Jesus, the Weeping King (Luke 19:28-44)
Notes
Transcript
28 After Jesus had said this, he went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem. 29 As he approached Bethphage and Bethany at the hill called the Mount of Olives, he sent two of his disciples, saying to them, 30 “Go to the village ahead of you, and as you enter it, you will find a colt tied there, which no one has ever ridden. Untie it and bring it here. 31 If anyone asks you, ‘Why are you untying it?’ say, ‘The Lord needs it.’ ”
32 Those who were sent ahead went and found it just as he had told them. 33 As they were untying the colt, its owners asked them, “Why are you untying the colt?”
34 They replied, “The Lord needs it.”
35 They brought it to Jesus, threw their cloaks on the colt and put Jesus on it. 36 As he went along, people spread their cloaks on the road.
37 When he came near the place where the road goes down the Mount of Olives, the whole crowd of disciples began joyfully to praise God in loud voices for all the miracles they had seen:
38 “Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!”
“Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!”
39 Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Jesus, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples!”
40 “I tell you,” he replied, “if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out.”
41 As he approached Jerusalem and saw the city, he wept over it 42 and said, “If you, even you, had only known on this day what would bring you peace—but now it is hidden from your eyes. 43 The days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment against you and encircle you and hem you in on every side. 44 They will dash you to the ground, you and the children within your walls. They will not leave one stone on another, because you did not recognize the time of God’s coming to you.”
Jesus Planned this Parade!
Jesus Planned this Parade!
This is a parade that Jesus has planned. He sent his disciples to go and find the donkey that he would ride on. Jesus is making a point about his Kingship, yes.
But, to understand what Jesus is doing, we must look at what would NORMALLY happen...
Passover was a tense time that flamed the spirit of rebellion and revolt
Passover was a tense time that flamed the spirit of rebellion and revolt
Remember, Passover was the ANNUAL reminder of what God did to the Egyptians and how God redeemed the Hebrew people from slavery.
Every year the Jewish people would slaughter a lamb and eat the passover meal to commemorate that time.
But, they celebrated under Roman rule and Roman authority.
While the people would celebrate the Passover, tensions could rise as people yearned again for another figure to lead them to away from the bondage of the Romans. However, since they were in their promised land, they didn’t need someone to lead them away. They needed someone to come in and declare himself as king. Someone who would drive OUT the dirty Romans from the land and restore the political and religious freedom that God promised...
To say that the atmosphere at passover is tense is an understatement!
The Romans wanted to MAKE CERTAIN that there would be NO REBELLION.
So, during that time they would bring more troops into the area and any sign of rebellion would be squashed.
As a side note, Barabbas, who would be freed in Jesus’ place, was most likely a rebel who had killed people in his zeal for rebellion.
But, also during this time, Pilate, would ride into town to make sure everyone KNEW he was the king, or at least that he represented the true king, Caesar...
Pilate spent most of his time west of Jerusalem, at Caesarea Maritime. This city was like a little Rome on the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea. Pilate would sit there and judge cases that could eventually be sent to Rome. When the Apostle Paul said that he wanted to be sent to Rome to be heard, he plead his case at Caesarea Maritime.
However, every year, as Passover was about to begin, sometime during that week, Pilate would leave Caesarea Maritime and head east. He would arrive on the western side of Jerusalem and enter the city.
There would be pomp and circumstance. Pilate would enter the city with a parade of people who would shout to make way for the king! He would be riding an elaborate chariot, or if not a chariot, and great white stallion that he had tamed - all to show his power.
The people would declare “Pilate is king!” or Pilate brings Salvation and the Peace of Rome!”
This is how kings come to town!
All of this provide the background of what happened on that Sunday at the beginning of passover, but it is drastically different.
Jesus planned this parade, yes, but he purposefully planned it differently.
Jesus Parade is an EXACT opposite of Pilate’s
Jesus Parade is an EXACT opposite of Pilate’s
First, Jesus comes from the east.
This signifies that he came, not from a place of power. he came from the wilderness. I see a reminder of Moses, who was called back to Egypt while in the wilderness.
