What Are You Looking For? Jesus, the King You Weren't Expecting

Introduction

What are you looking for? The question Matthew Glock puts in front of you this morning is not a small one. It comes from a very specific moment in Jesus' life: his entry into Jerusalem, on a young donkey, acclaimed by a crowd shouting "Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, the King of Israel" (John 12:13). The crowd hopes for a strong king. The disciples hope for a victorious king. The Pharisees fear a dangerous king. No one really understands what Jesus is doing. He comes as a humble king, gentle, disorienting. And he invites you too to look beyond your expectations, to receive not the king you would want, but the king you need.

Sermon Outline

1. Jesus is the king you need, not the one you want

• Matthew Glock opens with a detour through French current events. After the runoff elections, a newspaper showed two photos: on one side, an acclaimed candidate, riding a bicycle, full of joy in the streets of Paris; on the other, a candidate leaving her headquarters at night, escorted by bodyguards, booed by the crowd. "We cheer the winner and we practically spit on the one who lost. It's terrible."
• He cites a survey from Destin Commun (a French think tank), La France en quête (2020): about 70% of French people want "a strong leader capable of restoring order, even at the cost of certain democratic processes." That majority held up in the years that followed.
• Standing before James Tissot's painting of Jesus' entry into Jerusalem, the pastor asks: what king is the crowd hoping for? The crowd has seen Jesus' power, his healings, the raising of Lazarus (John 11). They say: this is him, and this is the moment.
• This is the only time in his life that Jesus accepted being acclaimed this way. Everywhere else, whenever people wanted to seize him or push him forward, he slipped away. Here, he accepts it. Why? To fulfill the prophecy: "Don't be afraid, daughter of Zion. Behold, your King comes, sitting on a donkey's colt" (John 12:15, quoting Zechariah 9:9).
• There are two stories happening at once. An earthly story (the crowd, the palm branches, the shouts), and a heavenly reality: what God truly wanted. The crowd wants a strong king. The disciples hope for a victorious king. The Pharisees fear a dangerous king. But Jesus comes as a humble king, gentle, disorienting.
• This humility, this determination to do the Father's will, doesn't lead him to a throne but to the cross. He knew it. He accepted it.
• Matthew Glock points to Revelation 5: "I saw, in the right hand of him who sat on the throne, a book written inside and outside, sealed shut with seven seals… Don't weep. Behold, the Lion who is of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has overcome; he who opens the book and its seven seals. I saw... in the middle of the throne... a Lamb standing, as though it had been slain" (Revelation 5:1, 5-6).
• The king you need is the one who is both the lion and the lamb. It runs completely against everything the world values. But Jesus knows what you need, and he presents himself as this humble, gentle Lamb.

2. Unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies

• "Most certainly I tell you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains by itself alone. But if it dies, it bears much fruit. He who loves his life will lose it. He who hates his life in this world will keep it to eternal life. If anyone serves me, let him follow me. Where I am, there my servant will also be" (John 12:24-26).
• Jesus is describing his kingdom: a kingdom with values turned upside down. It's not the strongest who wins, but the weakest. It's not the one who draws attention to himself, but the one who fixes his attention on this wonderful God.
• His glory is the cross. He is that grain of wheat that fell into the earth. His death gives life to many.
• And he calls every disciple, everyone who follows him, to become that grain of wheat too. "It's so hard," Matthew Glock admits. In your work, in your family, among the people around you, in every area of life, you sometimes struggle to accept that your voice isn't heard, that your choices aren't appreciated, that the work you do isn't seen.
• Jesus isn't calling you to hate or despise yourself. He's calling you to forget yourself, to be freed from the need for recognition. And you cannot do that on your own strength. If you try, you'll run out of resources.
• How can you live this out? John 13:3 gives the key: "Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he came from God, and was going to God." Jesus could do what he did because he had this assurance, this confidence in his relationship with the Father. That was his guide.
• Instead of being swept along by the crowd, he says: "No, that's not the path I'm taking. I'm going to the cross because that's what the Father told me." That same confidence is offered to you. Because Jesus lived this out, his life is in you, and you can live it out too.

