Triumphal Entry

This week leads up to the remembrance of the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus. So much has happened, as Jesus has doubled down on teaching the disciples, preparing them for the weeks ahead. During this time, Jesus receives word his friend Lazarus has died, and within four days of his death he arrives in Bethany and raises Lazarus from the dead. But something happened. Peoples minds were changed, and there was a mounting frustration from the Pharisees.

John 11:45–55 ESV

45 Many of the Jews therefore, who had come with Mary and had seen what he did, believed in him, 46 but some of them went to the Pharisees and told them what Jesus had done. 47 So the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered the council and said, “What are we to do? For this man performs many signs. 48 If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him, and the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation.” 49 But one of them, Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, said to them, “You know nothing at all. 50 Nor do you understand that it is better for you that one man should die for the people, not that the whole nation should perish.” 51 He did not say this of his own accord, but being high priest that year he prophesied that Jesus would die for the nation, 52 and not for the nation only, but also to gather into one the children of God who are scattered abroad. 53 So from that day on they made plans to put him to death. 54 Jesus therefore no longer walked openly among the Jews, but went from there to the region near the wilderness, to a town called Ephraim, and there he stayed with the disciples. 55 Now the Passover of the Jews was at hand, and many went up from the country to Jerusalem before the Passover to purify themselves.

The Pharisees ignored the miracle. The Pharisees ignored the prophecies. The Pharisees ignored the Messiah. The Pharisees just saw a problem, and they were willing to put Jesus to death to get rid of their perceived troubles. Jesus understands that His earthly time is drawing to a close, but His time still had not come. He retreated from Bethany into Ephraim, around 6-8 miles away. The geographical relationship between these towns is significant for understanding Jesus’s movements during the final weeks before his crucifixion. Though Ephraim was only a few miles north from Bethany, Jesus was evidently in concealment there, suggesting the distance was close enough to pose security concerns yet far enough to provide temporary refuge from authorities who were actively seeking him.

But His time was soon to come. Jesus knew this and (I wonder) if He used his time in the wilderness of Ephraim to prepare Himself for the time that was shortly drawing near. While we do not know the exact time frame from the raising of Lazarus until the Triumphal Entry, we know Jesus will make His way back to Jerusalem the week following Passover. While there, spending time with Mary, Martha, and Lazarus, He makes preparations with His disciples.

Luke 19:28–40 ESV

28 And when he had said these things, he went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem. 29 When he drew near to Bethphage and Bethany, at the mount that is called Olivet, he sent two of the disciples, 30 saying, “Go into the village in front of you, where on entering you will find a colt tied, on which no one has ever yet sat. Untie it and bring it here. 31 If anyone asks you, ‘Why are you untying it?’ you shall say this: ‘The Lord has need of it.’ ” 32 So those who were sent went away and found it just as he had told them. 33 And as they were untying the colt, its owners said to them, “Why are you untying the colt?” 34 And they said, “The Lord has need of it.” 35 And they brought it to Jesus, and throwing their cloaks on the colt, they set Jesus on it. 36 And as he rode along, they spread their cloaks on the road. 37 As he was drawing near—already on the way down the Mount of Olives—the whole multitude of his disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works 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!” 39 And some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples.” 40 He answered, “I tell you, if these were silent, the very stones would cry out.”

Jesus’ arrival into Jerusalem began the last week of His life. Jesus was unquestionably claiming to be King, but He was claiming to be a different kind of King, a King who was different from what men usually conceived. He was claiming to be the King of Peace, the King whose kingdom is not of this earth.

Jesus had finished sharing the parable of the pounds, He felt the drive to move on toward Jerusalem. There the climax of His purpose was to take place. He was to suffer and die for man. Jesus was completing His purpose. Jesus was driven to die for man.

For one of the first times, Jesus now sets into motion the claim that He is King. Jesus sent his disciples into the city to secure a colt. A king riding a colt into a city was a symbol of peace. Thus the whole scene was to center around His riding into the city on a colt.

in ancient days the colt or donkey was a noble animal. It was used as a beast of service to carry the burdens of men. More significantly, it was used by Kings and their emissaries when they entered a city in peace. They rode a colt to symbolize their peaceful intentions. This differed dramatically from a conquering King. When a King entered a city as a conqueror, he rode a stallion.

Jesus was dramatically demonstrating two things: first, He was unquestionably the promised King, the Savior of the people; and second, He was not coming as the people expected. He was not coming as a conquering king or as a worldly potentate in pomp and ceremony, nor as the leader of an army to kill, injure, and maim. Therefore, the people must change their concept of the Messiah, for He was coming as the Savior of Peace. He was coming to save men not to destroy them. He was coming to show men that God is the God of love and reconciliation.

1. The colt was a symbol of peace. Jesus came to bring peace, as pointed out in the above discussion.

2. The colt symbolized service. It was a noble animal, an animal used in the service of men to carry their burdens. Jesus came upon the colt symbolizing that He came to serve men, to bear their burdens for them.

3. The colt symbolized sacredness, for it had never been ridden before. Animals and things used for sacred or religious purposes had to be animals and things that had never been used before. This detail points to the sacredness of the event. It pictured that Jesus was deliberately taking every precaution to proclaim that He is the sacred hope, the promised Messiah of the people.

