Jesus has just given a long story about a man who goes to become a king and what his servants do while he is gone. It has a lot of spiritual application, but it is very interesting considering what happens next. In the parable Jesus talks about a king that goes to receive his kingdom but the people don’t want him to be their king. Right after that Jesus approaches Jerusalem on the exact day when Daniel the prophet said the Messiah should come to the city-and though it seems at first as if the people accept Him they will soon totally reject Him and put Him to death. So at the end of the parable we read:
Luke 19:27 But as for these enemies of mine, who did not want me to reign over them, bring them here and slaughter them before me.’" ESV
Prophetic? Yes. What we’ll see in the latter half of this chapter is that while feigning support, the crowds will join the religious rulers who will reject their King who will come riding in on a donkey. Jesus did not fit their expectations so He was rejected. And in just a few short years after these events, Jerusalem will be overthrown and a great slaughter will take place. We see Jesus prophecy that in verses 41-44.
When Jesus comes into your life does He meet your expectations? We need to make sure we fit His, not the other way around. This chapter also gives us an interesting glimpse into Jesus’ state of mind.
It certainly wasn’t your typical arrival of a new king that day as Jesus approached Jerusalem. When a new president takes office in the U.S. there are big parties planned, parades scheduled, security is tight, there are speeches and ceremonies and transitions of power in the West Wing.
But look at the ways this was an atypical inaugural:
The Vehicle - verses 28-34
Bethphage and Bethany are about a mile apart, on the slopes of the Mount of Olives, which sits next to Jerusalem. Bethany, of course, the home to Mary, Martha and Lazarus. So Jesus sends two of His disciples to get the limo ready. Normally a head of state has a pretty substantial advance team to make arrangements. Jesus has just two guys. But it’s enough. They are sent, essentially, to take a young donkey. Not buy one, but untie it. This was extremely unusual and would have been like carjacking. The Lord told them what to say, and we don’t know if it was a prior arrangement, or some miraculous thing that happens but they say "Oh, in that case, go ahead."
So here is Jesus, the King of Kings, riding in on a donkey. Why is that significant? For one thing, the donkey had never been ridden before. The Law said you couldn’t use an "ordinary" animal for sacred purposes-and this certainly was that kind of purpose. Also it spoke of the way Jesus approached His city.
Coming on a donkey was a sign of peace. If Jesus had ridden in on a horse, it would have signified a conquering king coming to take over. Jesus was coming in not to take but to give his life in order to make peace between men and God.
Matthew (21:5) quotes from Zechariah 14:4: "Say to the daughter of Zion, ’Behold, your king is coming to you, humble, and mounted on a donkey, and on a colt, the foal of a beast of burden.’" ESV
The Welcome - verses 35 - 40
The throwing of cloaks ahead of a king can be found in 2 Kings 9. Here it is just before the beginning of a huge Passover celebration. You have people from all over the Roman Empire. The buzz was about. People were curious; people were wondering what He was going to do. Was He the Messiah? And what did that really mean?
They had no concept of a suffering Messiah, only a ruling King Messiah. So as He makes His way down the mountain the crowd is getting more excited. Maybe this is the time when He’ll declare Himself king and rescue national Israel from the oppression of Rome.
So they sing from Psalm 118. In essence they were singing "long live the king!" But they didn’t understand why He was really coming and would soon turn against Him.
So on the one hand you have the raucous crowd singing uninformed praises, and on the other hand you have the authorities who should have recognized Jesus as Messiah are coming against Him.
Jesus says that if the people are silent the stones will cry out. This has a double meaning. The Prophet Habakkuk (2:11) said judgment would come from God just before the fall of Jerusalem and that the stones of the city wall would cry out the sins of the people.
The City Verses 41 - 44
Despite the (seemingly) joyous welcome by the people, Jesus looks at Jerusalem and realizes that His people will reject Him as King. Luke gives us detail the other gospel writers don’t-and that is Jesus’ state of mind as He comes into the city.
The people thought they knew what made for peace, and that was to throw Rome out. But Rome wasn’t their problem, sin was. It’s the same for us. We think that if we just get that promotion or get that new house, or have that new toy or just move to another town or get out from under this relationship that we will have peace.
