Palm Sunday – Jesus was…..weeping?
It began early Sunday morning, we call it Palm Sunday. as Jesus was walking toward Jerusalem. He stops for a moment to sends two of his disciples into a nearby village to take care of some special arrangements. We read about it in Luke 19:29-31:
"As He approached Bethphage and Bethany at the hill called the Mount of Olives, He sent two of His disciples, saying to them,
29. When He approached Bethphage and Bethany, near the mount that is called cOlivet, He sent two of the disciples,
30. saying, “Go into the village ahead of you; there, as you enter, you will find a colt tied on which no one yet has ever sat; untie it and bring it here.
31. “If anyone asks you, ‘Why are you untying it?’ you shall say, ‘The Lord has need of it.’ ” (Luke 19:29-31)
It could be that the two disciples must have wondered about what Jesus told them to do, because none of the Gospel accounts about the ministry of Christ ever mention Him riding any animal to get from one place to another. Jesus always walked, He must have walked hundreds of miles all over the "Holy Land," but there is no mention of Him ever riding, except in a boat across the Sea of Galilee.
But now, He gives this unusual command to go into the village to get a colt that had never been ridden, and to bring it to Him. It must have seemed strange, indeed.
He even tells them the exact words they are to use should anyone question them. They are to say, "The Lord needs it." Beyond this, we don’t know much else.
It is obvious, though, that Jesus knew what He was going to face in the city of Jerusalem. So His decision to go into Jerusalem was not taken lightly.
And on top of that, to ride into the city on a colt, rather than to walk into it as He had often done before, must have been an even more difficult decision, because riding a colt into the city was a public declaration that He was a King.
Five hundred years earlier, the prophet Zechariah had proclaimed that fact when he wrote,
9. Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion!
Shout in triumph, O daughter of Jerusalem!
Behold, your king is coming to you;
He is just and endowed with salvation,
Humble, and mounted on a donkey,
Even on a colt, the foal of a donkey. (Zechariah 9:9)
In Roman times, emperors, kings or conquerors would ride only in chariots or war horses. They wouldn’t dream of riding anywhere on a donkey or a colt. He would come with a show of force, a show of power, coming with all the authority of the conquering army. The Jewish people fully expected a king to come with power, to overthrow the Roman government, and to free them from Roman oppression.
But in times of peace, the king would ride a colt to symbolize that peace prevailed. So, for Jesus to ride into Jerusalem upon a colt is to declare that He is a King proclaiming peace.
Of course, this was the beginning of the great 8-day Passover Festival, when the Jews remembered God’s deliverance of their ancestors from Egyptian slavery. Jews from all over the world were gathering in Jerusalem to celebrate, and the city was filled to overflowing.
So Jesus wasn’t the only one coming to Jerusalem for the Passover.
Pontius Pilate, the Roman Governor, had already entered Jerusalem to occupy the Antonia Fortress and the Praetorium with a full complement of elite and battle-hardened Roman soldiers ever ready and willing to suppress any attempted uprising against Roman rule that might occur.
Herod Antipas, Tetrarch (King/ruler) of Galilee and Perea, the one who had imprisoned and beheaded John the Baptist, had also arrived with great pomp and ceremony, undoubtedly occupying the palace of his late father, Herod the Great.
Awe inspiring power and pageantry the people were seeing that week, and then here comes Jesus fulfilling the prophecy of Zechariah: “See, your king comes to you, righteous and having salvation, gentle and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.” (Zechariah 9:9)
For the crowds lining the road that day, Jesus riding a colt into the city was a public declaration that He was the promised King!
The question is, how would the people respond to that? Would they recognize that His Kingdom was not a kingdom of this world, rather it was a spiritual kingdom, and Jesus was to be a spiritual King? Small chance, because He had been teaching them that for over 3 years, and still they had not learned that lesson.
Perhaps some of them would greet Him with laughter. Maybe they would be amused by what Jesus was doing. After all, it was a rather ridiculous picture. Here is a carpenter declaring Himself to be a King!
Perhaps some would think, "He is a lunatic, living in a world of fantasy imagining Himself to be a King!" And they would laugh at him.
Others would greet Him with anger upset because they would interpret His riding into the city as arrogance and blasphemy against God.
