Sermon for Palm Sunday 4/10/22 "Don't Make the Stones Cry Out" 14 Minutes

Luke 19:28-40

This morning I'll be reading Luke chapter 19 verses 28 through 40. And I'll be reading from the Holman Christian Standard Bible. Luke 19:28-40 This is the typical palm Sunday scripture. One that has been read several times by all of us,,, or at least heard many times before from others. So it should be familiar scripture that you hear this morning. Luke 19:28–40 (HCSB) 28 When He had said these things, He went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem. 29 As He approached Bethphage and Bethany, at the place called the Mount of Olives, He sent two of the disciples 30 and said, “Go into the village ahead of you. As you enter it, you will find a young donkey tied there, on which no one has ever sat. Untie it and bring it here. 31 If anyone asks you, ‘Why are you untying it?’ say this: ‘The Lord needs it.’ ” 32 So those who were sent left and found it just as He had told them. 33 As they were untying the young donkey, its owners said to them, “Why are you untying the donkey?” 34 “The Lord needs it,” they said. 35 Then they brought it to Jesus, and after throwing their robes on the donkey, they helped Jesus get on it. 36 As He was going along, they were spreading their robes on the road. 37 Now He came near the path down the Mount of Olives, and the whole crowd of the disciples began to praise God joyfully with a loud voice for all the miracles they had seen: 38 The King who comes in the name of the Lord is the blessed One. Peace in heaven and glory in the highest heaven! 39 Some of the Pharisees from the crowd told Him, “Teacher, rebuke Your disciples.” 40 He answered, “I tell you, if they were to keep silent, the stones would cry out!” God bless the reading and the hearing of your word this morning. Let us pray: Dear Lord,,, as we begin this morning,,, with everyone here today and all that are listening and watching by video,,, we ask that you open our ears to hear and our hearts and minds to receive the message that you have for us today,,, In Jesus' name I pray,,, Amen. ----------------------------------------------------------- Last Sunday we looked at Isaiah 43:16-21 and seen that the reference to the “rivers in the desert” reminds us of Jesus’ “living water” poured out for all,,, and the way that we are supposed to strengthen our relationship so that we to can experience,,, that “living water”.

Because it’s through our relationship with Him,,, that others see Jesus’ love,,, and want the same “living water” that flows in us,,, and out of us,,, each and every day.

This morning we will look at these verses in Luke and see how they help us in our walk with God this week,,, as we prepare for our Easter celebration next Sunday.

----------------------------------------------------------- Verse 28 says: 28 When He had said these things, He went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem.

Jesus has His sights set on Jerusalem,,, knowing that He must die on the cross for the sins of the world.

He knows the pain and suffering that He must endure,,, and yet,,, He continues,,, going up to Jerusalem.

----------------------------------------------------------- Verses 29 through 31 say: 29 As He approached Bethphage and Bethany, at the place called the Mount of Olives, He sent two of the disciples 30 and said, “Go into the village ahead of you. As you enter it, you will find a young donkey tied there, on which no one has ever sat. Untie it and bring it here. 31 If anyone asks you, ‘Why are you untying it?’ say this: ‘The Lord needs it.’ ”

Jesus was fulfilling Zechariah 9:9-10 which says: “Rejoice greatly, Daughter Zion! Shout in triumph, Daughter Jerusalem! Look, your King is coming to you; He is righteous and victorious, humble and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey. I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim and the horse from Jerusalem. The bow of war will be removed, and He will proclaim peace to the nations. His dominion will extend from sea to sea, from the Euphrates River to the ends of the earth.”

This was not the normal manner in which kings arrived,,, for they usually came as conquerors riding on horses.

A young donkey was a symbol of peace.

As we see in verse 38,,, the crowds would understand the message behind the symbolism since they would have been very familiar with this scripture.

Apparently even the owners of the colt understood,,, because they allowed the donkey to go with the disciples when they were told,,, The Lord needs it,,, as we see in the next few verses.

