Jerusalem Rejects her King

Luke 19:28–44 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.” 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.”

Often taught on this day without context

Luke 19:28–44 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.” 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.”

To reject him he must claim to be king

Jesus Claims to be King

Some say that Jesus never claimed to be King

Bartimaeus

Why is the crowd stirred up this time?

compared to previous visits

This story directly precedes Jesus entry in Matt, Mk, and Luke

John tells us of Lazarus but the other 3 find this more important

Why?

Luke 18:35–43 ESV

35 As he drew near to Jericho, a blind man was sitting by the roadside begging. 36 And hearing a crowd going by, he inquired what this meant. 37 They told him, “Jesus of Nazareth is passing by.” 38 And he cried out, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” 39 And those who were in front rebuked him, telling him to be silent. But he cried out all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” 40 And Jesus stopped and commanded him to be brought to him. And when he came near, he asked him, 41 “What do you want me to do for you?” He said, “Lord, let me recover my sight.” 42 And Jesus said to him, “Recover your sight; your faith has made you well.” 43 And immediately he recovered his sight and followed him, glorifying God. And all the people, when they saw it, gave praise to God.

Luke 18:35–43 ESV

35 As he drew near to Jericho, a blind man was sitting by the roadside begging. 36 And hearing a crowd going by, he inquired what this meant. 37 They told him, “Jesus of Nazareth is passing by.” 38 And he cried out, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” 39 And those who were in front rebuked him, telling him to be silent. But he cried out all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” 40 And Jesus stopped and commanded him to be brought to him. And when he came near, he asked him, 41 “What do you want me to do for you?” He said, “Lord, let me recover my sight.” 42 And Jesus said to him, “Recover your sight; your faith has made you well.” 43 And immediately he recovered his sight and followed him, glorifying God. And all the people, when they saw it, gave praise to God.

This is the first time Jesus publicly accepts the title “Son of David”

It is a title of Messiah, who would be THE King from the line of David

He is Calling Jesus the “Son of David

And the crowd is rebuking him for it

I don’t think it was because he was too noisy

The crowd was silencing him because of WHAT he was saying

They were not comfortable with it

And Jesus publicly heals him and says

“your faith has made you well”

Faith in what?

That he (Jesus) is the Son of David

In other words “ I have healed you because you believe that I am the Son of David”

Similar story early in Mathew

Two blind men shouting “Son of David, heal us”

But Jesus takes them into a house

Heals them and says “your faith has made you well”

But tell no one

And now the crowds will exuberantly hail him as the King

Because Jesus has finally claimed to be the Messiah publicly

First

Parable (Jesus is the King of His Parable)

Prior to entering Jerusalem Jesus tells a parable

It is about a Nobleman who leaves to receive His kingdom and returns after receiving it.

Jesus is clearly the King figure

Donkey (Colt)

Messianic expectations

The coming King was to ride a colt

Solomon rode a donkey on his coronation

Accepts and encourages the praise of His disciples

They attribute kingship to Him

In their words

“Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord”

Their Actions

Spreading cloaks

Two parts

Shows honor

The King should not step on the ground

Shows submission

Putting themselves under his feet

subject to his authority

Effectively they are heralding the Kings coming to Jerusalem

The Pharisees in the crowd ask him to rebuke His disciples

They do not want him being exulted as the King

Jesus retort

“if these were silent the very stones would cry out”

Jesus is saying that everything is disciples are saying is true and deserved

If his group of disciples were not hailing his arrival then the stones would give him the praise he is due.

Jesus is coming to Jerusalem claiming to be her King

And How does Jerusalem respond?

First lets look at the crowd

Vs 37. “The whole multitude of His disciples”

The crowd traveling from Galilee for Passover

Galileens

Not the entire crowd

Vs 37. “The whole multitude of His disciples”

Not the people of Jerusalem

Next the path and timing of events

When do the disciples begin to rejoice and praise?

VS. 37 “as he was drawing near- already on the way down the mount of olives”

This is the point of Maximum visibility to Jerusalem

There is the Mount of olives and jerusalem with a valley in between

It was not until they were on the way down the mount of Olives that Jerusalem would have been easily visible and that they would be easily seen from Jerusalem

* It occurs outside of Jerusalem

None of the Gospels say anything to indicate that any part of this occured inside Jerusalem

And Luke is specific that it occurs prior to entering Jerusalem

If its not a Triumphal “Entry” then what is it?

