The idea that you might follow Jesus to glory sounds pretty appealing. We like the idea of glory – we naturally celebrate people and things and give them glory.
And because Jesus is the Son of God in heaven above, it must surely be a good thing to follow Jesus to glory. To participate with him in heaven, in joy, in peace.
The crowds in our reading wanted to follow him to glory. But they didn’t really understand what it would mean. Because Jesus’ glory isn’t like the glory of the world.
But here’s the thing: You are invited to follow Jesus to glory. So know him, and think about what following him means.
These notes accompany a sermon on YouTube delivered at Bromborough Evangelical Church Wirral in July 2025. You can find more in the series in our sermon index.
Follow who? (12-16)
Read John 12:12-13.
They’re singing Psalm 118:25-26. It’s from a cycle of psalms sung at various feasts including Passover. The word “Hosanna” comes from that psalm. It means “Please save us” but came to be a word of praise. The psalm is an image of a king entering Jerusalem after being given military success by the Lord.
The crowd have added a bit: “The King of Israel.” That’s not in the psalm, but it’s not entirely out of place.
But the problem is that they’re expecting a very nationalistic messiah – someone who will free Israel from Roman occupation and bring glory to Israel among the nations. They have wrong expectations of the Messiah, so they have a wonky idea of God himself and his salvation. That’s not so unusual even today. You will sometimes hear people say, “I like to think of God as…” as something they’d like him to be. But there’s no need for that: God has revealed himself to us in Jesus Christ, so if you want to know what God is really like you look to him.
Jesus knew their nationalistic fervour, so he worked to correct it.
King of Peace
Read John 12:14-15.
He was deliberately fulfilling a prophecy from Zechariah 9:9-10 “Rejoice greatly, Daughter Zion… Look, your King is coming to you; he is righteous and victorious, humble and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey… The bow of war will be removed, and he will proclaim peace to the nations. His dominion will extend… to the ends of the earth.”
Jesus was openly coming to Jerusalem as king – even king of the earth – but a king of peace.
In quoting Zechariah there, John wants you to pick up the wider context of those verses too: Zechariah speaks of how the Messiah will be betrayed for 30 pieces of silver, and how people will look on the one they have pierced. But the Messiah will also usher in a new kingdom of endless light. Jesus’ death and resurrection are now coming more sharply into focus in John’s gospel.
But read John 12:16.
There were too many dots to join up in the moment, but they understood “when Jesus was glorified” – after his death and resurrection had demonstrated fully his identity and mission. Only in Christ do the Old Testament prophecies make sense. And make no mistake: The Bible is a coherent whole, and the focal point, the nexus, is Jesus.
So, “Follow who?” Follow Jesus, the saviour and only complete communication and representation of God to you in the world.
Who follows? (17-19)
Who is going to follow this Jesus? We read of two crowds next. First, read John 12:17. Well, you would, wouldn’t you? If you’d seen Jesus raise a dead man from his tomb after 4 days, you’re going tell people about him, aren’t you? Or is that the kind of news to keep to yourself?
What happens when a group of people have experienced the wonder of seeing Jesus at work? They tell others. Then: Read John 12:18.
This is a different crowd. The first lot were travelling with Jesus from Bethany to Jerusalem. The second crowd came out from Jerusalem to meet him on the way (about 2 miles). Why did the second crowd come? Because they’d heard about Jesus from the first crowd.
There’s no magic formula for evangelism. No secret system of success.
I keep getting an advert on Facebook telling me to buy a book called “How to double your church in 90 days”. It turns out all you need to do is what the first crowd did, and you get the second crowd coming along. If you and everyone here decided that you would definitely invite someone specific to a church service – and you’d keep inviting a number of people until someone came – then obviously the church would double.
A crowd tells a crowd?
If it’s that simple, why don’t you?
- Maybe it’s habit. You just don’t ever plan to invite anyone.
- Sometimes it’s about not knowing enough unbelieving people – but we really do know plenty.
- Often, it’s because you’ve stopped being utterly amazed at Jesus. You’ve got comfortable in your own faith.
- Will you do something different this week? Will you choose 2 or 3 people to invite? More, will you take steps to be with Jesus more?
What kind of people were in those crowds? Who follows Jesus?
Read John 12:19. There’s a bit of exaggeration going on. But the Pharisees aren’t just talking about numbers: They mean, “All sorts of rabble and lowlifes are going after him!”
Imagine I stood here complaining that the people of Bromborough weren’t coming to this church because they were following Jesus instead! That’s the kind of unbelieving absurdity the Pharisees have landed in. They should have been utterly ecstatic that God had taken on human flesh and that all and sundry were going to him and praising him as king!
The unsaved people you know don’t need us, they need Jesus. This community needs Christ, not this church. The focus of our mission isn’t numbers, but helping others come to Jesus.
There are all sorts of people in the community around us. Some are well, some ill. There’s poverty, disunity, mental health problems, addictions.
