“What Have We Come to See?”
Luke 19:41-44
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It began on what we now know as Palm Sunday, the day we’re now celebrating.
Imagine yourself in Jerusalem over 2000 years ago. A great crowd gathered to celebrate the upcoming Passover Feast. It was sort of like what we see on TV as thousands of people gather in Times Square on New Year’s Eve. It was a joyous occasion.
The Jewish historian Josephus estimated that over two million people were there, and it was estimated that over 250,000 lambs were sacrificed.
A carnival-like atmosphere prevailed as people jammed the streets, getting ready. But as they prepared to observe one of their most important feasts, word came that Jesus was on His way.
Not only is the place itself significant, that is, Jerusalem, but also that it is Passover which is also significant because the Passover Lamb foreshadowed Jesus’s, the Messiah’s death. John the Baptist introduced Jesus, saying just that.
“Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.” (John 1:29 NKJV)
But not everyone who came to see Jesus on this particular Sunday, came for the same reason.
The Skeptics
There were those, like the Roman soldiers, who probably laughed at the antics of the Jerusalem crowd and at the sight of this so-called King. What king would ride on a donkey? What powerful leader would stoop so low? They probably found it amusing. Jesus’s entry into Jerusalem was a paltry comparison to Caesar’s triumphal entries into Rome.
This is how some people treat Jesus today. They’re amused by the stories. They laugh at Him and at those who worship Him. ‘How can sophisticated people be so ignorant,” they say? After all, what educated person could believe some of the things people say Jesus did, such as making the blind see, the lame walk, the deaf hear, walking on water, calming storms with a word, feeding 5000 people with a few loaves of bread and a couple of fish, and, as a topper, raising people from the dead? Who in their right mind would believe such things? So they just laughed at those who believe in Jesus.
The Thrill Seekers
Others were there to see what was going on. These people were there to see the ringleader of this circus, not the Master and Creator of Heaven and Earth, but the master of ceremony. They wanted to know what was going on, but they weren’t really interested in why Jesus was there.
They heard that Jesus had raised Lazarus from the dead, so they were there not only to see Jesus but also to see Lazarus (John 12:9). They wanted to see a man who had been raised from the dead. They wanted to see the miracle. They were eager to see someone who had experienced such a phenomenal event and to see whether a resurrected man was any different.
This is how some people come to church today, to see the show. They don’t come to worship the King; rather, they come to see the show and socialize. They come for the events and atmosphere. If that’s missing, or if there’s something they don’t like, they don’t come at all. They’re there to get what they can. They’ve come to be entertained not to worship the King.
The Religious
Wherever the power was, that’s where you’d find these religious leaders, the Sadducees and Pharisees. Wherever the prestige, praise, and glory were, there you would find them. Remember, Jesus said they were the ones who liked the best seats in the house (Luke 11:43).
They wanted to be looked up to and to have all the influence. They were fine as long as they were the center of attention. They were only interested in themselves and in the prestige of their positions.
Many in the church want the visible positions. They want the power. They want to be the movers and shakers. And they’ll say anything to gain a following or to become popular. They’ll preach what the crowd wants to hear, not what the Bible has to say.
True Seekers
They were there to see Jesus.
“Now there were some Greeks among those who went up to worship at the Feast. They came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, with a request. ‘Sir,’ they said, ‘we would like to see Jesus.’” (John 12:20-21 NIV)
Today, they’re the ones who come to church seeking Jesus, wanting to see Him. They come not out of skepticism, nor for socialization or the atmosphere, nor to receive praise for their clothes or their supposed godliness. Rather, they come to meet with Jesus, just as Jesus said, “Where two or more are gathered in My name, there I am in the midst of them, there I am also.”
And so the people gathered and shouted something that was far more significant than they realized.
“Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!” (Matthew 21:9 NKJV)
In Hebrew, Hosanna means “He who saves.” So they were not merely welcoming a prophet; they were welcoming their Savior King.
But this was not a king who would reign over Israel and save them from the nasty Romans. No, this King was far more important and far more powerful than any king on earth. Although they didn’t realize it, they were honoring the King of kings and Lord of lords. They were honoring the King who would triumph over death. They were singing praises to the Lamb of God, who would take away the sins of the world.
But in less than a week, they were crying out something else, “Crucify Him.” In other words, “Kill the Lamb of God.” Little did they realize they were shouting the prophecy of Daniel, that the Messiah would be cut off, that is, die, but not for Himself.
Why the change of heart? Why did the cheering stop?
The Jews were under heavy Roman oppression. There were heavy taxes, restrictions, oppressive imprisonments, and numerous executions by crucifixion.
And so the Jews were searching for a conquering king, someone who would set them free. They had seen the mighty works of Jesus. They witnessed Him restoring sight to the blind. They saw evidence of His healing the lame. They saw Him feed the multitude with a little boy’s lunch, with leftovers to spare. They heard about His raising Lazarus from the dead. They listened to Him teach with authority. Surely, with this kind of power and authority, Jesus was the one who could set them free.
So, Jesus came to Jerusalem, and the crowds began cheering.
The timing was right. It was approaching the Passover feast, which commemorated the time when the angel of death passed over Egypt, and Pharaoh let God’s people go. Now, maybe Jesus would lead them out of the restraints and cruel treatment they received from the Roman government.
