February 29, 2016
Morning Service

Luke 19:28-48

Last Sunday night we reviewed several of the prophecies that were written hundreds of years before the birth of Christ that were fulfilled during this week.  This has been God’s plan from the beginning of time.  Jesus certainly lived most of His life knowing what this week had in store for Him.  He has tried to warn His disciples several times of what lies ahead of Him in their trip to Jerusalem, yet they are unable to comprehend it all.  This week will begin with a time of great rejoicing, for all believe the kingdom of God is about to be revealed.  It is revealed, but it is not as they hoped, but as has God planned it.

Luke 19:28-34 And saying these things, He went in front, going up to Jerusalem.  (29)  And it happened as He drew near Bethphage and Bethany, toward the mount called Mount of Olives, He sent two of the disciples,  (30)  saying, “Go into the village across from you, and having entered, you will find a colt tied up, on which no one of men has yet sat. Untie it and bring it.  (31)  And if anyone asks you, Why are you untying it? You will say this to him, Because the Lord has need of it.”  (32)  And going, those who were sent found as He had said to them.  (33) And as they were untying the colt, its owners said to them,” Why are you untying the colt?”  (34)  And they said, “The Lord has need of him.”

·         This is a fulfillment of a prophecy from Zechariah 9:9

·         Do you ever think about the people, like the owner of the colt, who played a part in this story simply by being obedient and in tune with God?  Are we there?

 

Luke 19:35-38 And they brought him to Jesus. And they threw their garments on the colt. And they set Jesus on it.  (36)  And as He went, they spread their clothes in the way.  (37)  And when He had come near, even now at the descent of the Mount of Olives, all the multitude of the disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works which they had seen,  (38)  saying, “Blessed is the King coming in the name of the Lord! Peace in Heaven and glory in the highest!”

·         This is the one time Jesus remains quiet and accepts this praise that He truly is worthy of.  He is the Son of God and the Savior of mankind and deserves this praise and much more.

·         Yet even in this moment, He is the picture of humility.  Riding not on a white stallion carrying a sword as a conquering hero, but riding a lowly donkey’s colt with a coat for a saddle.

·         The Jewish people believed this was the time God would set up His kingdom on earth and free them from the oppression of the Romans forever.

 

Luke 19:39-40 And some of the Pharisees from the crowd said to Him, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples.”  (40)  And He answered and said to them, “I tell you that if these should be silent, the stones would cry out.”

·         This was His time that God had planned for His praises to ring loud and true.  Jesus certainly deserved every bit of it, but it also stirred those religious leaders who opposed Him to a deeper level of hate and contempt.  A level that would bring them to a point of seeking to murder Him, just as God had planned.

·         Are there times in our lives that we should be singing the praises of our Savior and we are quiet?  Don’t let the stones sing out your praise; give it willingly and passionately from deep in your heart!

·         Even in all this time of rejoicing and praise, Jesus’ mind returns to the truth of moment at hand.  He is not thinking of what He now faces, but He looks at what the future holds for His chosen people, the Jews.

 

Luke 19:41-44 And as He drew near, He beheld the city and wept over it, (42) saying, “If you had known, even you, even at least in this day of yours, the things for your peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes.  (43)  For the days will come on you that your enemies will rise up a rampart to you, and will surround you, and will keep you in on every side.  (44) And they will tear you down, and your children within you, and will not leave a stone on a stone because you did not know the time of your visitation.”

·         Jesus weeps with compassion knowing the fate the children of Israel will endure.  He prophesies of a time of destruction that is coming (70 AD) because they did not recognize the Savior they had long waited for even when He was right there in their presence.

·         Do we have that kind of compassion for the lost?

·         Jesus now enters the temple and is angered by what He finds there.

 

Luke 19:45-48 And entering into the temple, He began to cast out those selling and buying in it, (46) saying to them, It is written, "My house is a house of prayer," but you have made it a den of thieves.  (47)  And He taught in the temple daily. But the chief priests and the scribes and the chief of the people sought to destroy Him.  (48)  And they could not find what they might do, for all the people were hanging on Him, listening.

·         Jesus is angered by what the people had allowed the temple to become.  They had turned the temple into a marketplace of the things of the world, rather than a place of prayer and worship.

·         Paul tells us in I Cor. 6:19 that our bodies are the temple for the Holy Spirit.  Would Jesus be angered with any of the things we have allowed into our lives?  Are the things of God given a back seat as we allow the things of the world to enter in?

 

In this first day of the Passion Week, we see Jesus show resolve as He enters Jerusalem knowing the fate that awaits Him there.  He receives the praise He so richly desires and deserves.  He shows compassion for those who can’t see who He really is.  He shows anger with those who twist the things of God to profit themselves.  He ends this chapter with what He does best; telling people about the things concerning the kingdom of God.

 

Lord, may we follow Jesus’ example to show resolve, praise Him, have a compassion for the lost, speak out when change is needed and always be ready to tell others of the hope that lies within us.