2014 6-8 ‘The ‘Untriumphal Entry’ Part 1 Luke 19 28-40

“THE ‘UNTRIUMPHAL’ ENTRY (PART 1)”
LUKE 19:28-40

I. Introduction
Have you ever heard someone say, “You know, I tried Christianity once, but it didn’t work out for me,” or, “I was a believer for a while, but not anymore,” or words to that affect? Tragically, comments like that are not uncommon in today’s world. But how do you “try” Christianity? How can you be a “believer for a while,” and then not be one? How can you “decide you’re for Christ” today, and then, at some later date, “decide you’re not for Him”?

The fact is that you cannot, but it seems like it happens all the time. Why? I am convinced that the primary reason for it is the way Jesus Christ and His gospel are so often presented. You know, people are encouraged “to make a decision for Christ” or “to accept Him into their hearts.” When they do, they’re often led to believe they can expect a new life filled with solved problems, personal fulfillment, continual happiness, and all sorts of “goodies.”

But some of the modern evangelists go beyond those things and promise “health, wealth, and prosperity” to boot. In fact, if you listen to the so-called “Word-Faith” preachers, you quickly learn that you can have pretty much whatever you want. Just say the word and your faith will produce it. So why would we be surprised that so many people hear such a gospel and say, “This ‘Jesus stuff’ sounds like a good deal. I think I’ll try it out.”?

Have you ever known anyone like that? Have you ever witnessed to anyone like that? What has been the result? Steven Cole, Senior Pastor of Flagstaff Christian Fellowship Church in Flagstaff, AZ, gives the following example – (read the story)

Pastor Cole’s story hits home for many of us. I can relate to it. Shortly after I became a Christian, Ginny and I had a similar experience with someone. In early 1978 this acquaint-ance “made a decision for Christ.” She bought a Bible and became interested in learning about Jesus and His book. It was a happy time because everything seemed to be going her way. But early one morning her youngest daughter was gone. She had run off with an illegal alien and gotten pregnant. This kind of bad stuff wasn’t supposed to happen to Christians, was it?

Ginny and I prayed with our new friend and tried to comfort her, but she would have none of it. She decided it was God’s fault and she turned on Him with a vengeance. At our next Bible study she lost her temper, cursed God, and threw her new Bible across the room where it hit the wall and fell to the floor. And why not? This “Jesus thing” just wasn’t working out for her.

Both situations – Pastor Cole’s and ours – are examples of what happens when people fol-low Jesus for what they think He will do for them.
And it’s why modern gospel charlatans who preach Christ as everyone’s celestial vending machine – you pay your money and get what you want – lead to so many people who think they are Christians, but are not. They have an incorrect idea of who Jesus Christ really is. And because of that, they fail to understand that their personal happiness and comfort is not the most important thing in life. But they’re led to believe it is, so they’re willing to try Jesus – as long as they can get what they want.

Think about it. If people don’t know who Jesus really is, they’re likely to follow Him for the wrong reasons. But when things don’t go their way, or when things go wrong – and they will – then they’ll follow someone or something else. This is the inevitable outcome of a man-centered theology. When trials, troubles, sickness, pain, sorrow, and sadness come – and they do – and things don’t go as people hope, they decide that Christianity isn’t for them and they fall away. But true Christians know that real faith, saving faith, endures hardship because it recognizes Jesus as sovereign Lord of all creation.

What does all of this have to do with Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem in this morning’s text? It has a great deal to do with it. On that first Palm Sunday most of the people cheering Jesus, who were spreading their garments and palm branches on the road, were doing so for all the wrong reasons. Few of them knew who He really was. Fewer still understood why He was there. So when He didn’t give them what they wanted, they turned on Him, cursed Him, and demanded His execution.