Jesus large group of followers is heralding the arrival of the King

What kind of reaction should we expect in this time and culture?

We today in our culture fail to see what was missing

Remember this is a time period in which it was not uncommon for cities to be visited by Kings or other high officials

There were expectations as to how a King was to be greeted

We have a great deal of written records of how kings and other nobles were received

Historian’s have noted several things common to these royal visits

Each visit was unique but these aspects seem to have been universal

The people of the city would come out of the city to greet the dignitary

The Religious and Political elite would come out first to greet the dignitary and escort him into the city

It was a festive event in which the people would wear their finest clothes and ornaments

Lastly, the visitor would be lauded in speeches on behalf of the city, expressing how privileged they were to be visited

the entrance of the Hellenistic king Attalus of Pergamum and his entourage into Athens.

For not only the magistrates and the knights, but all the citizens with their wives and children went out to meet them [i.e., Attalus et al.], and when they joined them there was such a demonstration on the part of the people of their affection for … Attalus that nothing could have exceeded it in heartiness. As he entered the Dipylon, they drew up the priests and priestesses on either side of the road; after this they threw all the temples open and bringing victims up to the altars begged him to perform sacrifice. Lastly, they voted him such honors as they had never readily paid to any other former benefactors. (16.25.5–8)24

The ranking officials and all the citizenry went out to meet this King

There was a massive outpouring of affection from the entire city

The religious leadership is among the welcomers

Honored in their religious practices

Speeches given in his honor

In light of this we can see what would have been obvious to the original readers of the Gospel

The leadership and citizens ignored his arrival

they did not come out to meet him

They did not celebrate his arrival

Only Galileans celebrated

No speeches in his honor

This was an affront

Jesus is the king

Jesus was not welcomed by Jerusalem as a King

And if I have not provided enough evidence that this arrival to Jerusalem is in fact a rejection. let me make 2 more points

In the proceeding parable Jesus prepares His disciples for his rejection

“A nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom and then return. 13 Calling ten of his servants, he gave them ten minas, and said to them, ‘Engage in business until I come.’ 14 But his citizens hated him and sent a delegation after him, saying, ‘We do not want this man to reign over us.’

He wanted them to expect the rejection

At His trial, the accusation against Jesus was that he was claiming to be a king

Rome did not allow anyone to be a king except by appointment.

The Herod at Jesus birth was made a king by Rome

His son, the current Herod, was not allowed to be a king but was given the lower title Tetrach

Rome would execute anyone that tried to become a king without its authority

But both Herod and Pilate found Jesus innocent of the charges

If Jerusalem had actually welcomed him in a manner fit for a king

They would have noticed

They would have declared him guilty

But they didn’t notice

Jesus entry into Jerusalem was not remarkable enough to provide any evidence that he was a king.

If this was a truly triumphal entry into and through Jerusalem

If he was recieved as Messiah

Why didn’t the roman authorities notice?

Lets Recap

Jesus makes himself known as Messiah to the crowd traveling with him to Jerusalem

He rides the final leg of the journey on a colt to highlight this fact

As the crowd begins coming down the mount of olives opposite Jerusalem they act as heralds announcing the coming of the Messiah King.

And there is no response from Jerusalem

The only reaction Luke tells us is hostility from the Pharisees

Now i called his group of disciples Heralds

Heralds are kind of a foreign concept to us today

But in ancient times they were very important

You see, in ancient times if a King did not receive a proper greeting it was a major insult

and insults had to be punished

When its an entire city insulting you then you typically gotta destroy the entire city.

And, generally speaking, Kings didn’t want to be destroying their own cities

So to prevent *accidental* insults from cities that were not expecting a visit kings would send Heralds before them to prepare the way.

To make sure everyone was ready for his visit

Can we really expect Jerusalem to know their king was coming

Had they been properly heralded

Which, by the way, is a word

The answer is yes, and

it is Luke more than any Gospel writer that goes to lengths to show us how much

The beginning of Luke’s Gopsel is almost completely revolved around Jerusalem

Most of Luke’s birth narrative portions occur in or near Jerusalem

Only Luke tells us of Zachariah’s encounter with the Angel IN THE TEMPLE

Only Luke tells us of Mary’s visit to Elizabeth who lives in Judea and their prophecies

And at Johns circumcision, IN THE TEMPLE, Zechariah prophecies of the coming Messiah and that His son would be His forerunner

At Jesus Circumcision, IN THE TEMPLE, he tells us about Simeon’s acclamation that Jesus was the messiah and prophesied concerning him

Luke also told us that a prophetess named Anna was there at the temple and she also spoke of him to all who were waiting for the redemption of Israel

Okay, so there were a bunch of people prophesying the coming king at his birth, that was like 30 years earlier.