This is a reminder that Jesus has traveled through the Jordan River valley from Galilee. Galilee was considered the uneducated, backwoods part of the empire. Yet, Jesus, riding in from the east is a reminder of where he has come from, not power, but from giving up that power.
Second, he rides a donkey...
Pilate would ride a noble steed, or a chariot, something that would show his power, wealth and prestige. But Jesus rides a donkey!
9 Rejoice greatly, Daughter Zion! Shout, Daughter Jerusalem! See, your king comes to you, righteous and victorious, lowly and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.
Yes, this was prophesied, but it was prophesied to highlight the type of king the people really needed. To have the peace that God promised, the King must also embody that peace.
Jesus came on a donkey to show that he is humble and that he truly brings peace.
And, although drastically different, Jesus is treated as a king!
And, although drastically different, Jesus is treated as a king!
The people DID recognize what was happening. They DID treat Jesus as king!
What did they shout?
37 When he came near the place where the road goes down the Mount of Olives, the whole crowd of disciples began joyfully to praise God in loud voices for all the miracles they had seen:
38 “Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!” “Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!”
They shouted that he is the king and that he brings PEACE in heaven...
Do you remember what the angels sang in Luke’s account of Jesus’ birth?
14 “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”
Luke highlights the Carol of Peace that is sung around Jesus!!
Those who surrounded Jesus did understand that he was the one who truly brought peace, but they couldn’t, yet, understand how...
The Pharisees DO Understand
The Pharisees DO Understand
In the midst of this Pomp and Circumstance, we know that Jesus is not SIMPLY making a religious gesture, he is making a POLITICAL STATEMENT that HE ALONE IS KING!!
And, the Pharisees understand this too.
Only in Luke’s account of this story do we have the encounter with Jesus and the Pharisees...
39 Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Jesus, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples!”
40 “I tell you,” he replied, “if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out.”
The pharisees do NOT want a rebellion. They are an example of what can happen when religion and politics get mixed together. They have it made the way things are. They are a religious group, yes, but they have often been used to keep the political powers stable… And, they are trying to keep things stable.
Jesus, stop this rebellion right NOW!!!
But, what does Jesus reply…?
IF they stop, stones will cry out...
ALL CREATION KNOWS JESUS IS THE TRUE KING! But, if we humans do NOT use our voice to declare what we know to be true, God will raise up someone else, or something else...
7 John said to the crowds coming out to be baptized by him, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath?
8 Produce fruit in keeping with repentance. And do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham.
Jesus, the King, declares that His true followers can’t and won’t stay silent, and if they do, God will find a replacement.
But, then there’s something else that only Luke shares with us...
But, then there’s something else that only Luke shares with us...
In the midst of this celebration Jesus weeps...
41 As he approached Jerusalem and saw the city, he wept over it
42 and said, “If you, even you, had only known on this day what would bring you peace—but now it is hidden from your eyes.
43 The days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment against you and encircle you and hem you in on every side.
44 They will dash you to the ground, you and the children within your walls. They will not leave one stone on another, because you did not recognize the time of God’s coming to you.”
Jesus recognizes that the people are desperate for a king, but they are desperate for HIS KINGLY REIGN...
Luke 13 he lamented over the city
34 “Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were not willing.
35 Look, your house is left to you desolate. I tell you, you will not see me again until you say, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.’”
Jesus, already recognized that he will be like the rest of the prophets… He will be killed because his message will not be received. Yet, it is the ONLY message that will save the people...
Other than that lament, there are only 2 times where Jesus is said to have wept
1 at the tomb of Lazarus- in the face of death
35 Jesus wept.
He wept, grieving the loss of a friend and a loved one. He knew how the story would end that day, yet he still wept.
2 in Jerusalem when he he hailed as King, but he know his Kingship has ultimately been rejected
Here, in LUke’s Palm Sunday account, Jesus weeps again. He knows the end of the story, and that story causes great agony and pain. The people who declare him as King on Sunday will reject his kingly rule, the will not accept his message, and peace will be stripped from him.
The same crowds that shout Jesus is King will be in the crowd that shout for Barabbas to be released and for Jesus to be crucified
They have rejected his salvation
Therefore they have rejected peace
Because they have rejected their true King, they will pay the price. They were visited by God, they were offered God peace and salvation, but they refused to accept it.