On that Sunday most of them looked like believers. Four days later, on Thursday night most of them looked like murderers. But I’m getting ahead of myself.
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

II. Review
How have we come to this point in Luke’s gospel? On His final journey to Jerusalem Jesus passed through the city of Jericho. While there He restored the sight of blind Bartimaeus. Jesus told him that his faith had saved him. A short time later, seeing the faith of the tax-gatherer Zaccheus, Jesus declared him righteous in God’s sight. That night (probably Thurs-day) Jesus and His disciples stayed at the home of Zaccheus. While there He uttered what many theologians believe to be the most important words in Luke’s gospel. Jesus said, “For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost (19:10).”

On Friday morning Jesus left Jericho to begin the final sixteen mile trek up to Jerusalem. When He reached the village of Bethany – high on the Mount of Olives – He stopped to spend the rest of the day with His friends, Mary, Martha, and Lazarus – the same Lazarus whom Jesus had earlier raised from the dead. John’s gospel tells us that the three of them were with Jesus that evening when He had supper in the home of Simon the Leper.

It was there on Friday evening that Mary poured the costly perfume over Jesus’ head and anointed His feet with it. This act was symbolic of the Lord’s imminent death and burial. But Judas excoriated Mary for “wasting” such expensive perfume, and Jesus told him, “Let her alone, in order that she may keep it for the day of My burial (John 12:7).”
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

III. Text
On Saturday, the Sabbath, Jesus and His disciples remained in Bethany. And so we come to Sunday morning and this morning’s text.
*Luke 19:28-40 (Please stand with me in honor of reading God’s Word.)
28 And after (Jesus) had said these things, He was going on ahead, ascending to Jerusalem.
29 And it came about that when He approached Bethpage and Bethany, near the mount that is called Olivet, He sent two of the disciples,
30 saying, “Go into the village opposite you, in which 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?’ thus shall you speak, ‘The Lord has need of it.’”
32 And those who were sent went away 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 And they said, “The Lord has need of it.”
35 And they brought it to Jesus, and they threw their garments on the colt, and put Jesus on it.
36 And as He was going, they were spreading their garments in the road.
37 And as He was now approaching, near the descent of the Mount of Olives, the whole multitude of the disciples began to praise God joyfully with a loud voice for all the miracles which they had seen,
38 saying, “Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the LORD; peace in heaven and glory in the highest!”
39 And some of the Pharisees in the multitude said to Him, “Teacher, rebuke Your disciples.”
40 And He answered and said, “I tell you, if these become silent, the stones will
cry out!”

Now it’s Sunday morning. Luke’s gospel is interesting in that he doesn’t mention the Lord’s actual entrance into the city. Rather, it speaks only of His approach to the city. Jesus is entitled to a “triumphal entry” as Luke says in v. 38. However, by not mentioning it, but speaking instead of Jesus’ lament over the city, Luke makes a critical theological point.

Luke’s emphasis is not on Jesus’ triumphal entry, but on our Lord’s sadness over His coming rejection. We’ll look at that in detail next Sunday when we study vv. 41-48. But for now the important thing for us to see here is that there’s no contradiction with the accounts given by Matthew and Mark because we know that Jesus did enter Jerusalem.
*Luke 19:28-30
28 And after (Jesus) had said these things, He was going on ahead, ascending to Jerusalem.
29 And it came about that when He approached Bethpage and Bethany, near the mount that is called Olivet, He sent two of the disciples,
30 saying, “Go into the village opposite you, in which as you enter you will find a colt tied, on which no one yet has ever sat; untie it, and bring it here.”

In v. 28 “these things” refer us back to the parable of the ten minas Jesus had told while He was at the home of Zaccheus in Jericho. Bethany, on the Mount of Olives – mentioned in
v. 29 – was the home of Mary, Martha, and Lazarus. The Garden of Gethsemane was on the mount’s western slope, and forty days after His resurrection, Jesus ascended to heaven from its peak. But the Mount of Olives also has great prophetic significance because it is the place where Jesus will appear at the Second Coming.
Zechariah 14:4a
4a And in that day His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, which is in front of
Jerusalem on the east…

Bethany was on the eastern slope of the mount. Just over the peak, on the western slope, facing Jerusalem, was the village of Bethpage. Now look at v. 30 where Jesus instructs two of His disciples to go “into the village opposite you.” He tells them that there they will find a colt, a colt that has never been ridden. Then He instructs them to untie it and bring it to Him. This raises at least four questions, doesn’t it? First, how does Jesus know what the disciples will find in Bethpage? Second, why does the animal have to be the colt of a don-key? Third, why must it never have been ridden? Fourth, won’t the owner protest that the animal is being stolen?

