Jesus — The Servant King

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Let’s read John 12:12-19.

“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.” ‭John‬ ‭12‬:‭16‬ ‭NIV‬‬

The conquering kings of Jesus’s time would ride into their newly acquired territories on their war horses. They displayed their power in order for their new subjects to understand their need to submit. “Jesus found a young donkey…” This was to fulfill a messianic prophecy regarding Him. He had come as King! The crowds shouted it! BUT He had not come as a conquering King, but as a King of peace! Riding a donkey symbolized a King who had come to reconcile the people to Himself. It was a symbol of humility and service. 

BUT the people did not understand… including Jesus’s very own disciples. 

Jesus displayed the heart of His Heavenly Father to the world. What we see Jesus doing as we read the Gospels is exactly what Our Heavenly Father does. Jesus came in peace. Our Father comes to us in peace as well! He comes to us for our deliverance from sin! He comes to us in humility and love! He does not come to force us to follow Him! He comes to provide the way for us to be restored to what He had designed us for all along… relationship with Him! 

“Do not be afraid, Daughter Zion; see, your king is coming seated on a donkey’s colt.” (verse 15) Jesus our Servant King displayed what God had revealed about Himself almost 1400 years earlier when He spoke to Moses regarding who He is. He said He is:

“The Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin...”‭‭Exodus‬ ‭34‬:‭6‬-‭7‬ ‭NIV‬‬

God never changes! Who He was to Moses, He was in Jesus’s time. Jesus is still our Servant King, humble, and “abounding in love and faithfulness” today! 

Jesus chose to ride into Jerusalem on a donkey so the people could know and understand exactly who He was.

Jesus wanted them to KNOW Him! He still wants us to KNOW Him today! 

Extravagant Love

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Let’s read John 12:1-11 today! 

“Then Mary took about a pint of pure nard, an expensive perfume; she poured it on Jesus’ feet and wiped his feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume.” John‬ ‭12‬:‭3‬ ‭NIV‬‬

This is one of my favorite stories of worship, which is defined as honoring Jesus with extravagant love and extreme submission. Mary gave something very costly to express her love for Jesus. She wanted to express her recognition of how valuable He was to her and what He meant to her. She had seen Him do miracles, including raising her brother from the dead. He had changed her life! Her response was DEEP love for Him!

When I read this account, I wonder about my heart. Do I love Him deeply? When you love someone deeply, the cost you pay to express that love is never too great! 

Do I express extravagant love and extreme submission in my relationship with God? Do I value Him and Him alone? 

Hard heartedness

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Today let’s read John 11:45-57.

“Then the chief priests and the Pharisees called a meeting of the Sanhedrin. “What are we accomplishing?” they asked. “Here is this man performing many signs. If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him, and then the Romans will come and take away both our temple and our nation.””

‭‭John‬ ‭11‬:‭47‬-‭48‬ ‭NIV‬‬

I am always amazed at the hard heartedness of the religious leaders of Jesus’s time. Jesus simply did not fit into their agenda. They wanted things the way they wanted them, when and how they wanted it… They pursued their ways so much that they had drifted further and further from the very God they claimed to serve. They could see Jesus doing miracles that were beyond explanation, but they chose to pursue their ways instead of following Him. They stood there in the very presence of Jesus and they were not moved by His words, His miracles, His love… I would like to point my finger, but there have been times in my life that I chose to go my way instead of pursuing Him. There have been times I’ve heard His voice, saw His miracles, and yet turned away. 

Lifehouse recorded a song in the year 2000 thats lyrics have been rolling around in my head this morning as I have thought of this section of scripture. 

“You are the life to my soul

You are my purpose, you’re everything

… And how can I stand here with you

And not be moved by you?

Would you tell me how could it be

Any better than this?” 

You and I were created with a purpose — to Know God! A hard heart will keep us from realizing this purpose. Sin hardens our hearts. What is it that stands between you and God? Are you able to stand in the very presence of Jesus and not be moved by Him? 

This video illustrates the things that get in between us and God. Let’s ask  these questions: “How can I stand here with you and not be moved by you?” 

Is there an area of sin in my heart that has caused me to have a heart that is hardened towards God? 

Am I living my life wanting only what I want when and how I want it? Or is knowing Jesus my one true purpose, my everything? 

You Will See God’s Glory If You Believe

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Today let’s read John 11:17-44.

There is a perceived finality in death. More than once I have attended the graveside committal of someone I love. The separation we feel here on earth becomes so real. But Jesus!

These words of Jesus are often read at such an occasion where we stand next to the casket of someone we love moments before they are lowered into the ground: 

 “…“I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?”” 
John‬ ‭11‬:‭25‬-‭26‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Jesus experienced the things we do when He walked this earth. He stood outside the tomb of His friend as well. He saw the heartache of those left behind. He felt compassion for those who could only see the finality of the situation. Verse 35 says, “Jesus wept.” But that was not the end. Jesus ordered that the stone covering the entrance to the tomb be rolled back, and then He spoke. “Lazarus, come out!” Lazarus walked out of that tomb fully alive! 

