Message
Luke 19:28-44
“Our King Weeps At His Parade”
You know something is important in a person’s life when they have multiple words to describe the same thing.
(Picture of a toilet)
Toilet, WC, Dunny, Throne, John, Loo … quite a lot of other names that are not so polite.
(Picture of Me and Corianna)
Pastor, Wife, Mum, Magena, Oma …
You can see what I means can’t you. When multiple words are used in a certain situation it shows that something important is going on.
With that in mind it is interesting to discover that, in the New Testament, there are six different words that can be described as “weeping words”
• they had a “weeping word” for when people died.
• there was a “weeping word” used when in physical pain or mental anguish
• another “weeping word” described emotional grief.
• still another word was used when tears were shed.
• they even had two “weeping words” for the purpose of bringing lament to God.
From this it is clear that the Jewish people were not shy when it came to expressing their emotions. Not only that. Because they have so many weeping words we can have a reasonably good idea about the cause of that weeping. Which is very helpful. Especially for the text we are about to read.
Read Luke 19:28-44
Now I am going to focus more on verse 41.
As He approached Jerusalem and saw the city He wept over it.
When you look at the situation it is a little hard to understand why Jesus is weeping … in fact there are lots of reasons to believe He should be happy.
At this moment Jesus is surrounded by people who are joyful at His presence. The crowds have ignored the warnings of the religious leaders not to follow Jesus. Instead they see Jesus as the One who they want to follow.
And look at the object of their praise – they are praising God in loud voices.
They praise God for the miracles.
Peace in heaven. Glory in the highest.
You would think that nothing pleases Jesus more than to hear the people praising God.
And here they are on the road to Jerusalem. Jerusalem marks the ultimate fulfilment of the Lord’s work – which was to save people from their sin and reconcile them with God. While it was going to be a great time of anguish, it was also going to be the greatest triumph of Jesus.
Is this the place to be weeping? What’s going on?
I’ve heard multiple stories of newly-weds who go on their honeymoon.
They book online and they make all the arrangements and they have a certain expectation as to what the honeymoon place will look like.
Picture
But when they get to the location they discover that the place they book is very different.
Picture
It is true isn’t it.
What you expect to see, is not actually what you get.
That is what is happening here. The people think they are seeing something unfold … something very significant. But what they are getting is something quite different.
And the reason this is happening has all to do with the fact that Jesus is riding a donkey. When we think about a donkey we think about a stubborn animal that is not very beautiful. But in the world of Jesus donkeys were much more than that.
Donkeys were used to plough the fields and to pull carts. These animals were a means of transportation and did many strenuous tasks that a man could not do by himself. In that culture at that time a donkey was a very valuable possession.
Not only was the donkey valuable - it also was a sign of status. Kings, princes and judges rode upon donkeys. It was not considered lowly to ride a donkey rather it was quite a noble thing to do.
When Jesus commanders the donkey it’s not as if Jesus was asking the disciples to go to some poor farmer and choose one of his many animals. Jesus has asked the disciples to go and get the best animal for His purpose. We could liken it to Jesus telling the disciples to go and get your neighbours red Porsche – and to do it without asking.
Which would be a lot to ask. But there is more to it.
When Matthew recounts this event he tells us that Jesus didn’t get one animal, He got two
In Matthew 21:2 Jesus says
Go to the village and at once you will find a donkey tied there, with her colt by her. Untie them and bring them to Me.
This man is not just giving up losing his most valuable animal, he is being asked to give two for the price of one … and the price was nothing.
That is what the disciples are being sent to do … but it isn’t an errand you run without a few questions being asked. Understandably the owner sees what is happening and confronts the disciples Why are you untying the colt?
You can read between the lines and see that the question would be more along the lines of, “What do you think you are doing by try to steal our most valuable animal?”.
The answer is the one Jesus told them to use The Lord needs it.
Can you imagine allowing two strangers to get into your brand new red Porsche and your brand new yellow Corvette and the only explanation which is given is, “The Lord has need of it”?
It says a lot about this man that he hands over these valuable possessions all because “the Lord needs it”.
Which brings us to a significant question, “What does the Lord need these two animals for?”
Well. Jesus sits on the young donkey … rides towards Jerusalem … and all of the sudden everyone gets excited. Jesus needs the donkeys to create a response from the people.
The reason for the response is found in this passage from the Old Testament.
Rejoice greatly, O Daughter of Zion! Shout, Daughter of Jerusalem! See, your king comes to you, righteous and having salvation, gentle and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey. I will take away the chariots from Ephraim and the war-horses from Jerusalem, and the battle bow will be broken. He will proclaim peace to the nations. His rule will extend from sea to sea and from the River to the ends of the earth.
Zechariah 9:9-10
This passage was spoken 500 years before Jesus comes into town. For 500 years people had been waiting … because in their minds the equation was simple.
When a king like figure rides into town on a donkey it means that peace is finally going to happening in Israel.
No more bowing to the Romans.
No more second class citizenship.
No more toleration of foreign “gods”.
No more poverty, no more intolerance, no more war.
Just peace. It looks so perfect, but it isn’t.
So much about this situation is not what it appears.
And that is why Jesus is weeping.
Because Jesus knows that everyone here has the wrong expectations.
The people expect Jesus - the long awaited Messiah-King - to go to the palace where Herod is staying, kick Herod out, and rule in Jerusalem with authority and power.
The people expect Jesus - the Saviour - to cause such a turn around that all the nations surround Israel will now be conquered and come to Jerusalem to pay tribute.
The people expect Jesus - Lord over all - to establish peace in the nation. No more inter-tribal warfare. No more suspicion and conflict. But a united nation strong and ready to stand for the Lord.
