’ healing power. Also present were Mary and Martha and their brother Lazarus, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. This was a pleasant, friendly Sabbath day gathering – not so much different from what you and I might experience next Sunday afternoon.

The first observation we should make is so obvious that we might miss it: Jesus was welcome in his disciples’ home. We want the same to be said of our homes, too, right? Maybe we have a plaque or doormat with the verse from Joshua as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD (Joshua 24:15) or the common table prayer come, Lord Jesus, be our guest. It’s easy to hang those signs and speak those words, but is Jesus always welcome in our homes and hearts? Are mealtime prayers and devotions a regular routine or are we too busy to thank Jesus for providing food and drink day after day? Would Jesus be proud to join in our dinner table conversations because they are sprinkled with love and grace, or would he ask to be excused from hearing gossip and slander? If Jesus were to make an unexpected visit, would he be proud to find a well-used copy of the Bible – his Word – or would he have to search for it on a dusty shelf somewhere, unused? When Jesus invites us to leave our homes and come to his to receive his gifts of forgiveness, guidance, and his Sacrament – do we eagerly accept or drag our feet, searching for any excuse to decline? This week, his invitation is loud and clear: Jesus will offer his body and blood to you for the forgiveness of your sins on Thursday and give his life for yours on Friday. Will you be there to receive him?

While everyone in Bethany honored Jesus’ presence, one in particular recognized Jesus’ real purpose in coming to Jerusalem with a precious gift. Mary took about a pint of pure nard, an expensive perfume; she poured it on Jesus’ feet and wiped his feet with her hair. But one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, who was later to betray him, objected, “Why wasn’t this perfume sold and the money given to the poor? It was worth a year’s wages.” At first glance, we might be tempted to agree with Judas. The money could have done significant good for those in need. Was this a waste of money? Jesus made it clear that in his eyes, it was not. It was a visible expression of Mary’s invisible faith. She had sat at Jesus’ feet, listened to his teaching, and firmly believed that he was entering Jerusalem to die for her sins; and she confessed that faith by anointing him with perfume (which amounted to beginning the burial process). No gift, no good work – in her mind – could be too expensive to show her gratitude for what Jesus would do for her. So, while Judas’ objection might seem sensible, it was actually just cover for a wicked heart. He did not say this because he cared about the poor but because he was a thief; as keeper of the money bag, he used to help himself to what was put into it. The love of money had taken possession of Judas; it had replaced Jesus as his master. (It was immediately after this meal that Judas sought out Jesus’ enemies and agreed to betray him for thirty silver coins. (Mark 14:10-11))

After we have given Jesus and his Word priority in our homes and hearts, it is only natural that we would want to thank and praise him with our gifts – as a visible sign of invisible faith. No, it doesn’t reveal our faith to Jesus – he can read our hearts. (John 2:25) No, it doesn’t reveal our faith to other members or the pastor – they don’t know what we give. Your offerings, instead, tell you something about the state of your faith. Do my offerings show that I recognize that everything I have belongs to God, that I believe that Jesus gave up the riches of heaven and became poor to make me rich (2 Corinthians 8:9), and that I trust that the God who did not spare his own Son (Romans 8:32) will graciously give me everything I need for body and life? What does the offering you will place in the plate this morning tell you about the place Jesus has in your heart?

Mary and Judas represent opposite ends of the spectrum. Besides being a thief, Judas represents the attitude that says offerings are basically a necessary evil. If something needs to be done or purchased, if the budget needs to be met, then I guess I’ll put in my portion to get it done. (Kind of like how we feel about taxes – I’ll pay what I owe and not a penny more!) Doesn’t that attitude betray a greedy, misguided heart – that I’m going to hold on to every penny (acting like it’s mine, not God’s) until it’s ripped out of by hands by necessity? The truth is that our motivation to give is not keeping the lights on and the bills paid but to thank and praise the one who gave everything for us and to us. Like Mary, we give not because Jesus needs us to – he’s the king of the universe, we can’t give him anything he doesn’t already own. We give because we need to. If we aren’t giving cheerfully, generously, and regularly – the problem is not with our offerings, the problem is with our hearts, our faith and our priorities. Jesus, our King, gave up the riches of heaven, and came to Jerusalem to suffer and die for your sins. Today, he still comes to us personally through his Word and Sacrament to present us with the gifts of forgiveness and salvation he paid for with his blood. How will we receive him?

