Week #14 "The Triumphal Entry"

Here are some notes from this week’s video  entitled, "Presumption."
• This current east wall of the city is right where Solomon’s Temple wall would have been. It is built right on the ridge above the Kidron Valley. We are looking across from the Mt. of Olives. Notice the gate in the wall across from us. This is the East Gate, also called the Golden Gate; the most iconic of all the gates of Jerusalem.
• The Golden Gate is the most important and most impressive gate in Jerusalem, and the only visible entrance to the city of Jerusalem from the East. This oldest of all the gates to the city was the only one not rebuilt by Suleiman the Magnificent in AD 1539-42. Monolithic stones in the wall just above ground have been identified as 6th Century BC masonry from the time of Nehemiah, (Biblical Archaeological Review [BAR], Mar/Apr 1992, p40).
• But it is walled up. Why is it walled up? Inquiring minds want to know!  Sultan Suleiman of the Ottoman Turks walled it up to prevent the entry of the Messiah of course. The Muslim cemetery just in front of the wall was intentionally built outside the gate to prevent the forerunner of the Messiah from entering. The thinking being that the forerunner, being a priest, would not enter the cemetery for fear of being made unclean.
• What an example of medieval thinking! To think that literal stones could prevent the Messiah’s entry into the city. Yet, we modern and post-modern thinkers do the same when we compartmentalize our lives in an effort to deny Jesus the Messiah access to our hearts.
• It was also a bit of “locking the barn door after the horse gets out” Too late to seal it up… the Messiah already went through that Gate…most likely on Palm Sunday!]

Text: This week we’re covering Luke 19:28-44 dealing with Jesus’ entrance into Jerusalem on a donkey, the people shouting praises, Jesus weeping over Jerusalem, and a second cleansing of the Temple (the first, at the beginning of Jesus’ ministry is found in John 2:13-22)

Other passages to read: We encourage you to read "horizontally" in these passages that are parallel to our text from Luke:

·         Donkey Selection (Luke 19:28-34): Matt. 21:1-5; Mark 11:1-6;

·         Triumphal Entry (Luke 19:35-40): Matt. 21:6-11; Mark 11:7-11; John 12:12-19

·         Cleansing the Temple a second time (Luke 19:45-46): Matt. 21:12-13; Mark 11:15-18

·         Other References: Psalm 118; Zechariah 9:9

Other Resources: This week’s recommended resource is Luke (Volume 2): That You May Know the Truth, Crossway Books, 1998, by R. Kent Hughes. Earlier we considered volume 1 in this two volume treatment of Luke’s gospel. Volume 2 covers Luke 11:29 – 24:53.

Sermon Notes: "From Cheers to Tears"

Read Luke 19:28-40

3 Truths about Jesus:

·        Jesus is Confrontational: Crown Him or Crucify Him

·        Jesus is Counterintuitive: 

“God always gives you what you would have asked for if you knew everything that He knows.” 

·        Jesus is Coming:

“The wolf will live with the lamb,

the leopard will lie down with the goat,

the calf and the lion and the yearling together;

and a little child will lead them.

7 The cow will feed with the bear,

their young will lie down together,

and the lion will eat straw like the ox.

8 The infant will play near the hole of the cobra,

and the young child put his hand into the viper's nest.

9 They will neither harm nor destroy

on all my holy mountain,

for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord

as the waters cover the sea.”  (Isaiah 11:6-9)

Five Personal Lessons

1.      Even if you feel insignificant, the Master can use you!

2.      Don’t let anyone discourage you from praising the Lord!

3.      You’ll never know peace until you surrender to Jesus!

4.      Rejection of Jesus leads to terrible judgment!

5.      That which makes Jesus cry should also break our hearts!

“O Lord, save us; O Lord, grant us success.  26 Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. From the house of the Lord we bless you.” (Psalm 118:25-26)

 

“Let the fields be jubilant, and everything in them.

Then all the trees of the forest will sing for joy;

13 they will sing before the Lord, for he comes,

he comes to judge the earth.” (Psalm 96:12-13)

“Shout, daughter of Jerusalem! See your King comes to you, righteous and having salvation, gentle and riding on a donkey.” (Zechariah 9:9)

“ 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!" (John 12:17-19)

Points to ponder: In your study this week, you might want to think about one of these questions:

• Why was Jesus riding on a donkey? Was there an embedded cultural message in it?
• Look for parallels between this narrative and the previous kingship parable (19-11:27).
• To what Old Testament narrative does the section about Jesus giving instructions to the disciples on how to find and procure the donkey allude (i.e., what does it remind us of)?
• How would you harmonize (i.e., put the events in order) the various accounts of this event?
• Why & how would the stones “cry out” if the people did not praise Jesus at this moment? Is this just personification and hyperbole, or a theological statement about creation, or…?
• Who was in control of this day in the life of Jesus and the days to follow? The crowds, the Pharisees, the priests, Pilate, the disciples, or someone else? What are the theological ramifications of this answer?

