Luke 19:28-40 “Hosanna”

Today is Palm Sunday, a day that 2,000 ago Christ was called unto “Hosanna, Hosanna, we beseech thee to save us.” Jesus has saved, does save, and will save His people from their sins.” So today, we will be doing a topical message on that occasion of Palm Sunday, from Luke 19:28-40. Please turn with me there now.

(Read) Luke 19:28-40.

(Pray) Lord you are our King, may we make the path straight, announce your coming, and herald the good news.

Dismiss children

Introduction

The fulfillment of the Gospel accounts, comes from the prophesy of Zechariah 9:9 which says; “Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your king is coming to you; righteous and having salvation is he, humble and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey”

Here in the gospel of Luke, like the other Gospel accounts, we have recorded for us a glorious scene of Christ entering into the city which commemorates the beginning high of a seven day period that will result in the lowest of the lows.

(Proposition) Our theme today that I wish to place before us from this historical narrative is: Christ, the King of kings, is worthy to save His people as the King we need, but not the King we necessarily wanted.

(Goal) I would hope that today we would have a better appreciation in our worship to God in recognizing the tremendous amount of patience and humility that Christ underwent as He approached the hill of Calvary.

(Context)-But as always, and especially in a topical sermon where we are jumping into the middle of a text, we need to know the context of these verses. This recorded event takes place after Jesus and disciples have exited the city of Jericho, and met a man, a short man, named Zacchaeus. Zacchaeus was a tax gather whom Christ would say to “Today salvation has come to this house, since he [Zacchaeus, the tax gather] also is a son of Abraham. For this reason the Son of Man has come to seek and to save the lost.” The reason I bring this to our attention, is this event of Zacchaeus being saved as a man who was lost but now was found seems to spur a parable on the topic of the Kingdom which then just happens to be placed before the Triumphal entry of the King. The parable that Christ gives about the Ingram is all about how a King would come, to then leave, and then come again to receive unto Him those whom He has invested in. So then it would be reasonable to conclude that the triumphal, and the concluding week of the death and resurrection is the Kings first coming and therefore we are now during the period awaiting this King return.

This is the context to what we are looking at today. But, none the less the Triumphal Entry is recorded in all four gospel accounts that all bear some differing details to the story. None of these details, however, contradict each other. But instead this story is woven harmonious together, which we will be making observations about as we progress through the account given by Luke.

Starting location

(Read) Luke 19:28-29.

Jesus is starting His decent to the cross itself. And so we have here the information of where this passion week scene begins. He is heading to Jerusalem, where he will be staying at until the ultimate betrayal will take place. He is not going there for the main purpose to heal someone, he is not going there with the main purpose of giving sight to someone, but this time, the main point for his entry into this city is to secure salvation for His people.

I do think it is helpful to put in our minds the distance from Bethany to Jerusalem. This path that Jesus is to travel is roughly between 1—2 miles in distance.

This is a relatively short distance, that Jesus sees the need to ride into the city on the back of an animal. And this would have been the common means that a King would enter into His Kingdom with. The King would send ambassadors a head of him to make the path ready and to prepare the city for a grand entrance so that when the king came riding mightily in to his city, the city would be prepared to welcome its king.

(Question) But what does King Jesus ride into this city of Jerusalem on? (Answer/Read) Luke 19:30.

Jesus, who is the King of kings, who is about to make the greatest act and redemption of man sends forth His disciple to obtain a war horse? No, he has them get a unyoked, meaning never been burdened or riden, donkey. In the other gospel accounts we see that this young donkey is lead by his mother. And so the two disciples are sent to retrieve two donkey for the King of all creation to ride into a city that will soon reject Him.

—But is this not the way that Jesus has completely demonstrated that He is the Messiah already and elsewhere in Scripture? It is said that the Donkey that Jesus rode “no one had ever sat.” This is remarkably similar to how Christ entered into His creation. Through the womb a virgin. Then Jesus in His burial is said to have been laid into a tomb which no one else had laid. The means of our King coming to rescue in His first coming has always been one of humility and lowliness. Jesus who was deserving of the finest and most well trained horse, saw it fit to ride a untrained, humble donkey. ((((Also this is seen in the other Gospel accounts as a Messianic fulfillment)))))))

Jesus’s Words are True

(Read) Luke 19:30-34.

