The week prior to Palm Sunday, Jesus and his disciples were traveling to Jericho on their way to Jerusalem for the Passover feast. Along the way, He was teaching, healing, seeking the lost - doing everything that pointed to Him as the Messiah. His disciples had the idea that He was going to Jerusalem to set up His kingdom but in reality, Jesus was preparing them for His death.
The Jews were aware of the Old Testament prophecies from Zechariah 4:4-9 that spoke of the coming Messiah who, on the day that he would step foot on the mount of Olives, would establish His worldwide Kingdom immediately. According to the prophet Ezekiel, at the commencement of the Millennial Kingdom, the Messiah would walk down from the Mount of Olives, across the Kidron Valley, through the East Gate, and then take His seat on the throne. The Psalmist said, “Open up ancient gates! Open up ancient doors, and let the King of glory enter” (Ps 24: 7). This is why Suleiman the Magnificent back in the 1500s, bricked up the Eastern Gate with five meters of concrete to prevent the Jewish Messiah from gaining entrance into Jerusalem.
The disciple’s interpretation of the conquering Messiah was partially correct, but their timing was off - this part of Zechariah's prophecy was to be fulfilled at Messiah's Second Coming, not His First Coming. So right before Jesus rode into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, He shared a parable with His disciples about the nobleman traveling to a distant country and leaving his servants in charge until he returned. Jesus understood the timing of the fulfillment of the prophecies and was telling His disciples that during the interim period, before His second coming, they were to get on with the job that He had entrusted to them.
Jesus’ followers were waiting for Him to establish His Kingdom on earth, but He first came to establish the Kingdom in people’s hearts.
Luke 19:29-44
29 When He approached Bethphage and Bethany, near the mountain that is called Olivet, 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 And if anyone asks you, ‘Why are you untying it?’ you shall say this: ‘The Lord has need of it.’” 32 So those who were sent left and found it just as He had told them. 33 And as they were untying the colt, its owners said to them, “Why are you untying the colt?” 34 They said, “The Lord has need of it.” 35 And they brought it to Jesus, and they threw their cloaks on the colt and put Jesus on it. 36 Now as He was going, they were spreading their cloaks on the road. 37 And as soon as He was approaching, near the descent of the Mount of Olives, the whole crowd of the disciples began to praise God joyfully with a loud voice for all the miracles which they had seen, 38 shouting:
“BLESSED IS the King, THE ONE WHO COMES IN THE NAME OF THE LORD;
Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!” 39 And yet some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Him, “Teacher, rebuke Your disciples!” 40 Jesus replied, “I tell you, if these stop speaking, the stones will cry out!”
41 When He approached Jerusalem, He saw the city and wept over it, 42 saying, “If you had known on this day, even you, the conditions for peace! But now they have been hidden from your eyes. 43 For the days will come upon you when your enemies will put 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 throw down 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.”
As Jesus and His entourage were traveling from Jericho to Jerusalem they stopped in Bethany, the place where He raised Lazarus from the dead. Jesus told his disciples to go and get the colt, one that no one has ever ridden on (implying that it is reserved for royal usage). If anyone asks, “why are you taking this?” tell them, “The Lord has need of this” and this is exactly what happened. Obviously, Jesus had many other disciples, men and women who stood ready to serve Him in various ways and God made sure these needs were taken care of. Whether it was a place of lodging, a colt, where they would celebrate the Passover, or even His burial site - whatever His needs were, these faithful friends were ready and willing to provide these. That one word, "The Lord needs it," was all that was required.
Have you ever thought about times that you needed something and God brought the right people at the right time onto the scene? Maybe some of you read in the news about the astronauts that were stranded at the international space station for nine months (nine months longer than expected). In an interview given just few weeks ago, one of the astronauts, Butch Wilmore, said he continued to attend church virtually from the space station. His pastors and friends made sure he got connected to the local fellowship because he said it was vital to hear the word of God and to have that fellowship to keep him going. In this case, it was what he needed and his friends faithfully and willingly provided it.
