Jesus’ Last Days

Jesus’ Last Days: the Triumphal Entry	Luke 19:28-44	4-13-03
    
I’m sure you have all heard many times about Jesus’ Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem, when the whole city of Jerusalem came out and hailed Jesus as Messiah, and then a week later that very same crowd was screaming “Crucify Him!”
    Did that really happen?  Did the city of Jerusalem really embrace Jesus?  Did they really lay down palm branches and shout “Hosanna” and “Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord”?
    No.  It never happened.
    And you may be surprised to discover what actually did happen.  Let’s take a close look at the historical account.

    The Importance of Jerusalem

28 After Jesus had said this, he went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem. 
    Jerusalem is the capital city of the Jews, it is the place of the Temple, the center of Jewish worship, the place of the Jewish leadership…
    Jerusalem is the heart and soul of the Jewish people, and in Luke that city represents the Jewish people as a whole.
    So Jesus’ interaction with Jerusalem becomes representative of His interaction with the Jews.
    This is a dramatic point in the life of Jesus.  Throughout the Gospels, Jerusalem has been set up as the ultimate place of destiny for Jesus.  It is His final goal.
    Matthew, Mark, Luke and John are 4 books that tell the same story – the story of Jesus’ life on earth.
    The story goes like this: “Jesus left heaven and came to earth, where He took on human flesh by being born to the virgin Mary.
    Then He grew up, and just few years before He died He began a public ministry in which He revealed who He was, and did thousands of the greatest miracles God has ever performed in an absolutely unmistakable display of divine power.
    Then He made His exit from this world.  And it was that on that exit that the Gospels focus most of their attention.
    In Luke’s Gospel, the coming of Jesus into the world, and His first 30 years or so are described in the first two chapters.
    Then the next 7 chapters describe His ministry. 
    And that brings us to ch.9 – just over a third of the way into the book, and there we read this about the transfiguration- 
    - where Jesus took Peter, John and James with him up onto a mountain, and His appearance changed, and his clothes became as bright as a flash of lightning, and Moses and Elijah, appeared in glorious splendor, talking with Jesus.:
 
Lk.9:28-31
    Have you ever wondered what they were talking about?  I can tell you.  It’s in v.31.
    They spoke about his departure, which he was about to bring to fulfillment at Jerusalem.
    By chapter 9 Luke is saying, “The Son of God has arrived in this world, He has lived His life and carried out His ministry, and now it’s time to talk about His departure which he was about to bring to fulfillment at Jerusalem.”
    And from now on the focus of everything is this final consummation at Jerusalem.  
    As the time approached for him to be taken up to heaven, Jesus resolutely set out for Jerusalem.
    He’s going to go there to wrap this whole thing up.
    Luke is signaling that he is close to the end of the story.
    But then you flip ahead and see there are still another 15 chapters to go!
    It’s like when you watch a movie on TV that you know ends at 10:00, and it seems to be right near the point of resolution, and you look at your watch and see that it’s only 8:30.
    Then you realize, “This whole story is mostly about the very end.”
    That’s how it is in the Gospels.
    There are three other times when Jesus made a trip down to Jerusalem, and all three He makes it there in one verse. (Mt.3:13, Jn.2:13, Jn.5:1)
    Here He sets out for Jerusalem in ch.9, and finally arrives in ch.19.
    So when we get to Jesus’ final march to Jerusalem, the pace of the narrative slows way down.
    But from ch.9 on, Jerusalem remains the focus.
    Lk.13:31-35
At that time some Pharisees came to Jesus and said to him, "Leave this place and go somewhere else. Herod wants to kill you." 32 He replied, "Go tell that fox, 'I will drive out demons and heal people today and tomorrow, and on the third day I will reach my goal.' 33 In any case, I must keep going today and tomorrow and the next day-for surely no prophet can die outside Jerusalem! 
    “Tell Herod ‘I don’t have time for you – I’ve got to get to Jerusalem.  I have to reach My goal, which is Jerusalem’.” 
    Then He gets to thinking about Jerusalem:
    34 "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing! 35 Look, your house is left to you desolate. I tell you, you will not see me again until you say, 'Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.'"  
    That’s kind of an exciting thought.  The time is coming when Jesus is going to come into Jerusalem and they are going to hail Him and shout “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord”…
    - and when that happens, Jerusalem will be restored!
    Lk.18:31-34
Jesus took the Twelve aside and told them, "We are going up to Jerusalem, and everything that is written by the prophets about the Son of Man will be fulfilled… 
    Jesus was on a mission to arrive at the exact time and place of His final destiny, and nothing could stop Him…
-	    Not the crowds, not a king, not Satan, not Peter, not inhospitable Samaritans…
    If we had time we could go through that whole section, and see how Luke keeps heightening the drama as he points out landmarks along the way.
    Each time Luke does that it ratchets up the tension as the reader senses Jesus getting closer to His goal.
    It’s like if you were reading a story of someone who was going to face a world-changing event when he arrived in Colorado Springs.
    And so he sets out for the Springs on foot from Boulder, and on the way all kinds of things happen that take 10 chapters to describe, but throughout those chapters you keep seeing these ominous landmarks…
    …He’s passing Mile High…a few more events take place…now you see Him talking to some people and in the background you notice He’s in Castle Rock…
    A few more things happen, and now he’s healing someone in Monument…
    A while later some event takes place and overhead you see some military planes, and you realize he’s approaching the Air Force Academy – right on the outskirts of Colorado Springs!
    That’s the increase in drama and tension that the original reader who was familiar with that area would have felt as he read through Luke.
    So, back to ch.19.  Now you can see what a big deal it is when we finally get to ch.19 and read v.28 After Jesus had said this, he went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem. 
    But before entering, Jesus does something very intentional: 
  