The answer to the first question is easy. Jesus, God incarnate, is omniscient, is He not? It should be a surprise to no one that here in Luke 19 He exercises supernatural knowledge.

The answer to the second question – why does the animal have to be the colt of a donkey – is also easy. The OT prophesied it…in 520 B.C.
Zechariah 9:9
9 Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout in triumph, O daughter of Jerusa-lem! Behold, your King is coming to you; He is just and endowed with salva-tion, humble, and mounted on a donkey, even on a colt, the foal of a donkey.

The answer to the third question – why the colt was not to have been ridden, and left unbro-ken – is interesting. OT law required animals reserved for sacred use to be unblemished and unyoked, that is to say, “unused.” The tomb where Jesus’ body would lay was also reserved for sacred use in that it was one “…where no one had ever lain (Luke 23:53b).”

This is completely in line with the Virgin Mary.
We don’t generally think of a virgin as a woman who has been left unused. That almost sounds crude or crass. But the reality is that Mary’s womb was kept unused, because it was the place that God had preserved for His sacred use until that day when Mary was “…found to be with child by the Holy Spirit (Matthew 1:18b).”

The answer to the fourth question – why won’t the owner protest that the animal is being stolen – is also interesting. The answer is found in vv. 31-34, but before we look at it con-sider the following: Can God steal? No, that would be sin. Can God sin? Of course not! Can God break His own laws? Again, the answer is no, because God can’t do anything con-trary to His nature and His holiness. Doing so would involve all sorts of impossibilities. And there’s one other thing –
Psalm 50:10-11
10 “For every beast of the forest is Mine, (and) the cattle on a thousand hills.
11 “I know every bird of the mountains, and everything that moves in the field is Mine.”

So how can you steal what you already own? There is no thievery going on here. Rather, the human owner of the colt has been borrowing it from God, the divine owner of the colt. For a while at least, God is going to “borrow it back” and use His colt for His purposes. And Jesus makes it clear why the colt is to be untied and brought to Him.
*Luke 19:31-34
31 “And if anyone asks you, ‘Why are you untying it?’ thus shall you speak, ‘The Lord has need of it.’”
32 And those who were sent went away 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 And they said, “The Lord has need of it.”

Six little words, but they are profound – “The Lord has need of it.” Nothing else is said. Luke records no protest from the colt’s owners. Listen, for the true Christian, there can be great comfort in those words, particularly when a brother or sister in Christ is called home, especially if he or she is very young. At times like that both the lost, as well as many of the saved, like to say, “He died before his time.” But, of course, there is no such thing. No one ever has, or ever will “die before his time,” because everyone’s time was established by our sovereign God in eternity past. King David knew that.
Psalm 139:16
16 Your eyes have seen my unformed substance; and in Your book they were all written, the days that were ordained for me, when as yet there was not one of them.

On the day someone passes from this life, regardless of their chronological age, you can be absolutely sure of one thing. It’s the right day. It was ordained in eternity past.
And something else you can be sure of too. The Lord, in His infinite love and wisdom, and for His sovereign and holy purposes, needs that person. Jesus needed a colt for His sacred use on that first Palm Sunday. When the day of our departure comes He’ll need us for His sacred use as well. “The Lord has need of him/her.” Shouldn’t that be a great comfort for us at the funeral of one of God’s own children, no matter how old (or young) they might be?

