The Pathway to Peace (Luke 19:41–48)

Introduction

Attention

Welcome to Palm Sunday. As we enter into Palm Sunday, we enter into a time that we remember often called Passion Week. We're remembering a period of time where Jesus enters into Jerusalem as the fulfillment of what the prophet spoke about, the Messianic King. He is a king unlike any other king, a king who would go to the cross for you and I, a cross that shows both the wrath of God and the love of God at the same time. He is a king whom death could not hold. A king resurrected from the grave. He is alive and well. Glory be his name.

And when the king comes, the king proclaims to the world that he is the pathway to peace. That's something that we'll talk about today. Our world is desperately in need of peace.

We saw that just this past week with the tragic terrorist attack in Russia, where 130 people in a theater were killed. While I was in Alabama a couple weeks ago, I stayed with this wonderful couple. The husband drove me to downtown Birmingham where they have the Civil Rights museum. And if you ever in Alabama, I recommend it. It is eye opening. When you speak of war, just the pictures that they have in there and everything that was happening during the 60s in our own country looked like a war between races. You walk away from there just amazed. I mean across from the museum is this green park and it's the actual park where the police chief of Alabama at the time had released dogs and fire hoses on the protesters. To the left of the museum is the church that someone bombed, killing four girls.

We are constantly reminded over and over as we turn on the news and in our own communities that our world is desperately in need of peace. There is something intrinsically wrong with the human condition. Something inside of us is in desperate need of help.

What we celebrate during the Easter season is that help is here. We celebrate the King of Kings, a king who came to heal the broken hearted and give peace to the human soul.

What does the Bible describe to us as the pathway for peace? We'll be looking at that today as we take a break from our Roman series, we get into the book of Luke today. We'll be in Luke chapter 19. So if you have your Bible's, we’ll be in Luke 19 going from verse 41 to 48.

Palm Sunday

Palm Sunday is the celebration of what happened at the beginning of Passion Week. Passion Week is a week that describes the events happening which led up to the cross.

On Good Friday we'll gather here again at 6:30 PM. You're all welcome to join us. as we have a short service to remember the cross.

And then of course, next Sunday we remember that it didn't end at the cross. After the the cross came a resurrection.

Palm Sunday specifically looks at the triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem. Many scholars believe as they are looking at the Scriptures that Jesus entered Jerusalem on a Sunday. Probably the 10th of Nissan would be the calendar date.

What's interesting about this date, if the scholars have this correctly, is that the day that Jesus goes into Jerusalem on a donkey now just

To remind us of the story, Jesus tells his disciples go on ahead of him. There you will find a donkey tied up. When the owner sees you, tell the owner that the Master needs it. The disciples do this and they find it just as Jesus had said.

They get the donkey, they bring it to Jesus, and Jesus rides into Jerusalem. The people praise him, waving palm branches, and saying, “Hosanna! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord.”

The triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem was a fulfillment of Zechariah 9:9:

Zechariah 9:9 CSB

9 Rejoice greatly, Daughter Zion! Shout in triumph, Daughter Jerusalem! 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.

As Jesus comes in, a prophetic proclomation that he is the Messiah, what's interesting is the scholars believe that that particular day that he comes in on the Sunday is the day when the Passover Lamb would be chosen. So not only is Jesus proclaiming that he is the Messiah, he is also proclaiming that he is the Lamb of God, the Passover Lamb who take on the sins of the world.

Jesus is worthy of our worship. Some Pharisees that are there see what the crowd is doing, worshiping him, and they tell him, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples.” Jesus answers them in Luke 19:40 “I tell you, if they were to keep silent, the stones would cry out.”

I want us to look at an event that happens during the Passion Week. Some scholars believe this part happens on the Sunday when Jesus comes in, while others believe it happens on the Monday.