  Jesus presents Himself as King 

    29 As he approached Bethphage and Bethany at the hill called the Mount of Olives, he sent two of his disciples
    Here Jesus initiates this whole scene.  
    Some liberal theologians have tried to argue that Jesus never really claimed to be the Messiah, he just got swept away by the euphoric crowds who forced him against his will.
    But this isn’t a picture of Jesus being swept away by an out of control crowd.  By sending these disciples we see that Jesus is setting the whole triumphal entry into motion.
    And there is a certain audacity in this from a human perspective.  
    Jesus is a fugitive.  He is wanted.  There is a warrant out for His arrest in Jerusalem.
    In John’s account of the triumphal entry, John introduces the whole account by saying, the chief priests and Pharisees had given orders that if anyone found out where Jesus was, he should report it so that they might arrest him.  (Jn.11:57)
    So Jesus is wanted. 
    In the movies when the hero is wanted by the police, and yet he still has the audacity to enter the city, usually he does it by putting on a disguise and sneaking around.
    But Jesus doesn’t put on a disguise and sneak in at night.  He stops out the outskirts of town, gets a royal mount and a crowd of people, and sets up a huge demonstration that will attract everyone’s attention.
    He tells two discioples: 30 "Go to the village ahead of you, and as you enter it, you will find a colt tied there, which no one has ever ridden. Untie it and bring it here. 31 If anyone asks you, 'Why are you untying it?' tell him, 'The Lord needs it.'"  
    Some commentators assume that Jesus had made prior arraignments for this.  I don’t know why.  They offer no basis for that assumption.  
    Since a major theme in Luke is Jesus’ ability to know what is going on in people’s minds, and His supernatural knowledge in general, I think it’s more likely that this is being portrayed as a prophecy.
    Jesus hasn’t been in that town recently, yet 
•	He knows about this donkey
•	He knows that it’s tied up
•	He knows where it is tied up
•	He knows that it’s never been ridden
•	He knows that if these two disciples simply say these words, the owners will let them take it.
    In our day this would be like saying, “There is a car in Denver on the corner of…  The keys will be in it.  Hop in and drive it back here.  And if the owner of the car says anything, just tell him ‘the Lord needs it’.” 
    I’m sure they are hoping that part doesn’t happen.
    But it does.
    32 Those who were sent ahead went and found it just as he had told them.
 33 As they were untying the colt, its owners asked them, "Why are you untying the colt?" 34 They replied, "The Lord needs it." 
    The word “Lord” means “owner.”  In v.33 the word translated owners, speaking of the owners of the colt, is the exact same word translated Lord in v.34
    When the owners asked why they were untying the colt, the disciples said, “Because the Owner needs it.”
    Jesus is portrayed as a King whose needs supercede those of His subjects.
    He is the King, and He has the right to commandeer your colt if He wants.
    And that’s what Jesus does.  He doesn’t have His own colt (He doesn’t have anything), so He commandeers this colt.
    It’s good that the Lord sovereignly arranged for the owners to be present, so this doesn’t look like grand theft donkey.  The clear implication is that when the two disciples say this, the owners willingly let them take it.
    The fact that there is shared ownership of the animal (plural owners) doesn’t complicate Jesus’ prophecy in the slightest.  They all respond exactly as Jesus said.
    And lest you think Jesus inflicted some hardship on these people by taking their donkey, remember that not only did they willingly let Him take it, but Jesus promised to return it shortly (Mk.11:3).
    So by setting all this in motion Jesus is presenting Himself as king.
    Then, in v.35, His disciples respond by treating Him as king.