That’s how the Jews understood this passage.
But their expectations are wrong
Jesus doesn’t enter the palace and take His place on the throne.
Jesus doesn’t call the spiritual leaders of the city to organise a rebellion.
Jesus doesn’t capitalise on His moment of popularity.
Jesus had not come to Jerusalem to campaign for votes. He has come so that humanity may have a way of salvation.
Jesus doesn’t meet the expectations and in a very short space of time everything changes.
In five days’ time the crowds will turn on Him.
Crucify Him! Crucify Him! they will shout. And they will line the streets of the city again this time to curse and mock and spit on Him as they watch Him carry His cross to His death.
In five days’ time those closest to Him will desert Him.
That gang of twelve, those so-called disciples – where will they be?
Judas will betray Him for 30 pieces of silver.
Peter will deny Him.
The other disciples will flee to the four winds.
All of them shaken by catastrophic end of Jesus’ ministry.
In five days’ time the Romans will still be in charge.
Pilate the Roman governor will find Jesus guilty even though Pilate knows Jesus is innocent. Jesus will be condemned to be crucified – a cruel death reserved for notorious criminal. To Pilate it will just be business as usual as he tries to keep the peace in the Jewish capital.
In five days’ time the religious leaders will celebrate.
In their eyes Jesus is nothing but a fraudulent King ...a heretic ...a monumental fake. They will humiliate the King. Disparage any religious claims He makes. Mock Him. Dump Him. Defeat Him. Destroy Him. Never to be heard from again.
In five days’ time there will be no more passion and no more approval for the One who rode into town on a donkey.
That is why Jesus weeps.
The weeping word used here is the word people use when they are in anguish. It is the cry we would give when we have suffered great physical pain.
But it is not physical pain that Jesus is going through – it is deep emotional pain. He is weeping for those who are going to reject Him.
They are the tears if Jesus and they present us with a powerful image.
As we see Jesus weep we gain a small understanding of the love He has for us as goes to the cross.
Jesus is weeping over Jerusalem. Weeping over those who will reject Him and vent their hate against Him.
He is not weeping because He is worried about Himself.
He is weeping because of His intense love for them.
Despite all they were going to put Him through:-
… the unjust trial.
… the false accusations.
… the crowds roaring for His death.
… the brutal crucifixion.
Despite all this Jesus still loves these people. And in a week’s time He will hang on a cross to prove it.
There is another powerful image which comes out of this passage.
As we see Jesus weep we realise that Jesus feels great pain when souls are lost for eternity.
Never do we find Jesus gleefully punishing sinners for what they deserve.
Never do we find Him laughing boastful at people on the road to hell saying, “I told you so”.
These are not deceitful tears, or artificial tears, or tears shed to impress.
Jesus sheds tears because He sees the praise of the people and He knows that not everyone in the crowd or in the city will be praising God in eternity. Jesus weeps because He would rather see a different result but the hard hearts of the people means His hands are tied.
A third powerful image which comes out of this passage is probably the most powerful image.
As we see Jesus weep we are faced with the reality that Jesus is the only One who can give us eternal life.
If this wasn’t true Jesus would not be weeping. Later in the week they will reject Him, and He knows it. Through their rejection of Jesus the city will in effect saying, “We can reject Jesus but we still will be alright with God for there will be another way out.”
It is a misguided attitude.
There is no other way.
If there was another way Jesus would not be in such anguish for the souls of these people.
God has made Jesus the way to eternal life. In rejecting Jesus the city of Jerusalem has rejected the only path which will give them true access to God.
As we see Jesus weep we are given a very different perspective on the reason Jesus came to this earth.
When Jesus was born the angel came to Joseph and said, Mary will give birth to a son and you are to give Him the name Jesus, because He will save people from their sins. Jesus was born, just as it was promised.
His birth was heralded by the choir of angels.
His arrival was celebrated by joy-filled shepherds.
His kingship was recognised through the worship of the Magi.
The baby Jesus in the manger presents us with such a tranquil scene.
But there is nothing tranquil about it … this baby has come for a very specific purpose. He is called Jesus because He will save people from their sins. He loves sinners. He was sent because the Father loves sinners.
In many ways we could say that the birth of Jesus is the greatest expression of God’s grief over sin and sinners.
Jesus has been given to this world by God because God has been weeping – weeping over those who were His enemies, but whom God wants to be His friends.
The birth of Jesus is our assurance that God cares for lost souls.
The birth of is a powerful declaration by God as He shows what it means to not want anyone to perish but everyone to come to repentance. This is God taking the necessary steps to show us how He treats those who treat Him with indifference.
Finally
As we see Jesus weep we are faced with the incredible realisation that Jesus is inviting us to be part of His family.
You see if Jesus weeps in anguish for those who are not saved … how much more has He wept for those who are saved?
We too are sinners.
We too have misunderstood Jesus.
And, through all those times, we too have had a Saviour who has been weeping over our condition because He does not want us to experience the punishment of hell.
Think even further. If Jesus cares so deeply for those who are His enemies … how much more does He care for those whose names are in the book of life?
We might have times when we feel alone.
There might be days when we wonder about God’s care.
We sometimes come to the point of shaking our fist against God.
But God has been weeping. Not just weeping for His enemies, but also weeping for those who are engraved onto the palm of His hand.
Jesus Loves
Jesus agonises over lost souls
Jesus is the only way
Jesus has come to save
Jesus wants us to be a part of His family.
We know this is the case because 2000 years ago Jesus looked over Jerusalem … and in the middle of a wild celebration … He wept.
Prayer
