Welcoming Jesus
Luke 19:28-44
“Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!”
“Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!” vs. 38
Getting Into Heaven/The Day After
A man dies and goes to heaven. St. Peter meets him at the Pearly Gates and says, “Here’s how it works. You need 100 points to make it into heaven. You tell me all the good things you’ve done and I give you a certain number of points for each item, depending on how good it was. When you reach 100 points, you get in.”
“Okay,” the man says, “I was married to the same woman for 50 years and never ch…eated on her and loved her deep in my heart.”
“That’s wonderful,” says St. Peter, “that’s two points.”
Well, I started a soup kitchen in my city and worked in a shelter for homeless veterans.”
“Fantastic, that’s good for two more points,” he says.
“Two points!?!! Exasperated, the man cries, “At this rate the only way I’ll get into heaven is by the grace of God.”
“Bingo! 100 points! Come on in!”
That’s wonderful,” says St. Peter, “that’s two points.”
Well, I started a soup kitchen in my city and worked in a shelter for homeless veterans.”
“Fantastic, that’s good for two more points,” he says.
“Two points!?!! Exasperated, the man cries, “At this rate the only way I’ll get into heaven is by the grace of God.”
“Bingo! 100 points! Come on in!”
Read Passage – Luke 19:
28 After Jesus had said this, he went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem. 29 As he approached Bethphage and Bethany at the hill called the Mount of Olives, he sent two of his disciples, saying to them, 30 “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. 31 If anyone asks you, ‘Why are you untying it?’ say, ‘The Lord needs it.’” 32 Those who were sent ahead went and found it just as he had told them. 33 As they were untying the colt, its owners asked them, “Why are you untying the colt?” 34 They replied, “The Lord needs it.” 35 They brought it to Jesus, threw their cloaks on the colt and put Jesus on it. 36 As he went along, people spread their cloaks on the road. 37 When he came near the place where the road goes down the Mount of Olives, the whole crowd of disciples began joyfully to praise God in loud voices for all the miracles they had seen: 38 “Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!” “Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!” 39 Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Jesus, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples!” 40 “I tell you,” he replied, “if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out.” 41 As he approached Jerusalem and saw the city, he wept over it 42 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. 43 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. 44 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.”
Prepare The Way
In Luke 19 we see Jesus about ready to embark on the what is to be the last week of his earthly life. It’s not really explained to us but Jesus knows what is about to happen to him and that there are things in place for everything to happen the way it needs to; notice verses 29-30:
“As he approached Bethphage and Bethany at the hill called the Mount of Olives, he sent two of his disciples, saying to them, 30 “Go to the village ahead of you…” vs.29-30
Jesus is preparing to celebrate the Passover feast with and embark on the last week of his earthly ministry. He sends two disciples ahead to prepare the way for him and to get the donkey he will be riding on. One thing that we see time and time again in the bible is that when has a God plan for something, everything is set in place for that plan to succeed.
Ex. God is going to send rain so he prepares Noah with an ark, Abraham is to make a sacrifice and when the time comes there is a ram caught in a bush neatr by for him to make that sacrifice, God wants Israel to gain land and he throws armies not chaos and there were times they didn’t have to fight, etc.
Ready To Go
And…in our story today the disciples find out that when God’s plan is set in motion, everything is ready to go just as he planned it; verse 32:
“Those who were sent ahead went and found it just as he had told them.” vs. 32
Everything was ready to go and they just needed to follow his instructions which they did.
Point: I think this is a point that still rings true for us today, when God has something for us, and he does promises us things, the right thing will be in place and ready to go when we need it.
Ex. The right job, the right finances, etc. It’s not coincidence or chance, it’s God’s plan unfolding right before our eyes.
There is something unusual about the story too. Did you catch what Luke said about the donkey’s owners? That’s right, evidently this donkey was owned by more than one owner. Donkeys were expensive. Probably many people in there day might not be able to afford a good donkey. So they pooled their funds & bought this donkey. That is exactly what happens. They found the colt and untied it. And as they did, the owners rushed out to ask them what they are doing. They reply, “The Lord needs it.” Donkeys were prized possessions. They were means of transportation. They were beasts of burden, and they pulled the farmer’s plows. They did so many strenuous things that a man could not do by himself. So this donkey was a very valuable possession. Yet Jesus said, “Tell them ‘the Lord needs it.’” When they heard that, they gave it. And when they gave that donkey they were giving a valuable possession.
Ex.
Those Who Watched
An interesting thing to look at in this story is all those who were there watching this event unfold and what they bring to the story.
The Disciples
The first group is the disciples. There were the 12 disciples, a larger group of disciples that many theologians estimate would have been about 70 or so, and then other “disciples” that would have just been following Jesus around. It says in verse 37:
“…the whole crowd of disciples began joyfully to praise God in loud voices for all the miracles they had seen…” vs. 37
Notice this group is called a crowd. It was definitely more than just the twelve. And they are not just walking with him and waiting with baited breath for the next thing he will share with them, they are joyfully praising him in loud voices. We can surmise that they are the ones that started the cheering and praise that takes place.
Let’s think about who was in this group of disciples who were following him:
Peter – A devoted follower but also one that will deny him. He would have gotten really excited about this; Jesus was making his move to be king. People would be following him. Can you imagine how could this is and how many people would be in the temple on the Sabbath?
Judas – The one who would turn him over to be killed. He was thinking along similar lines and thinking how many people would be at temple on the Sabbath and how much money this could turn into if they all tithed. Then how much more he might get.