Jesus will say during this week to His disciples:
John 14:27Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid. ESV
The things of peace were hidden from the people of Jerusalem because they were only interested in peace as they could conceive of it. Peace in this case meant trusting in the person of Jesus completely-something they will not be willing to do. And to this day the truth of Jesus as the Messiah is hidden from the Jews. It won’t always be that way.
There is a wonderful prophecy in Zechariah:
Zech 12:10-13:1 ’And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and pleas for mercy, so that, when they look on me, on him whom they have pierced, they shall mourn for him, as one mourns for an only child, and weep bitterly over him, as one weeps over a firstborn. 11 On that day the mourning in Jerusalem will be as great as the mourning for Hadad-rimmon in the plain of Megiddo. 12 The land shall mourn, each family by itself: the family of the house of David by itself, and their wives by themselves; the family of the house of Nathan by itself, and their wives by themselves; 13 the family of the house of Levi by itself, and their wives by themselves; the family of the Shimeites by itself, and their wives by themselves; 14 and all the families that are left, each by itself, and their wives by themselves. 13:1 "On that day there shall be a fountain opened for the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, to cleanse them from sin and uncleanness. ESV
The key is that they will recognize that Jesus really is their Messiah.
Before that time, big time trouble comes on Jerusalem. Jesus knows that within a generation the entire city will be torn down by Roman armies. Notice why-because they didn’t recognize that this day was the day their real King came to them.
The Temple
So Jesus goes into the city. We know from Matthew’s gospel (Chapter 21) that Jesus specifically targeted the money changers and those that sold pigeons.
The Jews were supposed to bring sacrifices from their flocks, but in order to avoid traveling with animals over a long distance, only to find them "unacceptable" to the priests, four markets were set up on the Mount of Olives. It then became more convenient to set up the market right in the Court of the Gentiles-where they also exchanged money for the Temple currency: the Shekel. Jesus said the men had made His Temple into a "den of thieves" because they ripped off people with exorbitant exchange rates and prices.
What had happened is that the religious leaders had allowed commerce to take place in the court of the gentiles, effectively keeping gentiles away from being able to approach God.
All this, plus the fact that the religious leaders had rejected Jesus as the Messiah, led them to an all out effort to kill him. But as long as the crowds loved Him, they couldn’t touch Him.
Conclusions
Jesus confronted the social, the civic and the religious institutions of His people. He was rejected by all. He experienced fake faith that leads to betrayal, ambivalence that leads to destruction, and animosity that leads to rejection.
Some questions for us:
1. Is your wild enthusiasm for Jesus based on your idea of who He is and what He will do for you? Or is knowing that to know Jesus is to know suffering in order to be transformed a little off-putting? We need to make sure we come to Jesus on His terms for His mission in our lives. True faith leads to a recognition of who Jesus really is: the Messiah.
2. Do you recognize sin in your own life? Jerusalem was the envy of the Middle East. It was a beautiful city. If you had told someone that it was ready to crumble they would have laughed. But unless we recognize the day of the Lord’s visitation to us, repent of our sin and seek His cleansing, then our lives too are easily crumbled. True repentance leads to a recognition of who we really are: sinners.
3. Do we sometimes focus on success and expediency so much that we no longer open ourselves up to others who need God but don’t know how to reach out to Him? We shouldn’t create cultures in the church that are designed to reward the initiates and bar the new comer. True service for God opens up to receive others who are different than us, but who need the Messiah just as much as we do.
Is this the day of visitation in your life? How will you respond to Jesus’ approach? If you are not yet a believer do you recognize that He is the Son of God come to die for you to bring cleansing for your sins and to rule your life?
If you are a follower of Jesus do you recognize Him as ruler over all your life, or does your enthusiasm actually cloud your ability to hear Him speak of things He wants to change and is the Temple of your heart a house of prayer or a place of profit. 1 Corinthians 6:19 says our body is the temple of the Holy Spirit. The more you focus on personal relationship rather than personal prosperity the more others will be drawn to the King of Kings through you.
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