As Jesus rode into Jerusalem, the crowds waved palm branches, a long-standing symbol of Jewish nationalism. They shouted, “Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord.” Cheering, praising, exalting … but then the cheering stopped.
Jesus didn’t gather any troops. He didn’t lead a revolt. He didn’t do what they expected. Instead, He drove the moneychangers out of the temple. He paid tribute to Caesar. He taught that giving from poverty is worth more than giving from abundance. He taught that to be great, you must be a servant. Jesus did everything the people didn’t want, and so the cheering stopped, and the jeering began.
It’s amazing when things go our way, when God does what we want, when Jesus rises to our cause, we cheer. But when He doesn’t do these things, when we face oppression and experience troubles, the cheering stops. Words of adoration and praise quickly fade when life deals us a deadly blow.
Sometimes God gives us what we want, but more often He gives us what we need. More often than not, our wants blur our vision of our real needs. The same thing happened to the crowds that lined the streets to cheer Jesus.
Let’s take a look at Jesus’s response when He came to Jerusalem that day and saw the people.
Read Luke 19:41-44
There are three things from these verses about what Jesus observed.
They Didn’t Recognize His Purpose
Notice the end of verse 44. It says, “Because you did not know the time of your visitation.” (Luke 19:44b NKJV)
The word “visitation” refers to someone who visits to bring relief or deliverance. The Greek word translated as “visitation” means “to relieve.” It’s the same word used in Matthew 25, where Jesus praises those who visit the sick and those in prison, as well as those who feed and clothe those in need.
Can you see the irony? Here’s a group of people seeking relief and salvation but failing to see their opportunity.
These people were looking for the kingdom of God, but Jesus had already told them it was in their presence. They were aware of His claims to be the Son of God. They were witnesses to His miraculous power.
But there’s a reason they couldn’t see His purpose, and that’s because their eyes were on their circumstances rather than their condition.
We’re no different. When we experience trials and hardships and suffer various difficulties and setbacks, our eyes turn toward our circumstances, and our prayers begin to change. Our prayers become, “Lord, deliver me, help me, fight for me, uplift me,” instead of, “Lord, mold me, use me, grow me through these things, and change me.”
Too often, we desire God to change our circumstances instead of allowing God to change us through our circumstances. When we ask God to change our circumstances, we lose sight of God and His purpose, and our worship of Him diminishes. We go through the motions of service and praise instead of praising Him for who He is.
The people desired deliverance from oppression, but Jesus came to deliver them from the greater problem of sin. In their desire to escape their immediate circumstances and find their own brand of peace, they failed to realize that they were walking in the very presence of the Prince of Peace.
Please, let’s not lose sight of the fact that through our circumstances we are also in the presence of the Prince of Peace.
Jesus said, “These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33 NKJV)
They Refused to Accept His Terms
“If you had known, even you, especially in this your day, the things that make for your peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes.” (Luke 19:42 NKJV)
Basically, Jesus was saying, “If you had known the things which make for peace.” If we look at the word “know,” it’s not used in the sense of being aware of something or having knowledge of it; rather, it’s about knowing without understanding.
The people wanted peace, but worldly peace, not peace with God. They wanted peace through conflict. But Jesus offered them peace in conflict.
Jesus said of Jerusalem, “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, but you were not willing.” (Luke 13:34 NKJV)
Jerusalem, whose name means peace, refused Jesus’s peace terms because they wanted peace on their own terms.
How often do we do the same thing? We want peace and God’s blessings, but we want to do things our way to get them. We want heaven on our terms.
But Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” (John 14:6 NKJV)
But time and time again, we have refused His terms. The Bible says, “There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death.” (Proverbs 14:12 NKJV)
When we refuse to accept Jesus’s terms and the provision He made for our salvation, the ending won’t be pretty.
And so they did not recognize His purpose and refused to accept His terms, which leads me to my third observation.
They Didn’t Realize God’s Judgment
“For days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment around you, surround you and close you in on every side, and level you, and your children within you, to the ground; and they will not leave in you one stone upon another.” (Luke 19:43-44a NKJV)
They had been warned, they knew the terms, and they knew who Jesus was, but they refused to accept these things, and so judgment came.
In 70 A.D., a Roman general named Titus laid siege to Jerusalem because the people finally revolted against Rome. The people did it their way. They followed their own purpose and acted on their own terms, and it brought about judgment.
According to the historian Josephus, over one million Jews were killed. He recorded that the blood flowed down the temple steps like water, and the temple was destroyed.
All these things happened because they wouldn’t recognize Jesus’s purpose, refused to accept His terms, and were judged.
Conclusion
How does that apply to us?
We cannot approach God on our own terms; we must come to God through Jesus.
We cannot come to Him when it’s convenient, but only when the Father draws us.
And when we come, we must accept His claims that He is the Son of God, the perfect sacrifice for our sin, and that He rose from the dead, and then believe in Him as our Savior and Lord.
If we refuse these things, we’ll hear the words of judgment when Jesus says, as I am paraphrasing, “Depart from Me, you workers of iniquity. While I knew you, I didn’t approve of the things you have done.” (Matthew 7:23)
And so today, as you’ve come here, who and what did you come to see? Hopefully, it’s the Lord Jesus Christ, and you’ve come to give Him praise.