In the meantime, shouldn’t we be asking ourselves, “What does the Lord need of me now, while I’m still here”? Listen to theologian William Hendriksen from his commentary on Luke’s gospel.
“Today…a broad body of true followers of the Lord and supporters of His causes is urgently needed…to pray, to study, to guide, to support the poor by word and deed, to encourage the fearful, to bear testimony concerning the goodness of God in providing salvation for sinners. These tasks should be performed willingly and eagerly.”

One more thought before we move on. God already owned that colt, didn’t He? It was His right to use it as He saw fit, wasn’t it? God already owns you, doesn’t He? Are you not His possession, for Him to use as He sees fit? Listen, if we really believe that Jesus Christ is who He says He is, and that He possesses all things, then we must also believe that He has the right to dictate how they are to be used. That includes you and me, and our spouses and our children, and our grandchildren and… well, you get the point.

It’s easy for us to say, “Jesus is the Lord of my life,” but it is entirely another thing to live that way, isn’t it? Yet that is what we are called to do. (back to the text)
*Luke 19:35-38
35 And they brought it (the colt) to Jesus, and they threw their garments on the colt, and put Jesus on it.
36 And as He was going, they were spreading their garments in the road.
37 And as He was now approaching, near the descent of the Mount of Olives, the whole multitude of the disciples began to praise God joyfully with a loud voice for all the miracles which they had seen,
38 saying, “Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the LORD; peace in heaven and glory in the highest!”

Not even Jesus’ disciples understand the full ramifications of what is happening. It’s only later, when they take the time to study the OT, that they will finally comprehend it all.
John 12:16
16 These things His disciples did not understand at the first; but when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that these things were written of Him, and that they had done these things to Him.

Most in the crowds praise Jesus as a prophet, a miracle-worker, and a great teacher (a rabbi), but few of them believe that He is the Jewish Messiah, the Christ.
And the few who actually do believe it fail to grasp the fact that He isn’t there to establish God’s Kingdom on earth. That’s for the Second Coming.

But now, descending from the Mount of Olives and heading toward Jerusalem, the Jewish Messiah is sitting upon a colt. It is a picture of humility. Not so at the Second Coming. Revelation tells us Jesus will be riding a horse. It is a picture of power and authority.
*Revelation 19:11-16
11 And I saw heaven opened; and behold, a white horse, and He who sat upon it is called Faithful and True; and in righteousness He judges and wages war.
12 And His eyes are a flame of fire, and upon His head are many diadems; and He has a name written upon Him which no one knows except Himself.
13 And He is clothed with a robe dipped in blood; and His name is called the Word of God.
14 And the armies which are in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, were following Him on white horses.
15 And from His mouth comes a sharp sword, so that with it He may smite the nations; and He will rule them with a rod of iron; and He treads the wine press of the fierce wrath of God, the Almighty.
16 And on His robe and on His thigh He has a name written, “KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.” (back to Luke 19)

Contrast that awesome passage in Revelation to the gospels’ accounts of Jesus entering Jerusalem. In the gospels Jesus is entering Jerusalem in meekness. The next time He arrives in Jerusalem – at the Second Coming – it will be in power and majesty. In the gospels Jesus isn’t coming to slay Israel’s enemies; He is coming to save sinners. The next time He comes it will be to judge His enemies and establish His Millennial Kingdom. In the gospels Jesus is coming to be humiliated and murdered. The next time He comes it will be to display His glory, His splendor, and His deity. But on this first Palm Sunday He enters Jerusalem hum-bly sitting on the colt of a donkey.

Take a moment and try to imagine yourself among the multitudes that surround Him as they head for the city. In vv. 37-38 you’re starting to get excited. It’s easy to begin to think like them. You know, “All of those healings, those miracles, and Lazarus’ resurrection from the dead are starting to make sense. They must mean that He’s the one who has come from God to throw off our Roman occupiers and restore our nation to her former glory. Just think; Jesus is going to give us what we want. Don’t you just love Him? Hosanna! Hosanna! He’s going to save us from Rome. We are so excited.”

