A Big Crowd Meets a King

I hope that you were welcomed here this morning by someone. I hope that someone shook your hand, gave you a hug, high-fived, or even a fist bump. Those are all different ways that we can greet someone, to welcome them.

But there are so many different ways that you can welcome someone in other parts of the world. A handshake isn’t the norm everywhere.

In Sierra Leone, you still shake hands but you are supposed to hold your right arm with your left arm to show respect – their hand is of great weight.

In France they get all kissy-kissy when they welcome someone

The traditional welcome at the Polynesian island of Tuvalu involves pressing your face to the other person’s cheek and then taking a deep sniff.

When welcoming an unfamiliar guest into their home in Mongolia, the host will present them with a hada - a strip of silk or cotton. If you are lucky enough to be presented with a hada, you should grasp it gently in both hands while bowing slightly.

In the Philippines, when a younger person greets an older person, they must bow a little, grab the older person's right hand with their right hand, allowing their knuckles to touch the older person’s forehead.

As this gesture is being made, the younger person will say ‘Mano Po.”

It might be bad manners anywhere else in the world, but in Tibet poking out your tongue is the customary way to welcome people. The tradition dates back to the 9th century during the time of a vicious Tibetan king known as Lang Darma, who had a black tongue.

The people feared that King Darma would be reincarnated so they began greeting each other by sticking out their tongue to prove that they weren’t evil.

So, if you have a Bible (and I hope you do) you can go ahead and open it to Luke 19. Today, as we study the triumphal entry into Jerusalem, we are going to look at how a big crowd welcomed the king.

Over the last two weeks as we have walked toward the cross with Christ, we’ve seen him encounter a blind beggar and a little rich man who had their lives radically changed after coming into contact with Jesus. And that’s because even on the way to the cross, Jesus was still willing to stop and minister to those who were hurting, those that were seeking something even if they didn’t know what it was at the time.

And this morning as Jesus makes his way into the city of David, we find how we can welcome the king into our own lives.

Now, before we read our text for this morning, would you join me in prayer?

Pray!

Luke 19:28–44 ESV

And when he had said these things, he went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem. When he drew near to Bethphage and Bethany, at the mount that is called Olivet, he sent two of the disciples, 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. If anyone asks you, ‘Why are you untying it?’ you shall say this: ‘The Lord has need of it.’ ” So those who were sent went away and found it just as he had told them. And as they were untying the colt, its owners said to them, “Why are you untying the colt?” And they said, “The Lord has need of it.” And they brought it to Jesus, and throwing their cloaks on the colt, they set Jesus on it. And as he rode along, they spread their cloaks on the road. 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, saying, “Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!” And some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples.” He answered, “I tell you, if these were silent, the very stones would cry out.” And when he drew near and saw the city, he wept over it, 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. 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 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.”

There are four ways in which we can welcome the King this morning.

Welcome Him with Obedience

Verse 28 tells us,

…he went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem.

I picture Jesus walking ahead of the disciples, more determined than ever to enter the city of David. This is why He had come. It’s almost as if He couldn’t wait to complete His job. The disciples may have been following rather reluctantly, maybe even dragging their sandals. They knew very well that their Master was already under the sentence of death by the Jewish leaders.

Jesus tells some of the disciples to go into the village and they’ll see a colt tied up, one that no one had ever ridden. Untie it and bring it to me. But if anyone asks what you’re doing, just tell them that the Lord needs it.

So, they went and found the colt and the owner asked what they thought they were doing, they simply answered that the Lord has need of it.

Jesus spells it out for them very specifically. Somehow, He knew all about the colt that would be tied up.

These animals were expensive. In our culture today, it would be like someone coming up to a bright red Porsche, opening the door, starting the car and driving away. When the owner comes running outside you would just say, “The Lord needs it.”

According to a custom of the time, a dignitary could secure the use of property for personal reasons. It would be like a president coming up to you and telling you that he needed to use your car.

When the disciples were sent to get a colt, Jesus was putting into place yet one more very specific prophecy about who He was. In Zechariah 9:9, which was written some five hundred years earlier says,

Zechariah 9:9 ESV

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.