3. Jesus, the light of the world, calls you

• After answering the crowd and declaring his kingdom, Jesus returns to his deeper nature: "Yet a little while the light is with you. Walk while you have the light, that darkness doesn't overtake you. He who walks in the darkness doesn't know where he is going. While you have the light, believe in the light, that you may become children of light" (John 12:35-36).
• This echoes the opening verses of the Gospel: Jesus came to his own, and his own did not receive him (John 1:11). The light came into the world, but it is only there for a little while.
• Look at the world around you. A world that, all too often, doesn't know where it's going. You are called to look to Jesus.
• Jesus doesn't just meet your desires. He calls you to a new life. A life of humility, trust, and light. Your greatest joy, your deepest desire, is to look to Jesus, and that transforms you.
• The passage ends on a striking note: "Jesus said these things, and he departed and hid himself from them" (John 12:36). John chooses not to narrate every event of that week. He puts the spotlight on this moment, and on the way Jesus withdraws.
• Why does Jesus hide? Because he wanted to fulfill his Father's will, and to do that he needed to step away from the crowd for now, and move toward the meal, the betrayal, the trial. He had all of this in mind. As the author of Hebrews says: "for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising its shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God" (Hebrews 12:2).
• What is this joy set before him? It's you. It's us. He knew that through this death and resurrection, by obeying, by paying the price for our sins, he could give us access to the Father and win many brothers and sisters.

Key Takeaways

• The world is looking for a strong leader. Jesus presents himself as the humble, gentle, disorienting king, the one you need, not the one you would choose.
• Jesus alone is both the Lion of the tribe of Judah and the slain Lamb (Revelation 5). His strength works through accepted weakness.
• The grain of wheat must die to bear fruit. Jesus lived this at the cross. He calls you to live it in your everyday life, by forgetting yourself, not by hating yourself.
• You cannot die to yourself by your own strength. Like Jesus, you can do it because you know where you come from, where you're going, and that the Father has placed everything in his hands (John 13:3).
• The joy that sustained Jesus all the way to the cross is you. It's us. He hid from the crowd in order to carry out the Father's will to the end and win you to God.

Personal Application

• What kind of king are you looking for right now in your life? A strong king who solves your problems quickly, or the humble king who transforms you slowly?
• Where in your life are you called to be a grain of wheat that falls into the ground, at work, in your family, among the people around you? What needs to die in you so that the life of Christ can bear fruit?
• Does your sense of security come from other people's recognition, or from your relationship with the Father? Like Jesus, who knew he came from God and was going back to God, do you know who you are in Christ?
• Is there an area of your life where you're walking in darkness, not knowing where you're going? Do you want to believe in the light while it's still among us?
• Can you take some time this week to meditate on Hebrews 12:2 and remember that you are the joy that sustained Jesus all the way to the cross?

Scripture References

• John 12:12-36 · Jesus' entry into Jerusalem
• Zechariah 9:9 · Behold, your King comes to you, humble, riding on a donkey
• John 1:11 · He came to his own
• John 11 · The raising of Lazarus
• John 13:3 · Jesus knew that the Father had given all things into his hands
• Revelation 5 · The Lion of the tribe of Judah and the slain Lamb
• Hebrews 12:2 · For the joy that was set before him he endured the cross

FAQ

Why does Jesus accept the crowd's acclaim in Jerusalem when he had shied away from it every other time?

Matthew Glock points out that this is the only moment where Jesus accepts being publicly acclaimed. He does it to fulfill the prophecy of Zechariah 9:9 and to present himself as the true king. But the crowd doesn't understand his real purpose: he isn't heading for a throne, he's heading for the cross. Two stories are unfolding at the same time, one earthly and one heavenly.

What does Jesus mean when he talks about the grain of wheat that must die?

Jesus is first speaking of himself: he is the grain that falls into the ground at the cross to bear much fruit. But he also calls every disciple to die to self. That doesn't mean hating yourself. It means forgetting yourself, being freed from the need for recognition in your work, your family, the people around you. You can live this out because Jesus' life is in you.

What should I do when my voice isn't heard, when my work isn't seen?

Matthew Glock points to John 13:3: Jesus knew that the Father had given all things into his hands, that he had come from God and was going back to God. That assurance in his relationship with the Father was his guide. For you too: it's because you know who you are in Christ that you can accept that your voice may not be heard, your choices may not be appreciated, your work may not be noticed.