Many would recognize his as a Monarch, welcoming Him as an earthly King, come to take power and reestablish the throne of David, to overthrow the Roman Empire. They were ready to crown Him King.
Among the crowds would be people He had healed. Some had been among the thousands He had fed. Many more had seen some of His miracles, and listened as "He spoke with authority." They had listened, and their lives had been changed.
Jesus knew all of this. He knew that just over the horizon was the cross, looming like a demon ready to consume Him. But Luke 9:51 tells us that in spite of it all, Jesus still "...resolutely set out for Jerusalem."
As Jesus rides down toward the gate of the city, the crowds are growing, and there is a festive air, for it is Passover and pilgrims are gathering from far and near for this greatest of all Jewish holidays.
Even before Jesus arrives, the news has spread that Jesus had raised Lazarus from the dead. You can imagine the excitement that prevails.
"Have you heard the news? Lazarus died, and was buried in a tomb so long that his body was starting to decay. But Jesus called him, ‘Lazarus, come forth.’ and Lazarus came forth. I saw him! They took off the grave clothing, and he actually walked and breathed and lived again! Surely only the Messiah could do that!"
The news travels from one person to another, until finally when Jesus was ready to enter the city, crowds had collected on both sides of the road. They were there! They had cut palm branches and were shouting, "Hosanna to the king!" Hosanna means “Save us now” “or save us, we beseech thee.” Excitement prevailed throughout the whole city!
Then Jesus looked over the crowd at the waiting crowd. He might have seen some familiar faces, and they may have had a variety of expressions on their faces.
There were those who knew and loved Him: Maybe Bartimaeus was there, a man who had received his sight, no longer in his beggar’s rags. What about Zacchaeus? He had paid back his debt to society, and had made his peace with God.
Maybe there were lepers? Their skin had been cleansed and now they were rejoicing for the healing that the Lord had given them. Maybe Jairus’ daughter was there back to life again after experiencing death.
Lazarus and Mary and Martha and Mary Magdalene they must have been there! Their lives reflected the love that was in their hearts for this man who had taught them, and molded them and changed them.
There were also some sinister faces there. Faces with suspicious eyes, waiting for Him to say one wrong word to make one mistake that they could pounce on.
The Sadducees and Pharisees were there. They were supposed to be keepers of the law, the spiritual leaders. But Jesus had gained so much popularity that they felt threatened. So, full of jealousy, they watched Him.
The Romans were there, fearing revolt and watching for any sign of rebellion against Rome. They were ready and waiting to crush any uprising.
Jesus realized, as He listened to their "Hosannas," that soon the suspicious voices would drown out the voices of love that those crying for Him to be King would soon be crying, "Crucify Him!" or simply standing aside, saying nothing at all, but waiting for their moment.
Now Jesus is descending along the road from the Mt. of Olives, across the brook, toward the gate, the crowds thronging around Him.
I wonder how the apostles were reacting to all this? I have always thought that Judas was probably ecstatic basking in the reflected glory because Judas may have wanted an earthly Kingdom more than any of the others.
I imagine that Peter walked with chest out in price, enjoying the throngs and the cheers of the crowd maybe with one hand on his sword just in case something went wrong thinking to himself, "Maybe it paid off to leave the fishnets and boats. Maybe at last we are going to get what we deserve."
Maybe Thomas was there, a bit skeptical about everything that was going on, wondering what is going to happen next, waiting for positive proof of His divinity.
Maybe Andrew was overwhelmed by it all. He was so used to bringing people to Jesus one by one, or in small groups and now look at them all!
What about James and John? Do you suppose they were thinking about Jesus being crowned King so that they could be on His right and left hand in positions of authority and power?
They were all there in Jerusalem loving faces sinister faces anxious apostles. Crowds trampling almost one upon another when suddenly the whole procession stopped.
Do you suppose it could have been a little like rush hour traffic on the big city highway? One car stops, then all the other cars stop, like a chain reaction. I can just hear the people way back in the crowd that day saying, "What’s the holdup? What is going on? Why don’t you guys move on?"
But the people who were closest to Jesus could see and they realized that it was He who had stopped the parade. Then they saw His body begin to shake. Maybe at first they thought He was laughing. Laughter would seem to be natural for everybody else was laughing, and joy prevailed.