Now, keep in mind that many of the followers of Jesus were hoping that the Messiah would come with power and overthrow the Roman government. The one who raised Lazarus from the dead could certainly defeat the Romans. They were longing for a warrior king who would come on a great white horse, like King David did one thousand years earlier when he wiped out the Philistines.

You can imagine the confusion in their minds when the people saw their Messiah ask for a colt.

Jesus was about to enter the city of David not as a warrior who would physically conquer the Roman army, but as the Prince of Peace who would seek to conquer the spiritual hearts of people. Many in the crowd would have understood the message behind the symbolism.

While the disciples obeyed without asking any questions, I wonder what was really going through their minds. They could have been amazed, once again, that everything was just as Jesus said it would be.

Shortly before this, the disciples were arguing about who was going to be the greatest in the kingdom. They were hoping Jesus was going to set up His cabinet and begin His reign in Jerusalem. But, instead of ruling, the disciples find themselves running errands and saddling donkeys, not marching in places of honor. Nevertheless, they obeyed.

Are you as quick to obey as the disciples were, even when you don’t understand everything that’s going on? When you discover clear commands in the Bible, do you follow or do you falter? Do you need to own up for any deliberate deeds of disobedience right now? If so, do it. Determine to welcome the king with an obedient heart. John 14:15 reminds us that if we say we love Jesus, then we will obey what He commands.

The first way we can welcome Jesus this Palm Sunday is by our obedience. The second way is by welcoming the King with our gifts.

Welcome the King with Gifts

There were at least three gifts given that day. The first one was the colt.

Colt

The owners didn’t question the disciples after they were told the colt was for Jesus. Maybe they had heard of Jesus before and were happy to give their possession away. They gladly gave Him what rightfully belonged to Him anyway. As the Creator, Jesus has every right to possess what is ultimately His.

Verse 35 tells us about the second gift that was given to Jesus.

Cloaks

The disciples put their cloaks on the colt as a saddle for Him and helped Him get on. Verse 36 says that,

36 And as he rode along, they spread their cloaks on the road.

They willingly took off their outer garments and laid some of them on the colt and others were placed on the road in front of Jesus.

Can you imagine what all this commotion would have done to the colt? Remember, it had never been ridden before and now Jesus was on its back, the crowd was shouting, and cloaks and palm branches were being laid in front of it as it walked down the hill toward Jerusalem.

The laying of cloaks on the road would be like rolling out the red carpet for someone today. In 2 Kings 9:13, people spread cloaks under King Jehu as he walked on the bare stairs. The people recognized Jesus as royalty and gave Him the honor afforded a King.

That leads to the third gift the laying of palm branches on the road.

Branches

Luke doesn’t mention this detail but Matthew 21:8 tells us

Matthew 21:8 ESV

Most of the crowd spread their cloaks on the road, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road.

This was a common way to welcome a victorious King when he would return from battle. These palm branches were also a symbol of joy and victory and were placed on graves as a sign of eternal life. Since they often grew out in the desert near water, palm trees were a sign that life-giving activity was near. By laying palm branches on the road, the people were signifying that Jesus was the victorious King who gives eternal life to those out wandering in the desert of life.

The gifts of the colt, the cloaks, and the branches all point to who Jesus is. What started out as a Jewish feast is now turning into a Messiah celebration.

The colt was expensive, the cloaks were essential, and the branches were an expression of joy.

Is He asking you to give something that is expensive? Is He longing for you to give something that you consider essential? Or, have you been holding out on an expression of joy? If you want to welcome the King, you can do so with your gifts. While there is nothing we can do to earn our way to heaven, or nothing we can give to impress Jesus, our giving does demonstrate our love and devotion.

The followers of the King welcome Him with obedience and with their gifts. We see next that they welcome the King with their praise.

Welcome the King with Praise

If they started with preparation they now break out into celebration. In verse 37, we read:

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,

The language suggests that it was more than just the 12 disciples who were praising God. At this point, there were many followers of Christ, and as they move down the mountain, the city of Jerusalem comes into view, causing them to get even more excited.

The people broke out into a great spontaneous outpouring of praise. Sadly, however, these same vocal cords with which they praised God for the Messiah’s entry would be used just a few days later to scream, “Crucify Him! Crucify Him!”