John – Describes himself as the one Jesus loved and the one to whom Jesus would turn his mom over to while hanging on the cross
You would have a greater group of disciples who would be participating as well.
Mary and Martha – they bring a sensitivity to the ministry, doing things behind the scenes, watching with awe as people praise Jesus.
Jesus hope for all these followers is that they will go and multiply the ministry. That’s why he words at the end of the book of Matthew are so important, Matt. 28:19:
“Therefore go and make disciples of all nations…” Matt. 28:19
His hope is that this isn’t a launch of his earthly ministry but a beginning of his eternal spiritual ministry.
The Crowd
A second group is the crowd of people in the town at this point. It says in verse 36:
“As he went along, people spread their cloaks on the road.” vs. 36
It was Passover time and Jews from all over the world were crowding into Jerusalem. News had gone out that Jesus was on His way, just passing by the towns of Bethphage & Bethany. So a crowd of people rushed out to meet Him. Jesus was coming and as the crowds met Him they received Him like a conquering hero.
Of course, some in the crowds were simply curious sightseers. They had heard of Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead. And they wanted to see something else sensational too. It seems most of the people were greeting Jesus wildly. They were shouting “Hosanna! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna to the son of David!” The word “Hosanna” is the Hebrew for “Save now!” and means almost exactly the same thing as “God save the King!” They were probably hoping that Jesus would heal many of the sick and lame, those who were blind and deaf, they were probably hoping to see some miracle or two as well.
With Jesus as their king, they were convinced that it was only a matter of time until the trumpets rang out and the call to arms sounded and the Jewish nation led to its long delayed victory over Rome & over the world. They would no longer be subjected to the brutality and overbearing ways of the Romans and they would assert their authority and establish their beliefs. Jesus would look at the crowds much differently. He could see beyond their physical needs to their spiritual emptiness. This happened on other occasions as well. Notice one other time in Matt. 9:36:
“When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.” Matthew 9:36
You have to be very careful when following a crowd. It can take you to a good place or it can take you to a dangerous place. Jesus had compassion on the crowds around him because he knew their propensity to get carried away and do things they didn’t realize the ramifications of.
Ex. The crowd at a sporting event that builds to cheer on a team and build momentum
Or…the crowd that becomes unruly and starts looting and destroying property like when a sports team wins a championship or a social atrocity happens and an uprising occurs (
The Church Leaders
Then, of course, you have the church leaders. The crazy thing about this is that groups that were enemies of each other and couldn’t see eye-to-eye on anything are now coming together to try to somehow suppress this movement that they see building and people actually believing in and trusting in Jesus. It says in verse 39:
“Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Jesus, ‘Teacher, rebuke your disciples!’” vs. 39
The sight of this tumultuous welcome sent the Jewish authorities into the depths of despair. It seemed that nothing they did would stop the people from following Jesus. They had tried time and time again to trap him and discredit him and nothing worked. It seemed that his popularity was building more and more people were beginning to believe that Jesus just might be the Messiah. You can just sense them standing there with arms crossed, scowling, and muttering to each other in disgust all that was happening. They even appeal to him to try to get this thing to stop. Unfortunately, they were the ones who should have recognized who Jesus was and they really should have been leading the charge. It syas in 1 cor. 4:2:
“Now it is required that those who have been given a trust must prove faithful.” 1 Cor.. 4:2
That means that we need to be aware that we have been given much, we have the truth, we have the privilege of having that close relationship with God and we should take seriously that we tell people about what we celebrate at Easter time. It’s all of our jobs to be inviting people, to tell the truth about what God did for us through Jesus. We can’t fall into the trap of the church leaders of Jesus time and miss the opportunity to share the good news. We can sit back with our arms folded and scowl and mutter and critique the world but that won’t win them over to God. We need to bring them the good news.
Joy Turns To Mourning
It must have been incredible for Jesus to be on that donkey and take all this in. But remember, he could see past the glitz and glamour and shouts of praise to their hearts and their deep need for God’s redeeming work in their lives. We see this in verses 41-42:
“As he approached Jerusalem and saw the city, he wept over it 42 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.” vss. 41-42
They get caught up in the excitement of it all and it brings tears to his eyes. Their quest for peace, truth, and a Messiah was right in front of them and they were so caught up in the parade and shouting that they were actually missing what this really meant. Some of these same people would get caught up in just a few days in a similar event where they would be yelling “Crucify him!”
Preparing For Easter
This is where we are challenged from this story; how are we preparing for Easter. Are we looking ahead and preparing our hearts or are we getting caught up in the glitz and glamour and excitement of Easter. The great thing is that we have 20/20 hindsight. We know what happened and the events that took place. So who do you identify with as you prepare for Easter next Sunday?
Here’s how a lot of people take the time to get ready; buying the right kind of plastic grass for their kids baskets, the baskets themselves, stuffing eggs, dying eggs, buying chocolate, candy, and make sure you get the right clothes too. P.S. Pastels work great. Get the house ready, the traditional food, and all that goes along with the feasts we prepare.
What if you took a different approach to prepare for Easter and made sure you put in as much time getting your spiritual life and heart as ready as you do everything else? How about inviting a few people to church? How about attending our Good Friday service? How about making sure your heart is ready to remember the price that Christ paid for you and truly take in the whole meaning of what we celebrate. Preparing spiritually makes next Sunday a real celebration.