The manner about which this all occurs is not one of randomness but divine demonstration of God being the grand sovereign. Jesus gives these two disciples very specific instructions, which we would say seem strange and unlikely; “You mean to tell me Jesus that these supposed people with these supposed donkey, are going to supposedly give us these supposed donkeys at our confession that the Lord has need of them?” But in this strange occurrence, sure enough as the disciple left from Jesus and enter this small village they began to our the sound of donkeys braying in the distance. These disciples would then witness the fulfillment of Jesus's promise about these said donkeys when the owners willing give them over to them.

I think it is important to mention here, that in this seemingly random and unlikely situation, we can draw several conclusions. Jesus is God in flesh. God had a divine purpose in ensuring that the owners fo donkeys were there, the donkey themselves were there, and how the disciples were to obtain the said donkeys. But we should also walk away with this conclusion. The words and promises of Jesus are trustworthy and true. Meaning that we can take confidence in all that he has promised will surely come to past.

(Read) Luke 19:35.

So here is Jesus sat upon— not a horse, not a chariot, not princely wagon— but on the back of a lowly donkey.

Hallel

(Read) Luke 19:36-38.

V.36 “spread their cloaks”— Remember again that the distance for these disciple of Christ would have been 1—2 miles. We understand the expression of “laying out the red carpet.” But here we have a crowd of people that are flocking as a multitude to gather around this King on a donkey and so the people are shedding their outer layers and grabbing the palm branches and laying it in front of Jesus. This would have not been some small and minor occasion but one that would have brought more and more people to the scene. The crowds would have become larger and larger, even large enough to be heard by the Pharisees and the people of Jerusalem. And it says in V.37 and V.38

(Read) Luke 19:37-38. This crowd begins to think to themselves, that this Jesus who is riding into Jerusalem is going to be their liberating King from all the pagans who would restore the fortunes of Israel. So they begin to sing a wonderful portion of scripture that is also recorded for us in the other Gospel accounts. And what is remarkable about where they are singing from, is that this portion of song is known as the Hallel Psalms. Sadly, this is still sung today by Jews in Israel who still reject Jesus. They sing the entirety of Psalm 113-118. I think it would be wise to turn there and get a glimpse into the song that Christ would have been hearing chanted to Him has he starred at hte place that was soon to sentence Him to death.

(Read) Psalm 118:19-29. (Expound and Preach) (((Reference the specific verses))))

Turn with me back to Luke— While shouts of the people get louder and louder, Hosanna, Hosanna, the Pharisees here and also recorded in the other gospel accounts, rebuke the people and requests that Jesus rebuke them Himself too.Why would they frantically be concerned with what the people were saying about Jesus? Because of two reasons; 1) They didn’t believe Jesus was their Messiah. And 2) they most likely feared the Romans hearing about this King rising into the city of Jerusalem.

But Jesus response that if they stop the rocks will begin to shout. Now why does Christ say this? There is a very similar saying found in Habakkuk 2:11, which some would argue is Jesus attributing Messianic promises to Himself (Which could very well be the case). Some would argue that this is simply Jesus saying a rhetorical statement of impossibility, meaning that people just won’t be silent. But I think, without stretching this text to far, I think Jesus is alluding to the hearts of unbelievers. Matthew 3:9 says: And do not presume to say to yourselves,’We have Abraham as our father,’ for I tell you, God is able from these stones raise up children for Abraham.” I believe that though Jesus was surely referencing physical stones, there was a spiritual condition in which Christ was also referencing.