Luke is writing this account of Jesus’ life AFTER the destruction of Jerusalem. But, he remembers Jesus words of promise that because the people rejected Jesus as King they would face destruction. Luke, therefore, gives a THEOLOGICAL interpretation to the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple in the year 70ad. IT was because the people rejected God as their King.
IN this way, Jesus IS like all the prophets who declared that unless they repent of their wickedness and turn to God they would be exiled and destroyed. And, just as those prophets were killed, so was Jesus, the true King. And, the results were the same. God’s judgment came upon those who rejected his grace, humility, mercy, peace and love.
God allowed them to reject Him. And, because of their rejection God lifted his protection from them. If they didn’t want him as King, they do not want His protection either...
But, what does this have to do with Us?
But, what does this have to do with Us?
There is a message in this for us about the Kingly Reign of Jesus.
Yes, we know what happens throughout the week. Jesus IS enthroned in Jerusalem on Friday as King. But, his throne wasn’t a golden chair, it was a splintery wooden cross.
And while on that throne, some DID recognize Jesus to be a king…
A thief ....
40 But the other criminal rebuked him. “Don’t you fear God,” he said, “since you are under the same sentence?
41 We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong.”
42 Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.”
A centurion at least recognized that Jesus was innocent...
47 The centurion, seeing what had happened, praised God and said, “Surely this was a righteous man.”
John’s Gospel has the man recognize that Jesus is God
And, yet mockingly, even Pilate understood...
33 Pilate then went back inside the palace, summoned Jesus and asked him, “Are you the king of the Jews?”
34 “Is that your own idea,” Jesus asked, “or did others talk to you about me?”
35 “Am I a Jew?” Pilate replied. “Your own people and chief priests handed you over to me. What is it you have done?”
36 Jesus said, “My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jewish leaders. But now my kingdom is from another place.”
37 “You are a king, then!” said Pilate. Jesus answered, “You say that I am a king. In fact, the reason I was born and came into the world is to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me.”
But, we are also told that the crime for which Jesus was sentenced to death, the crime for his punishment, that was placed above his head on the cross was that he was KING
19 Pilate had a notice prepared and fastened to the cross. It read: jesus of nazareth, the king of the jews.
This is what Jesus demonstrated when he rode into town on a donkey from the east. That he was a king, but a different one.
And, this is why Jesus wept because many will proclaim Jesus as King, but they do not fully understand that he was crowned king in his death and all heaven rejoiced in proclaiming him king through his resurrection.
But, this means that there is a choice. What do YOU do with this King? Do you accept his salvation and peace. Do you accept that he calls you to lay down your desires and rights and you come to him humbly seeking forgiveness and declaring that HE alone is KING - and therefore that He alone is savior?
And, this leads us to our cities… Jesus wept for the city of Jerusalem because they rejected his presence, his Kingdom and his salvation.
What about our cities?
When was the last time we wept for our cities?
That they have rejected Christ, his salvation and his Kingly rule.
True peace comes from accepting Jesus Kingly reign and the salvation he offers. But, oh, the sorry that awaits those who seek peace elsewhere...
Peace is NOT found anywhere else than in Jesus Christ...
6 Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
Peace is NOT FOUND...
In the Temple Priests
In the Religious Rules and Traditions
In the ruling reign of Herod, or Pilate, or Caesar
In the taxes that are imposed
In meth, fentanyl, alcohol, wives, husbands, children, vacations, jobs, houses, cars
In Political parties and election seasons
Let me bring this close to home
The answer is NOT Joe Biden, NOR is it Donald Trump - they only reflect temporary, earthly realities
The True KING is Jesus! Therefore the ONLY answer is Jesus and the salvation he brings and the Peace that comes with it. But, this answer leads to a cross where we kneel before our humble king. Yet, Paul reminds us in Philippians 2, that Jesus’ humble ascent to his throne is ultimately Jesus’ victory. And, someday we will ALL declare Jesus as king. Some for glory, and some for shame!!
So, when was the last time we wept for our cities, neighborhoods, and communities
When was the last time we wept for ourselves?
It’s Holy Week! What do you do with a King like Jesus?