----------------------------------------------------------- Verses 32 through 35 say: 32 So those who were sent left and found it just as He had told them. 33 As they were untying the young donkey, its owners said to them, “Why are you untying the donkey?” 34 “The Lord needs it,” they said. 35 Then they brought it to Jesus, and after throwing their robes on the donkey, they helped Jesus get on it.

Wesley said that Luke is the only one that mentions that the two disciples who were sent to the village,,, found it just as He had told them.

We forget so many times that God already knows everything that will happen and maybe Luke figured that we could use this part of scripture to remind us of that.

Wesley makes note of the fact that all three gospels,,, Matthew,,, Mark,,, and Luke,,, use the phrase,,, “The Lord needs it,”.

This implied to him that maybe the owner of the donkey was acquainted with Jesus,,, and might have even been one of the many disciples that followed Jesus,,, but it still leaves the question of whether it was arranged ahead of time,,, or why he let them take it.

And he also says that Luke and Mark,,, both writing for Gentiles,,, omit the quotation from Zechariah 9:9 which is found in Matthew and John,,, that I read earlier.

----------------------------------------------------------- Verses 36 through 38 say: 36 As He was going along, they were spreading their robes on the road. 37 Now He came near the path down the Mount of Olives, and the whole crowd of the disciples began to praise God joyfully with a loud voice for all the miracles they had seen: 38 The King who comes in the name of the Lord is the blessed One. Peace in heaven and glory in the highest heaven!

In verse 37,,, the path down the Mount of Olives,,, is described in this way,,, only in Luke.

And Wesley said,,, from the top of the Mount of Olives the view of Jerusalem—half a mile away and two hundred feet below—is a breath-taking sight.

The whole city lies spread out before your eyes.

So this would have made a dramatic entrance into Jerusalem.

They hailed Him as God’s King, and chanted that the effect of His coming was peace in heaven and glory in the highest.

It is significant that they cried “Peace in heaven” rather than “Peace on earth.”

There could not be peace on earth,,, because the Prince of Peace had been rejected,,, and was soon to be slain.

But there would be peace in heaven as a result of the impending death of Christ on Calvary’s cross and His ascension to heaven.

----------------------------------------------------------- Verses 39 and 40 say: 39 Some of the Pharisees from the crowd told Him, “Teacher, rebuke Your disciples.” 40 He answered, “I tell you, if they were to keep silent, the stones would cry out!”

The Pharisees had reasons behind their words to Jesus to quieten the crowd.

Like almost all of the people in attendance there,,, they knew about the significance of Jesus’ entry.

Actually,,, they should have been even more familiar with it than most,,, but apparently their lack of understanding and jealousy had clouded their judgement,,, so that if they “really” understood what was going on,,, they had no intention of acknowledging it.

Also,,, they didn’t want the Roman authorities to get the idea that the Israelites were going to revolt,,, which is what would have been troublesome for the Pharisees if this happened,,, because it would have lowered their own political position that they enjoyed at that time.

So they tell Jesus,,, “Teacher, rebuke Your disciples.”

And Jesus basically rebukes the Pharisees for being harder and unresponsive than the inanimate stones.

----------------------------------------------------------- We can use this scripture as a warning for each of us to make sure that we aren’t silent about Jesus Christ and His ability to save us,,, just like the people that were shouting that day.

The people in the crowds were actually expecting Jesus to declare Himself king of the Jews and lead them into war against the Romans,,, to save them from the Romans basically.

But we know that Jesus has a much broader plan in place to save everyone,,, not just the Israelites,,, His plan is even designed to save those that crucify Him later in the week.

So don’t let the shouts of the celebration distract us from the job at hand,,, or keep us from remembering the pain and suffering that Jesus went through for each of us during the days between today,,, Palm Sunday,,, and next Sunday,,, Easter Sunday.

Jesus did His best to teach the disciples everything that He would have to go through,,, but they didn’t understand.

We have a better understanding of God’s plan today if we aren’t distracted by our every day life,,, and the world around us.

So let’s be sure that we stay focused on spreading the “Good News” of Jesus Christ,,, while we remember the sacrifice that He endured for us,,, even while we celebrate,,, this Palm Sunday,,, and,,, the week ahead.

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