So, what did we miss?

Introduction

Good morning Fellowship church.

For those of you who may be visiting or for those of you following along online, I am definitely not Pastor Layne; he is out of town.

I am one of the members here at Fellowship and grateful for the opportunity to fill in while Pastor’s out of town.

Would you pray with me?

[prayer]

Have you ever had an experience where you’re looking for something and it’s right in front of your face?

So a picture of this, we’re getting ready to eat dinner and we need to put the dressing on the table.

Amy tells me it’s in the fridge.

So I open the door and it’s nowhere to be found.

I’m rummaging through containers of leftovers,

knocking over random jars,

jostling through the condiments in the door,

can’t find it anywhere.

Frustrated, I do what every other exasperated husband does in this situation, I call for help.

Amy walks up, opens the door, grabs the dressing, and we sit down.

It’s like it magically appeared right in front of her eyes.

How on earth did I miss it?

Now, all you ladies out there might think I suffer from selective blindness, which is in the same family as selective hearing, but even the kids can’t find it! And I have 3 of them to send to look!

Can you relate to this experience? Ever been there?

Brainstorm with me for a moment as to why we sometimes miss what’s right in front of us.

We’re moving too quickly

We have preset expectations as to what we’re looking for

There’s too much noise or clutter

We are simply not paying close attention

Our minds are distracted by other things

and there’s plenty more that I’m sure we could come up with

Well, as I’ve been wrestling with this passage this week, the last verse has really haunted me.

“you did not recognize the time of your visitation from God.” (Luke 19:44, NET)

And I began to wonder, would I, would we, recognize God’s visitation among us?

What can we be doing to sharpen our focus and attention?

Well, let’s dive in and explore the things that make for peace that Jesus wished his welcome party understood.

Setting the Stage

So hopefully you’re having some déjà vu with our passage… The crowd is shouting.

“blessed as the king who comes in the name of Lord.” (Luke 19:38, NET)

Does anyone remember hearing that recently?

[SLIDE - Layne’s Outline]

Last week, as part of our sermon series on the pronouncement stories of Jesus, pastor Layne preached on Luke 13:31-35. He made these 3 points:

The warrior prophet determines to overcome opposition to God’s mission

The weeping prophet laments the rejection of God’s message

The willing prophet sacrifices his/her life as God’s messenger

Well, as part of his response to the Pharisees to send back to “the fox,” Herod Antipas, Jesus promises that they will not see him again until they say,

“Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord!” (Luke 13:35, NET)

This is, of course, the words spoken at Jesus’ arrival in Jerusalem. So, there is a direct connection between last week’s passage and our Palm Sunday text.

[SLIDE - Bible Project of Luke’s Gospel]

I want to make a quick observation here.

Luke structured his biography of Jesus around his journey to Jerusalem.

His teachings occur “on the road” or “learn as we go.”

[SLIDE - Satellite Bible Atlas - Political Borders of Jesus’ Time]

Jesus encounters the Pharisees in the region of Galilee, which at this time was controlled by Herod Antipas, one of the sons of Herod the Great.

The Pharisees are trying to scare him out of town.

Remember Herod Antipas killed John the Baptist, and because of the political threat of Jesus, he could end up facing the same demise. Jesus is not fazed.

Notice that Jesus calls Herod, a fox.

Whatever Jesus’ intent here, notice that Jesus connects the confrontation with the Pharisees to Jerusalem, which is in a different region.

Jesus knows that Herod’s authority ultimately stems from the Roman Emperor, not God.

The true kings of Israel are known as lions, not foxes, so this is his way of calling Herod a “small fry.”

And because Jesus knows it is not his time yet, he says in MC Hammer fashion, “ya can’t touch this.”

[SLIDE - MC Hammer “can’t touch this”]

But here’s the connection I want to make, to our passage.

The fox metaphor is not just an insult, Jesus continues the image by envisioning himself as a hen that protects her chicks.

Anyone know a common predator of hens and chicks? Yeah, foxes.

[SLIDE - Fox in Coop]

But the truly sad part of this metaphor is not directed to Herod as much as it is the Pharisees and the leadership of Jerusalem.

“How often I have longed to gather your children together as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you would have none of it!” (Luke 13:34 NET)

In the face of clear and present danger, the chicks do not run toward protection, they reject their hen and run headlong into the arms of their predator.

[SLIDE - World Upside Down]

Where they attempt to frighten Jesus with death from the fox, Jesus turns it upside down.

It’s not Jesus who should be afraid, it is the leadership and the people. Jesus says

“Look, your house is forsaken!” (Luke 13:35 NET)

The hen has flown the coop. The chicks are exposed.

This is all critical backdrop to our passage here where Psalm 118:26 is repeated again. So, let’s jump back to our text in Luke 19:28-44 where Jesus makes it to Jerusalem.

The Coming of the King

Most bibles provide the subheading of “The Triumphal Entry.”

You probably know that these headings are not original and were added much later.

[SLIDE - Triumphal Entry or Visitation?]