Okay, so Jerusalem

Can you really blame them for forgetting

Yes, yes you can

Because Luke also tells us that they went to Jerusalem every year for the Passover

OH, look, isn't that the Messiah kid

And he tells of a fascinating story of Jesus when he was 12 years old

He was in the temple Listening to and asking questions and “all who heard him were amazed”

Hey isn’t that kid that seems to know everything the same one that everyone was prophesying about when he was born?

It was so important in this culture that a King recieved a proper welcome that Heralds were essential.

And then of course we have his Actual Herald, John the Baptist

It was so important in this culture that a King recieved a proper welcome that Heralds were essential.

Kings had Heralds to make sure that the way before them was prepared for their arrival

We are told that all the people were filled with Messianic hopes

If it was not prepared, the insult to the king required retribution

And John of course says I am not the Christ

And at Jesus baptism it is made clear that Jesus is the expected one

But what about Jesus ministry, wasn’t it mostly in Galilee?

Can we really hold the people of Jerusalem responsible if they didn’t know about his miracles or what he was teaching?

On one of those days, as he was teaching, Pharisees and teachers of the law were sitting there, who had come from every village of Galilee and Judea and from Jerusalem. And the power of the Lord was with him to heal.

Luke 5:17 ESV

17 On one of those days, as he was teaching, Pharisees and teachers of the law were sitting there, who had come from every village of Galilee and Judea and from Jerusalem. And the power of the Lord was with him to heal.

Luke 5:

Did you catch that?

Luke makes sure we know that there were representatives from Jerusalem who heard him teach and watched him heal miraculously.

Fast forward now back to today's passage

We can see that the people of Jerusalem, especially the leadership, are without excuse

They should have known that this was their Messiah

Which brings us to the final part of the narrative

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

Luke

At this point he is probably well past the halfway point between the Mount of Olives and Jerusalem

Luke 19:41 ESV

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

He is past the point in which it could be expected for the people of the city to come out to him.

And the jubilant praises of his crowd of disciples is interrupted by the weeping of jesus

We are told in John’s Gospel that Jesus wept for Lazarus

And here it says he wept for Jerusalem

But the greek words used are not the same.

The word used when he wept for Lazarus could effectively be translated that he cried

The word used here however, is a much stronger word

Often used to describe the wailing that occured in funeral procession

Same word used when Peter denies jesus and it says he “wept bitterly”

This is a wailing lament

Jesus is behaving as someone might behave at the funeral of their child

What was a jubilant procession by the crowd changes into a funeral march into the city.

Because the city is going to be judged

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.”

Because Jerusalem failed to recognized her savior she has been condemned

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.”

Luke 19:41-

The fulfillment of this prophecy occurs in the year AD 70 When after a lengthy siege Roman soldiers breach the walls and mercilessly slaughter the inhabitants

I find it fascinating that it is Jerusalem failure to recognized the time of their visitation that leads to this judgement

It is NOT the Crucifixion of Jesus

What does he say there? “Father forgive them, they know not what they do”

But here it seems judgement is unavoidable

At this point you may have one more question

]

You should be wondering

If this was in fact NOT a triumphal entry

but rather a rejection of Jesus as King

Why are the crowds in Jerusalem so eager to listen to Jesus?

After all, we are told that the people hang upon his every word

The religious leaders feared to seize him because of the size of the crowd around him

It is not enough to listen to Jesus

The people loved to listen, but they would not obey

They would not Serve him as king

and they would not worship him as the Son of God

It is not enough to listen to sermons week after week

Not enough to read the words of the bible

It is very easy to listen to Jesus as a teacher, yet reject him as king

He will return

His faithful servants will be rewarded according to their faithfulness

And those who have rejected him as King over them will be destroyed

When he returns will he find you as a faithful servant

I pray that none of us be caught unprepared in that day

Jerusalem Rejects her King

Passage Selection

Passage Selection

The Son of David is rejected by the City of David