The People Cheer and Jesus Weeps

Luke 19:28-44

I wish simply to remind you of a familiar story from the Bible. It began early Sunday morning as Jesus was walking toward Jerusalem. Jesus stops for a moment and sends 2 of his disciples ahead of Him into a nearby village to carry out a special errand. Here is how Luke records that event: Luke 19:28b-31; "As He approached Bethphage and Bethany at the hill called the Mount of Olives, He sent two of His disciples, saying to them, `Go to the village ahead of you, and as you enter it, you will find a colt tied there, which no one has ever ridden. Untie it and bring it here. If anyone asks you, `Why are you untying it?’ tell him, `The Lord needs it.’"

The 2 disciples must have wondered about what Jesus told them to do, because none of the Gospel accounts about His ministry ever mention Him riding any animal to get from one place to another. He walked hundreds of miles up and down the land we now call the "Holy Land," but there is no mention of Him ever riding, except in a boat across the Sea of Galilee.

But now, He gives this unusual command to go into the village to get a colt that had never been ridden, and to bring it to Him. It must have seemed a strange command, indeed. He even tells them the exact words they are to use should anyone question them. They are to say, "The Lord needs it." Was this prearranged? Did the owners know what Jesus was going to do? We don’t know. It is obvious, though, that Jesus knew what He was going to face in the city of Jerusalem. So His decision to go into Jerusalem must have been one of the most difficult Jesus ever made.

And on top of that, to ride into the city on a colt, rather than to walk into it as He had often done before, must have been an even more difficult decision, because riding a colt into the city was a public declaration that He was a King. You see, in times of war the conqueror would ride upon a prancing stallion. But in times of peace, the king would ride a colt to symbolize that peace prevailed. Therefore, for Jesus to ride into Jerusalem upon a colt means that He is declaring that He is a King. That raises an interesting question:

1. HOW WOULD THE PEOPLE RESPOND TO JESUS DECLARING HIS KINGSHIP?

Would they recognize that His Kingdom was not of this world - that it was a spiritual kingdom, and He was to be a spiritual King? Small chance, because He had been teaching them that for 3 1/2 years, and still they had not learned that lesson.

Probably, some of them would greet Him with laughter. Maybe they would be amused by what Jesus was doing. After all, it was a rather ridiculous picture. Here is a carpenter declaring Himself to be a King! Others would think, "He is a lunatic, living in a world of fantasy - imagining Himself to be a King!" And they would laugh at him. Others would greet Him with anger - upset because they would interpret His riding into the city as arrogance and blasphemy against God. Then of course, many would hail Him with joy, welcoming Him as an earthly King, who had come to reestablish the throne of David, and overthrow the Roman Empire. They were ready and eager to place a crown upon His head.

Among the crowds would be people He had healed. Some had been among the thousands He had fed. Many more had seen some of His miracles, and listened as "He spoke with authority." They had listened, and their lives had been changed.

Jesus knew all of this. He knew that just over the horizon was the cross, looming like a monster ready to consume Him. But Luke tells us that in spite of it all, Jesus still "...set His face steadfastly to go to Jerusalem." So:

2. JESUS RIDES TOWARD THE GATES OF JERUSALEM

As Jesus rides down toward the gate of the city, the crowds are growing, and there is a festive air, for it is Passover and pilgrims are gathering from far and near for this greatest of all Jewish holidays. Even before Jesus arrives, the news has spread that Jesus had raised Lazarus from the dead. You can imagine the excitement that prevails over that kind of a miracle. "Have you heard the news? Lazarus died, and was buried in a tomb so long that his body was starting to decay. But this teacher from Nazareth called, `Lazarus, come forth’ and Lazarus came forth. I saw him! They stripped away the grave clothing, and he actually walked and breathed and lived again! Surely only the Messiah - only the Son of God could do that!"

The news travels from one person to another, until finally when Jesus was ready to enter the city, great crowds had collected on both sides of the road. They were there! They had cut palm branches and were shouting, "Hosanna to the king!" Excitement prevailed throughout the whole city!

Then, Jesus looked over His waiting audience. He must have seen the mixture of expressions on their faces. There were those who loved Him: Perhaps Bartimaeus was there, a man who had received his sight, no longer in his beggar’s rags. How about Zacchaeus? He had paid back his debt to society, and had made his peace with God. And the lepers? Their skin had been cleansed and now they were rejoicing for the healing that the Lord had given them. Maybe, Jairus’ daughter was there - back to life again after experiencing death. Lazarus and Mary and Martha and Mary Magdalene - they were all there! Their lives reflected the love that was in their hearts for this man who had taught them, and molded them and changed them.

There were also sinister faces there. There were those with squinty eyes, waiting for Him to say one wrong word - to make one mistake, so they could carry out their plot to kill Him. This group included the Sadducees and Pharisees. They were supposed to be keepers of the law, the spiritual leaders. But Jesus had gained so much popularity that they felt threatened. So, full of jealousy, they watched Him.

Then also the Romans were there, fearing revolt and watching for any sign of rebellion against Rome. They were ready and waiting to crush any uprising.

Jesus realized, as He listened to their shouts of "Hosanna," that soon the sinister voices would drown out the voices of love - that those crying for Him to be King would soon be crying, "Crucify Him!" or simply standing aside, saying nothing at all.

Now Jesus is descending along the road from the Mt. of Olives, across the brook, toward the gate, the crowds thronging around Him.

I wonder how the apostles were reacting to all of this? I have always thought that Judas was probably ecstatic - basking in the reflected glory - because Judas may have wanted an earthly Kingdom more than any of the others.

