Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Luke 19:28

And when he had thus spoken, he went before, ascending up to Jerusalem.

28. he went before ] Literally, “ he began to journey in front of them;” as though, for the delivery of the parable, He had paused to let the crowd gather round Him.

ascending ] The road from Jericho to Jerusalem is a continual ascent. See Luk 10:30-31.

Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

See the notes at Mat. 21:1-16.

Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible

Luk 19:28-40

Ascending up to Jerusalem

Christ journeying to Jerusalem

I.

THE MANNER IN WHICH HE WENT. The only occasion on which we find Him riding. Fulfilment of a prophecy.

II. THE RECEPTION HE MET WITH.

III. THE SORROW OF WHICH HE WAS THE SUBJECT, NOTWITHSTANDING THE ACCLAMATIONS HE RECEIVED.

1. A benevolent wish.

2. An alarming sentence.

3. A melancholy prediction.

Conclusion: Let us remember for our warning, that gospel opportunities when slighted will not be long continued. (Expository Outlines.)

He went before

These are some of the thoughts which are suggested to our minds, as we see Jesus in the Scripture before us, taking the first place in the progress to Jerusalem and death. The position was emblematical as well as actual; and it suggests some teachings for us which are very calculated to bring comfort to our souls. Let us glance, first of all, for a moment, at the motion and position in itself. See the alacrity and willingness of Jesus to enter all suffering for us. And what do we learn here, but that His heart was in the sad work which He had undertaken to do. The thoroughness of Christs love is brought before us here. He was thorough in love. Mark, too, Christs assumption of the position of a leader. He knew the place that had been assigned to Him by the Father; it was headship in suffering, as well as in glory; He took up at once, in that last journey, His rightful place. See, too, how our blessed Lord takes up a double position. He is at once leader and companion; His little company were one with Him; He with them; but yet a little before them. He talks with us, while He goes on before; He does not separate the leader and the companion; His lordship over us is so sweet, that He heads us as friends; having a common interest in all He does. And now, there is great teaching and comforting for us in all this. In the first place, we who follow Christ have to explore no untried, untrodden way. It is thus our comfort that we have always one to look to. Ours is no interminable road, no lonely, solitary path. Jesus, if only we can see aright, is never very far ahead. The mowers who mow in line, have much more heart during the burden and heat of the day, when their scythes sweep through the grass, keeping time to the stroke of a fellow-workman in front. The steadfastness of Christs purpose is also forcibly suggested to us here. Firmly and intelligently, with a full knowledge of the indignity and death before Him, our Lord started forth, and took the headship of His little band on His way to Jerusalem. That steadfastness is of immense importance to us. Were there the least wavering in Christs character, we were undone. And we hold on to this steadfastness now. We believe Him to be the same yesterday, and to-day, and for ever; we see Him now acting from the cross, in the same spirit wherewith He journeyed to it. And now, let us in our trial-times see how Jesus has gone before in all. Is the path of weariness the one marked out for us; behold upon it the One who sat wearied upon Jacobs well; no longer weary, it is true, but remembering well all earths wearinesses of body and spirit; and offering us His company on the trying path. Or, is it that of rejection? No thornier road is there on earth than that of biting poverty–poverty, with all its temptations and stings; well! Jesus was poor, and hungered and athirst, and had not where to lay His head. Before the poor; right on upon this path, is the figure of the Lord; let them but feel that He is their Lord, and they shall no longer be distressed at being the worlds casts-off; our being a cast-off of the world will not much matter, if we be companions of the Son of God. Then comes death itself–the last journey; the way from which human nature shrinks; the one which, despite rank or wealth, it must surely tread. Here, if we be inclined to faint, Jesus can be seen by His people, if only they believe. (P. B. Power, M. A.)

The Lord hath need of him

The Lords need

This trifling incident contains big principles.

I. It gives us AN IDEA OF PROVIDENCE. Tendency of the age is to the seen. But mind kicks against it. Mind is like a bird, which pines in a cage. Here is hope for religion–the mind kicks against artificial conditionings. If you like you may say the mind likes, like a bird, to make its nest. True! but it wants above it not a ceiling but a sky. You cant cramp mind in your nutshell organizations. Shut it behind walls–and then it will ask, Who is on the other side of the wall? Providence involves two things. First–idea of God preserving, guarding our being and well-being. He preserves, though we dont see the way. How did Christ know that the colt was to be found at this stated moment? and that the owner would part with his property? Similarly, we must allow for the knowledge of God. The second thing involved in Providence is the idea of government.

II. IN PROVIDENCE ATTENTION IS GIVEN TO LITTLE THINGS AS WELL AS GREAT. A colt tied. It is demeaning Gods economy–some will say. That all depends on your conception of Gods economy. He numbers the hairs of our head. He sees when the sparrow falls.

III. GOD HOLDS EVERY CREATURE RESPONSIBLE TO SHOW ITSELF WHEN WANTED. Everything, in Gods order, has its time, and is not itself till that time reveals it. Sea-wrack on the sea-beach is ugly, slimy, hideous. But the same sea-wrack in a pool? How it spreads itself and makes every tiny filament beautiful! So prophecy in human history needs to be corroborated by the event, before it can fairly be understood. Apparently little events–what worlds of good or evil may turn on them!

IV. SOLUTION OF THE MYSTERIES OF LIFE. They go to the man for the colt. Would not common sense ask, What have you to do with the colt? Simply, The Master hath need of him. You have a favourite daughter. One day she is not well–only a cold, you think. But she grows feverish, and you call in the doctor. Doctor prescribes, but still the sweet one sickens; and one day in his solemn look the mother reads the hard sentence–her child must die. Why is it? The Lord hath need of it. (J. B. Meharry, B. A.)

One Lord

The Lord our God is one Lord, so there may be no debate about the direction of our worship, about the Owner of our powers, about the Redeemer of our souls. See how this operates in practical life. The disciples might naturally feel some little difficulty about going to take anothers mans property; so the Lord said unto them, If any man say ought unto you, ye shall say the Lord hath need of them, and straightway he will send them. But suppose there had been a thousand lords, the question would have arisen, which of them? But there is one Lord, and His name is the key which opens every lock; His name is the mighty power which beats down every mountain and every wall, and makes the rough places plain. What poetry there is here! Why, this is the very poetry of faith. It is not mere faith; it is faith in flower, faith in blossom, faith in victory!

Thefulfilment of minute prophecies

Not the fulfilment of sublime predictions, so called; but the fulfilment of little, specific, minute, detailed prophecies. God does nothing unnecessarily, speaks nothing that seems exaggeration or superabundance. There is a meaning in the most delicate tint with which He hath varied any leaf; there is a significance in the tiniest drop of dew which ever sphered itself in beauty on the eyelids of the morning. And that Christ should go into Jerusalem upon an ass, and a colt the foal of an ass! That is not decorative talk; that is not mere flowery prophecy, or incidental or tributary foretelling. In all that we should account little and of inconsequential moment is fulfilled to the letter. What then? If God be careful of such crumbs of prophecy, such little detailed lines of prediction, what of the life of His children, the redeemed life of His Church? If not one tittle could fall to the ground respecting things of this kind–matters of order, arrangement, sequence–is He unrighteous to forget the greater when He remembers the less? Will He count the hairs upon your head, and let the head itself be bruised? Will He paint the grass, and let the man fall to decay? Is He careful about birds floating in the air, and careless about lives redeemed by the sacrificial blood of His Son? (J. Parker, D. D.)

Ownership

A nobleman who had a magnificent garden was ill in bed, and ordered his butler to go into the hot-house and bring him the finest bunch of grapes he could find. He came to the hot-house, he opened the door, he examined all the clusters–he fixed on the best–he brought out his knife and cut it. Just as he did so, a cry was raised, Theres a man in the hot-house I theres a man in the hot-house! The gardeners, young and old, dropped their spades and water-pots, and ran to the hot-house. As they glanced through the glass, sure enough, there stood the man, and in his hand the Queen Cluster–the very one which they had been watching for months–the one which was to take the prize at the Horticultural Show I They were furious–they were ready to kill him–they rushed in and seized him by the collar, What are you about! they said, How dare you!–you thief!–you rascal!–you vagabond! Why does not he turn pale?–why does he keep so cool?–why does he smile? He says something–the gardeners are silent in a moment–they hang their beads–they look ashamed–they ask his pardon–they go back to theirwork. What did he say to make such a sudden change? Simply this–Men! my lord bade me come here and cut him the very finest bunch of grapes I could find. That was it! The gardeners felt that the hot-house, the vine, and every cluster on it was his. They might call it theirs, and propose to do this and that with it–but really and truly it was his who built the house, and bought the vine, and paid them for attending to it. Just so, dear children, the Lord has a claim on all we possess; our souls, our bodies, our tongues, our time, our talents, our memories, our money, our influence, our beloved relatives. Ye are not your own; and whenever He has need of anything we must let it go–we must learn to yield it up to Him as cheerfully as the owner yielded up his colt. (J. Bolton, B. A.)

Why we are needful to God

Why was it? asked Mrs. N—- of her own heart as she was walking homewards from the communion-table. Why was it? she almost unconsciously exclaimed aloud. Oh, I wish somebody could tell me! Could tell you what? said a pleasant voice behind her, and looking around, she saw her pastor and his wife approaching. Could you tell me, said she, why the Saviour died for us? I have never heard it answered to my satisfaction. You will say it was because He loved us; but why was that love? He certainly did not need us, and in our sinful state there was nothing in us to attract His love. I may suppose, Mrs. N—-, said her pastor, that it would be no loss for you to lose your deformed little babe. You have a large circle of friends, you have other children, and a kind husband. You do not need the deformed child; and what use is it? Oh, sir, said Mrs. N–, I could not part with my poor child. I do need him. I need his love. I would rather die than fail of receiving it. Well, said her pastor, does God love His children less than earthly, sinful parents do? I never looked upon it in that way before, said Mrs. N. (Christian Age.)

Every good man is needful to complete Gods design

An expert mechanician constructs a certain axle, tempered and burnished, to fit the hub of a certain wheel, which again he fashions as elaborately to fit the axle, so that a microscope detects no flaw; and now nothing can take the place of either but itself; and each is labour lost without the other. True, they are only an axle and a wheel, each a single one, a minute one, a fragile one; not costly in material, nor remarkable in structure; but in the absence of either, the chronometer which should decide the arrival of Englands fleet at Trafalgar must hang motionless. Every good man is such a fragmentary and related instrument in the hands of God. He is never for an hour an isolated thing. He belongs to a system of things in which everything is dovetailed to another thing. Yet no two are duplicates. Nothing can ever be spared from it. The system has no holidays. Through mans most dreamless slumbers it moves on, without waiting for delinquents. (Austin Phelps.)

Blessed be the King that cometh.

Jesus our meek and humble King

I. OUR KING IN HUMILITY.

1. Jesus is our King.

(1) The prophecies announce Him as such. (Isa 9:6;

Zec 9:9.)

(2) He avowed Himself a King. (Mat 11:27; Joh 18:37.)

(3) He proved by the power of His will that He was a King.

Mat 21:3.)

2. Jesus is our humble King.

(1) He refused royal honours. (Joh 6:15.)

(2) In opposition to the presumption of the Jews, He would never act nor appear as King. (Joh 18:36.)

(3) He debased Himself in all humility.

3. Follow Him in His humility.

(1) By contrition and a sincere confession of your sins.

(2) By resignation in adversities.

(3) By humility in earthly happiness.

II. OUR MEEK KING. This may be seen–

1. From the purpose of His coming–of His Incarnation. He comes as a Friend and Saviour; and wants to be loved, not feared.

2. From His earthly life.

(1) He was full of love and mercy towards the suffering, whom He invited to come to Him.

(2) He was full of mercy and tenderness towards sinners and His own enemies.

3. From the experience of your own life. Jesus came to you as a meek King–

(1) In your afflictions, to console you.

(2) In your sins, which He bore in patience.

(3) In your conversion, the work of His mercy. Strip yourself of the old man with his deeds, as the Jews stripped themselves of their garments, and let Jesus walk over your former self.

4. Learn of your King to be meek of heart also. (Mat 11:29.)

(1) As a superior towards your subjects.

(2) Towards sinners and your enemies.

(3) In tribulations and afflictions. (Stauss.)

Praise thy God, O Zion

I. First, we shall observe here DELIGHTFUL PRAISE. In the thirty-seventh verse every word is significant, and deserves the careful notice of all who would learn aright the lesson of how to magnify the Saviour.

1. To begin with, the praise rendered to Christ was speedy praise. The happy choristers did not wait till He had entered the city, but when He was come nigh, even now, at the descent of the Mount of Olives, they began to rejoice. It is well to have a quick eye to perceive occasions for gratitude.

2. It strikes us at once, also, that this was unanimous praise. Observe, not only the multitude, but the whole multitude of the disciples rejoiced, and praised Him; not one silent tongue among the disciples–not one who withheld his song. And yet, I suppose, those disciples had their trials as we have ours.

3. Next, it was multitudinous. The whole multitude. There is something most inspiriting and exhilarating in the noise of a multitude singing Gods praises.

4. Still it is worthy of observation that, while the praise was multitudinous, it was quite select. It was the whole multitude of the disciples. The Pharisees did not praise Him–they were murmuring. All true praise must come from true hearts. If thou dost not learn of Christ, thou canst not render to Him acceptable song.

5. Then, in the next place, you will observe that the praise they rendered was joyful praise. The whole multitude of the disciples began to rejoice. I hope the doctrine that Christians ought to be gloomy will soon be driven out of the universe.

6. The next point we must mention is, that it was demonstrative praise. They praised Him with their voices, and with a loud voice. If not with loud voices actually in sound, yet we would make the praise of God loud by our actions, which speak louder than any words; we would extol Him by great deeds of kindness, and love, and self-denial, and zeal, that so our actions may assist our words.

7. The praise rendered, however, though very demonstrative, was very reasonable; the reason is given–for all the mighty works that they had seen. We have seen many mighty works which Christ has done.

8. With another remark, I shall close this first head–the reason for their joy was a personal one. There is no praise to God so sweat as that which flows from the man who has tasted that the Lord is gracious.

II. I shall now lead you on to the second point–their praise found vent for itself in AN APPROPRIATE SONG. Blessed be the King that cometh in the name of the Lord. Peace in heaven, and glory in the highest.

1. It was an appropriate song, if you will remember that it had Christ for its subject.

2. This was an appropriate song, in the next place, because it had God for its object; they extolled God, God in Christ, when they thus lifted up their voices.

3. An appropriate song, because it had the universe for its scope. The multitude sung of peace in heaven, as though the angels were established in their peaceful seats by the Saviour, as though the war which God had waged with sin was over now, because the conquering King was come. Oh, let us seek after music which shall be fitted for other spheres! I would begin the music here, and so my soul should rise. Oh, for some heavenly notes to bear my passions to the skies! It was appropriate to the occasion, because the universe was its sphere.

4. And it seems also to have been most appropriate, because it had gratitude for its spirit.

III. Thirdly, and very briefly–for I am not going to give much time to these men–we have INTRUSIVE OBJECTIONS. Master, rebuke Thy disciples. But why did these Pharisees object?

1. I suppose it was, first of all, because they thought there would be no praise for them.

2. They were jealous of the people.

3. They were jealous of Jesus.

IV. We come now to the last point, which is this–AN UNANSWERABLE ARGUMENT. He said, If these should hold their peace, the very stones would cry out. Brethren, I think that is very much our case; if we were not to praise God, the very stones might cry out against us. We must praise the Lord. Woe is unto us if we do not! It is impossible for us to hold our tongues. Saved from hell and be silent! Secure of heaven and be ungrateful! Bought with precious blood, and hold our tongues! Filled with the Spirit and not speak! (C. H. Spurgeon.)

The triumphal entry

Christs triumphal entrance into Jerusalem is one of the most noted scenes in gospel story. It is a sun-burst in the life of the Son of Man. It is a typal coronation. It is a fore-gleam of that coming day when Jesus shall be enthroned by the voice of the universe.

