April 13, 2025

What Are You INterested In?

Pastor Rok Lee

John 12:9-19

9 When the great crowd of the Jews learned that he was there, they came not only because of Jesus but also to see Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead. 10 So the chief priests planned to put Lazarus to death as well, 11 since it was on account of him that many of the Jews were deserting and were believing in Jesus. 12 The next day the great crowd that had come to the festival heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem. 13 So they took branches of palm trees and went out to meet him, shouting, “Hosanna! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord—the King of Israel!” 14 Jesus found a young donkey and sat on it, as it is written: 15 “Do not be afraid, daughter of Zion. Look, your king is coming, sitting on a donkey’s colt!” 16 His disciples did not understand these things at first, but when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that these things had been written of him and had been done to him. 17 So the crowd that had been with him when he called Lazarus out of the tomb and raised him from the dead continued to testify. 18 It was also because they heard that he had performed this sign that the crowd went to meet him. 19 The Pharisees then said to one another, “You see, you can do nothing. Look, the world has gone after him!”

Today is Palm Sunday, the day we remember when Jesus entered Jerusalem. When we think about this moment, we usually picture Jesus riding a young donkey while people lay down palm branches on the road to welcome Him. His disciples follow behind, and it seems like a big celebration where Jesus is honored by many people.

However, if we look closely at the Bible, not everyone welcomed Jesus. Today’s passage tells us that many people were in Jerusalem for the Passover festival. Passover was one of the biggest Jewish holidays, and many people gathered in the city to worship. We don’t know the exact number of people, but according to the historian Josephus, the high priest once said that over 256,500 animals were sacrificed. Based on this, some guess there were between 300,000 to even 3 million people in the city during the Passover.

That means the streets of Jerusalem were filled with people from all over, and of course, many different opinions and attitudes toward Jesus. In today’s passage, we can see three types of people in the crowd.

First, people who truly believed in Jesus. Verse 11 says that many Jews came to believe in Jesus. These people believed that Jesus was the Messiah, the Son of God. They followed Him, supported Him, and had hope in Him. Some wanted miracles, and some dreamed of freedom from Rome, but still—they had respect and love for Jesus. Among them were the twelve disciples who gave their whole lives to follow Jesus.

In the church today, we also see many kinds of believers. Some are ready to give everything—even their lives—for Jesus. Some offer their money and time for God’s work. Everyone expresses their love for Jesus in different ways, and that’s beautiful.

Second, people who were interested in Jesus for the wrong reasons. Today’s scripture also mentions people who didn’t come to see Jesus, but came to see Lazarus, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. These people were more interested in the miracles than in Jesus Himself. Their hearts were not in the right place.

They looked just like the first group—worshiping and praising Jesus—but inside, they only wanted something from Him: healing, food, power, or success. When they got what they wanted, they had no need for Jesus anymore. These people were not ready to give anything to Jesus—they only wanted to receive.

Think about Mary. She poured expensive perfume on Jesus’ feet to honor Him. Thomas said, “Let us go and die with Him.” That’s the heart of a true disciple—someone who gives, not just takes. However, the people of second group didn’t want to put their things down.

The last group was people who hated Jesus. The third group includes the religious leaders who planned to kill Jesus. These people had their own strict standards. Anyone who didn’t meet their standards was called a sinner. The Pharisees knew the law very well, but instead of using it to help people, they used it to judge and condemn them—including Jesus.

Surprisingly, these leaders were also in the crowd. They weren’t there to praise Jesus, but to catch Him. They couldn’t act because there were too many people, but their hearts were full of hate.

Even today, some people come to church without truly believing in Jesus. Some come to criticize, to stir up trouble, or for selfish reasons. I heard about a pastor whose youth pastor wanted to leave the church because one church member was making things so hard. That member borrowed money and didn’t repay, spoke badly about the pastor, and caused many problems. The youth pastor was so hurt, she just wanted to leave quietly.

I also remember, when I was in Korea, a young man who liked a girl at church. When she said no, he came drunk the next Sunday—with a bottle of soju (Korean Vodka)—and even drank during worship.

Some people even bring gang members to charge conferences to take over and cause chaos. They don’t care about Jesus—they just want to protect their own desires and use the church to do it. Just like the Pharisees, they make rules that don’t exist in the Bible and judge others harshly.

So today, we see three kinds of people in the crowd around Jesus. Each one is looking at Jesus in a different way. Now let me ask you: Which group are you in? Are you one who truly loves and follows Jesus? Are you someone who only wants something from Jesus? Or are you not really interested in Jesus at all?

Every Sunday worship service is a chance to welcome Jesus into our hearts and celebrate His resurrection. How are you welcoming Jesus today? I hope your heart is full of love for Jesus. I hope your worship is filled with a deep desire to follow Him. I pray that your heart focuses only on Jesus. When we worship with this kind of heart, our worship will be full of life. True healing and restoration will happen in our lives. Let’s not stay as part of the crowd near Jesus. But, let’s become disciples who follow Jesus with all our hearts.