    Jesus Treated as King
  
  35 They brought it to Jesus, threw their cloaks on the colt and put Jesus on it. 
    They did that in order to make a statement about the fact that they regarded Him to be a king.
    When King David was very old and about to die, Adonijah made a move to try to grab the throne in Judah.
    He had the High Priest on his side, he had Joab, the head of David’s military on his side, and he was in the middle of a major ceremony in which he was installing himself as king before all the people.
    David heard about that an had to act fast, so as quickly as he could he instated Solomon as king in an undeniable way.
    And the way he did it was to have Solomon ride through Jerusalem on a mule.
    1 Kings 1:32-47
King David said, "Call in Zadok the priest, Nathan the prophet and Benaiah son of Jehoiada." When they came before the king, 33 he said to them: "Take your lord's servants with you and set Solomon my son on my own mule and take him down to Gihon. 34 There have Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet anoint him king over Israel. Blow the trumpet and shout, 'Long live King Solomon!' 35 Then you are to go up with him, and he is to come and sit on my throne and reign in my place. I have appointed him ruler over Israel and Judah." 
    In the mean time Adonijah was in the middle of a huge coronation party with all the important people he had won over.
    And during this party the news comes that Solomon is riding through Jerusalem on David’s mule.
    49 At this, all Adonijah's guests rose in alarm and dispersed
    And so David responded by putting Solomon on his donkey and having him ride through Jerusalem.  
    And from that moment on Solomon was firmly in charge.
    So there is a lot of significance behind someone claiming to be the expected Son of David – the Messiah, the great king who would be in the line of David, to ride into Jerusalem on a mule.
    And you can see that the crowd understood that by their response: 
    36 As he went along, people spread their cloaks on the road. 
    This is a recognition that God has chosen Jesus as king.
    In 2 Ki.9, when Elisha anointed Jehu as king of Judah, when the people saw that it says 
2 Kings 9:13
They hurried and took their cloaks and spread them under him on the bare steps. Then they blew the trumpet and shouted, "Jehu is king!" 
    So Jesus’ disciples are treating Him as a king here.  And lest there be any confusion on that, look at what happens next:

Jesus proclaimed King
   
 37 When he came near the place where the road goes down the Mount of Olives
    Up to now they have been climbing uphill.  Now they have come over the ridge, and suddenly Jerusalem in all of its splendor is in view.
    The destiny we have been anxiously waiting for for 10 chapters finally comes into view, and the rush of excitement from that moves His disciples to shouts of praise:
    the whole crowd of disciples began joyfully to praise God in loud voices for all the miracles they had seen: 38 "Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!" 
"Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!" 
    It’s significant that they use the unusual phrase Peace in heaven.  
    As Jesus would later proclaim to Pilate, His kingdom, at this stage, was not of this world.  His throne is in heaven.
    At His Second Coming He will establish His earthly reign in a physical way.  But at this point He is being crowned King of heaven.
    And the peace He is about to bring is a peace in heaven.
    After His death and resurrection there will still be fighting and wars on earth.  He is not bringing peace on earth at this juncture.
    But in heaven the way will be opened for sinful man to have peace with God.
    In the flow of the book of Luke, the hopes and emotions of the reader reach a peak right here.  
    Remember in ch.13 when Jesus said, “I longed to bring you salvation.  I longed to restore you and bless you and bring you all the things that have been promised – 
    But you were not willing.  Therefore all that will not happen until the day when you say about Me, “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.”
    So for 6 chapters the reader has been saying, “Come on Jerusalem – you can have all the wonderful blessings if you just embrace Jesus as the blessed one who comes in the name of the Lord (the Messiah).”
    Now Jesus makes His final, triumphal entry into Jerusalem, and the crowd is shouting “Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!”  (v.38)
    Is this it?  Is Jerusalem welcoming Jesus as the Messiah? 
    Is this the wonderful, euphoric high point of Jesus’ whole life – all of His people rallying around Him in praise?
    No.  In fact if you peek ahead into v.41 you will see how Jesus feels about this whole event.  He’s crying.
    This crowd is singing praises to Him as their king, and Jesus is riding along on the donkey crying.
    Why?  It’s because Jerusalem didn’t embrace Him at all. 
    “But wait a minute – I thought at the triumphal entry the whole city was praising Jesus as Messiah and laying down palm branches and everything.  What about the shouts ‘Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!’?”
    If you read carefully you will see that the city of Jerusalem never did that.  That was the crowd traveling with Jesus – His disciples.
    Look carefully at v.37.  It is Jesus’ disciples who are saying this – not the city of Jerusalem.
    And 39 Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Jesus, "Teacher, rebuke your disciples!" 
 