The donkey that Jesus requested, seemed like a very insignificant thing but it’s one of the most well-known stories in the New Testament. It was in fulfillment of what Zechariah prophesied 500 years earlier in Zechariah 9:9:
Behold, your king is coming to you; He is righteous and endowed with salvation, humble, and mounted on a donkey, even on a colt, the foal of a donkey.
Why did Jesus ride in on a donkey?
1. To fulfill what is written in the Scriptures
2. To unequivocally identify Himself as the Messiah
3. To confirm He was from the royal line of King David
4. To express who He was intrinsically - Humble
5. To correct the expectations of His followers
His disciples thought the overthrow of the world kingdoms was happening now so as Jesus was coming close to the Mount of Olives, they and the pilgrims outside of Jerusalem were praising and worshipping God. What were they praising Him for? The miracles which could only be attributed to the Messiah. They covered the road with their robes and palm branches shouting the beatitude from Psalm 118: “BLESSED IS the King, THE ONE WHO COMES IN THE NAME OF THE LORD!”
Jesus deliberately rode on a foal of a donkey, not a war horse, because His kingdom is not about violence or political power. His triumph would not be over the Roman armies but over the power of sin, death, and the devil. It was one of the boldest public moments of His ministry - forcing the Jewish people and other nations to make a decision, settling once and for all who He really is.
While still outside the city the religious crowd rebuked Jesus telling him to shut his disciples up. The tension was thick because the Pharisee were very concerned that the crowds might start believing in and following Him (John 11:47-50). But how did Jesus respond to their rebuke?
If these people stop speaking, the stones will cry out!
What did He mean? These stones will cry out as a testimony of Jesus' life, his death and resurrection. At Golgotha, the cross on which He was crucified was on a rock - His crucifixion cried out to all who witnessed it. The stone that was rolled away from His empty tomb - His resurrection cried out about who He was as the Messiah, the Savior of the world!
But even as Jesus' disciples were preparing the way, the city was unprepared for the type of peace Jesus was bringing to the people. This was not political peace but shalom = peace with God and subsequent peace in the heart.
As He approached the Mount of Olives Jesus looked over Jerusalem, and wept. While one group was celebrating His triumphal entry, Jesus was wailing (according to the Greek), heartbroken over what He knew awaited the city. He was wailing over the impending death and destruction of Israel which would happen at the hands of Titus in 70 AD.
Jesus said, “If you had known on this day, even you, the conditions for peace! But now this has been hidden from your eyes. What did He mean by this day? The Greek text is even more striking because it has the definite article before day which identifies this as not just any day but as a very specific, unique day, a day the Jews could have and should have known, the day they had been waiting for! God made clear through the Scriptures about the timing and manner of the Messiah’s arrival in Jerusalem, the miracles He would perform, and more than 300 prophecies He would fulfill in their sight. Daniel had prophesied about this day 600 years earlier, and according to the prophesies in the 70 weeks of Daniel, it is literally to the day the Messiah rode into Jerusalem and proclaimed Himself as King. This was the day which could have brought lasting peace to Israel if its people had accepted Jesus as their Messiah (Daniel 9:3-19).
As we celebrate Palm Sunday today, Jesus is speaking to us all. There are a lot of unsettling things happening in the world, in our workplaces, in our own lives and hearts. People are looking for peace, but the age old question is “where can it be found?” Would we like the Psalmist (Ps 24:7-10) open up our hearts and let the King of Glory come in? It’s only through Jesus, the Prince of Peace (Isa 9:6), the Lord of Peace (2 Thess 3:16), who paid the price through His own precious blood so that we can have lasting peace with God both now and for eternity (Rom 5:1). God, because of His amazing grace, is extending that peace to you today - inviting you to allow Him to change your heart of stone and replace it with a tender, responsive heart so you can have peace with Him.
