Luke 19:28

The Bible says in Luke 19:28-38, “And when he had thus spoken, he went before, ascending up to Jerusalem. And it came to pass, when he was come near to Bethphage and Bethany, at the mount called the Mount of Olives, he sent two of his disciples, Saying, Go ye into the village over against you; in the which at your entering you shall find a colt tied, whereon yet never man sat: loose him and bring him hither. And if any man ask you, Why do you loose him? Thus shall you say to him, Because the Lord has need of him. And they that were sent went their way, and found even as he had said unto them. And as they were loosing the colt, the owners thereof said unto them, Why loose ye the colt? And they said, The Lord has need of him. And they brought him to Jesus: and they cast their garments upon the colt, and they set Jesus thereon. And as he went, they spread their clothes in the way. And when he was come nigh, even now at the descent of the mount of Olives, the whole multitude of the disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works that they had seen; Saying, Blessed be the King that cometh in the name of the Lord; peace in heaven, and glory in the highest.” At this point in the book of Luke we are now in the last week of the life of Christ. This entrance that He made into the city of Jerusalem is recorded in all four of the gospels. It is made very clear for us why just a few days before His crucifixion that Jesus entered into the city in this way.

The reason was to fulfill one more prophesy about the Messiah. The Messiah, the great King, would ride into Jerusalem upon the colt of a donkey. So it was prophesied in the Old Testament, and so it was fulfilled by Jesus Christ. Hundreds of years before Jesus walked the earth it was revealed to the prophet Zechariah that the Messiah would present Himself to the people in this very manner. The Bible says in Zechariah 9:9, “Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold, thy King cometh unto thee: he is just and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass.” Of the many great things the Messiah would do for the people, being King was one of them. Jesus is the King. He is the King of kings. He is King of Jew and Gentile. He is the King of the world.

Jesus knew what Zechariah had written. By entering into Jerusalem in this manner Jesus was saying loudly and clearly, “I am the King that was promised. I am the Messiah.” We who believe in Him need to remember that Jesus is King. He is King over the spiritual world and the material world alike. Even the winds and the seas obey Him. If anyone sits in a place of authority in this world, it is only because the King has permitted it. The day will come when every knee shall bow before His throne. We have no king but Jesus. If we bow to any authority it is because first of all we bow to the authority of Christ. “The powers that be are ordained of God.”

There is a lesson to learn from the fact that Jesus entered Jerusalem so triumphantly, but so shortly thereafter was arrested and crucified. Unless the multitudes are firmly grounded in truth they will easily be led astray to make the wrong decisions. That is perhaps one of the greatest dangers to a democratic society. If the multitudes do not stay well-informed, they will be easily deceived by a lie, and they will make the wrong decision when a crisis comes. Every totalitarian government has had to rely upon misinformation and propaganda to keep control of the masses. One of the greatest battles that has always raged in the history of the human race is the battle between the truth and the lie. Jesus entered into Jerusalem and the people shouted, “Blessed be the King that comes in the name of the Lord.” A few days later some lies would be spread about Jesus and the multitudes would cry out, “Crucify Him, crucify Him.” And one of the greatest crimes ever committed on this earth was committed in the city of Jerusalem partly because the multitudes forgot the truth in a moment of community crisis.

The Bible says in Luke 19:39-40, “And some of the Pharisees from among the multitude said unto him, Master, rebuke thy disciples. And he answered and said unto them, I tell you that, if these should hold their peace, the stones would immediately cry out.” Most of the Pharisees did not believe that Jesus was the Messiah. That’s why they objected to what was going on here at the triumphal entry. They did not like it when the multitude cried out, “Blessed be the King that cometh in the name of the Lord.” Notice that the Pharisees called Jesus “Master,” and by doing so they recognized Him as a teacher. Jesus was a teacher, but He was also much more than a teacher. If you wish to have the benefits of believing in Jesus, you must believe more than the fact that he was a man from Nazareth and you must believe more than the fact that He was a great teacher. You must also believe that He is the Messiah, the Son of God, the King of the world.

The Pharisees wanted the multitude to be quiet and to stop proclaiming Jesus as the Messiah and King. The answer that Jesus gave to the Pharisees was, “I tell you that, if these should hold their peace, the stones would immediately cry out.” This event concerning the triumphal entry had been prophesied in the scriptures. The scriptures are infallible. The scriptures are inspired by God. Everything that is in the scriptures shall be fulfilled. “Heaven and earth shall pass away, but not one jot or one tittle shall pass away until all be fulfilled.” There are some events that are dependent upon what man does, but there are other events that God has decided will happen no matter what. One such event is the proclamation that Jesus Christ is King to the glory of God the Father. Had the people not cried out in praise to God, the very rocks would have done so, because the Word of God will always be fulfilled. In a world where people too often are deceivers and being deceived, you can always count on the scriptures as being reliable and dependable and truthful. That’s the position that Jesus took in regards to the Word of God. The next time you see a rock, remember what Jesus said. The Word of God is so reliable that if the people had not cried out in the praise of Jesus Christ, the very rocks would have done so.