Jerusalem doesn’t embrace Him as Messiah.
    And we see this in all four Gospels.
    In Mark’s account it says  Many people spread their cloaks on the road, while others spread branches they had cut in the fields. 9 Those who went ahead and those who followed shouted, "Hosanna!" "Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!"   
10 "Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David!" "Hosanna in the highest!" 
(Mk.11:8-10)
    But that all takes place as Jesus is approaching with the group that was with Him.  He doesn’t actually enter Jerusalem until v.11.
    In John’s account we discover that a lot of this crowd was made up of people from out of town who were in the area for the Passover.  
    But those people are carefully distinguished from the people of the city of Jerusalem.
    Jn.12:12-18
The next day the great crowd that had come for the Feast heard that Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem. 13 They took palm branches and went out to meet him, shouting, "Hosanna!" "Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!" 
"Blessed is the King of Israel!" 
    …17 Now the crowd that was with him when he called Lazarus from the tomb and raised him from the dead continued to spread the word. 18 Many people, because they had heard that he had given this miraculous sign, went out to meet him. 
    Again, the most we see the people of Jerusalem do is just go out to meet Him.
    Mt.21:9-11
The crowds that went ahead of him and those that followed shouted, 
"Hosanna to the Son of David!" 
"Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!" 
"Hosanna in the highest!" 
10 When Jesus entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred and asked, "Who is this?" 11 The crowds answered, "This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth in Galilee." 
    You see there are two distinct groups – the crowd traveling with Jesus and the city of Jerusalem.  The crowd of disciples is praising Him, while 
    the most the people of the city do is ask “Who is this?”
    However it is a good thing that His disciples were giving this praise…
    And it’s significant that Jesus accepted it.
 Jesus Accepts the Praise

    39 Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Jesus, "Teacher, rebuke your disciples!" 
     “They are calling you the Messiah.  They are literally singing praises to you as if you were God!  Rebuke them!”
    And Jesus replied, “You know – you’re right!  I’m just a good teacher and a moralist, and all I’m trying to do is just teach a few lessons on ethics – I don’t have any aspirations to be worshipped as God…”
    No.  That’s not what He said.  That’s what the Jesus seminar people in Time magazine would have you think, but that is not how Jesus responded.
    Did Jesus shun praise?  You decide.
    40 "I tell you," he replied, "if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out."  
    “It wouldn’t matter.  If these people stopped worshipping Me, the earth itself would pick up where they left off.  That’s how imperative it is that I be worshipped.”
    “I’m not claiming to be anyone special.  I’m just a roaming peasant, and I’m not making any unusual claims about myself…but if people don’t praise me inanimate objects will start shouting.”
    If that doesn’t strike you as an unusual claim, just ask yourself how you would react if I said it.
    What if you saw some people worshipping me, and said, “Darrell, don’t you think you should rebuke them?”  and I said, “If they don’t worship me the very walls of this building will begin shouting my praises.” – wouldn’t that strike you as a little odd? 
    If you don’t believe Jesus’ claims to be God that’s one thing.  But don’t try to pretend that He never made the claims.
    In v.40 He is validating everything His disciples are doing and saying.
    So far no big surprises.  This is turning out to be just what you have heard in the past – Jesus rides into Jerusalem as King.
    What you may not have heard much about is v.41.

