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
b. But this did not last long for we read that by the end of the day, when folks asked what was going on the reply was now, This is Jesus the prophet of Nazareth of Galilee. Mat 21:11
c. And if this was not bad enough, by Wednesday of that week the crowds were yelling Crucify him, crucify him. Luk 23:21
2. Talk about a slippery slope: from messiah to prophet, to criminal!
3. Who is Jesus to you today? God, prophet, just a man, or a common criminal? As Savior or beckoning genie?
4. Who will He be tomorrow?
B. Our second view of the human heart is that it is Hard!
1. Note the words of the Pharisees, Master rebuke your disciples.
a. In essence, “Tell them to shut up, for they are boarding on blasphemy!”
b. The Pharisees understood the phrase “Son of David” to be Messianic, and they wanted nothing to do with it – in fact they wanted it to cease.
c. Some think it was out of jealousy, to which scripture seems to agree for we read The Pharisees therefore said among themselves, Perceive ye how ye prevail nothing? behold, the world is gone after him. Joh 12:19
2. It all began about 33 years prior when wise men had come to Jerusalem looking for the “king of the Jews” and the chief priests told king Herod that this one was to be born in Bethlehem
a. Then the last three years there was miracle after miracle, including the raising of the dead
b. All the evidence was there, but the heart was hard – they would not see!
3. They had all they needed to prove Jesus was the Messiah, but they hardened their hearts – they would not believe
4. God’s word to hard heartedness is harsh, But after thy hardness and impenitent heart treasurest up unto thyself wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God; Rom 2:5
5. How hard is your heart when it comes to Jesus and God’s word?
C. This brings us to the last view of the human heart, though not found in the text, it is plain – the human heart is sinful.
1. Jer 17:9 states, The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?
2. And the gospel writer Mark wrote, For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness: All these evil things come from within, and defile the man. Mark 7:21-23
3. It is this sinful heart that brings us to be fickle and hard
4. It is this sinful heart, found in all men, that brought Paul to write, all have sinned… Rom 3:23
5. And it is this sinful heart that brings about the judgment found in Rom 6:23 For the wages of sin is death;
6. The human heart is by nature fickle, hard and sinful.
Looking back we can see what our fickle, hard and sinful heart is capable of – mankind crucified Jesus Christ, the Messiah, the Son of God! All this would be totally depressing if it were not for
II. THE HEART OF GOD, Luke 19:41-42 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.
A. First, It Is Broken - And when he was come near, he beheld the city, and wept over it, Saying, If thou hadst known
1. God is not sitting in heaven saying, “Those raunchy sinners, I’ll get them!
2. No, His heart breaks for us – sin is the big enemy, our sinful hearts need a change and God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. Joh 3:16
3. It is not God’s desire that we should fall under the weight of our sin for the Bible states in 2 Peter 3:9 The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.
B. The second look at God’s heart we have from our text is that He has a heart of peace, Saying, If thou hadst known, even thou, at least in this thy day, the things which belong unto thy peace!
1. We find that God wants peace
a. We can have peace with God, Rom 5:1 Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ:
b. And the peace of God, Col 3:15 And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body; and be ye thankful.
2. The whole Bible, from Gen 1 to Rev 22, is a story of God’s love for His creation – specifically mankind.
3. From the fall of Adam and Eve in the garden to the cross of Calvary, God has been working this marvelous plan to bring back man to Himself.
4. God wants us to be at peace – that is His heart
5. Satan brought unrest, separation, despair, war; Christ brings rest, union, joy and peace
But it is not enough to see the heart of man and the heart of God, there must be
III. THE HEART EXCHANGE
A. We read of this exchange in the prophecy of Ezekiel
1. He speaks of it twice first in 11:19 and again in 36:26
2. Listen, A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh. Eze 11:19 & 36:26
3. Ezekiel was prophesying that there would come a day in which God would change man from the inside-out
4. This comes through salvation, the second birth, by being born again.
5. 2 Cor. 5:17 Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.
B. This morning you can exchange your fickle, hard, sinful heart for one that is steadfast, soft and righteous.
1. As Christ came to Jerusalem offering himself as the Messiah so He comes to you this morning offering Himself as the Savior.
2. This morning I read to you the words of the writer of Heb 3:15, To day if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts,…
3. The message of Palm Sunday is A Matter Of The Heart - open your hearts to God
a. Believe you are a sinner having broken God’s law
b. Believe that Jesus, God’s son, died upon the cross of Calvary and rose again
c. Believe that this was done that you might have your sins forgiven and receive eternal redemption from a fickle, hard and sinful heart
d. Call upon Jesus to save you, and He will, for Rom 10:9 & 13 state That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved…For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.
CONCLUSION:
A. How is your heart this morning?
B. Would you exchange your fickle, hard, sinful heart for a new one established in love, righteousness and eternal life?