I. THE SCENE.

II. THE CHIEF LESSON INCULCATED BY THE SCENE: ENTHUSIASM SHOULD BE CONSECRATED TO THE SERVICE OF CHRIST. There was feeling and thrill and deep life and outbursting emotion in the triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem, and He approved it all. I argue for the equipment of enthusiasm in the service of Christ. There should be a fervency of spirit that will radiate both light and heat. The faculties should be on fire. There are higher moods and lower moods in the Christian life, just as there are higher moods and lower moods in the intellectual life. Every scholar knows that there are such things as inspirational moods, when all the faculties awaken and kindle and glow; when the heart burns within; when the mind is automatic, and works without a spur; when the mental life is intense; when all things seem possible; when the very best in the man puts itself into the product of his pen; when the judgment is quick and active, the reason clear and far-seeing, and the conscience keen and sensitive. These are the moods in which we glory. These are the moods which give the world its long-lived masterpieces. These are the moods which we wish to enthrone in the memories of our friends. You remember Charles Dickenss charming story, David Copperfield. In it there is pictured the parting that took place between the two young men, Steerforth and Copperfield. Young Steerforth, putting both hands upon Copperfields shoulders, says: Let us make this bargain! If circumstances should separate us, and you should see me no more, remember me at my best. Steerforth is only a type of us all. Every one of us wishes to be remembered at his best. I argue for mans best in the religious life. Man is at his best only when he is enthusiastic. Enthusiasm is power. It is the locomotive so full of steam that it hisses at every crack and crevice and joint. Such a locomotive carries the train with the speed of wind through hill and over valley. It has been enthusiasm that has carried the Christian Church through the attainments of ages. By enthusiasm, when it is in an eminent degree, men propagate themselves upon others in matters of taste, of affection, and of religion. Iron cannot be wielded at a low temperature. There must be heat, and then you can weld iron to iron. So you cannot weld natures to each other when they are at a low temperature. Mind cannot take hold of mind nor faculty of faculty, when they are not in a glow. But when they are in a glow they can. We see this exemplified in society. Hundreds and hundreds of men, who are rich in learning, ponderous in mental equipment, ample in philosophical power, who are low in degree of temperature, and who labour all their life, achieve but little. You see right by the side of these men, men who have no comparison with them in native power or in culture, but who have simplicity, straightforwardness, and, above all, intensity, and what of them? Why, this: they are eminent in accomplishing results. There are people, I know, who have an antipathy to enthusiasm and emotion in religion. They object that we cannot rely upon enthusiasm. They forgot that if it spring from the grace of God it has an inexhaustible fountain. One hour enthusiastic people cry Hosanna; but the next hour they cry Crucify. I deny that the hosanna people of Jerusalem ever cried crucify. The charge that they did is without a single line of Scripture as a basis. Peter and James and John, and men of that class, did they cry crucify? Yet the hosanna people were made up of such. In a city in which there were gathered from all parts of the nation not less than two millions, there were certainly enough people of diverse minds to create two parties diametrically opposed, without requiring us to slander the grace of enthusiasm, and circulate false reports about the hosanna people. I stand by the hosanna people, and fearlessly assert that there is no proof against their integrity. Enthusiasm I That is what the Church needs. It is only the enthusiast who succeeds. Enter the history of the cause of Christ, and there also will you find the statement borne out. What was Paul, the chief of Christian workers, but an enthusiast? Rob Paul of his enthusiasm, and you blot out of existence the churches of Corinth and Ephesus and Galatia and Thessalonica and Troas. Rob him of his enthusiasm and you annihilate the Epistles to the Romans, Corinthians, Ephesians, and the Pastoral Epistles. This day of palm branches has been duplicated and reduplicated ever since the triumphal entrance of Jesus into Jerusalem, and this reduplication will continue until Jesus is ultimately and for ever crowned on the great day of final consummation. The world is full of hosannas to the Son of David. The humble Christian school of the missionary in foreign lands is a hosanna sounding through the darkness of heathendom. The philanthropic institution that rises into sight all over Christendom is a hosanna to the Son of David echoing through civilization. The gorgeous cathedral, standing like a mountain of beauty, is a hosanna to the Son of David worked into stone and echoing itself in the realm of art. The holy life of every disciple, which is seen on every continent of the earth, is a hosanna to the Son of David ringing throughout all humanity. These hosannas shall be kept until the end come, and then all the universe of Gods redeemed will peal forth the grand Hallel in the hearing of eternity. (David Gregg.)

Enthusiasm in religion

What is your religion if it have no enthusiasm in it? Who wants a wooden Christianity or a logical Christianity only? Christianity loses its power when it loses its pathos. Every religion goes downward when it loses the power of exciting the highest, most intelligent, and most courageous enthusiasm. Some of us have need to be cautioned against decorum. Alas! there are some Christian professors who do not know what it is to have a moment of transport and ecstasy, unutterable emotion–who never, never go away upon the wings of light and hope, but are always standing, almost shivering–eating up their dry logic, and never knowing where the blossom, the poetry, and the ecstasy may be found. Christianity should excite our emotion and make us sometimes talk rapturously, and give us, sometimes at least, moments of inspiration, self-deliverance, and victory. It was so in the case before us. The whole city was moved. There was passion, there was excitement on every hand. But, then, am I advocating nothing but emotion, sensibility, enthusiasm? Far from it. First of all, let there be intelligent apprehension, and profound conviction respecting truth. Let us see that our foundations, theological and ethical, are deep, broad, immovable. Then let us carry up the building until it breaks out into glittering points, farflashing pinnacles, and becomes broken into beauty. (David Gregg.)

The coming King

I. THE ESTIMATE FORMED OF OUR LORD BY THE CROWD. King.

II. HIS CREDENTIALS. In the name of the Lord. Divine commission attested.

1. By His words.

2. By His works.

III. THE BLESSINGS WHICH COME WITH THE KING. Peace and glory.

IV. THESE BLESSINGS ACCOMPANY EVERY ADVENT OF THE KING THAT COMETH IN THE NAME OF THE LORD.

1. It was so at His first coming.

2. It shall be so at His second coming. It is so when the King comes to reign in the sinners heart. (J. Treanor, B. A.)

Hosannas to Jesus

I. THAT WHICH MAKES MEN ILLUSTRIOUS, AND WORTHY OF DISTINCTION–lofty genius, heroism, expansive benevolence, mighty achievements–all that intensified and sublimely illustrated to a degree infinitely beyond what is possible to attainment by ordinary mortals, DISTINGUISHES THE LORD JESUS, AND ENTITLES HIM TO OUR HOMAGE AND PRAISE, Take–

1. Genius. What is genius? Genius originates, invents, creates. Talent reproduces that which has been, and still is. The spindles in our mills, the locomotives in our shops represent genius. The swift play of the one, and the majestic tread of the other across the continents on paths of steel, is genius in motion. Now turn the light of these definitions upon the Lord Jesus Christ, and see if He has not genius worthy of our best praise. It were folly to deny creative genius to Him, by whose word the worlds sprang into being, and by whose power they continue to exist. It were folly to deny originality to the Alpha and Omega of all mind and matter, life and spirit. Folly again to deny superior intellectual acumen to Him, who is the light of all intellect, the inspirer of all right thought, the incentive to all noble action. The blind saw, and the deaf heard, and the dumb spake, and the dead awoke. As to the modifying influence which Coleridge says is implied in the highest type of genius, it has been truly affirmed: The genius of Christ, exerted through His gospel in which His Spirit presides, has made itself felt in all the different relations and modifications of life. Take the next element of distinction that men applaud.

2. Heroism. Spontaneous is the homage paid to heroes. In some lands they are deified and worshipped. Heroism! Produce another example, such as Jesus of Nazareth, from the long list of the worlds illustrious! Take the next quality in lofty manhood that men extol–

3. Benevolence. Of this Jesus was the perfect personification.

4. Wonderful achievement receives applause from men. The multitude praised God for all the mighty works that they had seen. Our works may be good, Christs are mighty as well as good. We visit the sick, Christ cures them.

II. HIS PRAISES HAVE BEEN SUNG IN ALL AGES, ON ACCOUNT OF HIS WORTHINESS OF ALL HOMAGE IN HEAVEN AND IN EARTH. Abraham, the representative of the patriarchal age, looked forward to His day with glad anticipations, and praised the promised seed. Jacob, in his dying predictions, sang of the Shiloh, and waited for His salvation. Moses chose for the subject of his eulogy the Prophet like unto himself, unto whom the people should hearken. David in exalted strains sang of His character and works, His trials and triumphs, His kingdom and glory, and died exulting, Blessed be the Lord God of Israel from everlasting and to everlasting. Let the whole earth be filled with His glory. Amen and Amen. The prophets all rejoiced in Zions delivery and Judahs King. At His birth, angels and shepherds and sages sang His praises. As in some of the old monasteries one choir of monks relieved another choir in order that the service of praise might not cease, so as one generation of the children of God has retired to its rest, another has caught up the glad strains of hosannas to Christ, and in this way they have been perpetuated down the centuries.

III. THERE ARE THOSE, HOWEVER, WHO WOULD INTERRUPT THE PRAISES OF GODS PEOPLE: YEA, WORSE, SUPPRESS THEM ALTOGETHER. We learn from our text that this was the desire of the Pharisees on this occasion. Thus, the wicked and unbelieving now would stop all ascriptions of praise to Christ. They would quench the flames of devotion that the Holy Ghost kindles in the hearts of believers. Praise Nature! Sing odes to the landscape! Worship the beautiful in what your eyes see, the tangible, that of which you have positive knowledge through the certification of your senses! Dont be wasting your devotion on the unseen, the unknowable, the mythical, the intangible!–so says the Agnostic. Do homage to Reason! Let Reason be the object of your worship; its cultivation the effort of your life! What wonders it has accomplished in science and philosophy!–so says the Rationalist. Sing of wine, feasting, sensuality! Bacchus is our god. Praise him! Worship him! says the Profligate. Sing of wars, and of victories, and of conquests! Apollo is the god whom we worship, and whose praises we resound. Therefore, spread your palms with paeans of triumph at the feet of victors!–so say Conquerors. Standing erect, with his thumbs thrust in the arm-holes of his vest, his chest thrown forward and his head backward, like an oily, overfed, bigoted Pharisee, Sing of me, says the Self-Righteous. Praise the Saviour! says the believer, and the call receives a response. (N. H. Van Arsdale.)

The stones would immediately cry out

Guilty silence in Christs cause

I. Our Saviour means to intimate, that THIS SILENCE WOULD BE VILE. Let us, then, proceed with this dismal business, and arraign this fearful silence.

1. We tax it, first, with the most culpable ignorance. If you found a man, who was entirely insensible to Miltons Paradise Lost, or Cowpers Task, dead to the touches of Raffaels pencil, to all the beautiful and sublime scenery of nature, to all that is illustrious and inspiring in human disposition and action, you would be ready to say, Why, this senselessness is enough to make a stone speak. But where are we now? Men may be undeserving of the praise they obtain; or if the praise be deserved in the reality, it may be excessive in the degree; but there can be no excess here. It is impossible to ascribe titles too magnificent, attributes too exalted, adorations too intense, to Him who is fairer than the children of men, who is the chief among ten thousand, and the altogether lovely. Now to be insensible to such a Being as this, argues, not merely a want of intellectual, but of moral taste, and evinces, not only ignorance, but depravity. He who died, not for a country, but for the world, and for a world of enemies–He awakens no emotion, no respect. Shame, shame!

2. We charge this silence, secondly, with the blackest ingratitude I need not enlarge on this hateful vice. The proverb says, Call a man ungrateful, and you call him everything that is bad. The Lacedaemonians punished ingratitude. The ungrateful, says Locke, are like the sea; continually receiving the refreshing showers of heaven, and turning them all into salt. The ungrateful, says South, are like the grave; always receiving, and never returning. But nothing can equal your ingratitude, if you are silent. For you will observe, that other beneficiaries may have some claim upon their benefactors, from a community of nature or from the command of God; but we have no claim, we are unworthy of the least of all His mercies.

3. We tax this silence with shameful cruelty. We arc bound to do all the good in our power. If we have ourselves received the knowledge of Christ, we are bound to impart it. If the inhabitants of a village were dying of a disease, and you had the remedy, and held your peace; if you saw a fellow-creature going to drink a deadly poison, and instead of warning him you held your peace; if you saw even a poor stranger going to pass over a deep and deadly river, upon a broken bridge, and you knew that a little lower down there was a marble one, and you held your peace; is there a person, that would ever pass you without standing still and looking round upon you and exclaiming, You detestable wretch, you infamous villain, you ought not to live! If these should hold their peace, the stones would cry out. How is it, then, that we have so much less moral feeling than the lepers had, when they said, This is a good day, and reflecting upon their starving babes said, If we altogether hold our peace, some evil will befall us; let us therefore go and tell the kings household?

II. Secondly, our Saviour seems to intimate, that THIS SILENCE IS DIFFICULT. Now we often express a difficulty by an obvious impossibility. The Jews said, Let Him come down from the cross, and we will believe on Him. Their meaning was, that they could not believe on Him; for the condition seemed to them impossible. The Saviour here says, You impose silence upon these disciples, but this is impossible; yes, they will hold their peace when dumb nature shall become vocal, and not before. If these should hold their peace, the stones would cry out; that is, their principles will actuate them, their feelings must have operation and utterance. If you could enter heaven, you would find that there He attracts every eye, and fills every heart, and employs every tongue. And in the Church below there is a degree of the same inspiration.

1. The impressions that Christ makes upon His people by conviction are very powerful.

2. The impressions He produces by hope are very powerful.

3. The impressions He produces by love are very powerful. He so attaches His disciples to Himself by esteem and gratitude, as to induce them to come out of the world, to deny themselves, to take up their cross, and to be willing to follow the Lamb whithersoever He goeth.

III. Our Saviour here intimates further, that THIS SILENCE WOULD BE USELESS. If, says He, those of whom you complain were to hold their peace, you would gain nothing by their silence; there would not be a cessation of My praise, but only a change of instruments and voices; rather than My praise should be suspended, what they decline others would be sure to rise up to perform; if these should hold their peace, the stones would cry out.

1. First, we shall glance at the supposed silence.

2. And, secondly, observe the improbable instruments that are employed to perpetuate the testimony. It is not said, If these should hold their peace the angels would cry out, men would cry out; no; the stones would cry out. Can stones live? can stones preach and write and translate the Scriptures? Can they aid in carrying on such a cause as this? Why not? He can employ, and often does employ, the most unlikely characters. The wrath of man praiseth Him. We see this in the case of Henry the Eighth. It is of great importance to know whether we are Gods servants, or whether we are Gods enemies; but as to Him, He can employ one as well as another. This was the case with Saul of Tarsus. He was a persecutor once; but then he was called by Divine grace, and preach the faith that once he endeavoured to destroy. All the Lords people once were enemies: but He found a way into their hearts, and He made them friends. They were all once stones; but of these stones God has raised up children unto Abraham. They were as hard as stones, as insensible as stones, as cold as stones; but they are now flesh, and every feeling of this flesh is alive to God.

3. Thirdly, notice the readiness of their appearance. If these should hold their peace, the stones would immediately cry out. The Kings business requires haste; both because of its importance, and the fleeting uncertainty of the period in which He will allow it to be performed.

4. Then, lastly, observe the certainty of their appearance, when they become necessary. The certainty of the end infers the certainty of all that is intermediately necessary to it. Upon this principle, our Saviour here speaks; it is, I am persuaded, the very spirit of the passage. My praise–as if He should say–must prevail; and therefore means must be forthcoming to accomplish it, and to carry it on. Let us, first, apply this certainty as the prevention of despair. Secondly; as a check to vanity and pride. My brethren in the ministry, we are not–no, we are not essential to the Redeemers cause. We are not the Atlases upon which the Church depends; the government is upon His shoulders who filleth all in all. Thirdly; as a spur and diligence and zeal. (W. Jay.)

All ought to praise God

Have we not heard, or have I not tom you years ago, of some great conductor of a musical festival suddenly throwing up his baton and stopping the proceedings, saying Flageolete! The flageolete was not doing its part of the great musical utterance. The conductor had an ear that heard every strain and tone. You and I probably would have heard only the great volume of music, and would have been glad to listen with entranced attention to its invisible charm, but the man who was all ear noted the absence of one instrument, and throwing up his baton, he said, Flageolet. Stop till we get all that is within us into this musical offering. So I want our hymn of praise to be sung by every man, by every power in his soul. (J. Parker, D. D.)

Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell

Verse 28. He went before] Joyfully to anticipate his death, say some. Perhaps it means that he walked at the head of his disciples; and that he and his disciples kept on the road before other companies who were then also on their way to Jerusalem, in order to be present at the feast.

Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible

Jerusalem (as we before noted) stood upon a hill; those that went to it therefore ascended. This going before the company was noted by Mar 10:32; here again Luke taketh notice of it; to let us know certainly with what alacrity our Saviour managed the business of mans redemption. He knew that he was at this time to be the sufferer, and to die at Jerusalem; to show that he was freely willing, he leadeth the way.

Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole

And when he had thus spoken,…. When he had delivered the above parable, in order to remove the prejudices of his disciples, and the multitude, concerning a temporal kingdom, and to give them true notions of his own kingdom, and the case of the Jewish nation:

he went before; his disciples: he was the foremost of them in the journey; he proceeded at the head of them, with great cheerfulness and eagerness:

ascending up to Jerusalem; through the lower lands of Judea, to the city of Jerusalem, which was built on higher ground; where he was to eat his last passover, and suffer, and die, in the room, and stead, of his people; and this shows how willing, and greatly desirous he was to finish the work of redemption he came about.

Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible

Christ’s Entry into Jerusalem.

      28 And when he had thus spoken, he went before, ascending up to Jerusalem.   29 And it came to pass, when he was come nigh to Bethphage and Bethany, at the mount called the mount of Olives, he sent two of his disciples,   30 Saying, Go ye into the village over against you; in the which at your entering ye shall find a colt tied, whereon yet never man sat: loose him, and bring him hither.   31 And if any man ask you, Why do ye loose him? thus shall ye say unto him, Because the Lord hath need of him.   32 And they that were sent went their way, and found even as he had said unto them.   33 And as they were loosing the colt, the owners thereof said unto them, Why loose ye the colt?   34 And they said, The Lord hath need of him.   35 And they brought him to Jesus: and they cast their garments upon the colt, and they set Jesus thereon.   36 And as he went, they spread their clothes in the way.   37 And when he was come nigh, even now at the descent of the mount of Olives, the whole multitude of the disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works that they had seen;   38 Saying, Blessed be the King that cometh in the name of the Lord: peace in heaven, and glory in the highest.   39 And some of the Pharisees from among the multitude said unto him, Master, rebuke thy disciples.   40 And he answered and said unto them, I tell you that, if these should hold their peace, the stones would immediately cry out.