The King cries

41 As he approached Jerusalem and saw the city, he wept over it 42 and said, "If you, even you, had only known on this day what would bring you peace
    If you have thought of the triumphal entry as a moment of euphoria when Jesus enjoyed the acceptance and praises of Jerusalem, think again.
    The triumphal entry was a tragic, heartbreaking moment in which Jesus sat on a donkey and cried.
    The word translated wept in v.41 is literally “wailed.”  It’s a term that emphasizes the noise being made.  
    When Jesus started that my guess is that that crowd sent silent.
    Jesus was crying and wailing out loud  – and in-between sobs explaining why He was crying.  
    Some people have said it was because He knew He was going to die.  But that’s not it.
    He crying not because of His fate, but because of theirs.
    Jesus looks at these people who have come out of Jerusalem and says,
43 The days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment against you and encircle you and hem you in on every side. 44 They will dash you to the ground, you and the children within your walls. They will not leave one stone on another, because you did not recognize the time of God's coming to you."  
    He could see the future, and Jerusalem was going to reject Him and as a result be slaughtered.
    Jesus looked out over the city, and He didn’t just see the normal hustle and bustle and excitement of just another Passover holiday…
    He could see 40 years into the future when on this very ground the people would be ruthlessly slaughtered – 
    - the blood on the ground, the screams, women and children lying dead all over the streets.
    43 your enemies will build an embankment against you and encircle you and hem you in on every side. 
    It won’t be like the war with Iraq, where the population was spared, and even the government leaders were given the opportunity to flee to safety.
    Jesus is describing a war in which the attacking army will surround them, cutting off all movement in or out.  The purpose of that is to starve the people and weaken them.
    So no matter who you were, there was no way out of the bloodbath. 
    44 They will dash you to the ground, you and the children within your walls. They will not leave one stone on another, because you did not recognize the time of God's coming to you."  
    And that slaughter in 70 AD by Rome was only a picture of the ultimate, final judgment that will take place when Jesus returns.
    And it makes Him weep.
    Can you imagine this?  Most of those people had one idea about what the Messiah was going to be – a military deliverer.   Someone who would build a strong military and kick the Romans out.
    Someone like King David or Samson.
    For many of them that’s pretty much all a Messiah is good for.
    And so someone bangs on your door and says, “Come with me to the city gates.  There is a man riding in with a big crowd calling Him the Messiah, and singing praises to Him!  They say the Messiah has finally arrived!”
    So you go running out, wondering if this messiah is going to enlist you into His army right on the spot – should you grab a sword?  
    Could this really be true?  Is God finally bringing deliverance?  Is it possible to conquer the Romans?
    What kind of a warrior is this?
    And you arrive and there’s this guy riding a donkey – a gesture of peace, and he’s sitting on the donkey crying…
    And you want to hear His battle plan – His military strategy – how is He going to defeat Rome?
    And so you listen to what He is saying, and this is what you hear: 
    43 your enemies will build an embankment against you and encircle you and hem you in on every side. 44 They will dash you to the ground, you and the children within your walls. They will not leave one stone on another
    Your enemy will come and make short work of you, and you are going to be slaughtered along with your children.
    Hmm.  Interesting battle plan.
    You look at your friend and say, “This is some Messiah you have discovered.”
    In a moment when everyone would expect to be the happiest moment of Jesus’ life, He weeps.
    Jesus is so aware of the way things really are, He is never faked out by physical appearances.  
    We get so worked up if we can ever get a large crowd to show up for something.  Whenever a large crowd showed up around Jesus it usually made Him weep.
    He wept, because they wouldn’t recognize the time of God’s coming to them (v.44), which is another way of saying what He said in v.42 – they didn’t realize that this day God was offering them peace.
    The songs of praise about peace in heaven must have touched Jesus’ heart, and He begins talking about the subject of peace.
    What they were saying was true about heaven, and if Jerusalem would only repent it could be true for them on earth.
    The phrase translated what would bring you peace appears one other place in the Bible – a few chapters earlier in Luke 14:32.  
    That’s where Jesus tells the parable of a king who, if he determines he doesn’t have enough forces to me the opposing enemy will send a delegation while the other is still a long way off and will ask for terms of peace.
    That phrase terms of peace is the identical phrase.
    The picture here as Jesus approaches Jerusalem for the last time is that a king is coming to a rebellious city, a hotbed of resistance against His rightful authority. 
    And the king is willing to make peace, but only on His own terms.  
    And the tears come from the fact that He can see that they aren’t going to accept the terms.
    A king who wanted to display his power as a threat might ride in on a warhorse.  But a king riding a donkey was making a gesture that he was arriving in peace.
    This happened in order to fulfill the prophecy of Zech.9:9.
    Zech.9:9-10
Rejoice greatly, O Daughter of Zion!  Shout, Daughter of Jerusalem!  See, your king comes to you, righteous and having salvation, gentle and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.  10 I will take away the chariots from Ephraim and the war-horses from Jerusalem, and the battle bow will be broken.  He will proclaim peace to the nations.  His rule will extend from sea to sea and from the River to the ends of the earth.   
    Jesus didn’t come in His first coming to bring judgment. John 12:47  I did not come to judge the world, but to save it.
    He came the first time as the sacrificial lamb who would die for the sins of the world and make possible peace with God.
    They could have peace with God, but instead, by the end of the week they will attack God and kill His Son.
    42 - but now it is hidden from your eyes.
    As Jesus has made clear more than once, a refusal to accept the truth eventually results in an inability to accept the truth.
    So now it’s too late.  
-------------------------
They would have been open to Him if He would have come on their terms.
    If Jesus had only been seeker sensitive He would have handled this much differently.
    If He just would have read the church-growth handbook, He would have read, “Don’t know realize that in the modern time people aren’t interested in a humble Messiah who is more concerned about peace with God than war with Rome?”
    The seeker-sensitive Jesus would have spent the couple weeks prior to this taking a survey in Jerusalem, and asked the people, “What really turns you off to messianic claims?”
    Then He would have found out that the people’s felt needs centered on political deliverance from Rome.  
    If He would have just taken a survey, He could have discovered that He could really get a huge crowd if He would just get a war-horse and arm His disciples with a bunch of weapons, and speak of military conquest…
    (A survey would have also helped Him know that driving everyone out of the Temple with a whip the next day would be a big turn-off to the people.)
    There are so many people who want Jesus – but only a Jesus of their own devising.  
    They want a Jesus who will come and conquer all their opponents and troubles rather than a Jesus who comes to conquer their own heart.  
    Jesus says, “This judgment is going to come, 
44 …because you did not recognize the time of God's coming to you."  
    None of it had to happen!  If this was a day when the Jews were embracing Jesus as Messiah, then why didn’t they listen to this?
    There is only one explanation – they didn’t believe it.
    If a prophet came and said this about your town, and said all this was going to happen to you and your children, if you had even the slightest belief that he might be telling the truth, your immediate response would be to grab hold of him and say, “What can we do to avert this judgment?”  
    They didn’t do that.  Jesus forecasts this horrible disaster, and everyone just stands there, listens to it, and the says, “Whatever” and goes about their business.
Conclusion