On the Sunday, Jesus comes into Jerusalem on the donkey, and people praise him there. Then he leaves Jerusalem that Sunday goes to a nearby village. He comes back the next day, and I believe it's the next day that we will read about here in Luke 19:41-48.

Scripture Reading

Luke 19:41–48 CSB

41 As he approached and saw the city, he wept for it, 42 saying, “If you knew this day what would bring peace—but now it is hidden from your eyes. 43 For the days will come on you when your enemies will build a barricade around you, surround you, and hem you in on every side. 44 They will crush you and your children among you to the ground, and they will not leave one stone on another in your midst, because you did not recognize the time when God visited you.” 45 He went into the temple and began to throw out those who were selling, 46 and he said, “It is written, my house will be a house of prayer, but you have made it a den of thieves!” 47 Every day he was teaching in the temple. The chief priests, the scribes, and the leaders of the people were looking for a way to kill him, 48 but they could not find a way to do it, because all the people were captivated by what they heard.

Pray

Jesus as Prophet

Prophets in Israel didn't always have a very popular task. They would preach God's word. And many times they were preaching a word of condemnation on the people, preaching a word that exposed the hearts of the people of Israel among them, calling them to repentance, and warning them of an impending judgment.

Jesus here fulfills the role here of a prophet to the people of Israel. Jesus was certainly more than a prophet. He was and is the Son of God. But here in this scenario, he is prophesying to the people of Israel's telling them of a day that is going to come upon them. It's a day that ultimately gets fulfilled in Jewish history in the destruction of the temple in 70 AD.

Jesus describes enemies that are going to come. They will barricade them. Surround them. The enemy is going to hem them in on every side. They will be crushed, their children will be crushed. and the enemies will not leave one stone on another. If you are familiar with the destruction of the temple in 70 AD, that is indeed what happened.

In 66 AD, an open rebellion from the Jews, especially a group called the Zealots, happened in Israel against the Romans, particularly in Jerusalem. In 69 AD, a Roman leader named Vespasian left for Rome to become Emperor, and he left his son in charge to end the Jewish war. His son’s name was Titus.

So in AD 70 Titus determined to end the Jewish revolt. He had four legions of soldiers. A legion of soldiers was about 5,000 to 6,000 soldiers, so Titus brought around 20,000 soldiers against Jerusalem.

For six months, Titus led this siege against Jerusalem, starving the people. Jerusalem was literally surrounded by their enemies, who were crushing in on them. Eventually the Jews barricaded themselves within the temple. and the Romans came in and set fire to the temple. Titus had issued an order that the Jerusalem should be razed to the ground, including the temple. And literally this prophecy from Jesus comes true where the enemies would not leave one stone on another.

Jesus Wept Over Spiritual Blindness

The interesting thing about this text is that this is only one of two times in Scripture where we hear that Jesus wept. The first time was at the tomb of Lazarus, where Jesus wept as he observed the heartbreak of family hurting over the death of their brother and his friend. Of course, Lazarus would rise again. And this is the other time in Scripture where we learn that Jesus wept. It says as he approached the city in Luke 19:41, he wept for it.

So why is Jesus weeping as he approaches the city in verse 41? It tells us Luke 19:42

Luke 19:42 CSB

42 saying, “If you knew this day what would bring peace—but now it is hidden from your eyes.

If you knew this day, what would bring you peace? The Lord was broken for that. The Lord is broken as he approaches the city and realizes that this week one of the last times this generation will have an opportunity to trust him. And yet they can't see it. The opportunity for peace, the opportunity for what they need in their heart is right there. And they can't see it.

And that brings us to our first point,

The greatest need for people is peace.

The two times that we see that Jesus wept in scripture are two times where he weeps over the brokenness of the human soul. He describes here in verse 42 is that the greatest need that a person has in his life or her life is to know what will bring them peace.

I believe he shares for us in this passage three reasons why we need peace

1. We need peace because our time is short.

The first reason we need peace is because our time is short. We don't have all of the time in the world to figure out how to get peace. Time is limited. And if the greatest need for people is peace, then the greatest use of our time is to find peace. There is an urgency to peace.

