A Matter Of The Heart

A MATTER OF THE HEART

Luke 19:28-42

INTRODUCTION:

A. Luke 19:28-42 And when he had thus spoken, he went before, ascending up to Jerusalem. And it came to pass, when he was come nigh 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 ye shall find a colt tied, whereon yet never man sat: loose him, and bring him hither. And if any man ask you, Why do ye loose him? thus shall ye say unto him, Because the Lord hath 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 hath 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. 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. 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 are they hid from thine eyes.

B. You have heard the phrase “Let’s get to the heart of the matter.”

1. What does it mean?

2. Let’s get to the core – let’s find out what is at the center – Let’s get to the real reason, the central cause, the basic foundation.

C. Today is Palm Sunday

1. So named because of the event we just read about – or at least part of it, that is the very beginning.

2. The message that is often preached is Jesus’ supposed victory ride into Jerusalem

a. People had come out to meet the prophet and are spreading out their garments and cutting down tree branches to lay in front of Jesus’ advancing donkey.

b. This amidst the cries of Hosanna to the son of David; Blessed be the King that cometh in the name of the Lord: peace in heaven, and glory in the highest. Luke 19:38

3. All of this could have been taken right out of a “How to do” book for welcoming a victorious general back from battle.

4. So very deceptive, unless you get to the heart of the matter.

D. When you read the accounts of that day, and then seek to get to the core of things we come to find that is was really – truly, a matter of the heart.

1. The Heart Of Man

2. The Heart of God.

3. The Heart Exchange

E. My hope this morning is that we might really be able to examine our own hearts and know how it feels about the Lord Jesus Christ.

PRAY

We will begin this morning by taking a look at

I. THE HEART OF MAN Luke 19:37-39 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. And some of the Pharisees from among the multitude said unto him, Master, rebuke thy disciples.

A. From this passage we can learn a number of things concerning the human heart. At first glance things seem to look good – things seem to be joyful & happy, but this is where we have the advantage of a historical look back. What we find in this historical look is that the heart of man is Fickle

1. On the day of Jesus’ trip to Jerusalem the people are recorded as shouting the phrase “Son of David” which has definite Messianic overtures

a. They were looking for and expecting the Messiah

- But Jesus was not the Messiah they had in mind – they were looking for a king who would came and overthrow the Romans and set up the Messianic kingdom of God