    What is the significance of this passage?  Why is it recorded?  And what does the Lord want us to learn from it and apply to our lives?
    To answer a question like that we need to pay attention to the context – something that is rarely done when studying this particular event.
    The account of Jesus approach to Jerusalem begins in v.28 and then ends with this description of the coming bloodbath in Jerusalem.
    So if it begins in v.28, lets look back to v.27 and see if we gain any insight as to the context.
    Lk.19:27
The King says those enemies of mine who did not want me to be king over them-bring them here and kill them in front of me.  
    Do you see the connection?  That is the last verse of a parable that Jesus told where those who reject the king end up being punished.
    So let’s quickly run through that parable and see what the thoughts were leading in to this account.
    Lk.19:11-28
While they were listening to this, he went on to tell them a parable, because he was near Jerusalem and the people thought that the kingdom of God was going to appear at once. 
    Now that’s interesting.  Luke has been building up this idea of everything Jesus was doing culminating and reaching a grand climax in Jerusalem.
    And now Jesus is about to finally arrive there, and so the people, obviously, are thinking the full-blown glory of the Kingdom of God is just days away.
    Jesus sees that and so He tells them a parable to prepare them for reality – to prepare them for the fact that there is going to be a period of time before He is full installed and coronated in glory as king.
    12 He said: "A man of noble birth went to a distant country to have himself appointed king and then to return. 13 So he called ten of his servants and gave them ten minas. 'Put this money to work,' he said, 'until I come back.' 
14 "But his subjects hated him…
    Stop right there.  This is a point that is very easy to miss, but it’s critical for understanding the parable.  
    Remember when I told you that generally speaking a parable makes one point for every major character?  
    There are three major characters in this parable: The king, the servants, and the subjects.
    The servants and the subjects are two very different groups.  To the servants He says, “Make use of this money until I return.”
    But the subjects, according to v.14, hated him and sent a delegation after him to say, 'We don't want this man to be our king.' 
    Now remember why Jesus is telling this parable.  It’s because the people were thinking He was going to bring the final form of the kingdom right away, and Jesus wants to correct that.
    So He tells a parable about a person who is going away for a period of time to receive His crown.
    The point is that he is going to be gone a while.  He’s leaving.
    And the implication is that it’s going to be a fair amount of time – enough time for these servants to get a return on the investment of this money.
    And the rest of the parable is about what both groups do while he’s gone, and what happens when he returns.
    15 "He was made king, however, and returned home. Then he sent for the servants to whom he had given the money, in order to find out what they had gained with it. 
16 "The first one came and said, 'Sir, your mina has earned ten more.' 17 "'Well done, my good servant!' his master replied. 'Because you have been trustworthy in a very small matter, take charge of ten cities.' 
    This is very similar to the parable of the talents, except that in the case of the talents the reward is just more talents.  Here the reward has to do with a key position in the kingdom – ruling over cities.
    18 "The second came and said, 'Sir, your mina has earned five more.' 19 "His master answered, 'You take charge of five cities.' 20 "Then another servant came and said, 'Sir, here is your mina; I have kept it laid away in a piece of cloth. 21 I was afraid of you, because you are a hard man. You take out what you did not put in and reap what you did not sow.' 
22 "His master replied, 'I will judge you by your own words, you wicked servant! You knew, did you, that I am a hard man, taking out what I did not put in, and reaping what I did not sow? 23 Why then didn't you put my money on deposit, so that when I came back, I could have collected it with interest?' 
24 "Then he said to those standing by, 'Take his mina away from him and give it to the one who has ten minas.' 
25 "'Sir,' they said, 'he already has ten!' 
26 "He replied, 'I tell you that to everyone who has, more will be given, but as for the one who has nothing, even what he has will be taken away. 
    So Jesus is telling His disciples – “The final form of the kingdom is not coming right now.  I’m leaving for a while, and your concern is to make good use of what I’ve given you until I get back.”