Questions to ask ourselves: The following questions are intended to help us move towards greater application of what we learn about Jesus…

• What was it that the crowds and disciples did for Jesus that day (v. 36-38) as he entered Jerusalem? Do we still welcome Jesus’ presence in our lives with such enthusiasm?
• What would we do to welcome Jesus if he came into our town today?
• People were praising God for all the miracles that had seen Jesus do. What are some of the “mighty works” that we have seen as we have studied through Luke?
• What are some of the “mighty works” that we have seen Jesus do in the world, in the church, and in our lives? When was the last time you told anyone and praised God for it?

Word Study: “Hosanna” is a word we use every tear at this time when we remember Jesus’ entering into Jerusalem. The people used it as an expression of praise…but what does the word mean? Originally it was a term of urgent lament in Hebrew prayer that meant, “Save us Lord!” or “Save now!” as in Psalm 118:25 “Save us, we pray, O Lord! O Lord, we pray, give us success!” Over the centuries this desperate plea morphed into praise by acknowledging that the Lord was the only One who could save! So Hosanna acknowledged both personal need and trusting praise.

Quotes & Commentary: Jesus, who had always avoided “publicity”, now enters Jerusalem in glory, in fulfillment of prophecy. This was the Messiah’s entrance into Jerusalem in power! Yet he still came humbly on a donkey, instead of on a horse or chariot as may have been preferred by worldly kings. I would love to be able to lay out the answers to all the questions asked above but it is of more value for you to dig in and seek to answer them yourselves. However, here are just a few clarifying notes.

Bethany the village from which Jesus was coming is about 2 miles from Jerusalem just the other side of the summit of the Mount of Olives with the area of Bethphage (House of Figs) between the two as almost a district of Jerusalem (like Aloha is to Beaverton, except even closer).

There were two crowds, one following Jesus from Bethany, filled with amazement at the recent raising of Lazarus from the dead (John 11) that included the Apostles, and the crowd of Passover pilgrims that came out from Jerusalem to meet then as they came with their own stories of Jesus miracles that they had seen at various times during his ministry. People began throwing their outer garments on the ground, providing a first-century red carpet treatment (or maybe beige) for Jesus. R Kent Hughes writes,

“Not only did the exuberant followers place their clothing on the donkey as a saddle, they flung their garments to the ground as a gesture of reverence and indicating their willingness for him to take everything they had.” (R. Kent Hughes, Luke: That You May Know the Truth, Vol.2, Crossway, 1998, 240)

The content of what the crowd declared in v. 38 “Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!” (ESV) is taken from Psalm 118 with one small change…the word “king” has been substituted for the more general word “he”. Interestingly Luke omits the word “Hosanna” defined above which may not have been understood by his Gentile audience.

“Peace in heaven and glory in the highest” (v.38) seems to echo the angel song at Jesus’ birth, and seems fitting as he comes to make it possible for lost mankind to find peace in heaven, even if peace on earth is delayed. Joel B. Green writes in his commentary on Luke,

“Peace in heaven,” then, refers to the divine intention, the reality of God’s reconciling presence, its full manifestation on earth interrupted by opposition to Jesus.” (Green, Joel, The Gospel of Luke [NICNT], Eerdmans, 1977, 687.)

Visitation (episkopes) found in verse 44 is a strong word. It does not refer to someone coming over for some tea and perhaps a scone. This word had two meanings in the Old Testament? Luke Timothy Johnson writes,

“The kairos (“time”) here means specific season…The “season of visitation” (kairos tēs episkopēs) occurs in Jer. 6:15; 10:15 to mean God’s punishment (see also Deut. 28:25; Isa 24:22). Episkopē can also refer to God’s intervention to save (as in Gen 50:24-25; Ex 3:16; Isa 10:3; 29:6);…here the term is double edged. The prophet’s arrival should be God’s visitation for peace. But because he is not recognized as such, his rejection becomes a “visitation” of punishment.” (Luke Timothy Johnson, The Gospel of Luke [Sacra Pagina Series], Liturgical Press, 1991, 299)

This entrance into Jerusalem that will end a week later on a Roman cross, was the goal of Jesus’ life. This final journey to Jerusalem began in the far north of Israel, at Caesarea Philippi  with his prediction of his death (9:22,44) and his determination to go to Jerusalem (9:51). G. Campbell Morgan wrote,

“All the way Jerusalem had been the goal of His journeying. Now He had come to the final things, the last hours, come to that which was ever before Him as the deepest passion of His life. He arrived at the city, majestic, and magnificent, no Victim this, but a Victor.” (G. Campbell Morgan, The God Who Cares, Revell, 1931, 319)