      We have here the same account of Christ’s riding in some sort of triumph (such as it was) into Jerusalem which we had before in Matthew and Mark; let us therefore here only observe,

      I. Jesus Christ was forward and willing to suffer and die for us. He went forward, bound in the spirit, to Jerusalem, knowing very well the things that should befal him there, and yet he went before, ascending up to Jerusalem, v. 28. He was the foremost of the company, as if he longed to be upon the spot, longed to engage, to take the field, and to enter upon action. Was he so forward to suffer and die for us, and shall we draw back from any service we are capable of doing for him?

      II. It was no ways inconsistent either with Christ’s humility or with his present state of humiliation to make a public entry into Jerusalem a little before he died. Thus he made himself to be the more taken notice of, that the ignominy of his death might appear the greater.

      III. Christ is entitled to a dominion over all the creatures, and may use them when and as he pleases. No man has a property in his estate against Christ, but that his title is prior and superior. Christ sent to fetch an ass and her colt from their owner’s and master’s crib, when he had occasion for their service, and might do so, for all the beasts of the forest are his, and the tame beasts too.

      IV. Christ has all men’s hearts both under his eye and in his hand. He could influence those to whom the ass and the colt belonged to consent to their taking them away, as soon as they were told that the Lord had occasion for them.

      V. Those that go on Christ’s errands are sure to speed (v. 32): They that were sent found what he told them they should find, and the owners willing to part with them. It is a comfort to Christ’s messengers that they shall bring what they are sent for, if indeed the Lord has occasion for it.

      VI. The disciples of Christ, who fetch that for him from others which he has occasion for, and which they have not, should not think that enough, but, whatever they have themselves wherewith he may be served and honoured, they should be ready to serve him with it. Many can be willing to attend Christ at other people’s expense who care not to be at any charge upon him themselves; but those disciples not only fetched the ass’s colt for him, but cast their own garments upon the colt, and were willing that they should be used for his trappings.

      VII. Christ’s triumphs are the matter of his disciples’ praises. When Christ came nigh to Jerusalem, God put it of a sudden into the hearts of the whole multitude of the disciples, not of the twelve only, but abundance more, that were disciples at large, to rejoice and praise God (v. 37), and the spreading of their clothes in the way (v. 36) was a common expression of joy, as at the feast of tabernacles. Observe, 1. What was the matter or occasion of their joy and praise. They praised God for all the mighty works they had seen, all the miracles Christ had wrought, especially the raising of Lazarus, which is particularly mentioned, Joh 12:17; Joh 12:18. That brought others to mind, for fresh miracles and mercies should revive the remembrance of the former. 2. How they expressed their joy and praise (v. 38): Blessed be the king that cometh in the name of the Lord. Christ is the king; he comes in the name of the Lord, clothed with a divine authority, commissioned from heaven to give law and treat of peace. Blessed be he. Let us praise him, let God prosper him. He is blessed for ever, and we will speak well of him. Peace in heaven. Let the God of heaven send peace and success to his undertaking, and then there will be glory in the highest. It will redound to the glory of the most high God; and the angels, the glorious inhabitants of the upper world, will give him the glory of it. Compare this song of the saints on earth with that of the angels, ch. ii. 14. They both agree to give glory to God in the highest. There the praises of both centre; the angels say, On earth peace, rejoicing in the benefit which men on earth have by Christ; the saints say, Peace in heaven, rejoicing in the benefit which the angels have by Christ. Such is the communion we have with the holy angels that, as they rejoice in the peace on earth, so we rejoice in the peace in heaven, the peace God makes in his high places (Job xxv. 2), and both in Christ, who hath reconciled all things to himself, whether things on earth or things in heaven.

      VIII. Christ’s triumph’s, and his disciples’ joyful praises of them, are the vexation of proud Pharisees, that are enemies to him and his kingdom. There were some Pharisees among the multitude who were so far from joining with them that they were enraged at them, and, Christ being a famous example of humility, they thought that he would not admit such acclamations as these, and therefore expected that he should rebuke his disciples, v. 39. But it is the honour of Christ that, as he despises the contempt of the proud, so he accepts the praises of the humble.

      IX. Whether men praise Christ or no he will, and shall, and must be praised (v. 40): If these should hold their peace, and not speak the praises of the Messiah’s kingdom, the stones would immediately cry out, rather than that Christ should not be praised. This was, in effect, literally fulfilled, when, upon men’s reviling Christ upon the cross, instead of praising him, and his own disciples’ sinking into a profound silence, the earth did quake and the rocks rent. Pharisees would silence the praises of Christ, but they cannot gain their point; for as God can out of stones raise up children unto Abraham, so he can out of the mouths of those children perfect praise.

Fuente: Matthew Henry’s Whole Bible Commentary

Went on before ( ). Imperfect middle. Jesus left the parable to do its work and slowly went on his way up the hill to Jerusalem.

Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament

1) “And when he had thus spoken,” (kai eipon tauta) “And when he had said these things,” regarding accountability for faithfulness in stewardship, and a time of judgment for each servant, 1Co 3:13-15; 2Co 5:10-12; Ecc 12:13-14.

2) “He went before,” (eporeueto emprosthen) “He went in front,” or led them in their journey; Went before or led His disciples, Mar 10:32.

3) “Ascending up to Jerusalem.” (anabainon eis lerouluma) “As they went up into Jerusalem;” The winding road from Jericho up the mountains to Jerusalem is a fifteen mile ascent, uphill all the way. Our Lord asks His own to travel no road, climb no mountain, to walk no valley, or to face no storm, that He has not Himself endured, Heb 4:14-16.

Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary

CRITICAL NOTES

Luk. 19:28. Went before.I.e., at the head of the disciples. Cf. Mar. 10:32. Ascending.The road from Jericho to Jerusalem is one long ascent.

Luk. 19:29. Bethphage.A village apparently on the east of Bethany. The name means house of figs. The place itself has not been identified. It is mentioned in the Talmud. Bethany.The home of Lazarus and his sisters. It lies on the eastern slope of the Mount of Olives, fully a mile beyond the summit, and not very far from the point at which the road to Jericho begins its more sudden descent towards the Jordan valley (Smith, Dictionary of the Bible).

Luk. 19:30. A colt.The more circumstantial account in St, Matthew speaks of a mother and her colt. The Saviour rode upon the colt while the mother was led beside it, after the manner of a sumpter. Never man sat.And therefore sent for a sacred purpose. Cf. Num. 19:2; Deu. 21:3; 1Sa. 6:7.

Luk. 19:35. Cast their garments.As in honour of a king (cf. 2Ki. 9:13).

Luk. 19:36. In the way.As also leaves of trees and palm-branches.

Luk. 19:37. And when He was.St. Luke alone indicates the point at which the popular enthusiasm began to manifest itself. Bethany is hardly left in the rear before the long procession must have swept up and over the ridge, where first begins the descent of the Mount of Olives towards Jerusalem. At this point the first view is caught of the southeastern corner of the city. The Temple and the more northern portions are hid by the slope of Olivet on the right. It was at this precise point, as He drew near, at the descent of the Mount of Olivesmay it not have been from the sight thus opening upon them?that the hymn of triumph burst forth from the multitude (Stanley, Sinai and Palestine). St. John speaks of a company going out from the city to meet the procession (Luk. 12:18), and explains that the enthusiasm was principally excited by the raising of Lazarus from the dead.

Luk. 19:38. Peace in heaven.I.e., between God and man; and on this account glory [to God] in the highest.

Luk. 19:40. If these, etc.Rather, if these shall hold their peace, the stones will cry out (R.V.). The words are of a proverbial character; they recall, too, Hab. 2:11.

Luk. 19:41. And when.The road descends a slight declivity, and the glimpse of the city is again withdrawn behind the intervening ridge of Olivet. A few moments, and the path mounts again; it climbs a rugged ascent, it reaches a ledge of smooth rock, and in an instant the whole city bursts into view. Immediately below was the valley of the Kedron, here seen in its greatest depth as it joins the Valley of Hinnom, and thus giving full effect to the great peculiarity of Jerusalem seen only on its eastern sideits situation as of a city rising out of a deep abyss. It is hardly possible to doubt that this rise and turn of the road, this rocky ledge, was the exact point where the multitude paused again, and He, when He beheld the city, wept over it (Stanley, Sinai and Palestine). Wept.The word implies wept aloud.

Luk. 19:42. Even thou.I.e., as well as the disciples. In this thy day.Rather, in this day (R.V.).

Luk. 19:43. Cast a trench.Rather, cast up a bank (R.V.); strictly speaking, a palisade, It and a wall of masonry were afterwards used by Titus in investing the city.

Luk. 19:44. Thy children.Not merely infants, but the inhabitants generally. The city is personified as a mother. Visitation.I.e., season of grace. Cf. Gen. 1:24; Exo. 4:31, etc.

Luk. 19:45. Into the temple.This is a second purification of the Temple, the first being recorded in Joh. 2:13-17. Sold therein.I.e., doves, sheep, cattle, for use in sacrifice.

Luk. 19:46. It is written.Isa. 56:7. Den of thieves.Rather, den of robbers (R.V.).

Luk. 19:48. Were very attentive.Rather, the people all hung upon Him, listening (R.V.).

MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.Luk. 19:28-48

A New Kind of King.St. Luke takes no notice of the stay at Bethany, and the sweet seclusion which soothed Jesus there. He dwells only on the assertion of royalty, which stamped an altogether unique character on the remaining hours of Christs life.

I. Christs part in originating the triumphal entry.He sent for the colt, with the obvious intention of stimulating the people to just such a demonstration as followed. Note the remarkable blending of dignity and poverty in The Lord hath need of him. It asserts sovereign authority and absolute rights, and it confesses need and penury. He is a king, but He has to borrow even a colt on which to ride in triumph. Though He was rich, for our sakes He became poor. Jesus then deliberately brought about His public entry. He thereby acts in a way perfectly unlike His whole previous course. And He stirs up popular feelings at a time when they were specially sensitive, by reason of the approaching Passover and its crowds. Formerly He had avoided the danger which He now seems to court, and had gone up to the feast, as it were, in secret. But it was fitting that once, for the last time, He should assert before the gathered Israel that He was their King, and should make a last appeal. He deliberately makes Himself conspicuous, thoughor we might say becauseHe knew that thereby He precipitated His death. The nature of His dominion is as plainly taught by the humble pomp as is its reality. Gentleness and peace, a sway that rests not on force nor wealth, are shadowed in that rustic procession and the pathetic poverty of its leader, throned on a borrowed colt, and attended, not by warriors or dignitaries, but by poor men, unarmed, and saluted, not with the blare of trumpets, but with the shouts of joyful, though, alas! fickle hearts.

II. The humble procession, with the shouting and the background of hostile spies.The disciples eagerly caught at the meaning of bringing the colt, and threw themselves with alacrity into what seemed to them preparation for the public assertion of royalty, for which they had long been impatient. How different the vision of the future in their minds and His! They dreamed of a throne; He knew it was a cross that was in store for Him. They broke into loud acclamations, summoning, as it were, Jerusalem to welcome its King. Christs royalty and Divine commission are proclaimed from a thousand throats, and then up swells the shout of praise, which echoes the angels song at Bethlehem, and ascribes to His coming power to make peace in heaven with an else alienated world, and thus to make the Divine glory blaze with new splendour, even in the highest heavens; their song was wiser than they knew, and touched the deepest, mysteries of the unity of the Son with the Father, of reconciliation by the blood of the cross, and of new lustre accruing to Gods name thereby, even in the sight of principalities and powers in heavenly places. Their shouts died away, and their faith was almost as short-lived. High-wrought emotion is a poor substitute for steady conviction. But cool, unemotional recognition of Christ as King is almost as unnatural. There were cool observers there, and they make the foil to the glad enthusiasm. Note that these Pharisees, mingling in the crowd, have no title for Jesus but Teacher. He is no King to them. To those who regard Jesus but as a human teacher, the acclamations of those to whom He is King and Lord always sound exaggerated. People with no depth of religious life hate religious emotion, and are always seeking to repress it. A very tepid worship is warm enough for them. Formalists detest genuine feeling. Propriety is their ideal. Christs answer is probably a quoted proverb. It implies His entire acceptance of the character which the crowd ascribed to Him, His pleasure in their praises, and, in a wider aspect, His vindication of outbursts of devout feeling, which shock ecclesiastical martinets and formalists.

III. The King plunged in bitter grief in the very hour of His triumph.The fair city brings before His vision the awful contrast of its lying compassed by armies and in ruins. He hears not the acclamation of the crowd. He wept, or, rather, wailedfor the word does not imply tears so much as cries. That sorrow is a sign of His real manhood, but it is also a part of His revelation of the very heart of God. The form is human, the substance Divine. The man weeps because God pities. Christs sorrow does not hinder His judgments. The woes which wring His heart will, nevertheless, be inflicted by Him. Judgment is His strange work, alien from His desires; but it is His work. Note the yearning in the unfinished sentence. If thou hadst known. Note the decisive closing of the time of repentance. Note the minute prophetic details of the siege, which, if ever they were spoken, are a distinct proof of His all-seeing eye. And from all let us fix in our hearts the conviction of the pity of the judge, and of the judgment by the pitying Christ.

IV. Christs exercise of sovereign authority in His Fathers house.Two things are brought out in the compressed narrative.

1. The fact. It was fitting that, at the end of His career, as at the beginning, He should cleanse the Temple. The two events are significant as His first and last acts. The second one, as we gather from the other evangelists, had a greater severity about it than the first. The need for a second purifying indicated how sadly transient had been the effect of the first, and was thus evidence of the depth of corruption and formalism to which the religion of priests and people had sunk.

2. His vindication of His action. It is in right royal style. The first cleansing was defended by Him by pointing to the sanctity of My Fathers house; the second by claiming it as My house. The rebuke of the hucksters is sterner the second time. The profanation, once driven out, and returning, is deeper; for whereas, in the first instance, it had made the Temple a house of merchandise, in the second it turned it into a den of robbers. Thus evil assumes a darker tint by lapse of time, and swiftly becomes worse if rebuked and chastised in vain. We see here

(1) Christs calm courage in continuous teaching in the Temple;
(2) the growing hatred of the authorities; and
(3) the eager hanging of the people on His words, which baffled the murderous designs of the rulers. Meekly and boldly He goes on the appointed way. The days task of winning some from impending ruin shall still be done. So should His servants live, in patient discharge of daily duty, in the face of death, if need be. The enemies, who heard His words and found in them only food for deeper hatred, may warn us of the possibilities of antagonism to Him that lie in the heart, and of the terrible judgment which they drag down on their own heads, who hear, unmoved, His daily teaching, and see, unrepentant, His dying love.Maclaren.

SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS ON Luk. 19:28-48

Luk. 19:28-44. The Triumphal Entry of Jesus into Jerusalem.

I. The preparations for it (Luk. 19:28-36).

II. The entry itself (Luk. 19:37-38).

III. The murmurs of the Pharisees (Luk. 19:39-40).

IV. The lamentation over the city (Luk. 19:41-44).

Luk. 19:28. Had thus spoken.And when He had thus spoken, had thus judicially, in His own revealed royal person, decreed the destruction of His foes, He went onward to Jerusalem, there to deliver Himself up as the Paschal Lamb into their hands.Stier.

Luk. 19:29. Sent two of His disciples.The sending of the two disciples is an indication of the deliberate purpose of Jesus to give special solemnity to this scene. Hitherto He had withdrawn Himself from popular homage; but He wished to be proclaimed once at least as Messiah and King in the midst of His people (Luk. 19:40). This was the moment of manifestation so impatiently desired by His brethren (Joh. 7:3-4), and was also a last appeal to the population of Jerusalem (Luk. 19:42). There was nothing in this course of action to compromise His work, for He well knew that His life was drawing near to an end (Luk. 13:32-33). He therefore allowed free course to the enthusiasm of the multitude; He even provokes the manifestation which follows, while He gave to it a more peaceful and humble character than it might have assumed.Godet.

Luk. 19:30. Never man sat.Humble as were the arrangements for this triumphal entry into Jerusalem, a royal dignity is manifested in the spirit in which they were made. The animal chosen to carry the Saviour was to be one which had never before been used on any common occasion.

Luk. 19:31. The Lord hath need.These words seem to imply that Jesus knew the persons to whom the disciples were sentthat they were friends or disciples. Perhaps in this incidental allusion we have another indication of previous visits paid by Jesus to Jerusalem.

Luk. 19:32. Found even as He had said.Prophetical fore-knowledge rather than omniscience seems to be indicated by the action of Jesus on this occasion.

Luk. 19:35-36. Jesus Claims and Receives Homage.Jesus virtually claimed homage, and His disciples responded to Him by paying it. They might, no doubt, easily have procured ordinary trappings for the animal on which He rode, but they chose to prove their desire to consecrate themselves and their possessions to His service by making use of their own garments. Jesus, by accepting their homage, asserted His royal dignity, and by the humble circumstance of His triumph, as arranged by Him, proclaimed that His kingdom was not one of this world.

Luk. 19:37-44.

I. The joy of the disciples and of the multitude on coming in sight of the city.

II. The grief of Jesus at the same moment.

Luk. 19:37-48.

I. The purpose Christ developed.He came to teach, to heal, to exemplify a sublime character, to offer an expiatory sacrifice, to manifest His Kingship.