    And you expect the parable to end right there.  By now you’ve forgotten about the other group – the subjects.  But Jesus hasn’t forgotten, because that’s one of the main points of the parable:
    27 But those enemies of mine who did not want me to be king over them-bring them here and kill them in front of me.'"  28 After Jesus had said this, he went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem. 29 As he approached Bethphage and Bethany at the hill called the Mount of Olives, he sent two of his disciples, saying to them, 30 "Go to the village ahead of you, and as you enter it, you will find a colt tied there, which no one has ever ridden. Untie it and bring it here…
    And when Luke wrote that, he didn’t pause and put a subtitle or paragraph division between v.27 and v.28.  It’s a continuous thought.
    The big question of why Jesus is crying at His own triumphal entry is this: It wasn’t His triumphal entry.  It was His humble exit.
    This event is not about an entry; it’s about the beginning of an exit.
    Jesus’ arrival into Jerusalem, the crucifixion, resurrection and ascension was all Jesus’ exit from this world.  
    That’s all vv.12-14.  Do you see it?
    12 "A man of noble birth went (he left – and went) to a distant country to have himself appointed king and then to return. 
    The distant country is heaven, where Jesus went after the ascension, and, according to Ro.1:4 was declared with power to be the Son of God 
    That’s where He was crowned King.  That was His great coronation.  
    13 So he called ten of his servants and gave them ten minas. '  Put this money to work,' he said, 'until I come back.' (Those are His disciples)
    14 "But his subjects hated him and sent a delegation after him to say, 'We don't want this man to be our king.' 
    What is that?  That’s the trial before Pilate where the people shout, “We have no king but Caesar!” (Jn.19:15)
    The Bible does record a triumphal entry of Christ, but it’s not in Luke 19.  
    There is a place that describes Him coming in glorious, triumphant power, arriving with a sword and a white horse – but it’s not in Lk.19.   It’s in Rev.19.
    That’s when He comes as a mighty conqueror.  For now He appears riding a colt of a donkey bringing terms of peace.
    So what is the application for us of Luke 19?  What is the practical, modern day application?  
    It depends on if you are a servant or a subject.
    If you are a servant, it’s a very, very strong warning.  What happens to the lazy servant is not a pretty picture.
    If you are a servant the implication is that you need to take your spiritual resources – your spiritual gifts, your abilities, your ministry, your calling, and be faithful until He comes.
    Live your life as thought there is a major kingdom at stake, because your position in the kingdom is related to your faithfulness now as a servant.
    And if you are a subject – one of those people who has not bowed the knee to the kingship of Jesus Christ, the application is really easy – become a servant!
    I promise you – if you are in the category of the subjects, you don’t want to still be part of that group when v.27 rolls around.
    Things get ugly in v.27.  But right now we aren’t there yet.  The king isn’t coming in justice and wrath. 
    As of right now He is still offering terms of peace – peace and reconciliation with God.
    Paul describes His ministry in 2 Corinthians 5:19-21 like this:
God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. So we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We beseech you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.
    That is just another way of saying, "O that you would accept God's terms of peace!" 
    The king has come to his rebel subjects and offered peace terms while the time lasts. 
    The terms of peace are simple: lay down your arms, especially the weapons of self-righteousness and self-sufficiency; admit your defeat; accept your full and free pardon (total amnesty) and swear your allegiance to the new king in your life.
    Jesus wept over Jerusalem because He knew they weren’t going to repent.  Is Jesus weeping over you?
    Or are you a servant who is coming dangerously close to hearing the painful rebuke, “You wicked, lazy servant!”?  
    Or are you living a life driven by a longing to hear the words, “Well done, good and faithful servant!”?
    Benediction: Heb.13:20,21  May the God of peace, who through the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, 21 equip you with everything good for doing his will, and may he work in us what is pleasing to him, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.

