Luke 19:28-48

The New Revised Standard Version (Jesus’ Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem)

The King’s Arrival

(Mt 21:1–11; Mk 11:1–11; Jn 12:12–19)

28 After he had said this, he went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem.

29 When he had come near Bethphage and Bethany, at the place called the Mount of Olives, he sent two of the disciples,

30 saying, “Go into the village ahead of you, and as you enter it you will find tied there a colt that has never been ridden. Untie it and bring it here.

31 If anyone asks you, ‘Why are you untying it?’ just say this, ‘The Lord needs it.’ ”32 So those who were sent departed and found it as he had told them.

33 As they were untying the colt, its owners asked them, “Why are you untying the colt?”

34 They said, “The Lord needs it.”

35 Then they brought it to Jesus; and after throwing their cloaks on the colt, they set Jesus on it.

36 As he rode along, people kept spreading their cloaks on the road.

37 As he was now approaching the path down from the Mount of Olives, the whole multitude of the disciples began to praise God joyfully with a loud voice for all the deeds of power that they had seen,

38 saying,“Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven, and glory in the highest heaven!”

39 Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, order your disciples to stop.”

40 He answered, “I tell you, if these were silent, the stones would shout out.”

Jesus Weeps over Jerusalem

41 As he came near and saw the city, he wept over it,

42 saying, “If you, even you, had only recognized on this day the things that make for peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes.

43 Indeed, the days will come upon you, when your enemies will set up ramparts around you and surround you, and hem you in on every side.

44 They will crush you to the ground, you and your children within you, and they will not leave within you one stone upon another; because you did not recognize the time of your visitation from God.

Jesus Cleanses the Temple (Mt 21:12–17; Mk 11:15–19; Jn 2:12–25)

45 Then he entered the temple and began to drive out those who were selling things there;

46 and he said, “It is written,‘My house shall be a house of prayer’;but you have made it a den of robbers.”

47 Every day he was teaching in the temple. The chief priests, the scribes, and the leaders of the people kept looking for a way to kill him;

48 but they did not find anything they could do, for all the people were spellbound by what they heard.

Introduction

The coronation of King Charles III will take place on Saturday, May 6th. The coronation of the Charles III to the office of the king will culminate in the placing of the crown on his head.

But few people know that the ceremony will include anointing Charles III with holy oil by the Archbishop of Canterbury.

The coronation will be watched by millions if not billions of people. It will be the first coronation in England since 1953.

Eventually, another coronation will be held in the future for the next monarch.

When Jesus rode into Jerusalem, it was not a coronation. No one placed a crown on his head. He didn’t arrive in a carriage drawn by horses. He didn’t need someone to anoint him with holy oil. He came as the King of the Universe.

So what happened when Jesus arrived in Jerusalem?

I. The King Arrived and was met with Praise and Worship.

(verse 28-38)

The New Revised Standard Version (Jesus’ Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem)

35 Then they brought it to Jesus; and after throwing their cloaks on the colt, they set Jesus on it.

A. By setting Jesus on the back of the donkey, the people acknowledged Jesus as their King and God. Jesus could have climbed on the back of the donkey himself. He was fully capable of mounting the donkey’s back, yet he allowed the people to hoist him on the donkey’s back as an act of confession that Jesus was their King and the world’s King.

It follows the practice in the Old Testament.

The New Revised Standard Version (The Accession of Solomon) 1 Kings 1:38

“So the priest Zadok, the prophet Nathan, and Benaiah son of Jehoiada, and the Cherethites and the Pelethites, went down and had Solomon ride on King David’s mule, and led him to Gihon.”

This public display of acknowledged Solomon’s rightful place as king of Israel. In the same sense, the disciples set Jesus on the donkey for a public display of his kingship.

Exalting Jesus in 1 & 2 Kings A Sovereignly Appointed King (1:28–53)

This account makes us think of David’s greater Son, Jesus. It calls to our attention Palm Sunday. Jesus would ride into the city on a donkey. The people would shout “Hosanna.”

This they did to the exclusion of all other supposed kings. Only one king could sit on the back of the donkey. Jesus is that King!

B. The church has celebrated Palm Sunday since the 4th century. Celebrations of Palm Sunday have included placing a Bible on the a wooden donkey and parading them through the streets of a town. Another celebration had a large cross carried by a donkey. Still another had the sacraments carried by they wooden donkey. Symbolic representations of Jesus riding a donkey are wonderful ways of reminding us that Jesus is the King.

C. A further use of symbolism is that the people acknowledged Jesus as King by placing their coats in the road in front of the donkey (Matthew, Mark, and John added that the people paved the way with leafy branches). We have palm-like leaves in our bulletins today, but how can we acknowledge Jesus as King with our lives?

We acknowledge Jesus with our own praise and worship.

II. The King Arrived with Sorrow in His Heart (verses. 39-44)

The New Revised Standard Version Jesus Weeps over Jerusalem

41 As he came near and saw the city, he wept over it,

42 saying, “If you, even you, had only recognized on this day the things that make for peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes.

A. Although many of Jesus’ disciples acknowledged him as King, many others rejected him. The signs of Jesus’ rejection throughout the Gospel of Luke give us a glimpse of what is to come when Jesus reaches Jerusalem. From his first appearance in his home of Nazareth to the day of his crucifixion, his own rejected him as their Messiah King. (Luke 4:29)

But Jesus showed his compassion for his own people, weeping as he looked over the holy city of Jerusalem. Perhaps Jesus was thinking about Isaiah 1:3

“ The ox knows its owner, and the donkey its master’s crib; but Israel does not know, my people do not understand.”

It seems that the donkey knew the Lord was riding on its back, but the people were so blind to Jesus that they did not recognize the time of his visit.

B.. As someone has noted:

Jerusalem is symbolic of all of our hometowns and cities. We could weep for all our neighbors who know not the things that make for peace, for the unredeemed loneliness which results in destructive patterns. If we were really aware of the heartbreak in any average town, we would weep more than we do.

C. This morning, many Christians are weeping over the murder of three children and three adults last week. Christians are weeping because a trans terrorist took six innocent lives away from their family and fellow believers. Christians are weeping because some people cheered when they heard that six Christians were murdered in cold blood in a church school. Christians are weeping because attacks against Christians are increasing and increasingly more violent and extreme. Christians are weeping over America because it is turning away from the Lord. Christians are weeping because many churches are apostate and have joined the ranks of the world. Christians are weeping because the world has rejected the One who brings true and lasting peace. This is a time weeping over towns and cities. Jesus wept over Jerusalem. We must weep over our cities and towns and communities.

III. The King Arrived and Reformed Worship. (19:45-46)

Luke 19:45-46 “Then he entered the temple and began to drive out those who were selling things there; and he said, “It is written, ‘My house shall be a house of prayer’; but you have made it a den of robbers.”

A.

The tears and the Temple action, then, go together. Jesus is not simply mounting an angry protest about the commercialization of Temple business. His action is a solemn prophetic warning, echoing those of Jeremiah and others, that if the Temple becomes a hide-out for brigands, literally or metaphorically, it will come under God’s judgment. Now, it appears, the brigands are indeed running the show. Jesus is not so much concerned with the traders; they, to be sure, are doubtless making a few extra shekels on the side, but that’s trivial compared with what the high priests and their entourage have been doing. (N. T. Wright. Luke for Everybody. (London: SPCK, 2004) 232

B.

Larson, Bruce, and Lloyd J. Ogilvie. Luke. Thomas Nelson Inc, 1983, p. 293.

IV. The King Arrives and is met with Rejection. (19:47-48)