II. The homage Christ received.

III. The sorrow Christ felt.

IV. The kingly duty Christ fulfilled.Palmer.

Luk. 19:37. Began to rejoice.Once mounted on the ass, Jesus became the centre of the procession, visible to all, and the scene began more and more to assume an exceptional character. It is as if a breath from on high, a precursor of that of Pentecost, had moved the populace. The sight of the city, and of the Temple, which at this very point appeared in all their beauty, contributed to the outburst of joy and hope which came so suddenly. All hearts recalled at this moment the miracles which had marked the career of this extraordinary Manmiracles which been so numerous as almost to have exhausted the sense of wonder.Godet.

Luk. 19:38.

I. The character in which Jesus is to be received.The King that cometh in the name of the Lord.

II. The happy results anticipated from His reign.

1. Peace in heaveni.e., peace re-established between heaven and earth.

2. Glory in the highestfresh and more wonderful manifestations than had been given before of Gods gracious character and of His majesty and power.

Luk. 19:39. Some of the Pharisees.They cannot in any sense have been disciples of Jesus. Their spirit was exactly like that of modern Socianism; they objected to prophetical expressions being used and lofty epithets being applied to one whom they regarded as merely a teacher.

Rebuke Thy disciples.The Pharisees had, for the time, lost the power of silencing the acclamations of the people, and so they have recurrence to Jesus himself. They were offended that He accepted recognition as the Messiah, and perhaps were even afraid of the enthusiasm of the populace leading to a seditious outbreak against the Roman authorities.

Luk. 19:40. The stones will immediately cry out.Hitherto the Lord had discouraged all demonstrations in His favour; latterly He had begun an opposite course. On this one occasion He seems to yield His whole soul to the wide and deep acclaim with a mysterious satisfaction, regarding it as so necessary a part of the regal dignity in which, as Messiah, He, for the last time, entered the city, that, if not offered by the vast multitude, it would have been wrung out of the stones rather than be withheld.Brown.

Luk. 19:41-42. The Tears of Christ over the Indifference of Men.

I. Spiritual indifference was the sign of concealed ruin.

1. Indifference conceals from men the downward progress of the souls life.
2. It, at the same time, hides the Christ who alone can save.

II. In spiritual indifference Christ saw a self-wrought ruin.

III. In spiritual indifference He saw ruin rapidly becoming hopeless.Hull.

I. The tears and words of Christ are the tears and words of a true patriot.

II. He lamented the destruction of Jerusalem as a theocratic kingdomas a Church.

III. Jerusalem was a home of soulsa hive of living men and womenwhose rejection of Him involved overthrow and ruin.Liddon.

Luk. 19:41. Wept over it.The words just spoken by the Pharisees displayed that obstinate resistance to Him which involved the ultimate ruin and overthrow of the city and nation. The contrast between what was and what might have been, was so great that He could not refrain from lamentation.

Luk. 19:42. Even thou.Or, thou also, i.e., thou, as well as the humble crowd of disciples now forming the procession.

Thy peace.Probably an allusion to the meaning of the name Jerusalemthe city of peace.

Belong unto thy peace.Acceptance of the sovereignty of Jesus would have meant laying aside that worldly and rebellious spirit which brought about the ruin of the nation.

Luk. 19:43. Cast a trench.Cf. Isa. 29:3 : And I will encamp against thee round about, and will lay siege against thee with a mount, and I will raise forts against thee.

Luk. 19:44. I. The visitation of Jerusalem by Christ our Lord was unobtrusive.

II. The visitation of Jerusalem was final. Our Lords words account

(1) for the decay and ruin of nations;
(2) for the decay and fall of churches;
(3) for the decay of seats of learning;
(4) for loss in the individual life, when manifest warnings and visitations are neglected.Liddon.

Visitation.Gods visitations are connected in Holy Scripture with various motives.

I. The common use of the word associates it with judgment; with the judicial infliction of punishment of some sort (Psa. 89:32; Num. 16:29).

II. But Divine visitations are often connected with a purpose of blessing (Gen. 21:1; 1Sa. 2:21).

III. Visitation sometimes, too, means warninga meaning intermediate between that of blessing and judgment (Psa. 17:3; Job. 10:12). It is in this sense that our Lord describes His own ministry as the visitation of Jerusalem. It was partly a visitation of judgment, as our Lord judged the scribes and priests and Pharisees, though His judgment was not final. Yet more was it a visitation of blessing; it brought with it instruction, grace, and pardon. Failure to know the time of a visitation is followed by grave consequences, because

(1) it implies a culpable deadness of spiritual interest, and
(2) an equally blame-worthy pre-occupation with some other more engrossing interest.Liddon.

Luk. 19:45. Began to cast out.From the parallel passage in St. Mark we learn that the cleansing of the Temple did not take place on the day of the triumphal entry. On that day Jesus entered the Temple and looked round about upon all that was passing in it (Mar. 11:11). On the following day He purified it from the abuses which had sprung up in it, and which had not been effectually checked by His first act of cleansing (Joh. 2:15).

Luk. 19:46. My house, etc.In the reply of Jesus there are quotations from two passages in the prophetsIsa. 56:7 and Jer. 7:11.

Luk. 19:47. The chief priests, etc.Three classes of persons were roused to opposition:

I. The chief priests, whose neglect of the Temple was reproved by the action of Jesus, and whose gains were diminished by the suppression of the traffic.
II. The scribes, who were envious of the fame and influence He acquired by His teaching.
III. The chief of the people, or the wealthy classes, who were for the most part attached to the Sadducean party, and afraid of the effects of any patriotic movement. From this point the Pharisees, who must have approved of the cleansing of the Temple, cease to be the most prominent persecutors of Jesus.

Luk. 19:48. Very attentive.Rather, hung upon Him. Hung upon Him, as the bee doth on the flower, the babe on the breast, the little bird on the bill of her dam. Christ drew the people after Him by the golden chain of His heavenly eloquence.J. Trapp.

Fuente: The Preacher’s Complete Homiletical Commentary Edited by Joseph S. Exell

Butlers Comments

SECTION 3

Praise (Luk. 19:28-40)

28 And when he had said this, he went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem. 29When he drew near to Bethphage and Bethany, at the mount that is called Olivet, he sent two of the disciples, 30saying, Go into the village opposite, where on entering you will find a colt tied, on which no one has ever yet sat; untie it and bring it here. 31If any one asks you, Why are you untying it? you shall say this, The Lord has need of it. 32So those who were sent went away and found it as he had told them. 33And as they were untying the colt, its owners said to them, Why are you untying the colt? 34And they said, The Lord has need of it. 35And they brought it to Jesus, and throwing their garments on the colt they set Jesus upon it. 36And as he rode along, they spread their garments on the road. 37As he was now drawing near, at the descent of the Mount of Olives, the whole multitude of the disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works they had seen,38saying, Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest! 39And some of the Pharisees in the multitude said to him, Teacher, rebuke your disciples. 40He answered, I tell you, if these were silent, the very stones would cry out.

Luk. 19:28-34 Creation: Johns gospel account tells us that Jesus arrived in Bethany six days before the Passover of His last week on earth (Joh. 12:1), Bethany was on the eastern side of the Mt. of Olives, about two miles from Jerusalem. Jesus apparently stayed in the home of Lazarus and his sisters (Martha and Mary) Friday night and Saturday night and left early Sunday morning to enter the city of Jerusalem (cf. Mat. 26:6-13; Mar. 14:3-9; Joh. 21:1-8). About a mile down the road toward Jerusalem, lay the village of Bethphage. The word Bethphage in Hebrew means house of unripe figsit was in the vicinity of Bethphage that Jesus cursed the fruitless fig tree (cf. Mat. 21:18-20; Mar. 11:12-21). It was from this little village that Jesus began what is called His Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem.

This passage exudes divine authority. The reader cannot escape the implication that everything is done by foreknowledge and by divine schedule. When Jesus sent the two disciples (probably Peter and John) into Bethphage for the colt, there had been no prearrangements so far as the record goes. The description of the animals, where they were to be found and the reply to be given the owners all indicate the disciples were sent not by prearrangement but on the basis of the foreknowledge of Jesus. The same kind of foreknowledge was displayed by Jesus (undoubtedly for the benefit of His disciples) when the room for the last supper was obtained (cf. Mat. 26:17-19; Mar. 14:12-16; Luk. 22:7-13). If the action of Jesus here seems presumptuous, that is because it is! He intended this whole event (entry into Jerusalem) to be one of triumph. He would now affirm His lordship over all creation. He intended to receive the praise of all creation as due Him. The earth and all that is in it belongs to Him. The owners of the colt were doubtless disciples of Jesus; the animals were only borrowed for a time and then to be returned or reclaimed. The two sent for the colt were to furnish the explanation, The Master has need of it, if they were challenged. Actually, they brought two animalsthe colt and its mother (cf. Mat. 21:2), undoubtedly necessary to get the colt to come willingly.

Jesus might have walked into Jerusalem that Sunday morning, A.D. 30 but He rode on the colt of an ass to lay before the city (especially its rulers) a graphic, symbolic claim to be the Messiah. It was predicted by the prophet Zechariah (Zec. 9:9) that the King of the Jews would come to them humble and lowly, riding on the foal of an ass. Earlier, thousands would have made Him king according to their earthly aspirations (Joh. 6:15). Now, He announces He is King according to the Fathers pre-ordained plan. He enters royally. He enters freely, not as a prisoner or victim. He did not hide or hurry. He acted deliberately and purposefully. The time has come for the great strugglefor the showdown. The time has come for the world to either acknowledge its ruler or to renounce Him. Not only was He announcing His kingship, He was announcing the nature of His kingship. He did not claim kingship as the Gentile world would expect (cf. Joh. 18:33-38). He did not ride in on a white stallion with a troop armed with swords. He rode on a beast of burden. His army was an unorganized mob; a multitude of shouting, conquered sheepherders and farmers. John records that His disciples did not understand at first the mysterious or unique action of Jesus in riding upon the coltbut after He was glorified they remembered that this had been written of the Messiah in their prophets. This event which is said to be a fulfillment of the prophecy of Zechariah concerning the Messiahs first coming, gives the careful Bible student a clear key for understanding the many other highly figurative and symbolic prophecies of the Old Testament concerning the Messiah and His kingdom, The whole context of Zec. 9:9-17 is about the Messiah. Barnes thinks the prophecy of Zec. 9:9 was always, by the Jews, applied to the Messiah. We have not found that to be so. In fact, one modern Jewish Bible encyclopedia, in its article on the prophet Zechariah, attributes Zec. 9:1-17; Zec. 10:1-12; Zec. 11:1-17 to the final days of Jeroboam, son of Joash, to the beginning of the Assyrian conquest. Only the part of Zechariahs imagery depicting the coming king as a triumphant and victorious one commanding peace to the nations would fit apocryphal aspirations. It is evident even from the New Testament that few Jews would accept (not even Jesus own disciples) a humble, lowly messiah.

Luk. 19:35-40 Crowds: Even before Jesus arrival at the home of Lazarus, the crowds of Passover pilgrims were awaiting His coming to Jerusalem (see Joh. 11:55-57). Passover was the most significant national memorial of the Jews with all its overtones of deliverance from foreign oppression and divine intervention in history. The pilgrims were already engaged in religious rites of purification so they could participate. Josephus estimates some three million pilgrims jammed into Jerusalem and its suburbs at Passover time. People renewed old acquaintances, met cousins and other relatives for the first time in years, gossiped, talked politics, taxes and the state of the religious status quo. Popular opinions of the great, new Prophet and Rabbi (reputed to be a miracle-worker) versus the official pronouncements of the rulers concerning Him were discussed.

There were thousands of pilgrims already inside the city of Jerusalem (cf. Joh. 12:12-13) and these came out to meet Him (Joh. 12:18) as He approached. In addition, there were thousands of pilgrims still coming toward Jerusalem surrounding Him as He rode on the colt (Mat. 21:8-9; Mar. 11:8-10; Luk. 19:35-38) accompanying Him toward the city. This whole multitude was expecting Jesus to come to Jerusalem and make good on His promises to set up Gods kingdom as they perceived Gods kingdom (cf. Mar. 11:9-10). This multitude was in a state of frenzied euphoria remembering all the mighty works they had seen the Prophet of Galilee do. The thousands began to throw their cloaks down in the path of the colt upon which Jesus rode. Many of them climbed palm trees and cut off branches to throw down for the colt to walk upon, (Mat. 21:8; Mar. 11:8; Joh. 12:13). Some waved the branches back and forth. The palm branch was an emblem of victory and restoration of peace (cf. 1Ma. 13:51; 2Ma. 10:6-7; Rev. 7:9). They all shouted with loud roaring (Gr. phone megale, voice, great), joyfully, Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest. Some shouted Hosanna (Mat. 21:9; Mar. 11:9; Joh. 12:13) which is an Aramaic word meaning, Save now, we pray!

The common pilgrims are shouting, King! But His garment is not a royal robe; it is homespun and seamless. His charger is a dumb, beast of burden, not yet old enough to be ridden. His court is of fishermen and hated publicans. His cavalcade is a mob of Galileans. Yet no pageant that ever passed through the streets of imperial Rome has so impressed the centuries as this one. The triumphal entries of Roman emperors have all but been forgotten, but this one, in every detail, is known and retold year after year, century after century.

As He moved toward the city He was creating a great stir (Mat. 21:10) (Gr. seismos, quaking, trembling). He was creating an earthquake of emotional excitement, but that is about all it amounted to with most of the thousands. The most striking characteristic of Judaism, of that century, and one which set it apart from all other religions of antiquity was its messianic fervor. The Jews looked for their golden age in the messianic future and not in the past like Greece and Rome. The Messiah of the Jews was supposed to usher in:

a.

Perfect happiness and peace.

b.

Super-abundance of materialism.

c.

Power over the whole world, politically.

d.

Destruction of all enemies.

e.

Supernatural renovation of the natural order.

The rulers were also quaking but from a different emotionenvy and hatred. They had already given orders for Jesus arrest (see Joh. 11:53-57). Now they are wringing their hands in frustration and fear (Joh. 12:19; Mat. 21:10-16) because they want to kill Him but they do not dare while the cheering, jubilant thousands are acclaiming Him as their king. A confrontation is about to take place in one of the remote and despised frontiers of the Roman empire which will have cosmic repercussions. Men charged with teaching and administering the Word of God and His covenant are preaching to kill a Man who has already raised three people from the dead! They are even planning to kill one of those He raised from the dead (Lazarus, Joh. 12:10-11).

There were even Pharisees in that clamoring, shouting multitude with Jesus that Sunday morning as He approached Jerusalem. They knew very well that the Tower of Antonia was fully garrisoned with Roman troops with orders from Pontius Pilate to subdue with swift and ruthless force any signs of rebellion or sedition. The Roman procurator always reinforced his troops in Jerusalem at Passover time, Sentries were placed on the roofs of all the great colonnades like Solomons Porch and others. Many of the soldiers, off-duty, roamed the streets and shops of Jerusalem, When the great roars of Hosanna, and Blessed is the King. . . . went up just outside the city walls and echoed across the Brook Kidron it sent shivers up the spines of the Roman soldiers. It would signal to their way of thinking, rebellion, riot, fighting and bloodshed. Many such skirmishes had already occurred within the city of Jerusalem between hot-headed Jews and Roman soldiers. Roman patience was wearing thin with the Jews. The Pharisees knew this well. They wanted to keep their political positions and their city from devastation by these powerful conquerors. So Pharisees curtly admonished Jesus, Rabbi, rebuke your disciples. They demanded that Jesus quiet the crowd and put an end to all the praise lest some very serious blood-letting result from it.

Jesus answer was a refusal to even try to silence the shouting. He could not do so (except by miraculously suspending their voices or some other supernatural intervention over human free will). If He should try to suppress such spontaneously strong emotions, they would find some other way to express what is being shouted. Even the stones would cry out, would not seem to be intended literally, but figuratively. Although there is a sense in which the things which have been made (nature) cry out in testimony to God when men refuse (cf. Rom. 1:18 ff.)! It is impossible to extinguish praise to God by hard repression, The Pharisees were soon to find that out! The Pharisees were trying to save their nation by repressing Messianic praise; Jesus knew that praising and acknowledging the Messiah would be the only way to save it.

Appleburys Comments

The Triumphal Entry
Scripture

Luk. 19:28-40 And when he had thus spoken, he went on before, going up to Jerusalem.

29 And it came to pass, when he drew nigh unto Bethphage and Bethany, at the mount that is called Olivet, he sent two of the disciples, 30 saying, Go your way into the village over against you; in which as ye enter ye shall find a colt tied, whereon no man ever yet sat: loose him, and bring him. 31 And if any one ask you, Why do ye loose him? thus shall ye say, The Lord hath need of him. 32 And they that were sent went away, and found even as he had said unto them. 33 And as they were loosing the colt, the owners thereof said unto them Why loose ye the colt? 34 And they said, The Lord hath need of him. 35 And they brought him to Jesus: and they drew their garments upon the colt, and set Jesus thereon. 36 And as he went, they spread their garments in the way. 37 And as he was now drawing nigh, even at the descent of the mount of Olives, the whole 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 that cometh in the name of the Lord: peace in heaven, and glory in the highest. 39 And some of the Pharisees from the multitude said unto him, Teacher, rebuke thy disciples. 40 And he answered and said, I tell you that, if these shall hold their peace, the stones will cry out.