In the Roman practice, a triumphal entry involved

riding a white horse (donkey’s were used for civil processions)

displays of military might

war trophies

captives

Jesus’ entry matches the pattern of a “celebratory welcome” or “visitation” of royalty or other dignitary.

arrival of dignitary

greeting outside the city by officials & elite

citizens wore best clothing

expression of privilege by the people through praise and speeches

end of the visit is marked by a visit at the local Temple

As a brief side-note, this is the same imagery behind the so-called “rapture” imagery of 2 Thess 2:1. Only the idea of the rapture gets it backwards.

[SLIDE - Entry into Jerusalem]

All this makes sense in Luke’s Gospel,

Jesus has been “on the road” to Jerusalem.

in our text, notice Luke recounts that Jesus “draws near” three different times (Luke 19:29, 37, 41)

the crowd welcoming him are his own disciples

the Pharisees are there portrayed as just part of the crowd (but reject him)

no other leaders are mentioned by Luke

he finally enters the Temple in Luke 19:45

So the ancient reader familiar with these conventions would have easily seen the offense Jesus faces.

Despite the pomp and circumstance, he is rebuffed as a nobody by the leadership.

This helps explain the emotional contradiction that Jesus feels in this moment; instead of pride and joy, he weeps over the people he loves.

[SLIDE - Jesus Weeping]

I just want to pause with you here to recognize and receive the deep love of Jesus here.

Worse things are going to come, but praise God that you and I are wept over by the Lord when we can’t see or receive him in the times and places that he is right there and we just can’t see Him.

I wonder where in your life you need to receive his tears for you, and repent, and not miss your visitation.

The Welcome of the Davidic King

[SLIDE - Hosanna]

There is another dimension in our text that helps us understand this scene and the cause for Jesus’ weeping, and that is the citation of Psalm 118:26.

Well, not only were the subheadings in our Bibles added after the fact, but so were chapters and verses.

Don’t get me wrong, they are very helpful for us to be on the same page.

But in Jesus time, the way someone wanted to reference scripture was to quote a well-known section of it.

And when they referenced a verse, they were bringing to bear the entire context of a passage.

So, what was Psalm 118 about and why is it referenced here?

Jesus is entering town the week of Passover.

During this and other festivals, Psalm 113 - 118 were used in public worship.

These are known as the Hallel Psalms. Hallel הלל means “to praise” in Hebrew.

When we say Hallelujah הַֽלְלוּיָ֨הּ (as in Psalm 106:1 BHS-T), we are transliterating the command form of הלל “to praise,” and יָהּ, a shortened form of the Hebrew word for “God.”

So, while this Psalm was used during the festival of Passover, Jesus’ disciples reenact and apply it to Jesus.

Notice that in place of, “Blessed is the one who comes,” the crowd says “the king,” referencing Jesus, who just happens to be riding on a donkey.

This references the Messianic notions of Zechariah 9:9 (cf. 1 Kings 1:32-35).

“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.” (Zechariah 9:9 NIV11-GKE)

In fact, many scholars believe that in it’s original context, Psalm 118, was recited at the annual enthronement of the king of Israel.

This stands in stark contrast to the response of the Pharisees, who simply label him “Rabbi” or “teacher,” clearly not agreeing with his disciples, as they urge Jesus to rebuke them.

Jesus knows it’s his time, his disciples in this moment believe it’s his time, but the city of David and it’s leadership are noticeably absent.

We all know later in the story that essentially everyone abandons Jesus.

Jesus weeps because of this and because he knows the coming destruction of the city and of the Temple.

Years after the death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus, Jerusalem was surrounded by Roman armies.

The people starved to the point that some did the unthinkable to survive.

The temple was razed to the ground and in it’s place stands a mosque today.

Can we just pause again and recognize and receive the deep love of Jesus here.

You and I are wept over by the Lord when we can’t see or receive him in the times and places that he is right here, and we just can’t see Him.

Where in your life do you need to receive his love for you, and repent, and not miss your visitation?

[SLIDE - World Upside Down]

Why Can’t We See?

As we close, I want to revisit why we sometimes can’t see what’s right in front of us.

You’ve probably heard in the news about the romance scam.

There are a lot of varieties of this, but this is essentially what happens

a connection is made with another person via social media

rapid emotional intimacy is built

there is a reluctance to meet in person with a “believable” reason

they have a compelling backstory

grooming happens over time with lots of mirroring

requests for money begin

We personally know a couple of people, none are family, who have not only fallen prey to these scams, but who remain in them even after the scam is clearly exposed.

The people we know have

divorced their spouse after a lifetime of marriage

sent the scammers their life savings

ruined relationships with their actual families

and they still believe the lie

There is clearly evil behind this, and scripture is clear that the devil blinds us.

At the same time, those being scammed willingly participate in the scam.

They want to see what they want to see, not the truth right in front of them. This is what Jesus means when he says

“If you had only known on this day, even you, the things that make for peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes.” (Luke 19:42, NET)

There is active self-deception going on because we want so badly to believe what we want to believe.

There’s no dressing in the fridge… it’s just not there… except that it’s right in front of me.

Jesus can’t be the Messiah, he just died and was buried. He pales in comparison to the might of Rome.

Perhaps the reason the leaders couldn’t see Jesus as Messiah was because they were blinded by their preconceived ideas of what they were looking for.

It simply prevented them from seeing the one who was right in front of them.

Where in your life today is Jesus right in front of you?

Will you see him and welcome the King who comes to you in the name of the Lord?