And Jesus is the good news they all need to hear from us.
How to start? (20-22)
How does someone become a Christian? Where does someone start? We see the simplicity of it all right here in these verses. Read John 12:20-22.
It’s such a simple moment. Some Greeks have come to Jerusalem for the Passover. Presumably they’d heard about all the signs that Jesus had been doing (not least raising Lazarus). They might have been a bit unsure about how Jesus might have received them as foreigners. So they go indirect, and ask one of Jesus’ followers: “Sir, we want to see Jesus.”
It’s natural to want to know about Christianity, the Bible, church. But in the end, none of those have eternal life for you. You must look to Jesus.
The Bible and church are good places to go to learn about him, but in the end you must go to him yourself. Pray to him – he will hear you. Ask for forgiveness of your sin – he will forgive you. Pray for help every day – he will never leave you.
Sir, we want to see Jesus
Years ago I stepped into a beautiful church building near where I worked in London. The building has a grand balcony, stained glass windows, a candle chandelier, and a lovely big pulpit. Everything glitters. I stepped up into the pulpit and I was surprised how it’s all plain wood – really very basic and unadorned. But there’s an inscription there just for the preacher: “Sir, we want to see Jesus.”
There’s nothing more crucial for you to hear. That’s why our services, prayer meetings, Knit2tog, and Saturday Sparks are all so geared towards displaying Jesus to you. He is life. He is God the Son in human flesh. Jesus alone was raised to life never to die again – and he offers you eternal life with him, starting today.
So no matter how long you’ve been a Christian, keep your focus on God as revealed to you in Jesus. As you come to church, think: “Come on Darren, I want to see Jesus.” When you open your Bible each day to read, pray, “Lord, I want to see Jesus.”
Because Jesus is the communication and representation of the Father to you, so look to him.
So how do you become a Christian? How do you start to follow? You pray. Turn to Jesus today, and pray.
And then:
Follow Jesus truly (23-26)
As it happens, those Greeks turning up to see Jesus seem to be a sign to him. Read John 12:23.
Jesus told his mother Mary back in John 2:4 that his hour had not yet come. People tried to seize Jesus in John 7:30 and John 8:20 but failed because his hour had not yet come. And now his hour has come, and it’s his hour to be “glorified”.
Sometimes the first half of John’s gospel is called “the book of signs” – starting with changing water to wine and ending with raising Lazarus from the dead. The second half is sometimes called “the book of glory” because the glory of God revealed in Christ becomes the dominant theme.
And here we are at the turning point: The hour has come. Jesus has been rejected by Israel’s leaders, but sought by all and sundry including Greeks (Gentiles). (All very Romans 9-11.)
Great! So let’s follow Jesus to glory!
But first you need to understand what that road is.
The road to glory is through the cross
Read John 12:24.
The road to glory for Jesus is through the cross, through death and resurrection. It’s the road of humility and utter obedience to the Father, even obedience to death. And he knows his death will produce much fruit: Salvation for his people. Jesus punished by the Father for the sins of his people – something Jesus did willingly, lovingly.
So here’s the thing: If that’s his road to glory, now what does it mean to follow him? Read John 12:25-26.
The language of love and hate here is typical Hebrew language: It’s not absolute; it’s about a fundamental preference. Whose side are you on? Where’s your heart? “The one who loves his life will lose it,” says Jesus.
In truth, most of us do love our lives. If we fall seriously ill, we worry and get help to prolong our lives. Nothing wrong with that. But that’s not what Jesus is getting at.
Think about it: Why do you love your life, what is it you love? Do you love your autonomy, your freedom? Maybe it’s that sense of “you be you” and don’t let anyone push you around? But the problem with that is that humanity was made to be with God, enjoying God, living in his world, under his rule. That is human flourishing, and the more independent you want to be the further you move away from what God has designed as the very best for you.
When you turn to God in faith, forgiven of all your sin, you’re brought into union with Christ: He is in you where you are; you’re in him where he is. Your old “self” was the self-loving sinner that got you separated from God’s love, destined for hell. But in union with Christ, your old self was crucified with him. Your new self is in him, incorporated into his life. United to Jesus, your eternal life has begun.
You follow Jesus precisely because you have union with him. To follow him is to put sin in your life to death: To live out in daily life what Jesus has achieved for you at the cross.
Shed the old “you”. That was the way of death. If you remain loving that life, you’ll lose it anyway. But if you hate that old life because of your union with Jesus, you will keep yourself for eternal life.
If you serve Jesus, follow him
Because of your union with him, then he can say (v26), “Where I am, there my servant will also be.”
So you don’t put sin to death on your own. Take up your cross of self-denial, and follow him in obedience and humility, and you will follow Jesus to glory.
This is good news for everyone in this building and community.
It comes from simply turning to Jesus. Will you turn to him?
Hate the old, hell-bound ‘you’ and love who you are in Christ. Flourish in holiness of life: That is who you really are in him.