We must not be fooled about how was singing to Jesus, and why they were singing to Him. The multitude before Christ, the people of Israel, the physical offspring of Abraham that is here singing the Hallel Psalm, is the same crowd that would go on to call for the Crucifixion of Jesus. Those Jews, thought and expected the Messiah to be a king who would deal out retribution to their enemies. They thought to themselves the King who was riding in on a Donkey would liberate them from the Romans. They thought they were marching Him to the house of Pilate, so that he would cause the insurrection that they dreamt of. But instead, In the singing of the Hallel psalm to Jesus they did not notice the saying: “the stone that the builder rejected”— “bind the festal sacrifice” —and “We bless you from the house of the LORD”—

Many people wrongly assume that Jesus would be rejoicing as he entered the city of Jerusalem to this praise being sung to Him. But Church, this simply is not the case. (read) Luke 19:41-44.

Temple

Jesus, as he is entering this city, sitting upon this lowly donkey, hearing the cries of hypocrites, looks upon the city and begins to cry. Make no mistake, Jesus is not happy with what he sees, but instead is a King who is weeping over a people who are soon to turn on Him. weeping upon a people who were sent the prophets. weeping over a people who are currently singing Him praise but soon will have the foaming mouth of insatiable dogs.

These people who rolled out the red carpet, lined the streets with palm branches and clothes, filled the air with song, thinking this was the liberator of captives, walks not rejoicing to house of the Romans, but walks weeping into the house that was meant to bless His Father. (read) Luke 19:41-42.

This bound festal sacrifice, this rejected stone, this temple that blessed, was not there to liberate from liberate this wicked nation, but He was there to make peace. Something far greater than any earthly conquering king, the LORD of Glory has come to bring salvation. He , and He alone has overcome where all others fall short.

These people who were originally welcoming a King, were the same people who would carry that Lamb of God to the alter to die. This multitude that were hanging onto every word of His, would slowly but surely dissipate and disappear as Jesus descended further and further to Calvary. The Triumphal Entry is the beginning of the passion week. The lining of the road, the rolling out of the red carpet, was one that did not lead to a people who welcomed the King, but let to the place of the skull where our sin was fully paid for.

Conclude

But I want to conclude by reminding us what I said was the proposition of this text today: Christ, the King of kings, is worthy to save His people as the King we need, but not the King we necessarily wanted.

The Jesus, who is King, is the King that we need. But how often do we see people make Jesus into the Jesus that they want Him to be rather than the Jesus that He is declared in scripture to be? False regions all around us do this to the character of Christ. They change Him to be something from our imagination to fit and please our thoughts of sin and wordly desires. I must plead with you church, the Jesus of the bible is a far greater and glorious King than anything you and I can imagine. So I beg, do not change who is His in your mind and in your words with others. Jesus is the reigning King who saves, Jesus is our reigning King who has made peace, Jesus is the reigning King who is worthy of all praise.

We deserve death to reign in our lives for the sin that we have commited. Yet it is that wage of sin that our King has taken upon Himself. Jesus is the King of other kings, meaning that He reigns supreme above all else. That King, is the King Immortal, who is alone worthy of all praise and adoration, He has saved His people by humbling Himself beyond all comprehension. Jesus, was the stone that did not deserve any rejection but took on that curse so that He would be the cornerstone of our faith. He is the light that shined upon us, yet underwent the bleakest darkness imaginable when we was bound as a sacrifice for us children of the darkness. He church, is the gate of the LORD, may you run through this gate today and be saved. May we not shout: Hosanna, vainly, but shout Hosanna, Hosanna because our hearts of stone have been melted away and have been raised to be children of Abraham.

This King Jesus, who brought the means of salvation in His first coming, has promised to bring judgement and condemnation in His second coming. Just as assuredly that those disciple found Jesus’s words to be true when they found the colt tied up, so to we should trust all the promises of Christ. He rode a donkey in His first coming, in His second, He will be upon a white horse, with a sword coming from His moth, with which He will judge the wicked. May we be His ambassadors today, and make clear the way for His return.

(Pray) Thank you Jesus for the unimaginable decent of humility, for saving us, May our Praise be pleasing to you today.