The descriptions in this text are time bound. He says in Luke 19:42 “If you knew this day what would bring peace.” And again, he says in Luke 19:44 “you did not recognize the time when God visited you.”

The people of Jerusalem didn't know the magnitude of what was about to happen to them. They would only have the physical presence of Jesus among them for one more week. The greatest opportunity for peace among them was going to the cross in a few days.

How often do we go about our lives assuming that every day is going to be the same? We take for granted the gift of time. But the Bible says in James 4:14:

James 4:14 CSB

14 Yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring—what your life will be! For you are like vapor that appears for a little while, then vanishes.

The people of Israel did not know what tomorrow will bring. They might have assumed that Jesus of Nazareth would always be there. “Oh, we can take our time, Jesus will be here next week or next month or next year.” But how long was Jesus's earthly ministry? From what we know of in the Gospels, three years. Three years. That's it. The opportunity for what would bring them peace was only with them physically for three years.

The Bible gives us good advice in Psalm 90:12:

Psalm 90:12 CSB

12 Teach us to number our days carefully so that we may develop wisdom in our hearts.

We take for granted the days that we have, and yet Scripture tells us to number our days wisely. Music for granted the days that we have. But the Bible tells us the number are days wisely.

Listen, when our bank account is low, all of a sudden we know how to start prioritizing things. We say, I don't have much money, and I need to hold on to some money, because if we need food next week, or because the rent is due.

We know how to deal with limited things. And if the greatest need for people is peace, and our time is short, then the greatest use of our time is to find peace in Jesus.

2. We need peace because we live in a dangerous time.

For the Jews, the opportunity for the peace of Israel was right in front of them. But in missing their time of peace, they would fall to the power of the enemy. And Jesus describes that to them by prophesying what would happen in Luke 19:43 “the days will come on you when your enemies will build a barricade around you, surround you, and hem you in on every side.” For the Jews and for us, peace is necessary because we live among danger.

The Bible tells us in Ephesians 6:11-12:

Ephesians 6:11–12 CSB

11 Put on the full armor of God so that you can stand against the schemes of the devil. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this darkness, against evil, spiritual forces in the heavens.

What does this verse tell us? One, it tells us that we need protection. We need protection because we live in a time of struggle. It's a struggle against forces that we don't always see. There are bigger battles in this world than the physical battles that we see. The bigger battle is the spiritual fight that we have every day. And you need a supernatural spiritual peace in your life to fight against the battles that you will face.

When you left for church today my guess is that you locked the front door of your house. Some of you are now wondering if you did. Some of our front doors may have 2, 3 or 4 locks on them. Maybe you went around your windows in the house and you checked and made sure those were closed and locked. We don't leave our houses and windows open because we realized that there is danger in the world.

But how often do we leave our lives exposed to the attacks of the enemy? There is a spiritual battle for your soul and the opportunity for peace for your soul is only found in Jesus.

3. We need peace because sin can destroy us and those we love.

Judgment was coming upon Israel because they missed the time of their peace. But what's interesting about this judgment is to look at the the fullness of it. In Luke 19:44:

Luke 19:44 CSB

44 They will crush you and your children among you to the ground, and they will not leave one stone on another in your midst, because you did not recognize the time when God visited you.”

When the enemy comes, the enemy will crush you, but what's interesting, and your children to the ground. The pain of sin on a person is terrible. But what's important to remember about sin is that it just doesn't just affect you. It affects the people around you. It affects those you love.

We've been studying in the book of Romans, and we read in Romans 5:12 that when the first man, Adam's sinned. That sin not only affected him, but affected everyone who came through him to us. And also the Bible says in Galatians 6:7-8:

Galatians 6:7–8 CSB

7 Don’t be deceived: God is not mocked. For whatever a person sows he will also reap, 8 because the one who sows to his flesh will reap destruction from the flesh, but the one who sows to the Spirit will reap eternal life from the Spirit.