But for now, they shout out in verse 38:

38 saying, “Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!”

This comes from Psalm 118. This Psalm speaks of the coming Messiah and was sung out loud during the Passover meal.

As the crowd is praising God loudly, the Pharisees come up to Jesus and say, “…Teacher, rebuke your disciples!” They knew that the crowd was declaring Jesus as the Messiah and so they tell Jesus to reject the claim and to rebuke his followers. These claims are offensive to the religious leaders.

I love the answer Jesus gives in verse 40:

40 He answered, “I tell you, if these were silent, the very stones would cry out.”

If the disciples do not speak, creation will. Just as Jesus calmed the wild colt, He can command an inanimate object like a rock to praise Him because He is the creator of all things. Or, to put it another way, Jesus is saying, “If I stop my disciples from singing, then you’re going to hear a literal ‘rock concert!’”

Instead of rebuking the disciples, Jesus rebukes the Pharisees by implying that the rocks know more about what is taking place than they do!

In effect this was literally fulfilled when we read in Matthew 27:51, that after Jesus died, “…the earth shook and the rocks split.” The rocks responded to Jesus even though the Pharisees didn’t.

How are you doing at welcoming the King with praise? Do you have moments in your schedule in which you stop and break out into praise? When you come here on Sundays to worship with others is it the culmination of a week of personal worship or is it your only time of praise?

God can make the stones cry out -- but He’d rather have people who worship Him in spirit and in truth!

Jesus is longing for people to welcome Him with obedience, with gifts, with praise, and finally, with faith.

Welcome Him with Faith

As Jesus makes His way down the mountain, he sees the entire city of Jerusalem. It was stunning in its beauty with shining white buildings and the gleaming gold of Herod’s temple. But Jesus saw it with a different vision. He was coming not be respected but to be rejected.

41 And when he drew near and saw the city, he wept over it,

We may be tempted to rejoice in Jesus’ victory over the Pharisees. But Jesus doesn’t gloat; He weeps. His interest is not in winning arguments but in winning people. The word “wept” means “to burst into tears, to weep out loud, to sob deeply.” This was more than just a tear streaming down His cheek.

This same word is used in Mark 5:38 to describe how family members were crying over the death of a young daughter when it says they were “crying and wailing loudly.” While everyone else was shouting joyfully, Jesus was crying because of the hard hearts of people.

Jesus was not weeping because He was going to suffer and die. No, He was weeping for the lost. He wants people to exhibit faith and trust Him as their Lord and Savior. He wants this so much that He weeps when people choose to go their own way.

As Jesus looks out at Jerusalem, with his deep sobbing and wailing almost choking Him up, He cries out:

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.”

Jesus had offered salvation to the people, but they rejected it. As a result, they have lost out on real peace. In these verses, Jesus is looking at the future and sees some really bad things in store for the City of David.

His chilling prophecy became reality in 70 A.D. when Titus and the Roman legion surrounded Jerusalem, built embankments around it so no one could escape, and besieged the city for 143 days before turning it into a pile of rocks. Over 600,000 adults and children were slaughtered. The temple was totally destroyed and set on fire.

All this took place because they “did not know the time of your visitation.”

Can I talk straight with you this morning? There is a very clear principle here in these words that are dripping with the tears of Jesus. If we not recognize God’s coming in the form of the Lord Jesus and put our faith in Him, we will be exposed to judgment. If you reject Christ, you will pay the consequences.

This doesn’t make Jesus happy. It breaks Him up. It brings Him pain. He is deeply moved and choked up when He thinks about you not responding to Him in faith. God’s heart is revealed toward you in:

Ezekiel 33:11 ESV

Say to them, As I live, declares the Lord God, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live; turn back, turn back from your evil ways, for why will you die, O house of Israel?

As Jesus breaks out into tears about the coming judgment for those who do not turn to Him in faith, it should motivate us to put our full faith and complete confidence in Christ for forgiveness of sins. His tears show us that He has a heart of compassion towards you and He doesn’t want you to experience the terror of the coming judgment.

Are you ready to welcome the King with obedience, with gifts, with praise and with faith this morning? Friends, don’t put off the decision any longer. Welcome the King into your life today.

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