I imagine that Peter walked with chest expanded -enjoying the throngs and the cheers of the crowd - maybe with one hand on his sword just in case something went wrong - thinking to himself, "Maybe it was worth it to leave the fishnets and boats. Maybe at last we are going to get what we deserve."

There was probably Thomas, who was a bit skeptical about everything that was going on, wondering what is going to happen next. And also Andrew who was overwhelmed by it all. He was so used to bringing people to Jesus one by one, or in small groups, now look at them all!

What about James and John? Do you suppose they were thinking about Jesus being crowned King, so that they could be by His side in positions of authority and power? They were all there in Jerusalem - loving faces - sinister faces - anxious apostles. Crowds trampling almost one upon another - when suddenly …

3. THE WHOLE PROCESSION STOPPED

Do you suppose it could have been a little like rush hour traffic on Cypress at Hilltop? One car stops, then all the other cars stop, like a chain reaction. I can just hear the people way back in the crowd that day saying, "What’s the holdup? What is going on? Why don’t you guys move on?" But the people who were closest to Jesus could see - and they realized that it was Jesus, himself who had stopped the parade. Then they saw His body begin to shake. Maybe at first they thought He was laughing. Laughter would seem to be natural - for everybody else was laughing, and joy prevailed. But then they saw His face, and they saw no evidence of laughter. Rather, they saw sorrow and tears. He was not laughing. Jesus was crying.

The Scripture tells us that Jesus reacted emotionally many times from different scenes that He saw. When He saw the poor, when He saw the hungry, when He saw people sinning, and when He saw the sick He reacted. The Scriptures say "...He had compassion on them."

But, it only tells us of two times that Jesus wept. One time He cried at the grave of Lazarus. You remember, Mary and Martha were both weeping, and it says that Jesus wept with them. He wept for them. He entered into their grief with compassion and He identified with their sorrow and despair. I think He also wept for Lazarus, that He had to come back. Question…

4. WHY WAS JESUS WEEPING?

This was the 2nd occasion. He looked at the city of Jerusalem. He saw the mixture of faces and the masses of humanity crowding there - and He realized the emptiness of their lives. They had not heard the message of peace. They did not understand the purpose of His coming.

Listen as I read Luke 19:41-44. "As He approached Jerusalem and saw the city, He wept over it and said, `If you, even you, had only known on this day what would bring you peace - but now it is hidden from your eyes. The days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment against you and encircle you and hem you in on every side. They will dash you to the ground, you and the children within your walls. They will not leave one stone on another, because you did not recognize the time of God’s coming to you.’"

They had eyes, but they didn’t see. They had ears, but they didn’t hear. They missed the whole point of the message that God had given to them. The fact they waved palm branches showed that they didn’t understand, because that is exactly what they did when the Maccabees overthrew the Syrian oppressors and reestablished worship in the temple.

By waving palm branches they were showing that they expected Jesus to be another warlord - another general of the armies - one who would lead them to overthrow the Romans. They were saying that they were ready to pick up their swords and shields and go to war if He would lead them!

Jesus said, "I didn’t come for that purpose. I came to show you a more excellent way. I came to show you the way of love." He had said, "Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you. If someone smites you on the cheek, turn to him the other also. If someone wants your coat, give him your shirt as well. If they command you to carry their pack a mile, go two."

Those people who listened to Him must have thought, "Well, those are beautiful words, but surely He doesn’t mean Rome? He doesn’t expect us to love Rome? Only a lunatic would command you to love Rome. We can’t love Rome!" But don’t you see - that was exactly what He was saying? "Love even Rome - because Rome with her mighty army has seen the power of the sword. But Rome has not seen the power of love. Show them love!"

The nation of Israel had the opportunity to show Rome something new and different. But because they didn’t understand Jesus, they completely misunderstood His mission, so Jesus wept over them because the opportunity would be taken away and they would never have it again.

These were God’s people - God’s chosen people. God had loved them and led them across the wilderness and into the Promised Land. But they did not understand the Messiah when He walked in their midst and because of that, Jesus wept.

What a contrast! As He sits upon the beast of burden, He sees the towering Temple of God silhouetted against the sky. But beyond that, in the years immediately ahead, He sees the armies of Titus surrounding the Holy City. He sees Temple stones being taken down and the whole city leveled. He sees bodies in the streets and blood running in the gutters and hundreds of thousands of people crying because they are starving to death while Titus waits for Jerusalem to surrender.

He sees all of that because they didn’t recognize the Messiah when He came! How different their lives could have been. How different the history of Israel could have been if they had only recognized the one who came into their midst, riding on a colt.

It is Matthew who adds that as Jesus looked at the city He said, "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem. How often would I have gathered you together as a hen gathers her chicks beneath her wings. But you would not come."

Today, just like the city of Jerusalem, we find ourselves in the presence of Jesus. I wonder what He finds when He looks into our faces? Does He see people concerned about so many things - worried about income taxes - worried about job security - worried about their health, or lack of it? Does He see people who are so busy doing things here and there - so busy that they never bother to consider those things that are eternally important?

Does he see people who recognize Him for who He is? The Messiah, the Christ, the Son of God? When He turns and looks into our lives, I wonder, will He weep once again because of what He sees? Or will we have the joy that passes all understanding as we respond to His outstretched arms and hear Him say, "Well done, good and faithful servant. Enter thou into the joy of thy Lord"?

But, before that could happen for us, Jesus was weeping because He knew that those who on this Sunday shouted hosanna, would on Thursday shout crucify him! You see, He knew the price of the cross that He would willingly pay in Jerusalem that week. It is a wonderful cross for us but it was a horrible price for Him. That is what we are challenged with today. Think about what you are going to do with Jesus today as you listen to this song and watch the video…

(Video clip from the Passion of Christ while the worship team sings…)