Matt 21:1-22:1
1 As they approached Jerusalem and came to Bethphage on the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples, 2 saying to them, "Go to the village ahead of you, and at once you will find a donkey tied there, with her colt by her. Untie them and bring them to me. 3 If anyone says anything to you, tell him that the Lord needs them, and he will send them right away."  
4 This took place to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet: 
5 "Say to the Daughter of Zion, 'See, your king comes to you, gentle and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.'"   
6 The disciples went and did as Jesus had instructed them. 7 They brought the donkey and the colt, placed their cloaks on them, and Jesus sat on them. 
    
    8 A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, while others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. 9 The crowds that went ahead of him and those that followed shouted, 
"Hosanna to the Son of David!" 
"Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!" 
"Hosanna in the highest!" 
10 When Jesus entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred and asked, "Who is this?" 
11 The crowds answered, "This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth in Galilee." 

15 But when the chief priests and the teachers of the law saw the wonderful things he did and the children shouting in the temple area, "Hosanna to the Son of David," they were indignant. 
16 "Do you hear what these children are saying?" they asked him. 
"Yes," replied Jesus, "have you never read, 
"'From the lips of children and infants you have ordained praise'?"  
    
parable about killing Him.

Mark 11
As they approached Jerusalem and came to Bethphage and Bethany at the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two of his disciples, 2 saying to them, "Go to the village ahead of you, and just as you enter it, you will find a colt tied there, which no one has ever ridden. Untie it and bring it here. 3 If anyone asks you, 'Why are you doing this?' tell him, 'The Lord needs it and will send it back here shortly.'"  

    
4 They went and found a colt outside in the street, tied at a doorway. As they untied it, 5 some people standing there asked, "What are you doing, untying that colt?" 6 They answered as Jesus had told them to, and the people let them go. 7 When they brought the colt to Jesus and threw their cloaks over it, he sat on it. 
    
8 Many people spread their cloaks on the road, while others spread branches they had cut in the fields. 9 Those who went ahead and those who followed shouted, 
"Hosanna!" 
"Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!"   
10 "Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David!" 
"Hosanna in the highest!" 
11 Jesus entered Jerusalem and went to the temple. He looked around at everything, but since it was already late, he went out to Bethany with the Twelve. 

    

    

Luke 19:28-20:1
    28 After Jesus had said this, he went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem. 29 As he approached Bethphage and Bethany at the hill called the Mount of Olives, he sent two of his disciples, saying to them, 30 "Go to the village ahead of you, and as you enter it, you will find a colt tied there, which no one has ever ridden. Untie it and bring it here. 31 If anyone asks you, 'Why are you untying it?' tell him, 'The Lord needs it.'"  
    
32 Those who were sent ahead went and found it just as he had told them. 33 As they were untying the colt, its owners asked them, "Why are you untying the colt?" 
34 They replied, "The Lord needs it." 
35 They brought it to Jesus, threw their cloaks on the colt and put Jesus on it. 
    
36 As he went along, people spread their cloaks on the road. 
37 When he came near the place where the road goes down the Mount of Olives, the whole crowd of disciples began joyfully to praise God in loud voices for all the miracles they had seen: 
38 "Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!" 
"Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!" 
39 Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Jesus, "Teacher, rebuke your disciples!" 
40 "I tell you," he replied, "if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out."  
41 As he approached Jerusalem and saw the city, he wept over it 42 and said, "If you, even you, had only known on this day what would bring you peace-but now it is hidden from your eyes. 43 The days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment against you and encircle you and hem you in on every side. 44 They will dash you to the ground, you and the children within your walls. They will not leave one stone on another, because you did not recognize the time of God's coming to you."  

John 12:12-13:1

    

    
    12 The next day the great crowd that had come for the Feast heard that Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem. 13 They took palm branches and went out to meet him, shouting, 
"Hosanna!" 
"Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!" 
"Blessed is the King of Israel!" 
14 Jesus found a young donkey and sat upon it, as it is written, 
15 "Do not be afraid, O Daughter of Zion; see, your king is coming, seated on a donkey's colt."   
16 At first his disciples did not understand all this. Only after Jesus was glorified did they realize that these things had been written about him and that they had done these things to him. 
17 Now the crowd that was with him when he called Lazarus from the tomb and raised him from the dead continued to spread the word. 18 Many people, because they had heard that he had given this miraculous sign, went out to meet him. 19 So the Pharisees said to one another, "See, this is getting us nowhere. Look how the whole world has gone after him!"