And how many of us have been affected by the sin a loved one had sown in their heart? We don't often think about how the choices we're making in our own life affect others. But how many communities are hurt because of sin? How many families are destroyed because of sin sewn in a life?

I was driving down the highway one day, and a pebble hit the windshield. When the pebble hit the windshield it created a crack. When I went to go get it fixed, I wish I could have just replaced that crack on the windshield, only that part of the glass. But I couldn't do that. I needed to replace the whole glass.

And in the same way, when sin hits your heart, it does damage to your heart. But not only to your heart, but it can do damage to those around you. And we need God’s peace to heal us so we can be a witness to the healing power of God’s peace to those around us.

Not only does this passage in Luke tell us that people need peace, it also shows us this:

Jesus is the pathway to peace.

This passage describes four ways in which Jesus is the pathway to peace. First, it shows us

1. The pathway to peace comes through recognizing the presence of Christ.

First, it shows us that the path to peace comes through recognizing the presence of Christ. In other words, peace comes when we have faith in Jesus. Peace and faith are intertwined. Jesus says in Luke 19:44:

Luke 19:44 CSB

44 They will crush you and your children among you to the ground, and they will not leave one stone on another in your midst, because you did not recognize the time when God visited you.”

You do not recognize the time when God visited you. Who is he talking about? Jesus is talking about himself. Jesus is saying that God is in your presence in me, that I am God in the flesh. And there will never be peace in your life until you recognize the presence of Christ and believe in him. The first step to peace is always faith in Jesus. Jesus brings peace because he is God. And when God is in your presence, we must respond to him in faith.

Second,

2. The pathway to peace comes through being cleansed by Christ.

We read in Luke 19:45 about the cleansing of the temple. It says in Luke 19:45:

Luke 19:45 CSB

45 He went into the temple and began to throw out those who were selling,

And this is covered in a little more depth than some of the other gospels. But the point of this event is showing the authority of Jesus over the temple. The temple was, of course, the religious place of worship in Israel. This is important: If the people of Israel would have known what would bring them peace, if they would have believed that Jesus is the pathway to peace, they would have gladly accepted his cleansing of the temple.

The temple was equated with the presence of God. And in the New Testament, the physical bodies of Christians are now described as the temple. It says in 1 Corinthians 6:19:

1 Corinthians 6:19 CSB

19 Don’t you know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God? You are not your own,

We also see this in 2 Corinthians 6:16:

2 Corinthians 6:16 CSB

16 And what agreement does the temple of God have with idols? For we are the temple of the living God, as God said: I will dwell and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be my people.

See, when you put your faith in Jesus, the presence of God is in your midst. The Holy Spirit is a powerful presence in your life. When we put our faith in Christ, our sins are on the cross. We are cleansed by his authority, by him. We must gladly accept his cleansing by faith. And anytime we see sin, we say, “Cleanse me oh God. Make me new.” By his cleansing you are a new creation in Christ.

Third,

3. The pathway to peace comes through being filled by Christ.

Jesus describes a pathway to peace in verse 46 regarding the temple. There was an intention for the temple before it was corrupted. He says in Luke 19:46

Luke 19:46 CSB

46 and he said, “It is written, my house will be a house of prayer, but you have made it a den of thieves!”

What's interesting here is an intention of Christ in cleansing the temple. is not only that, it would be cleansed, but that it would be filled by two things: One, that it would be filled as a house of prayer. and then look at how he fills the temple in Luke 19:47:

Luke 19:47 CSB

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

And if you want a pathway to peace in your life, Peace not only comes by being cleansed, but I. after being cleansed. by being filled the spirit of Christ must fill your life in such a way. The spirit of God must present. the presence of God must be in your life But we acknowledge his presence in our life, in our temple in two ways.

