Interrupted by Jesus - John 12:12-19

This is our Sunday teaching by our South Site Pastor, Lara Lyne. Recorded live at our Sunday Service in Harris Academy Purley, Croydon on Sunday 23rd August, 2026. 

Talk Summary - Interrupted by Jesus

There are some moments when an entrance matters. A bride and groom arriving at their reception. A musician stepping onto stage. A graduate walking forward to receive their degree.

In John 12, Jesus makes one of the most significant entrances in history.

Jerusalem is packed for Passover. Stories about Jesus are spreading rapidly — not least the extraordinary news that he has raised Lazarus from the dead. Crowds pour out to meet him, waving palm branches and shouting, “Hosanna!” and “Blessed is the King of Israel!”

They are expecting a king. And perhaps they know what a king should look like.

But Jesus arrives on a donkey.

It is an extraordinary choice. A conquering king would be expected to ride a war horse — a symbol of strength and military power. Instead, Jesus chooses an ordinary animal associated with humility and peace.

And in doing so, he shows us something about the kind of King he is.

Jesus is personal.

He is not a distant ruler, safely removed from ordinary life. The God who holds all power chooses to come close. Jesus enters our world in humility, knows what it is to suffer and weep, walks among ordinary people and makes himself available to the lost, the overlooked and the hurting.

He still meets us there: not simply in dramatic spiritual moments, but in the everyday details of our lives. Nothing is too ordinary to bring to him.

And Jesus brings peace.

His kingdom does not advance through the weapons or power structures we might expect. Jesus rides towards Jerusalem knowing that the cross lies ahead — and through his death and resurrection he will reconcile us to God and defeat even death itself.

That does not mean we will never face trouble. Sometimes circumstances change; sometimes they don’t. But we no longer have to face them alone or fight entirely in our own strength.

The invitation is to recognise the King who is actually coming towards us.

Not always the king we imagined. Not a distant celebrity or a military conqueror.

A humble King. A personal King. A King who brings peace.

And a King who invites us, once again, to trust him and surrender our lives to him.