I don’t know about you, but until recently I didn’t know there were so many avid fans of curling. But last month, they came out of the woodwork, didn’t they? I’d never seen USA Curling apparel – and then it was everywhere: gas stations, grocery stores – even right here at church. Whether every one of them is truly a fan of curling – and can tell you what a skip or the hog line are [1] – is impossible to say. But when Matt and company brought home the gold, they weren’t afraid to make their fan hood known proudly and publicly.

That close knit group in Bethany weren’t the only ones to honor Jesus’ arrival on the doorstep of Jerusalem, the crowds of pilgrims who had gathered for the Passover celebration (according to Josephus around 2 million [2]) threw a homecoming parade for him as he entered Jerusalem to die. 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!” Jesus found a young donkey and sat upon it, as it is written, “Do not be afraid, O Daughter of Zion; see, your king is coming, seated on a donkey’s colt.” The words which the Savior’s welcoming party sang were words they knew very well. These were refrains from Psalm 118 which they recited as they traveled to Jerusalem and then again as they ate the Passover. The words fit the occasion perfectly. Hosanna means “save us!” And with the refrains of blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord and blessed is the King of Israel the crowd was testifying that Jesus was the chosen one of God, the Christ, their King – who had come to do just that.

But if you look a little bit closer, you will see three different reactions. There were the Pharisees, who shook their heads in hatred and envy for the warm welcome Jesus was receiving. There were those who were perhaps swept up the moment and shouted along with everyone else: hosanna…blessed is the King of Israel – but really didn’t believe it, as evidenced by the fact that only a few days later they were shouting for Jesus’ crucifixion. (John 19:6) And there were those who truly believed that Jesus had come as their king to suffer and die to save them from their sins.

Wherever and whenever Jesus comes – even right here – he always receives a mixed reception. (He guarantees it: see Matthew 10:34.) By God’s grace, there are those who warmly welcome him into their hearts as the Son of God who had come to bleed and die to save them. But right next to them there are hypocrites. They get swept up in singing and rejoicing – but don’t really believe any of it, as proven by the fact that they walk out those doors just to crucify Jesus all over again by their faithless, godless living. And then there are always those who simply shake their heads in hatred and unbelief. They have no use for Jesus or the forgiveness he comes to bring. At first, these differences are invisible. But eventually, the heart reveals itself; faith or unbelief makes always makes itself evident in a clear, public way. (Luke 6:43-45)

For we who believe that Jesus comes to bless and save us, to wash away our sins and open the gates of eternal life – the faith that is hidden in our hearts will always reveal itself in a public confession – in fact, God’s Word demands it. (Romans 10:9) I’m not suggesting that we go and march down Main Street waving palm branches and chanting Bible verses to impress our neighbors. There was a time and a place for that – 2000 years ago in Jerusalem. Today we make our public confession about Jesus when we gather here regularly around his Word and Sacraments. When good things happen to us we don’t chalk it up to good luck or hard work – we recognize that all good things come from Christ. When times of trial and tragedy come our first reaction is not to turn to friends, family or government – we turn to God in prayer. (Psalm 50:15) When guilt or stress or worry overwhelm us we don’t numb it with substances or dull it with distractions – we lay our burdens at the feet of our King. One important way we make our confession in these days when people are terrified by school shootings and package bombs, is to confess calmly and confidently: no matter what happens, King Jesus is in control, he has brought us peace by purchasing eternal life for us and promises that his legions of angels are protecting us. (Psalm 91:11) King Jesus has come, he came to die for you, to rise for you, to live to guide and protect you. How will you receive him?

Whether you watched and cheered and bought a USA curling T-shirt or not - does not, in the end, matter. But, how we receive King Jesus now will impact us, not only now but eternally. One day, every knee will bow before him. (Philippians 2:9-11) Only those who bow and believe and confess his glory as a humble King who came to die for us now will share in his glory when he comes with his angelic armies to judge the world. (Matthew 10:32-33) King Jesus is coming. He’s come to lay down his life for your sins and take it up to open the gate to heaven. Welcome him with your praise, your devotion, your offerings, your confession – but most of all receive him with a heart overflowing with faith. Amen.

[1] http://www.curling.ca/about-the-sport-of-curling/getting-started-in-curling/glossary-of-curling-terms/

[2] Stott, John The Message of John p. 180