Jesus used the title the Lord in laying claim upon men and their property. The Lord (o kurios) is a strong expression; it is the same as saying Jehovah. Jesus was claiming the right to use the colt because He was the Lord. The owner was p 388 bound to have been a disciple who would allow the Lord to borrow his animals. A man of the world might not allow the claim of the Lord to affect him.

Jesus’ instructions were followed carefully. Note a crucial point. The task given to the two disciples to go and secure the colt may have seemed small, but no task is small in the proclamation of Jesus as King. Fetching the colt was extremely important if Christ were to be proclaimed as King before the people. The task was essential.

Jesus accepted the recognition of the disciples. The disciples knew exactly what Jesus was doing. They acknowledged who He was by:

⇒ Obeying His instructions.

⇒ Using their own garments as a saddle.

⇒ Seating Jesus upon the colt.

While it was a peaceful gesture, it also finally acknowledged Jesus as the Messiah. But the people had a different view of who He was.

The people proclaimed Him not as Messiah, but as King. The people praised God for all the mighty works they had seen. There were teeming thousands lining the roadway, throwing their cloaks down ahead of Him. The people had just recently seen miracle after miracle including the raising of Lazarus from the dead. The whole atmosphere was electric with excitement and expectation. The people knew Jesus had the power to do anything: He could bring the Kingdom of God to earth.

They proclaimed Jesus to be “the King that cometh in the name of the Lord.” They thought the hour had arrived. Jesus was going to usher in the Kingdom of God, freeing the nations from Roman occupation, setting up Jerusalem as the earthly reign of Jesus, and establishing Israel as a world leader. They had the right concept of praise, but they failed to understand who He truly was.

They failed to see that Jesus was riding a colt, coming as the King of Peace not a conqueror. They failed to see that Jesus was riding the animal of burdens, coming as the King who wished to bear the burdens of men. They failed to see that Jesus was riding the animal that symbolized sacredness, coming for the purpose of saving the people spiritually. They failed to see that Jesus was riding the animal that symbolized meekness, coming as the King of meekness.

He was proclaimed King by the people which made the religious authorities irate. They had already given the word to hunt Jesus down and arrest Him. Despite this threat, Jesus publicly and triumphantly entered Jerusalem. The great weight and importance of His mission, “to seek and save that which was lost,” is clearly seen in such courageous behavior.

Jesus understood their anger, but also spoke truth to the Pharisees “I tell you, if these were silent, the very stones would cry out.” He finally declares His deity to them. Nature did cry out when He hung upon the cross. The world and the disciples had forsaken Him, but the sun hid its face and the earth split asunder in a demonstration of the cry of nature.

This again burdened Jesus, as He will cry over the people in the city. He loved the city, He loved the people, but they had rejected Him, and He knew their fate.

Today, many people still have the wrong concept of who Jesus truly is. They see Him as a mystical forgiver of all sins, as one who is tolerant to sin, one who is a genie in a bottle for when things go wrong. Many today miss out on who Jesus truly is, by mistaking Him for who they WANT Him to be. I wonder if Jesus still cries today over OUR nation, loving the people, but knowing the fate for those who reject Him today too.

Luke 19:41–44 ESV

41 And when he drew near and saw the city, he wept over it, 42 saying, “Would that you, even you, had known on this day the things that make for peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes. 43 For the days will come upon you, when your enemies will set up a barricade around you and surround you and hem you in on every side 44 and tear you down to the ground, you and your children within you. And they will not leave one stone upon another in you, because you did not know the time of your visitation.”

This passage is covered only by Luke. It is full of prophecy and compassion, the prediction of Jerusalem’s terrible fate and the compassion of our Lord for a people doomed to utter destruction.

The word wept literally means to burst into tears, to weep out loud, to sob, to wail, to mourn. Jesus was literally heartbroken over Jerusalem. He was looking and gazing upon the city with deep intensity. He was looking upon, considering, regarding the city in all its tragic state.

Jesus was weeping while the city was engaged in the excitement of feasting and fellowshipping in a jovial, party-like spirit. The whole atmosphere was like that of a present-day convention. The scene can be imagined. But while the people were in such a partying mood, Jesus was off on the hillside weeping over the city and its people

The reason for Jesus’ weeping was stated by Jesus Himself: the city and its people had rejected the way of peace, and judgment would soon be coming. In only a short time, 30 or so years, the city would be under attack and would be completely destroyed, razed to the ground, and the people would be judged by being scattered and put into captivity.

Jerusalem is a prime example of the fate of a nation that rejects God. It is doomed to fall. They had rejected their Messiah. They had rejected their salvation. They chose their fate.

Closing

For peace to exist today, we too must accept the true way of peace that can only be found in Jesus. The Hebrew word used is shalom, and it means freedom from trouble, rest, completion.

Peace denotes the wholeness, soundness, and well-being that characterizes God and that God created in the world. As peace was broken due to human sin, true peace cannot be understood until we are restored in our relationship with and by God.

But, like Jerusalem and the Jews, how many people today reject their Savior? How many of the reject the free pardon of sin and their salvation? How many are choosing a fate that causes Jesus to weep over them?

Today, if you recognize that you are a sinner, if you recognize you do not have true peace with your Savior, what better day to repent and accept Jesus today?

Leadership Ministries Worldwide, The Gospel according to Luke, The Preacher’s Outline & Sermon Bible (Chattanooga, TN: Leadership Ministries Worldwide, 1996).