Comments

going up to Jerusalem.Jesus frequently reminded the disciples that He was going to Jerusalem where He would bring His earthly ministry to its climax.

when he drew nigh to Bethphage and Bethany.Little is known about Bethphage except that the word means house of figs, and that it was near Bethany.

Bethanyhouse of affliction or, according to some, house of datesis well known as the home of Mary and Martha, sisters of Lazarus. Jesus stayed at their home when He was in that area (Luk. 10:38-42; Joh. 12:1). It was located on the southeast slope of the mount of Olives a short distance from Jerusalem.

John indicates that the triumphal entry occurred on the day after Jesus arrival at Bethany which was six days before the passover. See Joh. 12:1; Joh. 12:12.

Go your way into the village.One of the two just mentioned, or possible another that was near.

Jesus gave detailed instruction about the colt which the disciples were to bring for Him to ride on. No man had ever ridden the colt. Why Jesus selected it is not stated. Prophecy, of course, indicated that He was to enter the city riding on the colt.

The Lord hath need of him.There has been much speculation as to whether or not Jesus used supernatural knowledge in giving this detailed instruction to His disciples. An example of His use of such power is given in Mat. 17:27. But it isnt necessary to assume that he made use of it in this case. Previous arrangements could have been made by Him with the owners. All the disciples had to say was: The Lord has need of him.

Jesus miraculous powers were used to demonstrate Gods approval of His teaching and work, He never used it merely to amaze people. See Luk. 23:8-12.

and set Jesus thereon.The disciples threw their garments on the colt and set Jesus on him. Both Matthew and John mention the prophecy of Zec. 9:9 which was fulfilled as the victorious King came triumphantly, even though humbly, riding into Jerusalem.

at the descent of the mount of Olives.Jesus and the disciples had gone to the top of the mount of Olives and were ready to go down the western slope that led to the city of Jerusalem when the multitudes met Him and began praising God for the works they had seen done.

John suggests that the resurrection of Lazarus had greatly influenced the people at this time (Joh. 12:9-13). Blessed is the King that cometh in the name of the Lord.Suggested by Psa. 118:26 and Isa. 62:11. See comment on Luk. 13:35.

They had been wondering when the kingdom was to appear; now they were acclaiming Jesus as King.

And some of the Pharisees.The Pharisees kept a close watch on all of Jesus activities. When they heard the crowd praising Him, they said, Teacher, rebuke your disciples. In their opinion, this was blasphemy, They wanted Him to stop the praise that came spontaneously from the hearts of the people.

if they shall hold their peace.Jesus answer made it clear to the Pharisees that He did approve what the people were doing and that He had no intention of restraining them. Nothing could prevent their expression of gratitude to God for what He had done for them through Jesus. If the people become silent, He said, the stones will cry out.

Fuente: College Press Bible Study Textbook Series

(28) He went before, ascending up to Jerusalem.Better, going up, as elsewhere throughout the New Testament. The words indicate the same mode of journeying as that which we have traced beforethe Master going on in advance, and the disciples following. (See Notes on Luk. 8:1; Mar. 10:32.)

The journey from Jericho to Jerusalem was literally an ascent all the way (see Note on Luk. 10:30), and in this sense, as well as following the language common to most nations, in speaking of their capitals, the verb might well be used. The English word ascend, however, is not used elsewhere in the New Testament of any earthly journeys.

Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)

111. JESUS PROCEEDS TO JERUSALEM, Luk 19:28-44 .

Mat 21:1-17; Mar 11:1-11; Joh 12:12-50.

28. Thus spoken went before up to Jerusalem And now our Lord, having explained what was not the purpose or the coming result of his going to Jerusalem, and having left for record his announcement that it was for no earthly kingdom, is ready to prosecute his march. After leaving the house of Zaccheus, he proceeds, followed by the passover crowd, to Bethany; at which place be arrives, as we suppose, on Friday afternoon, and spends the Saturday-Sabbath preceding the passion week; and at the supper, in the house of Simon the leper, is anointed by Mary. (See notes on Mat 20:34.) The next day, being Palm-Sunday, and the first day of passion week, he makes his triumphal entry into Jerusalem. (See notes on Matthew 21.)

Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments

Prophecy of His Arrival Luk 19:28-47 contains a prophecy of Jesus’ arrival in Jerusalem when the multitudes cry out a passage from Psa 118:26.

Psa 118:26, “Blessed be he that cometh in the name of the LORD: we have blessed you out of the house of the LORD.”

Outline Here is a proposed outline:

1. Triumphant Entry into Jerusalem Luk 19:28-40

2. Jesus Weeps Over Jerusalem Luk 19:41-44

3. Jesus Cleanses the Temple Luk 19:45-48

Luk 19:28-40 The Triumphant Entry ( Mat 21:1-11 , Mar 11:1-11 , Joh 12:12-19 ) Luk 19:28-40 gives us the story of Jesus’ triumphant entry into Jerusalem during the week preceding His Passion.

Luk 19:31 Comments How could God, who created all things, come down to earth, and claim to have a need? Perhaps part of the answer lies in the fact that when Jesus became a man through divine conception, He laid aside the privileges of His pre-incarnate divinity, humbling Himself by living within the limitations of a man. Within the limitations of His physical body, He lived His life as an example of God’s unlimited ability and desire to work in a man’s in order to train His disciples how to live by faith in God. In other words, Jesus now showed His disciples their full privileges as children of God, in whom the Holy Spirit would dwell, and although they would have needs, God was always ready to meet that need; yet He chose to fulfill that need through the means that was available to mankind, that is, through the law of faith.

In the story of Jesus’ Triumphant Entry into Jerusalem (Mat 21:1-11, Mar 11:1-11, Luk 19:28-38, Joh 12:12-19), Jesus demonstrated to His disciples how their needs were to be met as they learned to be led by the Spirit of God, operating in the gifts of the Spirit, and trusting in divine providence and divine provision. Jesus’ public ministry was coming to a close, and His departure was at hand. His disciples must learn how to walk as Jesus walked. Thus, Jesus acknowledges a need, then demonstrates to His disciples how God the Father could meet that need.

Luk 19:35-38 Comments – The People Received Jesus – It was a common custom in Palestine for people to go out and meet an important person who was approaching a town to pay an official visit. The leaders of the town would go out to meet him and escort him to his final destination. Thus, the Pharisees saw that the people were looking to Jesus as their coming King to deliver them from Roman oppression.

Luk 19:39  And some of the Pharisees from among the multitude said unto him, Master, rebuke thy disciples.

Luk 19:40 Comments Perhaps creation is recognizing that their redemption is drawing near with the arrival of Jesus Christ (Rom 8:19-22).

Luk 19:41-44 Jesus Weeps Over Jerusalem In Luk 19:41-44 Jesus weeps over Jerusalem, knowing its pending judgment and destruction by the Romans in A.D. 70.

Historical Testimonies of the Destruction of Jerusalem – According to the early Church fathers, the events described in Luk 19:43-44 happened in A.D. 70, when Titus besieged the city of Jerusalem. Josephus, the Jewish historian, describes its destruction exactly the way Jesus prophesied it would happen in these verses (see The Wars of the Jews). Eusebius (A.D. 260 to 340) tells us that this passage is a reference to the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans in A.D. 70. He goes on to describe the horrors of perhaps the most tragic event in the history of the Jewish people. Both Josephus and Eusebius give many graphic details of the destruction of Jerusalem. Eusebius credits this tragic event to the judgment of God because of the rejection and crucifixion of the Lord and Saviour by the Jews. ( Ecclesiastical History 3.7.1-10)

Luk 19:42 “at least in this thy day” Comments – Many conservative scholars believe that Jesus was referring to the day in which Daniel’s 70-week prophecy was to be fulfilled. In Dan 9:20-27, the prophet prophesied that the Messiah would be cut off in the sixty-ninth week. Based upon the widely held view that each day represents one year, Robert Anderson calculated that if this prophecy began with the decree of Artaxerxes to Nehemiah to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem on March 14, 445 B.C., then 483 years of 360 days per year would equal 173,880 days counting 1 B.C. and A.D. 1 as one year. This would place Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, April 6, A.D. 32. [269]

[269] Robert Anderson, The Coming Prince (London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1909).

This is the day that Jesus presented Himself to the nation of Israel as their king. Note:

Zec 9:9, “Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold, thy King cometh unto thee: he is just, and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass.”

If they would have accepted Him, He could have begun to reign over His people on that day. Instead, it became the week of His rejection by the Jews. Jesus’ rejection and crucifixion fits Daniel’s prophecy that says the Messiah will be “cut off.”

Dan 9:26, “And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined.”

Thus began the age of the Gentile. The last week of Daniel’s prophecy has been delayed for the last two thousand years until the time of the Gentiles is fulfilled. Note:

Rom 11:25, “For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in.”

In verse 44 Jesus that the Jews did not know the “time of their visitation.” Therefore, the last week of Daniel’s prophecy is reserved for the seven-year tribulation period that ushers in the earthly reign of Jesus Christ, but only after a two-thousand year delay.

Within this context, it can be said that the theme of Luke’s Gospel could be “The Road to Jerusalem,” while the theme of the book of Acts could be “The Road to Jerusalem.”

Luk 19:44 “because thou knewest not the time of thy visitation” Comments – A day of visitation is a time when God interrupts the natural flow of worldly events and moves supernaturally to effect His divine purpose and plan of redemption upon earth. It is a day when the physical laws of nature yield to the supernatural, divines laws of grace and mercy.

This phrase is also found in 1Pe 2:12. With this epistle’s frequent references to the Second Coming of Christ, the phrase “in the day of visitation” most likely refers to the this event within this epistle, rather than a divine encounter for one individual. In Luk 19:44 if clearly refers to Jesus’ First Coming.

1Pe 1:12, “Unto whom it was revealed, that not unto themselves, but unto us they did minister the things, which are now reported unto you by them that have preached the gospel unto you with the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven; which things the angels desire to look into.”

Luk 19:45-48 Jesus Cleanses the Temple ( Mat 21:12-17 , Mar 11:15-19 , Joh 2:13-22 ) In Luk 19:45-48 we have the account of Jesus cleansing the Temple after He enters into Jerusalem. John’s parallel account takes place at the beginning if Jesus’ ministry, leading many scholars to suggest that this event took place at the beginning and at the end of His earthly ministry.

The Chronological Placement of Jesus Cleansing the Temple Scholars have noted for centuries that the four Evangelists did not record all of the events of Jesus’ public ministry in the same order. While the Synoptic Gospels place the cleansing of the Temple by Jesus at the end of His ministry, John puts this event at the beginning of his Gospel. Although scholars today debate as to the original order of this event, it is not a new concern. For example, Isho’dad of Merv (c. A.D. 850), the Syriac bishop of Hadatha, comments on the efforts of the apostle John to set in order the events of Jesus’ public ministry because the Synoptic Gospels had recorded some events out of chronological order.

“On account of this reason therefore, he [John the apostle] took special care also about the orders and sequences of the things that were done. This none of these Evangelists took care to do; but they wrote many things that were done first after those that were done last; and many things last, that were spoken and done before the former things; so therefore John did not [do this], but took care to put first the things that were at the first, and after them those that were afterwards; and yet in the middle he left many things out, those that had been related by those others.” [270]

[270] Margaret Dunlop Gibson, ed. and trans., The Commentaries of Isho’dad of Merv Bishop of Hadatha (c. 850 A.D.) in Syriac and English, vol. 1, in Horae Semiticae, no. 5 (Cambridge: The University Press, 1911), 211-212.

In support of this testimony, Eusebius cites Papias (A.D. 60-130), bishop of Hierapolis, who stated that Mark did not always put the events of his Gospel in chronological order.

“It is in the following words: ‘This also the presbyter said: Mark, having become the interpreter of Peter, wrote down accurately, though not indeed in order, whatsoever he remembered of the things said or done by Christ. For he neither heard the Lord nor followed him, but afterward, as I said, he followed Peter, who adapted his teaching to the needs of his hearers, but with no intention of giving a connected account of the Lord’s discourses, so that Mark committed no error while he thus wrote some things as he remembered them. For he was careful of one thing, not to omit any of the things which he had heard, and not to state any of them falsely.’ These things are related by Papias concerning Mark.” (Eusebius, Ecclesiastical History 3.39.15)

Luk 19:45 Comments – Evidently the scribes and Pharisees made no effort to put the merchants out of God’s house, therefore, supporting it. This is comparable to many pastors and leaders today who go along with worldly activities in God’s house.

Luk 19:46 Comments The phrase “den of thieves” means that these money changers were overcharging the people, who were required by the Law to purchase their Temple sacrifices. It was very likely that the chief priests received kickbacks for allowing these merchants into the Temple.

The time of this temple-cleansing was during the last part of Jesus’ ministry before the Cross. The first cleansing took place at the beginning of Jesus’ earthly ministry (Joh 2:13-22). Therefore, Jesus cleanses the Temple at the beginning and end of His earthly ministry.

Fuente: Everett’s Study Notes on the Holy Scriptures

Discourse: Jesus Instructs (Into Jerusalem) – In Luk 19:28 to Luk 21:38 Jesus enters Jerusalem. This part of the journey will take Jesus into the Temple to teach the people for the last time. At this time the emphasis of Jesus’ teachings focuses on eschatology, or His Second Coming.

Outline Here is a proposed outline:

1. Prophecy of His Arrival Luk 19:28-48

2. Prophecy of His Rejection Luk 20:1-19

3. Prophecy of His Exaltation Luk 20:20 to Luk 21:4

4. Eschatological Discourse Luk 21:5-38

Fuente: Everett’s Study Notes on the Holy Scriptures

Christ’s Entry into Jerusalem.

Christ commissions two disciples:

v. 28. And when He had thus spoken, He went before, ascending up to Jerusalem.

v. 29. And it came to pass, when He was come nigh to Bethphage and Bethany, at the mount called the Mount of Olives, He sent two of His disciples,

v. 30. saying, Go ye into the village over against you, in the which at your entering ye shall find a colt tied, whereon yet never man sat; loose him, and bring him hither.

v. 31. And if any man ask you, Why do ye loose him? thus shall ye say unto him, Because the Lord hath need of him.

See Mat 21:1-11; Mar 11:1-11. Not so strongly as Mark, Luk 10:32, and yet with considerable emphasis, Luke places Jesus at the head of the little company that was going up to Jerusalem. He was their Hero, their Leader, their Champion, going into the face of danger for the sake of the redemption of the world. From the low country in the neighborhood of Jericho, Jesus, His disciples, and other pilgrims that were with them, ascended to the highlands, to the mountains, on one of which Jerusalem was situated. Jesus stayed in Bethany on the Sabbath, continuing His journey on the next day. Both Bethany and Bethphage were situated on the southeastern slope of the Mount of Olives, the latter being hardly more than a hamlet or crossroads, with a number of farm-buildings. When Jesus had reached a point on the outskirts of Bethany where the road led toward Bethphage, He sent two of His disciples with the order to go quickly ahead of the slowly moving procession into the hamlet over against them, into the suburban country-place. Upon entering, they would find there a colt tied in a certain place, which had never been ridden, no man having ever sat upon it. This they should loose and bring to Him. If there should be opposition on the part of any man, either the owner or some of the laborers that might be near, as to why they were untying the animal, their answer should be that the Lord had need of the animal.

Fuente: The Popular Commentary on the Bible by Kretzmann

Luk 19:28. When he had thus spoken, he went before, Or, He went forward. Having finished the parable, our Lord left the house of Zaccheus, and proceeded onward to Jerusalem, shewing by his alacrity in the journey, how willing he was to undergo those heavy sufferings, which he knew were to befal him at Jerusalem. See on Mar 10:32.

Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke

Luk 19:28 . The narrative is wanting in precision, since, according to Luk 19:5 f., this did not take place till the next morning.

] He went before (“praecedebat,” Vulg.), i.e. according to the context (Luk 19:29 ), at the head of His disciples . Comp. Mar 10:32 . Erasmus, Kypke, Kuinoel, Ewald, and others have: He went forwards , He pursued His journey. This would be the simple (Luk 13:33 and elsewhere) or . .

Fuente: Heinrich August Wilhelm Meyer’s New Testament Commentary

PART THIRD
The Final Conflict and the Culmination of the Glory of the Son of Man
_________
FIRST SECTION
THE FINAL CONFLICT

Luk 19:28 to Luk 23:56

A. The Entry into Jerusalem, with its attending Circumstances Luk 19:28-48

1. The Entry Itself (Luk 19:28-40)

(Parallels: Mat 21:1-9; Mar 11:1-10; Joh 12:12-19)

28And when he had thus spoken, he went before, ascending up to Jerusalem. 29And it came to pass, when he was come nigh to Bethphage and Bethany, at the mount called the mount of Olives, he sent two of his [the7] disciples, 30Saying, Go ye into the village over against you; in the which at your entering ye shall find a colt tied, whereon yet never man sat: loose him, and bring [and loosing him bring8] him hither. 31And if any man ask you, Why do ye loose him? thus shall ye say unto him, Because the Lord hath need of him. 32And they that were sent went their way, and found even as he had said unto them. 33And as they were loosing the colt, the owners thereof said unto them, Why loose ye the colt? 34And they said, [Because, V. O.9] The Lord hath need of him. 35And they brought him to Jesus: and they cast their [own] garments upon the colt, and they set Jesus thereon. 36And as he went, they spread their clothes in the way. 37And when he was come nigh, even now at the descent of the mount of Olives, the whole multitude of the disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud 38voice for all the mighty works that they had seen; Saying, Blessed be the King that cometh in the name of the Lord: peace in heaven, and glory in the highest. 39And some of the Pharisees from among the multitude said unto him, Master [Teacher], rebuke thy disciples. 40And he answered and said unto them, I tell you that, if these should [shall] hold their peace, the stones would [will] immediately cry out.

EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL

Chronology.At the entry into the Passion-week, it becomes possible to us to follow our Lord from day to day, and at last almost hour by hour. According to Joh 12:1, He came six days before the Passover to Bethany. Since now this began with the 14th Nisan, our Lord must already on the 8th have come into the circle of His friends in Bethany, and therefore on the Friday or Saturday before His death. If we consider, however, that our Lord on His last Sabbath certainly made no extended journey, that we read nothing of any village before or in the neighborhood of Bethany where He could have spent the day of rest, that on the other hand the last-named village appears to have been also the last stopping-place of the journey, it then becomes extremely probable that He entered before the Sabbath, and therefore on Friday, into the village of Lazarus. After the ending of the weekly Divine service, the feast was held at which Mary anointed the Lord, but which Luke passes over in silence. And if now the entry into Jerusalem, Joh 12:12, took place on the day after this feast, there is then no ground to transfer this day to any other than Palm-Sunday. The view of those who, on account of some little difference in the four Evangelists, maintain that two entries took place, may well be regarded as already antiquated; ex abundanti, comp. Von Baur, Kanonische Evang. p. 196.

Luk 19:29. Bethphage and Bethany.The designation of locality does not proceed from the position of the travellers from Jericho, in which case Bethany must have been named first, since Bethphage was almost a suburb of Jerusalem. But since the two places were so nearly contiguous that they were scarcely distinct, the account of the approach begins here in a popular manner with the more distant locality lying nearest to Jerusalem. In brief, at the moment when the two disciples are despatched, our Lord has Bethany behind Him, Bethphage before Him, and points to the latter when He says : Go ye into the village over against you.

Two of the disciples.From the graphic trait of Mar 11:4, that they find the colt tied by a door without, in a place where two ways met, we should almost conjecture that his original authority, Peter, was eye-witness, and therefore one of the two. But that John, here also, as in the preparation for the Passover, accompanied, is, on account of the tone of his narrative of the entry, less probable. In vividness, at least, his representation is inferior to that of the Synoptics.

Luk 19:30. Whereon yet never man sat.A creatively fresh new time, a new prince, a new beast. Lange. We may compare the new grave in which no one was ever yet laid, Luk 23:53, and, from the Old Testament, the young heifers on which never yet a yoke had come, which upon a new wagon drew the Ark of the Covenant, 1Sa 6:7.

Luk 19:31. And if any one ask you.There is nothing in and of itself improbable in supposing that our Lord had friends in Bethphage, and may have made arrangements with them which He did not think necessary to communicate to His disciples. If, however, we consider the mysterious form of the command; if we consider how little it was in the spirit of our Saviour to give to something very ordinary a guise of singularity; if we compare the preparation of the Passover, and if we keep the very unique significance of this entry with its attendant circumstances well in mind,it is then undoubtedly most natural to see here also a manifestation of that foreknowledge which, so soon as it was necessary, could penetrate even that which lay beyond the sphere of the senses and of common calculation. Without doubt, however, the owners of the beast of carriage belonged to the many concealed friends of our Lord, and He had in spirit foreseen that a command addressed in His name to these men would not be in vain.

Luk 19:32. They that were sent went their way.The purpose of this whole command was not so much to come into possession of a beast of carriage, as rather to exercise the disciples in unconditional obedience, even there where something remained inexplicable to them, and at the same time to strengthen them in their faith in the superhuman foreknowledge and the Messianic character of the Lord; for foreknowledge of hidden things belonged undoubtedly to the traits which were especially expected in the perfect Servant of God, comp. Joh 16:30; and with wisdom does the Lord reveal this trait of His Messianic character, in that very hour in which He permits homage to be offered to Him, in His dignity as the Messiah.

Luk 19:33. The owners thereof.In Mark: Certain of them that stood there. What the Saviour foresaw, takes place actually; objections are raised; but at the appointed watchword (, the definite answer to the question ) every objection is let fall. Non potuere, Domino huic obsequentes, frustrari. Bengel.

Luk 19:35. Their own garments. colors this act of honor. Meyer. A similar hearty homage appears in this, that they, according to Luke, set our Lord upon the colt (). while the others only speak in general of His sitting thereon (). Besides the disciples, who in this way displayed their reverence for Him, there are, Luk 19:36, others named who spread out their garments as a carpet before His feet, while, Luk 19:37, the jubilant exclamations of the multitude, which here is to be carefully distinguished from the disciples, are spoken of.

Luk 19:37. At the descent of the mount of Olives, , …According to Luke, who distinguishes the different elements of the act of homage, even somewhat more accurately than Matthew and Mark, the enthusiasm begins there to reach its culmination precisely when the final goal of the peaceful train is in sight. When they have come near to the point of descent of the mount of Olives, to the height from which the whole city spreads itself out like a great panorama before the view of the beholders, the jubilant joy rises higher and higher, while the way begins to descend.

The mighty works.Matter for praise is least of all lacking; Barimus is found in person among the multitude, Luk 19:43; the View of the capital city awakens again remembrance of similar miracles, and the name Lazarus is upon the lips of all; comp. Joh 12:17. The notice of Luke, Luk 19:37, although he keeps silence otherwise as to the miracle at Bethany, contains however so far an indirect proof of the truth of the narrative, John 11., as this, that it appears from it that our Lord, without doubt, in the time immediately preceding, must have performed some great , which was yet entirely fresh in memory, and raises enthusiasm even to such a height. What particular miracle this however was, we learn only from John.

Luk 19:38. Blessed be the King.It is noticeable that the report of the hymn in Luke shows a less specifically Old Testament character than in Matthew and Mark. In this respect the Paulinist does not belie himself. The parallelism requires us to understand here not in the literal sense of peace, pax, since this reigns in heaven evermore, and is never troubled, never disturbed; but in the signification of laus or gloria. In heaven, therefore, is given to God the Lord honor, in the highest [regions] glory. See Luk 2:14.

Luk 19:39. Some of the Pharisees.This feature also is peculiar to Luke, and has the highest internal probability. In their eyes our Lord is nothing but a Rabbi in Israel, who is riding on an ass to the city, and who has it at any moment in his power to repress the enthusiasm of the disciples within the bounds of the most unsympathizing composure. [Their spirit was just that of modern Socinianism: the prophetic expressions used, the lofty epithets applied to Him, who was simply in their view a , offended them. Alford.] He himself is more or less responsible for it, if they in their pious zeal go too far, and he will do well to give the fathers of the people no just cause of offence. We recognize here quite the same men who before also had often attempted to make our Lord responsible for that which displeased them in His friends, who, besides, despised the people, that knew not the law. It was permitted to no one to strike a higher key of joy than Pharisaism found consistent with decorum.

Luk 19:40. If these should hold their peace.Proverbial expression, to indicate that it is in individual cases harder to impose silence on men, than to cause that which itself is speechless to speak, comp. Hab 2:11. A covert intimation of the destruction of Jerusalem, in which the stones of the city and the temple should proclaim the majesty of our Lord. An intimation which is the more striking, if we imagine to ourselves that at this very moment perhaps the echo of the Hosannas was heard against the marble temple, and the acclamations of the people were thus given back from the heights of Zion. With these words our Lord at the same time expresses a great law of the life of the kingdom of God. When men hold their peace from praising God, and very especially, when a dark despotism imposes silence on the better-minded, when the gospel is suppressed, then the stones begin to cry out: they proclaim the judgments of the Lord, whose glory can have no end. Lane.

DOCTRINAL AND ETHICAL

1. See the parallels on Matthew, Mark, and John.

2. In His entry into Jerusalem, the Lord has been sent to some for a fall, and to others for a rising again. At all times this event in His history has called forth scandal and gainsaying. We may remember the unbelieving heathen who at the time of Tertullian (see Apol. advers. Gentec, Luke 10) scoffed at the Christians as asinarii; the scoffing Jew who asked them: If thy Christ is a God, why has He then ridden upon an unclean beast? (Lipmannus in his now almost forgotten Nizachon), and especially the English atheists, the Wolfenbttel fragmentists, and many younger heroes in the domain of the negative criticism. Here also holds good the saying: Luk 7:35.

3. The whole entry of our Lord has no lesser purpose than this, to reveal Himself as King in the spiritual kingdom of God. Before His death He will by an unequivocal act proclaim the great truth which He, as the holy secret of His life, had hidden from most of the uninitiated, and only as it were whispered in the car of receptive individuals. Once in His life He grants to His own publicly to proclaim what lies so deeply at their heart, and He fulfils intentionally a prophecy which at His time was unanimously interpreted of the Messiah. If He has previously considered the declaration of His dignity as dangerous, He now counts silence inconceivable. It is the day on which He who came to His own and His own received Him not, commits Himself to the love of those who so deeply honored Him, and reveals himself to the gaze of those who look with devotion upon Him. This was for His cause, yea, for the whole Israelitish nation, necessary. It was hereafter never possible to say that He had never declared Himself in a wholly unequivocal manner. When Jerusalem afterwards was accused of the murder of the Messiah, it should not be able to say that the Messiah had omitted to give a sign intelligible for all alike. Our Lord will prove that He is more than a prophet mighty in word and deed; that He is King in the full force of the word.
4. But His kingdom is not of this world; can He show it more evidently? His attire, the beast He sits on, His train, His whole demeanor proclaims it. No wonder that afterwards Herod no more than Pilate founded on this entry any imputation whatever. The Roman garrison may remain composedly in the tower Antonia, when this peaceful festal throng enters in at the gates of Jerusalem.

5. The deepest significance of this act of our Lord will be understood only when it is brought into direct connection with the history of His Passion. Voluntarily does the Lamb approach His murderers now that the time of slaughter has arrived. By such a public step He guards on the one hand against an assassination, and on the other hand brings on more rapidly His suffering and dying, for by this very act the hate of His enemies increases; Judas sees himself again deceived, when the Lord suffers even this opportunity of mounting an earthly throne to pass by unused; and while Jesus does nothing more to keep the enthusiasm of the multitude alive by brilliant miracles, the whole enthusiasm of the multitude at the end is nothing more than the last upstreaming brilliancy of an evening sun, before it vanishes beneath the horizon.

6. In connection with the fate of all Israel, this hour may be named the decisive and irrevocable turning-point. Assuredly we may, if we look at the same time at Jesus words and tears, Luk 19:41-42, regard this entry as a carefully prepared last attempt to preserve Israel as a people. Because Jerusalem contents itself to-day with the fleeting Hosannas, it has drawn upon itself the fulfilment of the judgment that its stones hereafter shall yet cry out: for the entry now gave to all opportunity to show their temper without disguise; the people now did not stand under the influence of the priests; no ones tongue was bound to silence by a command; it was the day which decided whether Jerusalem would become the blessed centre of all nations, or the terrible monument of retributive justice. What would have happened if Jerusalem had considered on this day the things which belonged unto her peace,this is a question not capable of solution, and therefore also an idle one. Suffice it, since they now remained hidden from her eyes, the die was cast, and after the hen had vainly essayed to gather her brood together, the eagles, forty years after, stretch out not in vain their talons upon the carcass.

7. In this way the event itself becomes of moment for all following times. While it prepared the way for Jesus death and Jerusalems destruction, it has at the same time prepared the way for the reconciliation of the whole world, and for the bringing in of the Gentiles. At the same time it serves as proof, that although the kingdom of God comes not with observation, yet where it comes it cannot forever remained concealed. What here took place is in no way in conflict with the parables of the Mustard-Seed and of the Leaven. When the kingdom of God in its mustard-seed and leaven state has in a hidden way worked for a time, the working thereof must make itself known in great results, as facts which press themselves upon the attention of every one, and it is the great historical epochs of the world which are formed therefrom. What gradually goes on must also come to special view in individually great effects. We should misunderstand the force of the Leaven and of the Mustard-Seed, if we suppose that everything must always remain in this hidden gradual development. It would be just such an error as if we should suppose that the great results striking the eye were to be the first. Only in connection with that inner secretly working power, which comes therein to manifestation, can they be rightly understood. The kingdom of God is indeed also the city that lies upon the hill, and the light that must lighten all. Neander, Der glorreiche Einzug Christi in Jerusalem, cine Palmsonntagsbetrachtung. Berlin, 1848, p. 10.

8. The entry of our Lord into Jerusalem is the fulfilment of the Old Testament prophecy, Zec 9:9. On the other hand, the entry itself is in turn the prophecy of His return in glory, when He, surrounded by His many thousands of saints, whose Hosanna has then become a Hallelujah, shall descend from heaven upon earth. 1Th 4:16; comp. Zec 14:4.

9. There is a striking contrast between the honor and esteem with which the Pharisees and Sanhedrists received an earthly conqueror, Alexander the Great, and the coldness with which they received the King of Peace three centuries after, when He also will make His entry into Jerusalem. Then no expressions of homage appeared to them strong enough; now even the least is too strong. To a contrast not less striking than that is which is to be noticed between the reception of Jesus and that of an earthly king, Erasmus alludes in his Paraphr. N. T. ad h. l. Opera, Edit. Basil. 7. p. Luke 186: to the contrast between the entry of the high-priest of the New and of the Old Testament. Externally considered, Erasmus speaks of the high-priest of Israel, but he means thereby without doubt the Pope of Rome, the so-called Vicar of Christ, whose outward, pomp stands in such glaring contrast with this humble entry of the Sovereign of the kingdom of God.

10. The stones of the temple of Jerusalem have not been the only ones which in the most literal sense of the word proclaim the glory of God and His Anointed. More and more does the testimonium lapidum become for Christian Apologetics of inestimable worth, and the inscription on the Salzburg rock-gate: te saxa loquuntur, proves itself true in the historical sphere also before our eyes and ears. Call to mind for instance the latest excavations of Nineveh, Babylon, &c., and compare the interesting writing of Otto Strauss, Nineveh, and the Word of God, Berlin, 1855.

HOMILETICAL AND PRACTICAL

As often, so also here, when there is anything of moment to be done, there the Lord sends His disciples two and two.The obedience of faith: 1. Not easy; 2. never put to shame.Whoever carries out the command of the Lord, must often reckon on opposition.The Lord hath need of him, an answer before which all opposition must be dumb.In the service of the Lord, even the unclean may be purified, the despised invaluable, that which stands idle be used.Even earthly good must be applied to the service of the Heavenly King.Even for the friends of the Lord there comes a time for speaking, which terminates the time of silence.Even an humble yet upright homage is well pleasing to the Saviour.Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Isa 40:3; Psa 24:7-8; Psa 68:4.The wonderful works of our Lord the glory and joy of His disciples.Joy in Jesus must terminate in glory rendered unto God.The Hosanna of the people: 1. The echo of the accord of many a psalm in the Old Testament; 2. the beginning of the lay of praise in the New Testament; 3. the prophecy of the perfect festal lay in Heaven.The enmity of the flesh against the revelation of the life of the Spirit.The voice of the stones in honor of Christ: 1. How loud it calls; 2. how powerfully it preaches.The entry into Jerusalem a revelation of the threefold character of our Lord: 1. Of His prophetic dignity; since He a. knows hidden things, b. accomplishes marvellous things, c. foretells future things; 2. of His high-priestly dignity: He is a. the immaculate, b. the compassionate, c. the willing High-priest of the New Covenant; 3. of His kingly dignity: He reveals Himself at this entry a. as the promised Messiah, b. as the King of the spiritual kingdom, c. as the future Vanquisher of the world.The question: Who is this? answered out of the history of the Entry into Jerusalem, Mat 21:10.At the entry into Jerusalem there is a threefold example given us: 1. By the people; 2. by the disciples; 3. by our Lord. The first we have to follow to a certain point, the second exactly, the third only from afar.Our Hosanna and Hallelujah must be: 1. Of higher mood; 2. as freely rendered; 3. less transient than that before the gate of Jerusalem.At the entry into Jerusalem, no one maintains neutrality towards our Lord; only enthusiasm on the one, and hatred on the other, side.The vanity of the praise of a world in which the Hosanna and the Crucify follow so quickly on one another. Act 14:8-20.Behold I come to do Thy will, O my God!, Psalms 40.

Starke:Christ avails Himself of His Divine right as the Lord and Heir of all things, and causes to come to Him what is His own.Brentius:The kingdom of Christ brings along with humility the greatest glory with it: Lord, open our eyes; 2Ki 6:17.Jesus has chosen to have nothing His own.If things often turn out very differently from what men have thought, yet they always come to pass as God has said.Without great commotion and manifold speeches of men, there is no making progress in the cause of religion.Servants of Christ in all emergencies appeal to their Lords command.The Lord has in all places hidden friends, who reveal themselves at the right time.Heaven and earth have been again united through Christ.Quesnel:Gods praise is to the ears of the world troublesome.Zealots without understanding must be answered with forbearance and mildness.Even to lifeless creatures does God give a tongue when it pleases Him.Heubner:The might of Jesus over human hearts.Obedience is better than scrupulosity.The kingdom of the Messiah brings on a spiritual spring.Lifeless creatures testify against the blindness and unthankfulness of men.

