I Can Go to Jesus

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Introduction

As we continue in worship, let’s turn our attention to John chapter 12, starting in verse 12, as we turn our attention to the word of God.

This morning is typically a Sunday in the life of the church where we consider the triumphal entry of Christ into Jerusalem as he begins his journey to the cross in the final days of his earthly ministry. And so this morning, as we take a look at this, we are considering the work of Jesus on our behalf and the build-up to that reality. I think this passage encourages us that we can go to Jesus.

So as we look at this passage, we’ll consider that we can, in fact, go to Jesus and that we can do that because:

• Jesus first comes to us.

• Jesus comes with peace.

• Jesus comes with eternal life.

He comes to raise the dead. And so, because of those things, we can go to Jesus. With that in mind, let’s turn our attention to the word of God and give ourselves to the reading of it this morning.

Scripture Reading: John 12:12-19

“The next day the great crowd that had come for the festival heard that Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem. 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 on it, as it is written: ‘Do not be afraid, Daughter Zion; see, your king is coming, seated on a donkey’s colt.’

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.

Now the crowd that was with him when he called Lazarus from the tomb and raised him from the dead continued to spread the word. Many people, because they had heard that he had performed this sign, went out to meet him. So the Pharisees said to one another, ‘See, this is getting us nowhere. Look how the whole world has gone after him'”.

Sermon: Why We Can Go to Jesus

As we consider going to Jesus, maybe you’ve been a Christian for a while, maybe you’re new to the church, maybe you’re exploring Christianity, or maybe you’re here for some other reason this morning. Sometimes when we hear the phrase “go to Jesus,” we think of the phrase, “We had a ‘come to Jesus’ moment”. Usually, when that phrase is used, it’s in the context of somebody being at rock bottom. They got to the end of themselves, they’re in a deep dark place, and we describe a turnaround in their life by saying, “Well, they had a ‘come to Jesus’ moment and now look at where they’re at now”. Or maybe you’ve heard the joking phrase, “Y’all need Jesus,” on a t-shirt, a hat, or a Facebook post.

The context of those phrases are true; we do need Jesus. There is something broken within us—a desperate brokenness that we cannot fix. We cannot save ourselves from the reality of our sin. But often when we approach going to Jesus, we equate it with a moral transformation. We think going to Jesus is just going to help us mind our p’s and q’s and help us color within the lines better.

1. A Whole-Life Transformation

Jesus certainly does transform our morality, but he doesn’t just transform our morality; he transforms our whole being. In fact, he takes us from death to life. As the Apostle Paul describes the reality of salvation, he describes it as we have died to those former things and we are now made alive in Christ. Behold, the old things have passed away and the new things have come. To be a believer in Jesus—to truly come to Jesus—is not just slapping a band-aid on a problem, but instead is receiving a whole-life transformation characterized by us going from spiritual death to spiritual life through the power and the work of Jesus.

2. Jesus Comes to Us First

Maybe the question that comes to your mind as you consider going to Jesus is, “Why would I go to Jesus?” Maybe a doubt I hear from a lot of folks is, “Well, you know, I’ve done too much bad in my life. I’m too far gone. That would be too insurmountable of a process for me to go through in order to get to Jesus”. I think our sinful nature tells us that in order to go to Jesus, we have to make ourselves clean before we get to him. We need to make sure that we haven’t sinned any big sins with enough time before we go to Jesus. We need to make sure that we’ve done enough service at the church, that we’ve read enough of our Bibles, and that we’ve had enough of the sacraments before we’re acceptable to go to Jesus.

But as Jesus is descending towards the cross, as he’s going down into Jerusalem, throughout all of his ministry, he’s had the scribes, the Pharisees, and the chief priests following him around, trying to trip him up. And as he finally gets to the end of his ministry, he’s not fleeing those people, but he’s going down to the place where these people reside—to Jerusalem, where the temple is and where everybody’s gathering for the Passover festival. He’s going into the heart of those who are against him, and he does this willingly and with deliberate intent. He wants to save his people through his work on the cross.

What that shows us is that Jesus is not waiting for us to come to him, but instead, he’s coming to us. He goes to the cross for our sake; he goes down into Jerusalem for our sake. In this, he’s reflecting that first Passover instituted in Exodus 12 as the Israelites flee Egypt. Jesus is the true and better Passover Lamb. We need atonement; we need something to die in order for us to live. In order for our sins to be passed over, somebody needs to take the punishment that we deserve.

3. Jesus Comes with Peace

Is this Jesus someone who can be trusted? Maybe you’ve heard rumors that he’s vindictive, a bigot, or judgmental. He is God, and he does come to judge the living and the dead at the end of all things. But for his people, he comes as someone who is lowly and gentle. He comes on a colt. He desires to draw close to his people. He’s gentle to us; he doesn’t reject us or deal with us with harshness.

There are many false characterizations of who Jesus is—that he is harsh and wrathful towards his people. But as you read through the scriptures, we see that Jesus is full to the brim with gentleness, humility, and grace for his people. There is more mercy in God than there is sin in us. We cannot extinguish the mercy and the grace of Jesus that is given to us by our sin; his grace and his mercy will always overwhelm the reality of sin in our lives.

4. Jesus Comes to Bring Life

Jesus does not come to invoke fear in you. We should be confronted with our sin and our need for a savior, but more than just being overwhelmed by the law, we also need the balm of the gospel. We need the reality that Jesus does not come to crush us, but to restore us. He doesn’t come to kill us, but to bring us to life—true life in him.

Jesus comes with peace for his people; he does not come with warfare for his people. The donkey imagery is helpful because he’s not riding in on a war horse; he’s riding in on a humble, plodding animal that speaks of humility. He doesn’t come in the garb of just a conquering king; he is the king of the universe, but he does not come in order to crush us and subjugate us, but instead to set us free, to draw near to us, and to heal us.

Conclusion

Our understanding of Jesus does not have to be perfect in order for us to go to him. The disciples missed these things when they were there with him as he went into Jerusalem. That’s instructive for us; we don’t have to have all the answers or have the Westminster Shorter Catechism memorized. Jesus comes to you where you are and he desires for you to come to him because he’s full of grace and mercy for you.

The central work that Jesus does—he doesn’t come to just fix our morality or just to bring justice—he comes to make the dead live. Because of our original sin, there is nothing in us that pleases God; we are dead in our trespasses and sins. But while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. He came to reconcile all things to himself through the work on the cross. Jesus is not content to just put band-aids and temporary fixes on us; he comes to bring the dead to life.

This morning, as you hear the word of God, as you feel the tug of the spirit, Jesus is drawing you to himself. As we remember the work of Jesus, we place our hope not in just having our sins smoothed over, but instead, we rest in the reality that Jesus came to bring new life. To be born again, you must go to Jesus, and thanks be to God, Jesus has come to you. He comes with peace and he comes to make you alive. So friends, go to Jesus.

Closing Prayer

Father, we thank you for your grace that you love us, and we pray that you would open our hearts and our minds to you this morning. We pray that we would respond to the work of Jesus, that we would rest in him, and that we would behold his faithfulness to us. We pray that that would give us great joy and delight in this life, that it would be bolstering to our lives, and that we would look ahead to him in all things. May you remind us that the work of Jesus is not just meant to patch us up and send us on our way, but is instead meant to transform the reality of all that we are. We ask all these things in Jesus’ name. Amen.