But then they saw His face, and they saw no evidence of laughter. Rather, they saw sorrow and tears. He was not laughing. He was crying.
The Scripture tells us that Jesus reacted emotionally many times from different scenes that He saw. When He saw the poor. When He saw the hungry. When He saw people sinning. When He saw the ill. The Scriptures say repeatedly that "...He had compassion on them."
But it only tells us of two times that Jesus cried. One time He cried at the grave of Lazarus. You remember, Mary and Martha were both weeping, and it says that Jesus wept with them. He wept for them. He entered into their grief with compassion and He identified with their sorrow and despair.
Now this was the second occasion. He looked at the city of Jerusalem. He saw the mixture of faces and the masses of humanity crowding there and He realized the emptiness of their lives. They had not heard the message of peace. They did not understand the purpose of His coming.
Listen as I read Luke 19:41-44:
41. When He approached Jerusalem, He saw the city and wept over it,
42. saying, “If you had known in this day, even you, the things which make for peace! But now they have been hidden from your eyes.
43. “For the days will come upon you when your enemies will throw up a barricade against you, and surround you and hem you in on every side,
44. and they will level you to the ground and your children within you, and they will not leave in you one stone upon another, because you did not recognize the time of your visitation.” (Luke 19:41-44)
They had eyes, but they didn’t see. They had ears, but they didn’t hear. They missed the whole point of the message that God had given to them.
The fact they waved palm branches showed that they didn’t understand, because that is exactly what their great-grandparents had done when the Maccabees overthrew the Syrian oppressors and reestablished worship in the temple.
By waving palm branches they were showing that they expected Jesus to be another warlord another general of the armies one who would lead them to overthrow the Romans. They were saying that they were ready to pick up their swords and shields and go to war if He would lead them!
Jesus said, "I didn’t come for that purpose. I came to show you a more excellent way. I came to show you the way of love." He had said, "Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.” (Matthew 5:44)
“If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. And if someone wants to sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well. If someone forces you to go with him one mile, go with him two miles." (Matthew 5:39-41)
Those people who listened to Him must have thought, "Well, those are beautiful words, but surely He doesn’t mean Rome? He doesn’t expect us to love Rome? Only a lunatic would command you to love Rome. We can’t love Rome!"
But don’t you see that was exactly what He was saying? "Love even Rome because Rome with her mighty army has seen the power of the sword. But Rome has not seen the power of love. Show them love!"
The nation of Israel had the opportunity to show Rome something new and different. But because they didn’t understand Jesus because they completely misunderstood His mission Jesus wept over them because the opportunity would be taken away and they would never have it again.
These were God’s people, God’s chosen people. God had loved them and led them across the wilderness and into the Promised Land. But they did not understand the Messiah when He walked among them. It was because of that, Jesus wept.
What a contrast! As He sits upon the colt, a lowly beast of burden, He sees the towering Temple of God silhouetted against the sky. But beyond that in the years immediately ahead He sees the armies of Titus surrounding the Holy City. He sees massive Temple stones being taken down and the whole city leveled.
He sees bodies in the streets and blood running in the gutters and hundreds of thousands of people crying because they are starving to death while Titus waits for Jerusalem to surrender.
All of that because they didn’t recognize the Messiah when He came! How different their lives could have been. How different the history of Israel could have been if they had only recognized the one who came into their midst, riding on a colt, as the one he was, the Messiah.
Both Matthew and Luke tell us that sometime earlier Jesus looked down upon the city and had cried out, "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem…. how often I have longed to gather your children together as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing." (Matthew 23:37 and Luke 13:34)
Today, just like the city of Jerusalem, we find ourselves in the presence of Jesus. I wonder what He finds when He looks into our faces?
Does He see people concerned about so many things worried about income taxes worried about job security worried about their health, or lack of it? Does He see people who are so busy doing things here and there so busy that they never bother to consider those things that are eternally important?
Does he see people who recognize Him for who He is - The Messiah, the Christ, the Son of God? When He turns and looks into our lives, I wonder, will He weep once again because of what He sees? Or will we have the joy that passes all understanding as we respond to His outstretched arms and hear Him say, "Well done, good and faithful servant. Enter thou into the joy of thy Lord"?