This section of Scripture stirs up questions as well as comfort within me. Sometimes I don’t understand why things go the way they do.  I find comfort knowing that Jesus has stood graveside and wept. Not because it was the end, but simply because He loved the ones who thought it was. 

Then there have been the times I have seen Jesus do miracles that I could not explain and completely turned impossible situations around. 

I have often thought how convenient it would be to be able to say, “Do x,y,and z and this will result.” 

“Then Jesus said, “Did I not tell you that if you believe, you will see the glory of God?”” (Verse 40) The glory of God is His manifest presence and power. Simply put, I believe and God will do more than I could ask, think, or imagine within impossible situations. Martha could not conceive that opening a tomb with a dead body would ever be a good idea. BUT with Jesus, what is dead becomes alive. 

Do I understand that Jesus truly cares about the things that I am weeping about? Do I believe that no matter what I am up against Jesus is bigger? His Words He spoke to Martha are a promise to me as well. If I believe, I will see His Glory! (Verse 40) I will see He is with me and He is acting in His power on my behalf. He will do miracles. And “even though” I die. I will live! I always win when I believe (trust in and rely on) Jesus, who is Victor over everything including sickness and death! 

God’s Delays

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(I’ve been writing a lot on the Gospel of John lately. I felt like I should share today’s thoughts on the account of Lazarus’s death:)

Good morning! Let’s read John 11:1-16 today!

“So the sisters sent word to Jesus, “Lord, the one you love is sick.” When he heard this, Jesus said, “This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for God’s glory so that God’s Son may be glorified through it.” Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. So when he heard that Lazarus was sick, he stayed where he was two more days,”
‭‭John‬ ‭11‬:‭3‬-‭6‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Being sick is a horrible thing. Especially a major illness. In sickness, there is pain and discomfort. Jesus heard His friend, the one He loved, was sick. BUT Jesus delayed going to His friend for two days…

I have been thinking this morning about God’s delays. Jesus knew all things. He was and He is God. He also knew the end of Lazarus’s story, “…This sickness will not END in death. No, it is for God’s Glory…” God always had a plan. Jesus’s delay was a part of it.

In the book of Isaiah God tells us something that is very important to consider:

““For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord. “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.”
‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭55‬:‭8‬-‭9‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Jesus knew the reason that Lazarus had to SUFFER and DIE. He knew that He would raise Lazarus from the dead in order to display the glory of God to the people. It was an opportunity for Him to make Himself known in a way the people had not known Him as before. “I am the resurrection and the life.” (Verse 25) Jesus was going to display HIs power over death itself.

There are circumstances of life that we simply will not understand. Sometimes it seems that God is delaying doing what is best for us. We suffer. BUT God wants us to know that His thoughts are not our thoughts and His ways are not our ways either. What we think is best may not be what is the best in His Heavenly perspective. We must trust in Him!

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.”
‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭3‬:‭5‬-‭6‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Is there a circumstance in my life that I am suffering in? Am I trying to make sense out of it? Does it feel like Jesus has delayed?
Can I believe and trust that Jesus is always working in every circumstance for my good? (Romans 8:28)

Leaving 2025 Behind — All Things New!

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““Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland. The wild animals honor me, the jackals and the owls, because I provide water in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland, to give drink to my people, my chosen, the people I formed for myself that they may proclaim my praise.”
‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭43‬:‭18‬-‭21‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Jesus always makes all things new! What was dead always comes to life at the sound of His beautiful voice!

Today marks the last day of 2025. A New Year is a time of eager expectation of a new beginning. However, we do not have to experience newness just once a year! We can live our lives with each new morning as a new beginning as we pursue a relationship with God!

“The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.” Lamentations 3:22-23 NIV

In Jesus, our past is complete. Whatever happened there can be forgiven, restored, and healed. In Jesus, our present is full and alive. He never leaves us alone or forsakes us. He fills each moment with Himself— the true and abundant LIFE. In Jesus, our future is secure! We have nothing to fear of what is to come!

In Jesus, we can forget the troubling, former things of 2025. We don’t have to dwell in the could have’s, should have’s, would have’s… God is more than willing to do a new thing when we surrender our lives to Him! He has a way of turning things around. What was a dry deserted land inside of our spiritual hearts becomes a beautiful oasis with His living water flowing strong! Whatever was a wasteland and a total loss becomes NEW!

Walk with Jesus every moment of 2026 in the present! Spend time with Him in His Word and in prayer. Then on December 31, 2026 you will be amazed to see all the transformation (making all things new) He has done!

Leave 2025 in the past! Jesus is ever present in our now, and the hope (confident expectation) of what is to come!

A Happy New Year is found in Jesus alone!