Advent Sermon:Harless:1. The character of the King; 2. His coming; 3. those to whom He comes; 4. those with whom He abides.Tholuck:The Advent call: Thy King cometh.W. Hofacker:How Jesus, who comes in the flesh, comes yet continually in the Spirit: 1. To whom He comes; 2. with what intent; 3. with what result.F. Arndt:The entry of the King of all kings into the city of all cities: 1. Unimposing to the outward sense; 2. majestic to the eye of faith; 3. intensely desired by help-imploring hearts.F. W. Krummacher:Passions-buch, p. Luke 49: How this gospel strengthens us in faith: 1. In the Divine Messianic dignity of our Lord; 2. In the blessed coming of His kingdom.Couard:Thy King cometh: 1. He is come; 2. He is ever coming; 3. He will come.Stier:1. To whom comes He? 2. how comes He? 3. how shall we receive Him?How in the life of Jesus continual loftiness and lowliness are found conjoined.Fuchs:The Palm-Sunday acclamation, a salutation of the youthful Christian throng on their confirmation day.Niemann:Blessed be, &c.: 1. How this acclaim then resounded; 2. and should yet resound; 3. shall hereafter resound aloud.Rautenberg:The diverse reception of our Lord.Kraussold:Beholdthy King cometh to thee.Dittmar:The Advent of Jesus, and the necessity of the present time.Thomasius:The preparation of the church for the coming of our Lord: 1. Purpose; 2. conditions.Hauschild:Blessed be He that cometh: 1. To suffer; 2. to rule; 3. to give everlasting salvation.Florey:What makes the entry of our Lord into Jerusalem so heart-cheering?Brandt:The final entry of Jesus into Jerusalem a blessed spectacle.

Footnotes:

[7][Luk 19:29. omitted by Tischendorf, Alford; bracketed by Tregelles with B., Cod. Sin., L.C. C. S.]

[8]Luk 19:30.According to the reading of B., D., L., which here place a before .

[9]Luk 19:34. should be read, as by Lachmann and Tischendorf, [Tregelles; omitted by Tischendorf in his 7th ed.] The witnesses for it are too preponderating to allow the supposition, with Meyer [and Alford], that it has crept in from Luk 19:31. [ found in A., B., D., Cod. Sin., K., L., M. Yet the fact of manuscripts fluctuating here, while none omit in Luk 19:31, favors the supposition that it has crept in from there.C. C. S.]

Fuente: A Commentary on the Holy Scriptures, Critical, Doctrinal, and Homiletical by Lange

And when he had thus spoken, he went before, ascending up to Jerusalem. And it came to pass, when he was come nigh to Bethphage and Bethany, at the mount called the mount of Olives, he sent two of his disciples, Saying, Go ye into the village over against you; in the which at your entering ye shall find a colt tied, whereon yet never man sat: loose him, and bring him hither. And if any man ask you, Why do ye loose him? thus shall ye say unto him, Because the Lord hath need of him. And they that were sent went their way, and found even as he had said unto them. And as they were loosing the colt, the owners thereof said unto them, Why loose ye the colt? And they said, The Lord hath need of him. And they brought him to Jesus: and they cast their garments upon the colt, and they set Jesus thereon. And as he went, they spread their clothes in the way. And when he was come nigh, even now at the descent of the mount of Olives, the whole multitude of the disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works that they had seen; Saying, Blessed be the King that cometh in the name of the Lord: peace in heaven, and glory in the highest. And some of the Pharisees from among the multitude said unto him, Master, rebuke thy disciples. And he answered and said unto them, I tell you that, if these should hold their peace, the stones would immediately cry out.

The entrance of the Lord Jesus into Jerusalem, is recorded by all the Evangelists, as if in confirmation of the prophecies. Isa 62:11 ; Zec 9:9 . Some short observations were made on it in Mat 21 and Mar 11 , but, from the importance of the thing itself, it will be proper in addition to what hath been there brought before the Reader, yet further to remark some of the more prominent features attending it. And, first, I do not think it unlikely that God the Holy Ghost had an eye both to Christ’s triumphs, and Christ’s humiliations, at those memorable spots, Bethphage, and the Mount of Olives; when David, who was an illustrious type of the Lord Jesus, went there bare-footed, 2Sa 15:30 . The humiliations of the Lord Jesus were the highest of his glories. And I would in the next place, beg the Reader to remark with me, how the Lord Jesus, in preparing for his triumphal entrance into the holy city, gave evidences of his divine nature, in telling the disciples where they should find the colt, and overruling the mind of the owners to lend the beast to Christ. And what I would yet more particularly desire the Reader to remark with me, are the circumstances which attended our Lord’s entry into Jerusalem. What but God working upon the human mind, could in one and the same moment overrule so great a multitude, to make the air ring with their Hosannas; and literally to call Him what their scriptures of the Prophets had foretold of the Messiah, in the very hour the Scribes and Pharisees were ripening their schemes to destroy him? And, what but the same Almighty grace, acting to the same purpose, could have caused the mouths of unconscious children, In spite of their Jewish parents, to proclaim a truth their tender years could not understand. According to my view of this subject, yea, to every man’s view of the subject, who will look at it as it really is, it forms one of the most palpable and decided testimonies, as far as outward evidence can go, to the glories of Christ’s person; and is such, as our Lord himself most blessedly observed upon it, so full in point, as if resisted, became enough to make the stones exclaim.

Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)

28 And when he had thus spoken, he went before, ascending up to Jerusalem.

Ver. 28. He went before ] To meet death in the face. This was true magnanimity. Herein he showed himself the Captain of our salvation, though perfected by sufferings.

Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)

28. ] Not immediately after saying these things see on Luk 19:5 : unless they were said in the morning on his departure.

Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament

Luk 19:28 . On the way to Jerusalem The Jericho incidents disposed of, the next centre of interest is the Holy City. Lk. connects the two parts of his narrative by a brief notice of the ascent from the smaller city at the foot of the pass to the larger and more famous at the top. refers naturally to the parable. As a note of time the expression is sufficiently vague, for we do not know when or where the parable was spoken, nor how much time intervened between its utterance and the commencement of the ascent. It is simply one of Lk.’s formul of transition. = , not before them, but forwards: iter suum continuabat , Kypke. , going up . A constant ascent, steep and rugged.

Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Luk 19:28

28After He had said these things, He was going on ahead, going up to Jerusalem.

Luk 19:28 This paragraph division matches NRSV. This continues Luke’s theme of Jesus’ travels to Jerusalem, begun in Luk 9:51 and here concluded in His triumphal entry.

Fuente: You Can Understand the Bible: Study Guide Commentary Series by Bob Utley

went before = went on.

ascending. See note on Luk 10:30, Luk 10:31.

to = unto. Greek. eis. App-104.

Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics

28.] Not immediately after saying these things-see on Luk 19:5 : unless they were said in the morning on his departure.

Fuente: The Greek Testament

Luk 19:28. , ascending up) Going to meet the fulfilment of the parable.

Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament

the Welcome of the King

Luk 19:28-40

This humble triumph is a further revelation of our Lords character. The lowliness of it, which exposed Him to the sneers and ridicule of scribe and Pharisee, greatly pleased the simple folk from Galilee, who recognized Him as their own, and were proud to identify themselves with Him. See Mat 21:11. It is thus that Jesus pursues His way through the ages; the princes of this world know Him not, but His character is appreciated and His claims are recognized by babes, Mat 11:25; 1Co 2:8. Are you in the Masters procession?

Jesus royalty is not of this world. It is based on character. It is ignored by the proud, but welcomed by the poor. It is fairest to those whose eyes are anointed to penetrate the veil and discern the eternal realities, and of their enthusiasm, praise to God is the irresistible expression. Note that their song is an echo of Luk 2:14. Oh, to glorify God to the highest degree!

The Lords need is the master-motive. We can hold nothing back from His request, whether child, or money, or life. Let these words ring in our hearts: The Lord hath need.

Fuente: F.B. Meyer’s Through the Bible Commentary

Welcoming The King — Luk 19:28-48

And when He had thus spoken, He went before, ascending up to Jerusalem. And it came to pass, when He was come nigh to Bethphage and Bethany, at the mount called the mount of Olives, He sent two of His disciples, saying, Go ye into the village over against you; in the which at your entering ye shall find a colt tied, whereon yet never man sat; loose him, and bring him hither. And if any man ask you, Why do ye loose him? thus shall ye say unto him, Because the Lord hath need of him. And they that were sent went their way, and found even as He had said unto them. And as they were loosing the colt, the owners thereof said unto them, Why loose ye the colt? And they said, The Lord hath need of him. And they brought him to Jesus: and they cast their garments upon the colt, and they set Jesus thereon. And as He went, they spread their clothes in the way. And when He was come nigh, even now at the descent of the mount of Olives, the whole multitude of the disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works that they had seen; saying, Blessed be the King that cometh in the name of the Lord: peace in heaven, and glory in the highest. And some of the Pharisees from among the multitude said unto Him, Master, rebuke Thy disciples. And He answered and said unto them, I tell you that, if these should hold their peace, the stones would immediately cry out. And when He was come near, He beheld the city, and wept over it, saying, If thou hadst known, even thou, at least in this thy day, the things which belong unto thy peace! but now they are hid from thine eyes. For the days shall come upon thee, that thine enemies shall cast a trench about thee, and compass thee round, and keep thee in on every side, and shall lay thee even with the ground, and thy children within thee; and they shall not leave in thee one stone upon another; because thou knewest not the time of thy visitation. And He went into the temple, and began to cast out them that sold therein, and them that bought; saying unto them, It is written, My house is the house of prayer: but ye have made it a den of thieves. And He taught daily in the temple. But the chief priests and the scribes and the chief of the people sought to destroy Him, and could not find what they might do: for all the people were very attentive to hear Him- Luk 19:28-48.

We come now to the Lords last days on earth. Notice in the first part of this passage how careful He was to fulfil everything that was written of Him in the Prophets. In the book of Zechariah (Zec 9:9), it was written some five hundred years before, that the King would come riding upon the colt of an ass: Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold, thy King cometh unto thee: He is just, and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass.

Nearing Jerusalem, Jesus came to Bethany which is over the slope of the mount of Olives. He said to His disciples, Go ye into the village over against you; in the which at your entering ye shall find a colt tied, whereon yet never man sat: loose him, and bring him hither. He was the omniscient One, and He knew exactly where the disciples would find the ass. He said to them, And if any man ask you, Why do ye loose him? thus shall ye say unto him, Because the Lord hath need of him. This colt was only a dumb beast, but it knew its Owner. We read in Isa 1:3, The ox knoweth his owner, and the ass his masters crib: but Israel doth not know, My people doth not consider. The lower creatures act in subjection to the will of the Lord. Man alone of all Gods creatures-man, who is made a little lower than the angels, with his remarkable powers and his wonderful intellect-sets himself in opposition to the will of God. Jesus sent His disciples over to get this colt, and we read that it was one whereon yet never man sat. It was an unbroken colt. You know that, ordinarily, it takes a rider of some dexterity to break in a colt; but here we find this unbroken colt in complete subjection to the will of its Creator. The One who was to ride that colt was the Creator whose power had brought it into existence. And they that were sent went their way, and found even as He had said unto them. And as they were loosing the colt, the owners thereof said unto them, Why loose ye the colt? They answered as they had been instructed by the Lord, and the owners gave consent to take him and use him as Jesus desired. And they brought him to Jesus: and they cast their garments upon the colt, and they set Jesus thereon. So He began His so-called triumphal entry, and the people hailed Him as their King as they led Him into the city. And when He was come nigh, even now at the descent of the mount of Olives, the whole multitude of the disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works that they had seen; saying, Blessed be the King that cometh in the name of the Lord: peace in heaven, and glory in the highest. Another scripture was fulfilled as the people were doing all this. Long years ago, in the 118th Psalm (Psa 118:26), it was written that the people should greet their King with the cry, Blessed be He that cometh in the name of the Lord. And so His disciples and the little children who had heard of the promised King, shouted with joy as He entered His capital, for they thought He was immediately to set up His kingdom. They had to learn that there could be no kingdom for Him before the cross; that He must die for our sins before He could establish His throne in power and glory. So in the next verse of that 118th Psalm (Psa 118:27) we read, Bind the sacrifice with cords, even unto the horns of the altar. He was to offer Himself a sacrifice on our behalf ere He could take His great power and reign.

The religious leaders of the people who professed to be waiting for the Messiah were out of sympathy with all this. They looked on with indignation and turned to the Lord Himself and said, Master, rebuke Thy disciples. They would have had Him repudiate the extravagant claims, as they considered them, which the disciples were making on His behalf. But Jesus, instead of rebuking them, rebuked the critics and said, I tell you that, if these should hold their peace, the stones would immediately cry out. Those who welcomed Him with cries of joy acted as the Scriptures predicted. It was foretold by God that they should receive Him in this way. If they had not done so the stones would have cried out to welcome the glorious King.

So He entered the city, but He did not find the populace ready to receive Him. He came unto His own, and His own received Him not. His own in the original text is neuter. First it refers to His own things. In the second instance, it is personal and refers to His own people. He came unto His own things, and His own people received Him not. Here we behold Him coming to His own city, and His own temple, but His own people-the nation that had been waiting for Him for so long- received Him not. Knowing exactly what their attitude was to be, His great heart was breaking as He looked down over the city and realized all that Israel must suffer in the centuries to come as well as in the near future. He wept over the city. He saw, as no one ese could, all the sin and iniquity of which the people of Jerusalem were guilty. This is one of the three times when He is said to have wept. What a sad sight must any one of our great cities present to the all-seeing eyes of our Lord as He beholds them today! Beneath all the outward splendor of architecture, beautiful parks, schools, and great business houses, His holy eyes discern all the hidden sin, the selfishness, the unbridled lust, the vice and corruption, the hypocrisy and hardness of conscience which call as loudly for judgment now as the evils tolerated in Jerusalem cried to God for destruction so long ago. Jerusalem was the city Jehovah had chosen to place His name there; and and He was rejected. Its men and women preferred to go on in their own godless ways. As He wept over the city He exclaimed, If thou hadst known, even thou, at least in this thy day, the things which belong unto thy peace! but now they are hid from thine eyes. If thou hadst known! But they did not know. That was the trouble with people then, and that is the trouble with people now: they do not know. There is a solemn pathos in His lament. They might have known, but there was no desire to understand, and so they had to suffer for their wilful ignorance. We read that Peter said to the people concerning the crucifixion of our Lord, Through ignorance ye did it. They did not understand, neither did the princes of this world, For had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of Glory. In the day of judgment we shall not be able to say, I did not know who Jesus was. We have the Word; we have heard it again and again. The people of Israel did not know, and because they did not know, they fulfilled their own Scriptures in rejecting their Messiah. If thou hadst known! It was too late! They had turned their hearts against Him; they had spurned His grace. And now their judgment was on its way. He said, For the days shall come upon thee, that thine enemies shall cast a trench about thee, and compass thee round, and keep thee in on every side. He foresaw the Roman armies under Titus surrounding the city and cutting off all sources of provision for its trapped populace. Graphically He portrayed what became actual history forty years afterward. It was all fulfilled literally when the Roman legions besieged the city, and at last entered it and destroyed its great buildings as Jesus had predicted. And shall lay thee even with the ground, and thy children within thee; and they shall not leave in thee one stone upon another; because thou knewest not the time of thy visitation. Think of a statement like that! As the disciples looked upon that vast city with its great and wonderful buildings, and the Lord Jesus dared to say that not one stone should be left upon another! It must have seemed, even to His disciples, as though His words never could be fulfilled literally, yet in due time they were, carried out to the letter, for Jerusalem became but a ruined heap. Long before, God had declared, Therefore shall Zion for your sake be plowed as a field, and Jerusalem shall become heaps (Mic 3:12). Gods Word never fails. All that He has declared must come to pass.

Notice the reason for all this: Because thou knewest not the time of thy visitation. God Himself had come to them in the Person of His Son, but they realized it not. Unsaved one, this is the time when God is visiting you, and if you refuse Him, some day you must stand before Him in judgment, because you knew not the day of your visitation.

And He went into the temple, and began to cast out them that sold therein, and them that bought; saying unto them, It is written, My house is the house of prayer: but ye have made it a den of thieves. In that temple everything spoke of Him. He acted as Son over His own house (Heb 3:6) in casting out those who sought to commercialize that which had been dedicated as a house of prayer for all nations. It was presumably for the accommodation of visitors from distant lands that the moneychangers and vendors of doves, and so on, were first given places in the temple courts, but through covetousness they made merchandise of these things and so dishonored God.

From that time He taught the people in that temple until the time came when He was to be offered upon the cross. But the leaders sought how they might destroy Him; but they could not find what they might do, for all the people were very attentive to hear Him. Doubtless many in the crowds that heard His words were brought to trust in Him eventually, and we may be sure that numbers of them were among that great throng on the day of Pentecost when many accepted Him as Saviour and owned Him as their Lord.

