The King Who Came to Die

John 12:12-26 - August 9th, 2026

Sermon - Pastor Scott Thompson

John 12:12-26 presents us with one of the most striking moments in the earthly ministry of Jesus. The crowds are celebrating. Palm branches are being waved. The people are crying out, “Hosanna! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord, even the King of Israel!” (John 12:13, ESV).

At first glance, this looks like the arrival of a victorious King. And in one sense, it is. Jesus truly is the King. But He is not coming to Jerusalem to establish an earthly kingdom in the way the crowds expected. He is coming to accomplish something far greater. He is coming to die.

John tells us that Jesus found a young donkey and sat on it, fulfilling the prophecy of Zechariah 9:9: “Fear not, daughter of Zion; behold, your king is coming, sitting on a donkey’s colt” (John 12:15).

The King of kings enters Jerusalem in humility. He does not arrive on a war horse surrounded by armies. He comes meekly, because His mission is not to conquer Rome through military force. His mission is to conquer sin, death, and the power of Satan through His sacrificial death.

The crowds, however, did not fully understand what they were celebrating. They were excited because Jesus had raised Lazarus from the dead, and many had heard about this miracle. But their understanding of Jesus was still incomplete. They wanted a king who would meet their immediate expectations. Jesus came as the King who would meet their greatest need.

That becomes even clearer in verses 20-26.

Some Greeks who had come to worship at the feast approached Philip and said, “Sir, we wish to see Jesus” (John 12:21). Their request becomes the occasion for Jesus to explain what was about to happen.

Jesus responds, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified” (John 12:23).

Notice what He means by “glorified.” He is speaking about His death.

Jesus says, “Unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit” (John 12:24).

This is the heart of the Gospel. The death of Jesus was not an accident. It was not a tragic interruption of His ministry. It was the very purpose for which He came.

The Son of God willingly laid down His life so that sinners could receive life. His death would produce much fruit because through His sacrifice, God would redeem His people.

Jesus then says, “Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life” (John 12:25).

Jesus is not teaching that human life has no value. He is teaching that we cannot follow Him while making this present world and our own desires our highest priority. To follow Christ means surrendering ourselves to Him. It means recognizing that Christ is more valuable than everything this world has to offer.

Then Jesus gives this command: “If anyone serves Me, he must follow Me; and where I am, there will My servant be also” (John 12:26).

The Christian life is not merely admiring Jesus. It is following Him.

The crowds wanted the blessings of a King, but Jesus called His disciples to follow the King even when following Him meant sacrifice. The same Lord who went to the cross calls His people to deny themselves, take up their cross, and follow Him.

There is also a tremendous encouragement here. Jesus says that the grain of wheat must die in order to bear fruit. What looked like defeat at the cross would become the means through which God accomplished redemption.

The cross reminds us that God's purposes are often very different from human expectations. The crowd wanted immediate political deliverance. Jesus came to accomplish eternal salvation.

And this is why we must look carefully at the Jesus presented in Scripture rather than creating a Jesus according to our own expectations. Jesus is the King, but He is the King who came to die. He is the Savior, but He saves through His substitutionary sacrifice. He is worthy not merely of our admiration, but of our complete submission.

The question is not simply whether we will celebrate Jesus. The question is whether we will follow Him.

We always encourage everyone to check everything through the lens of the Scriptures. Be like the noble Bereans of Paul’s day, who examined the Scriptures to see whether what they were being taught was true. Our opinions, traditions, and expectations must all bow before the Word of God.

Please visit us here for much more, and remember, Christ is enough.

Let us together, remember, that Christ is worthy because of who He is and until we meet again, lets go serve Him, our King with great joy in our hearts!

FRF Family