Triumphal Entry Luke 19:28-40

The Destination (Luke 19:28)

This story in Luke depicts the time that Jesus had prophesied for three years.This would be His final trip to Jerusalem. Remember early in His ministry, when he healed anyone, He would charge them not to tell, because His time has not yet come. Now, His time has come. He Mentioned to His disciples several times how he must die and be raised again. John 12:23–25 “And Jesus answereth them, saying, The hour is come, that the Son of man should be glorified. Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a grain of wheat fall into the earth and die, it abideth by itself alone; but if it die, it beareth much fruit. He that loveth his life loseth it; and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal.” Jesus knew His destination was the cross, but to get to the cross, He had to go to Jerusalem.

It is the same with us. Our destination is Heaven, but to get to Heaven, we have to fist come to the Cross. It is only through the cross that our sin was paid for. That payment had to be made. Romans 6:23 “For the wages of sin is death; but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” We have to recognize that we have all sinned. Romans 3:23 “for all have sinned, and fall short of the glory of God;” The only way that the price of sin that could be paid for, was through the cross. Just as Jesus had to go to Jerusalem to get to the cross, we have to come to the cross to get to Heaven.

The Donkey (Luke 19:29-35)

As Jesus saw Nathaniel setting by a tree, presumably from a great distance, He also saw the Donkey. The ASV translates the Greek word polos, as colt. Actually the word means young donkey. He sent two of His disciples to retrieve the donkey in order to ride it into Jerusalem. The significance of riding a donkey rather than a horse showed that Jesus came in peace, not as a conquering military king. Horses were used for war, while donkeys symbolized humility and peace. Jesus even chose a young donkey that had never been ridden to emphasize His gentle, humble nature. Jesus had always brought peace John 14:27 “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be fearful.” John 16:33 “These things have I spoken unto you, that in me ye may have peace. In the world ye have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.” When we have come to the cross,and have ask for forgiveness, and have turned our lives over to Jesus, He sends us peace through the Holy Spirit. The fruits of the Holy Spirit are: Galatians 5:22–23 “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, meekness, self-control; against such there is no law.” Before you can know peace in your life, you first must know the author of peace , and that is Jesus Christ.

The Deliverance (Luke 19:36-40)

The people in Isreal were looking for a conquering King type of Masiah. When Jesus arrived in a donkey, they probably ignored the symbolism that Jesus gave them as they were blinded by their desires of being delivered from the Romans. There were lots of prophecies concerning the coming Masiah as a conquering King. They did however either forgot, or ignored the prophecies of a servant Masiah coming first. The conquering Masiah will come at His second coming. They were all very excited about the arrival of Jesus, laying down their garments and palm leaves in His path. They were ready and willing to welcome Jesus the conqueror, but not Jesus the servant. Not even a week later, they were all hollering to crucify Him.

Jesus did come to deliver Isreal, He also came to deliver you and I from our sin and eternal punishment. 2 Corinthians 5:15 “and he died for all, that they that live should no longer live unto themselves, but unto him who for their sakes died and rose again.” John 10:10 “The thief cometh not, but that he may steal, and kill, and destroy: I came that they may have life, and may have it abundantly.” John 3:15–16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth on him should not perish, but have eternal life.” The whosoever is all of us. All the people in Jerusalem in that time, and all of us present today.

Conclusion

The triumphal entry of Jesus coming into Jerusalem gives us a picture of salvation for all. Jesus came to Jerusalem to go to the cross to pay for all our sins. We have to come to the cross to acknowledge our sins and ask for forgiveness. It is at the cross that our sins are paid for, once and for all, and apply His blood to our lives to be cleansed of our sins. The difference between the blood of the old testament sacrifices, and the blood that Jesus shed on the cross is that the old testament sacrificial blood only temporarily covered their sins. Whereas the blood of Christ that was sacrificed on the cross, cleanses our sins once and for all!

Christ came peacefully and humbly to give us peace. Accepting the free gift of salvation that is freely offered to us, at no cost because He already paid for it on the cross, He gives us a peace beyond understanding: Philippians 4:7 “And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall guard your hearts and your thoughts in Christ Jesus.” This doesn’t come naturally, as the world gives us turmoil. However there is a peace that you have in you given by the Holy Spirit. You achieve this supernatural peace by transforming you mind, Philippians 4:8 “Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honorable, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.” There is a saying in computer programming, “Garbage in, Garbage out”. If you write programs full of garbage, then the computer will only know to display garbage back to you. It is the same way with our minds, what we think about is how we live: Matthew 15:11 “Not that which entereth into the mouth defileth the man; but that which proceedeth out of the mouth, this defileth the man.” We need to access the peace by the transforming of our minds Romans 12:2 “And be not fashioned according to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is the good and acceptable and perfect will of God.” It is then that the Holy Spirit has room to work in our lives. Once we intentionally submit ourselves as a living sacrifice to God, that we can achive the peace that is beyond understanding. Christ wants us to live a life that is pleasing to Him, and live it abundantly : John 10:10 “The thief cometh not, but that he may steal, and kill, and destroy: I came that they may have life, and may have it abundantly.”

In Christ deliverance of our sins that was paid for on the cross, gives us 24/7 access to our God, the creator of the universe and all that is in it. We do not have to walk on hot coals, sacrifice our children, or ask anyone to intercede for us for His pleasure. No, we have direct access to our Father, once we are adopted into His family by accepting the free gift of salvation. Christ deliverance gives us an inheritance of eternal life with Him in heaven, and delivered us from the eternal punishment of Hell, where we were headed before accepting Christ as the Lord of our life. To put things into perspective, it would be almost impossible for us to have a personal appointment to have a meeting with President Trump to discuss our concerns. Even if we wrote a letter to the White House, it would be read by an intern and answered with a pre-stamped signature of Trump. However, we have direct access anytime with the God who created President Trump! This is because we are adopted as His children, and children always have access to their fathers. How much do we take that for granted! When things get really tough in our lives a common statement is, well as last resort I’ll pray, because I’ve tried everything else. No, we should pray first, submit to His will, and rejoice in our deliverance!!

Let us pray: Father, as we look this week to you that is leading up to the celebration of your Resurrection, we thank you for the sacrifice you volunteerly gave your life on the cross, and then you rose on the third day so that we too will be resurrected when you come for us in a new uncorruptible body. Father, we believe in you, and help us with our unbelief when the world gets us down. Please God, help us to have that peace that you gave us through the Holy Spirit. A peace that is beyond understanding. Go with us now Lord, as we go into the world. Protect us, bless us, and bring others to us so that we may share the hope that is in us. Thank you for what you are going to do in our lives today and this week.

In your most holy name, Jesus Christ, Amen!