Can you see how the people are so focused on themselves, and how they’re praising God for all the wrong reasons? “Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the LORD; peace in heaven and glory in the highest!” In v. 38 we can hear all the right words, but we can’t see the hearts of the ones shouting them.
Like so many Christians in the western world today, their religion overflows with emotion, but their knowledge of His truth is sorely lacking. And because Jesus isn’t going to give them what they want, in just four short days, the same people will be shouting, “Crucify Him! Crucify Him!”

But for this moment on the first Palm Sunday Jesus is getting the accolades of all the people. Well, not all the people. The religious leaders don’t like what they’re seeing and hearing at all. To them it’s all blasphemy. Not only do they think Jesus is an imposter, doing the work of Satan, now they fear they’re losing control of the people. If all of that doesn’t make them angry, the fact that Jesus is accepting the peoples’ praise infuriates them all the more.

The Jewish religious leaders hated the Romans, to be sure, but at least the Romans let them practice their own religion and maintain their power over the masses. But these religious leaders had come to hate Jesus even more than the Romans because He had become a real threat to their religion and the power they wielded over the people.
*Luke 19:39-40
39 And some of the Pharisees in the multitude said to Him, “Teacher, rebuke Your disciples.”
40 And He answered and said, “I tell you, if these become silent, the stones will
cry out!”

Instead of apologizing and trying to calm the crowds Jesus’ answer is stunning. He tells them that if the people stop shouting the stones themselves will speak. What does He mean?
There is a prophecy in Habakkuk 2:11 that refers to stones crying out, but is that what Jesus is talking about? No, He isn’t. He’s making a reference to judgment and the destruction of Jerusalem that will take place in 70 A. D. But those details are for next time when we’ll continue looking into the Lord’s “untriumphal” entry into Jerusalem. And we’ll see why I’ve been using the word “untriumphal” when we witness Jesus’ response to the peoples’ praise and adoration.
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

IV. Conclusion
There is a strong warning for us in today’s passage. It is this: If you’re following Jesus for what you think you can get from Him, you’re following Him for the wrong reason. True saving faith doesn’t lead someone to selfishness and to the glorification of oneself. Rather, it leads one to selflessness and the glorification of God. If you came to Christ thinking it was all about you, you completely missed the point. It is all about Him.

That is precisely the lesson that we are to take from Pastor Cole’s story about the young man who said he tried Christ once but it didn’t work out for him. But it wasn’t about the young man; it was about God and His glory. And it is the lesson we are to take from the woman in Ginny’s and my study group who was all for Jesus until He did something she neither liked nor understood. So she blamed Him for it and walked away.
And why not – He wasn’t doing what she wanted Him to do, was He?

Neither one of them were following Christ for the right reasons. They were in it for them-selves, and when things didn’t go their way, they went off to look for someone or something else to follow. As a result, neither of them were saved. There was no evidence that either one yielded themselves to God’s sovereignty. There was no evidence that either one under-stood who Jesus Christ truly is.

Who is He? He is Lord! He is Lord of creation, He is Lord of prophecy, He is Lord of sal-vation, and He is Lord of judgment. He possesses all wisdom, all knowledge, all power, all authority, and the glory of the living and eternal God. He is God’s Son.
*Colossians 1:15-19
15 And He is the image of the invisible God, the first-born of all creation.
16 For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities – all things have been created by Him and for Him.
17 And He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.
18 He is also the head of the body, the church; and He is the beginning, the first-born from the dead; so that He Himself might come to have first place in every-thing.
19 For it was the Father’s good pleasure for all the fullness to dwell in Him.

The crowds that followed Jesus into Jerusalem on that first Palm Sunday were fickle. They didn’t know who He was; they were in it for themselves. May that not be the case with any of us. We know who He is. He is Lord! Humble yourself. Give yourself to Him and fol-low Him.

~ Pray ~