As Christians, we fill his we fill this temple by being a house of prayer. Ephesians 6:18:

Ephesians 6:18 CSB

18 Pray at all times in the Spirit with every prayer and request, and stay alert with all perseverance and intercession for all the saints.

To pray at all times in the spirit is to recognize the presence of God in your life. Cling to him in faith. and know that he walks with you and that he is with you and that you can pray to him at anytime. Stay alert and fill his house with prayer.

We must also, as Christians, fill this temple with his teaching. Colossians 3:16:

Colossians 3:16 CSB

16 Let the word of Christ dwell richly among you, in all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another through psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts.

If the ultimate need for in your life is peace, and the pathway to peace is through Christ, then we must be people who let the word of Christ dwell richly within us, where we meditate on his word, meditate on what he has to say to us in our life.

I believe that last part of this verse, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts, tells us about

the fourth pathway to peace in Luke 19.

4. The pathway to peace comes through being captivated by Christ.

Then believe the last two verses today verses 47-48 are so interesting. Luke 19:47-48:

Luke 19:47–48 CSB

47 Every day he was teaching in the temple. The chief priests, the scribes, and the leaders of the people were looking for a way to kill him, 48 but they could not find a way to do it, because all the people were captivated by what they heard.

What's interesting here is that there was protection from the enemies by being captivated by Jesus. Before this moment in time, the people here were enthralled by what they heard. There was gratitude in their hearts. for him. And there was nothing. Then there's nothing that'll be stronger in your life for a pathway to peace than a heart that is captivated by Christ.

In Philippines 4. Paul and his letter to the Philippines. describes a heart that's captivated by Christ. I'll summarize a little bit in verse 4 that chapter he tells them to rejoice in the Lord always. He reminds them that the Lord is near, that the presence of Christ is with them. that there is grace in their life, and therefore he tells him not to worry about anything. but that in everything that they do, they can be a house of prayer. He says to present your request to God through prayer. Then he says this to them in verse seven. And this is what I want you to remember. when you have a heart that is captivated by Christ. and you fill your temple with prayer. when you cling to his word. Remember this of Philippians 4:7

Philippians 4:7 CSB

7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.

Don't you need a pathway to peace that surpasses all understanding?

One day, my wife and I were driving in Virginia, and it's dark. It's late. We're following the GPS. The GPS tells us to make a left. We make a left onto this road, and the road starts being crooked. And we find ourselves driving up into a mountain at nighttime with no lights on the road. And there was this really thick fog. I mean, it's really thick. I did the thing that you're not supposed to do. Maybe it was in a panic, I don't know, but I put the high beams on. We couldn't see an inch in front of us.We were creeping up through this path, and we were scared. And this fog was thick. And we're in the mountains. Next thing we know, there are deers crossing in front of us. It was scary.

And eventually we got through the fog. And I can't tell you how thankful we were. How thankful we were that the fog was clear. that there was a road ahead of us that we could see and that the lights were on.

And a life without Christ is a life that's like driving in the fog with the high beams on. I mean, there's a spiritual blindness there. But the good news is that Christ came to get rid of the fog. To get rid of the sin that corrupts the heart and to give us a clear pathway in him.

A pathway where the lights are on. Where I can see the road ahead. I can trust what he is taking me. And there was a gratitude in my life for that. There's a gratitude that can be in your life with us. You're captivated by him. Captivated by the light.

And if you want a pathway to peace be someone captivated by Jesus.

Conclusion

Prayer

Last Song

Doxology

Numbers 6:24–26 CSB

24 “May the Lord bless you and protect you; 25 may the Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you; 26 may the Lord look with favor on you and give you peace.” ’

Jude 24–25 CSB

24 Now to him who is able to protect you from stumbling and to make you stand in the presence of his glory, without blemish and with great joy, 25 to the only God our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, power, and authority before all time, now and forever. Amen.

You are dismissed. Have a great week in the Lord!