In the triumphal entry to Jerusalem in a way one could say that Jesus manifested Himself as Messiah King, and thereby was offering Himself to the citizens of Jerusalem. Some things God will only do if man is willing. He has given to us a free will. Just as Jesus offers Himself today to people as their Savior, here in Luke chapter nineteen Jesus was offering Himself as messiah King to the people of Jerusalem. But Jesus knew what was going to happen. He knew that He would be rejected. His reaction to the rejection and the consequences that it would bring is given in Luke 19: 41-44 where the Bible says, “And when he was come near, he beheld the city, and wept over it, Saying, If thou hadst known, even thou, at least in this thy day, the things which belong unto thy peace! but now they are hid from thine eyes. For the days shall come upon thee, that thine enemies shall cast a trench about thee, and compass thee round, and keep thee in on every side, And shall lay thee even with the ground, and thy children within thee; and they shall not leave in thee one stone upon another; because thou knewest not the time of thy visitation.”

One of the most important principles to remember about human life is that there are consequences to every action. Many of the things that happen to you are simply a consequence to your own actions. Some things happen by the providence of God, some things happen because of circumstances that are out of your control, but other things happen simply as a result of your own actions and your own decisions. The most critical decision that anyone makes is in regards to the offer that Christ makes to be one’s Savior. He offered Himself to the city of Jerusalem to be the Messiah King, but they said, “No, we will not have this man to rule over us.” They made their decision, and they had to deal with the consequences of their decision. The world is a dangerous place. Life ends with death, and it can come suddenly and violently. Once the city of Jerusalem decided that they would not have the Son of God as their king, it meant that they would not have Him as their protector either. They had enemies, and now their enemies would have free reign to attack and to destroy.

Jesus looked out at the city of Jerusalem, a city that He loved and a city for which He came to provide salvation, and He knew the destruction that would now be their destiny because of the choice that they made. Jesus said, “For the days shall come upon thee, that thine enemies shall cast a trench about thee, and compass thee round, and keep thee in on every side, And shall lay thee even with the ground, and thy children within thee; and they shall not leave in thee one stone upon another; because thou knewest not the time of thy visitation.” We know from the history books that forty years after Jesus made this statement Jerusalem was leveled to the ground by the Roman legions. How different things could have been. How great is the ultimate destruction of all those who reject the Christ of God!

But God is not willing that any should perish. With the infinite love that only God could have for the souls of mankind, Jesus looked out at the city of Jerusalem and He wept for them, and He lamented the choice that they had made. God has the same compassion for your soul. Jesus loves you too. Today, if you will hear His voice, harden not your heart. Today is the day of salvation. Choose to receive Christ as Savior today. Don’t make the wrong decision and suffer the eternal consequences like the people of Jerusalem. Make the right decision to receive Christ as your Savior.

Even though Jesus knew that the leaders of the Jews would soon cause Him to be crucified, He did not stop doing what He was called to do. Jesus was faithful even unto death. The Bible says in Luke 19:45-48, “And he went into the temple, and began to cast out them that sold therein, and them that bought; Saying unto them, It is written, My house is the house of prayer: but ye have made it a den of thieves. And he taught daily in the temple. But the chief priests and the scribes and the chief of the people sought to destroy him, And could not find what they might do: for all the people were very attentive to hear him.”

Notice the contrast between what the temple should have been used for and how it had come to be used. There are two things that the temple should have been used for: prayer and teaching. It should have been used for talking to God, and for talking to people about God. Instead it was used principally as a means to gather money by those who were interested in material things. Jesus called such people who used religion for financial gain “thieves.” Usually in the corruption of organized religion there will be found this common element: an improper emphasis on material things. Judas wanted to hold the money-bag because he was a thief. Organized religion still has its share of people like Judas and people like the ones that the Lord chased out of the temple.

Today we no longer have a temple. If you are a believer, your body has taken the place of the temple. “Know you not that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit?” What is supposed to take place in the temple is prayer and teaching. Surely in your temple there is not an over-emphasis on material things! No wonder we have been told to “pray without ceasing.” We should be learning and then teaching what we have learned to others if we are going to do with our “temple” what Jesus said to do with the temple in Jerusalem.

In this passage notice the difference between the leaders of the people and the multitudes in general. Concerning the multitudes it says in Luke 19:48 that “all the people were very attentive to hear him.” Concerning the powerful and the rich people of the society it says in Luke 19:47, “But the chief priests and the scribes and the chief of the people sought to destroy him.” The same basic pattern has always taken place concerning those who become believers and those who do not. “The common people heard Him gladly.” “It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter into heaven.” “Not many wise, not many mighty, not many noble are saved. But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to confound those that are mighty.”

”The chief priests and the scribes and the chief of the people sought to destroy him.” But they could not destroy Him, not until it was God’s time. No one took His life from Him. He laid it down freely for the sins of the world. What a wonderful Savior we have! He loves us all with the great, eternal love that only God can have. He was faithful to the Father for us: He was faithful even unto death; and not just any death: even the death of the cross. Now He ever lives to make intercession for us. Surely you will go to such a Savior as Jesus Christ and find the forgiveness that only He can give.

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