Fuente: Commentaries on the New Testament and Prophets

V. In Jerusalem — Chapter 19:28-21:38

CHAPTER 19:28-48

1. The Triumphal Entry in Jerusalem. (Luk 19:28-40.)

2. Weeping over Jerusalem. (Luk 19:41-44.)

3. The Purification of the Temple. (Luk 19:45-48.)

Luk 19:28-40

The triumphal entry of the Lord into Jerusalem has been before us already in Matthew and Mark. He is presented as King. Luke gives an interesting addition. The multitude of disciples rejoiced and praised God for all the mighty works they had seen. Blessed be the King that cometh in the name of the Lord; peace in heaven and glory in the highest. The angelic announcement was peace on earth; here the disciples say peace in heaven. Such will be the ultimate and glorious effect of the work of Christ, when Satan will be cast out of heaven, the heavenly inheritance redeemed (Eph 1:13), and the reconciliation of things in heaven (Col 1:20) accomplished. All this and much more will surely come, when the King-Messiah comes again. Then there will be peace on earth, peace in heaven and glory in the highest. Luk 19:41-48. What a scene it must have been when He saw the great city and wept over it! Before He utters the great prophecy announcing the doom of the city, He weeps. What a glimpse it gives of the loving heart of the Saviour-King, the friend of sinners! And all came as He announced. The second cleansing of the temple took place after that. See annotations on Mar 11:15-18.

Fuente: Gaebelein’s Annotated Bible (Commentary)

Chapter 29

King Jesus Riding The Wild Asss Colt

I love the way Luke tells us that the Lord Jesus went before (Luk 19:28) his disciples. Dont you? In all things he goes before us, leading the way. He never sends where he has not been and does not lead. If he leads you down a winding road into a deep, dark valley, he goes before you. If he leads you into the wilderness of temptation, he goes before you. And when he brings you up to heaven, ascending up to Jerusalem above, he has gone before you, to prepare a place for you.

Here Luke tells us that the Saviour is ascending, purposefully, confidently, determinately up to Jerusalem as our great King, ascending to conquer death, hell, and the grave for us, ascending to his throne in Glory as our King. This event in the earthly life and ministry of our Saviour is one of just a few that are recorded in detail by Matthew (Luk 21:1-11), Mark (Luk 11:1-11), Luke, and John (Luk 12:12-19). It is the only event in our Saviours earthly life and ministry that he seems to have deliberately made a matter of great, public display. Surely, that which is here revealed is a matter of great importance. We ought to read these passages with great care, asking the Spirit of God to teach us the lessons for which he inspired all four of the gospel writers to record them.

The Obvious

Several things recorded here are obvious facts, facts so obvious that the only way they can be missed is by the wilful, deliberate rejection of the Bible as the inspired, inerrant Word of the living God.

The Bible is, indeed, the Word of God. Matthew tells us that all this was done that the prophecy of Zec 9:9 might be fulfilled. Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold, thy King cometh unto thee: he is just, and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass. Because that was written in the Book of Zechariah, Luke writes, And it came to pass.

Our great Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ, is the omniscient, all-knowing God. He told his disciples exactly where they would find the ass and her colt and exactly what would happen when they found them.

Our Redeemer is the sovereign Lord and King of all the universe. He did not come to Jerusalem to be made a king. He came into Jerusalem triumphantly as the King. He was going, by way of the cross, to receive his kingdom. But he was King already. The ass and her colt belonged to him; and the men who owned them belonged to him. All were his servants. All did his bidding.

Our Lord Jesus Christ is, always was, and always shall be king over everybody and everything, by virtue of the fact that he is God. The one true and living God is king everywhere. He always has his way and does his will. Here we see the Lord Jesus ascending up to Jerusalem as our Mediatorial King to take possession of his kingdom, the kingdom and dominion given to him as the God-man by his Father, as the reward of his obedience to God as our Mediator (Rom 14:9; Joh 17:2; Php 2:9-11). Therefore, we read in Luk 19:36-38 that as he went, they spread their clothes in the way. And when he was come nigh, even now at the descent of the mount of Olives, the whole multitude of the disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works that they had seen; Saying, Blessed be the King that cometh in the name of the Lord: peace in heaven, and glory in the highest.

An Allegory

But there is more to be learned from this historic narrative of our Lords triumphal entry into Jerusalem than these facts. There are spiritual lessons in the story that tell us again how it is that God our Saviour saves his elect. As the Holy Spirit tells us in Galatians 4 that the story of Sarah and Hagar is an allegory, this too is an allegory. It is a true, historical event; but it is more. It is an event that portrays Gods free, sovereign, saving grace in and by our Lord Jesus Christ.

We commonly look upon the events of the Old Testament as things designed and intended by our God to be pictures of grace. But, in reading the New Testament, for some strange reason, we tend to overlook the spiritual lessons contained in the historical events. That ought never to be the case.

We must never spiritualize holy scripture. I mean by that statement that we must never twist the scriptures into whatever it is we want them to teach. To do so is to treat the Word of God with horrible irreverence. Yet, when we read the Word of God, we are always to look for the spiritual meaning, the gospel message, each particular passage is intended to convey, knowing that every event in the earthly life of our Saviour and every miracle performed by him is written in the Book of God to give us a picture, an object lesson about his great salvation.

When we read the Book of God in this way, it comes to life. Several years ago, when he was just four years old, my grandson, Will, pointing to my Bible on my desk, asked, Poppy, is this where Jesus lives? Though I gave him a much more thorough answer, explaining what I could of the person and work of our blessed Saviour, in a very real sense the answer to his question is, Yes, the Lord Jesus lives right here in this blessed Book. Every word he spoke, every movement he made, every step he took was predetermined before the world began for the salvation of his elect and was designed by Gods eternal decree to show us something of Gods sovereign, electing, redeeming, saving, mercy, love, and grace through Christ our Redeemer. Even the small details, those things that appear to be no more than records with information show forth his great salvation.

Here, in Luke 19, we have such a record. Perhaps you have never before read the story as you are about to read it. If that is the case, I promise you that when I am done you will never read it the same again. This story of our Lord Jesus riding the wild asss colt through the streets of Jerusalem is really the old, old story of his sovereign, electing, fetching, irresistible, saving grace.

Proof

We must not give such a meaning to the story without clear evidence from holy scripture that this is the reason why the story was written. This may, or may not, have been the reason Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John had in mind as they recorded the story; but it is the reason God the Holy Spirit inspired them to write it down in the very words we have in the gospel narratives. Let me show you two texts from the Old Testament to demonstrate this.

First, look again at the prophecy of Zechariah (Zec 9:9-10).

Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold, thy King cometh unto thee: he is just, and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass. And I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim, and the horse from Jerusalem, and the battle bow shall be cut off: and he shall speak peace unto the heathen: and his dominion shall be from sea even to sea, and from the river even to the ends of the earth.

The prophet Zechariah shows us here that when Christ rode into Jerusalem, his triumphal entry was made in the way it was made to display the character of his kingdom and his work as our King. He came riding an ass, and upon a colt, the foal of an ass, to show himself in the infinite humility of his grace as One who is just and having salvation. He comes to break the bow of war and speak peace unto the heathen, and to do so in universal dominion from sea to sea, even to the ends of the earth.

In Job 11:12 we will see who the wild asss colt is, upon whom the King of Glory rides through the streets of Jerusalem in triumphant grace. There we are told that vain man is born like a wild asss colt. The asss colt upon which our Saviour rode through Jerusalem is in scripture a picture of fallen man.

Disciples Sent

He sent two of his disciples (Luk 19:29). Wherever God has someone to save and whenever the appointed time comes for him to save them, he sends a preacher (Rom 10:13-17). No man can believe the gospel until someone preaches the gospel to him. Notice that these two disciples were sent by the Master. No prophet or preacher in the scriptures ever applied for the job! Gods preachers are chosen, called, gifted, and sent by him.

These two disciples were sent on a very specific errand. They were sent to fetch something for the Lord Jesus. God sends his servants to fetch his elect to himself, as David sent Ziba to fetch Mephibosheth (2 Samuel 9). How I thank God that in the appointed time of love, he sent one of his servants to fetch me! Dont you?

An Assurance

When our Lord sent these disciples on their mission, he assured them that they would find what he sent them to get, Saying, Go ye into the village over against you; in the which at your entering ye shall find a colt tied, whereon yet never man sat: loose him, and bring him hither (Luk 19:30).

Men often raise this argument against the teaching of holy scripture with regard to Gods sovereignty. If election is true, if some are predestinated to be saved, and their salvation is sure, why preach? What a foolish question! We preach the gospel to all men because our God and Saviour has sent us to do so. He says, Go ye into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. We preach the gospel because it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe. And we preach the gospel with confidence because he has told us plainly and assured us that those to whom and for whom we are sent shall be saved. All that the Father hath given Me shall come to Me. Other sheep I have Them also I must bring. All Christs sheep shall be found. Each of his elect shall be called and shall come (Isa 55:11; 2Co 2:14-16). And Gods elect will be found exactly where he puts them in his wise and good providence. There were many wells in Samaria; but that chosen woman to whom Christ came was found at a certain well. There were many trees along the Jericho Road; but Zacchaeus was found up a certain tree.

What an encouragement to preach the gospel. Ye shall find! There are no accidents in Gods world. The sovereign Lord puts his lost sheep exactly where he wants them. And he ties his wild asss colts exactly where he wants them tied.

An Asss Colt

Our Lord Jesus told these two disciples exactly what they were looking for in Luk 19:31. He sent them to find a colt tied, whereon yet never man sat, or as we saw in Job 11, a wild asss colt. Mar 11:4 tells us where they found this colt. And they went their way, and found the colt tied by the door without in a place where two ways met. He sent them to find a colt tied outside in a place where two ways met. This was not the colt of a fine Kentucky Thoroughbred, or a Tennessee Walker, or even the colt of a Quarter Horse. This colt was the foal of an ass, a wild asss colt, whereon yet never man sat (Matthew 2; Zec 9:9).

What a good, accurate description and picture this is of every stubborn, unbroken, untamed, wild sinner. Gods Word is very plain in describing mankind in very clear terms, with very obvious meanings. And you will find that, unlike the preachers of this day, God never has anything good to say about fallen man. God describes our race as fallen, altogether filthy and incapable of doing good (Psalms 14). From the soles of our feet to the crown of our heads there is no soundness in us, nothing but wounds and bruises, and putrefying sores (Isaiah 1). In Romans 3 we are described as being totally unprofitable and useless.

And the pictures of fallen men are even more debasing than the words used to describe us. Like Lazarus, we are dead and stinking. Like the aborted infant described by Ezekiel, we are polluted in our own blood.

But here in Luke, and no less than eight times in the Word of God, we are represented, and very accurately represented, as wild asss colts. That is how we are described in Job 11:12. You and I are all born by nature like a wild asss colt, foolish, senseless, and stubborn, given to lust and debauchery. As the wild ass will not bear the yoke, so none will ever bow to the yoke of Christ, except the Son of God break him. Man by nature is like a wild ass used to the wilderness, that snuffeth up wind at her pleasure (Jer 2:24; Job 39:5).

In the movies you see old men and women riding donkeys, and get the idea that they are nice, gentle, sweet animals, the kind you would like to have for pets, if you just had the room. But that is never the case by nature. It is their nature to be mean. If you try to get one to ride, to carry a load, to pull a cart, unless and until he is broken and tamed, he will buck, and kick, and bite. If all else fails, he will just sit down.

Thats a pretty good picture of man. Made by God and made for his glory, all men ought to gladly give thanks to him, submit to his rule, worship him, and give him his due. But just try to get one to worship God, and watch him kick. Tell those sweet, religious wild asss the truth about man, about God, about Christ, about redemption and grace, and watch them buck and bite! Yes, man is well described and represented as a wild asss colt.

Colt Tied

Did you notice that this colt was tied (Luk 19:30)? People love to think they are independent and free. Dont they? But the fact is, every man by nature is tied and bound; by sin, by Satan, by tradition, by peer pressure, and by religion.

The colt was tied in a place where two ways met, at a crossroad. So it is with all men. All are bound and tied at a crossroad, at a place where two ways meet: the way to heaven and the way to hell, the way of grace and the way of works, the way of life and the way of death (Pro 14:12; Pro 16:25). Fallen man is tied, like this wild asss colt, outside the door, not in the Door, outside of grace, outside of Christ, not in Christ.

Loose Him

The Lord Jesus sent his two disciples to loose this wild asss colt.

Go ye into the village over against you; in the which at your entering ye shall find a colt tied, whereon yet never man sat: loose him, and bring him hither. And if any man ask you, Why do ye loose him? thus shall ye say unto him, Because the Lord hath need of him (Luk 19:30-31).

Everywhere in the Book of God the grace of God is set before us as that which looses men. Religion binds. Grace looses! We are in the loosing business. These disciples found the wild asss colt, just like the Master said they would. When they did, they loosed the asss colt. They were told to loose him because the Lord hath need of him.

Imagine that! What possible need could the Son of God have for a wild asss colt, like you or me? He needs everyone he fetches to himself so that he may see of the travail of his soul and be satisfied, so that he may ride him triumphantly through the streets of Jerusalem and garner the praises of his people for his great goodness as the king of grace and glory!

And they brought him to Jesus (Luk 19:35). In Joh 12:12-15 the Spirit of God sheds more light on this. We have seen that these disciples found the asss colt and brought him to the Saviour, and they did. But in Johns narrative the Holy Spirit tells us that it was Christ himself that did the finding.

On the next day much people that were come to the feast, when they heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem, Took branches of palm trees, and went forth to meet him, and cried, Hosanna: Blessed is the King of Israel that cometh in the name of the Lord. And Jesus, when he had found a young ass, sat thereon; as it is written, Fear not, daughter of Sion: behold, thy King cometh, sitting on an asss colt.

It is Christ himself who comes seeking and finding his people, it is Christ himself who fetches sinners by his omnipotent grace to himself through the preaching of the gospel.

And Then

What happened when they brought this wild asss colt to the Saviour? They cast their garments upon the colt (Luk 19:35). Not only is it true that all who come to Christ are washed in his blood and robed in his righteousness, clothed with the garments of salvation, they find among his saints a people who receive them and love them, and willingly give them the shirts off their backs.

Then, they sat the Master on the colt, spread their clothes in the way, and watched him ride in triumphant glory through Jerusalem, as they began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works that they had seen. Not the works they had done, but the works they had seen! Saying, Blessed be the King that cometh in the name of the Lord: peace in heaven, and glory in the highest.

Here is a wild asss colt, broken by grace and ridden by the Son of God, and he doesnt buck, or kick, or bite. He found the Saviours yoke easy and his burden light.

The religious crowd saw what was going on, heard the shouts of praise to God, and the pronounced blessedness of Christ the King, but they did not have a clue what was happening (Luk 19:39-40).

Why?

Why an asss colt? Why not a great white stallion? 1Co 1:26-31 gives us the answer.

For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called: But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty; And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are: That no flesh should glory in his presence. But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption: That, according as it is written, he that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord.

I once read that one of the rarest mammals in world is the African Wild Ass. There are not more than a few hundred in the world. I am not really very interested in that. But I am interested in the people represented in our text by the wild asss colt. And I assure you that they are very, very rare.

To understand these things aright,

This grand distinction should be known:

Though all are sinners in Gods sight,

There are but few so in their own.

To such as these our Lord was sent;

Theyre only sinners who repent.

What comfort can a Saviour bring

To those who never felt their woe?

A sinner is a sacred thing;

The Holy Ghost hath made him so.

New life from him we must receive,

Before for sin we rightly grieve.

This faithful saying let us own,

Well worthy tis to be believed,

That Christ into the world came down,

That sinners might by him be saved.

Sinners are high in his esteem,

And sinners highly value him.

Joseph Hart

Fuente: Discovering Christ In Selected Books of the Bible

he went: Luk 9:51, Luk 12:50, Luk 18:31, Psa 40:6-8, Mar 10:32-34, Joh 18:11, Heb 12:2, 1Pe 4:1

Reciprocal: Mat 21:1 – when

Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge

The Magnificat to the King

Luk 19:28-46

INTRODUCTORY WORDS

1. Step by step Christ moved on fulfilling prophecy. The whole life of the Lord Jesus Christ, from the cradle to the ascension, was a marvelous fulfillment of Old Testament prophecies.

He was born as the Prophets wrote of Him; born of a virgin; born in Bethlehem; born a Child, given a Son; born of the lineage of David; His Name was called Immanuel.

He was brought up as the Prophets wrote of Him. An alien to His mother’s children; called out of Egypt; raised in Nazareth; growing up as a tender plant, and as a root out of dry ground.

He entered and pursued His ministry as the Prophets had afore declared. There was John, His forerunner, who went to prepare His way. There was the light springing up in Zabulon, and Nephthalim, by the way of the sea, beyond Jordan, as Isaiah wrote. Christ bore the sicknesses of the people according to Isa 53:4. He fulfilled the Prophets in that He did not lift up His voice nor cry in the streets. The people fulfilled the Prophets in that they had ears to hear, which heard not; and eyes to see, which saw not. In this sermon we see, once more, step by step, He took up the trail, and pressed His way on, in accord with all that was foretold.

2. Step by step Christ moved toward His Cross, which was a climax of first coming prophecy. Calvary was ever the great consummation toward which Christ pressed His way. The triumphal entry into Jerusalem, mid the Hosannas of His disciples, did not deceive Him. He came near to the city, and wept over it. He knew that the days were fast coming when the enemy would cast a trench about the beloved city, and compass it around, and not leave one stone upon another, because they had not known the day of their visitation.

So it was, that, mid the clamor of the plaudits and the noise of the praise, Christ faced the Cross. With stately mien, and determinate purpose, He approached Jerusalem to die, and not to reign.

3. Step by step Christ was prefiguring the fulfilment of second coming prophecy. As Christ rode upon the ass and upon the colt the foal of an ass, He knew that all that Zechariah had spoken would not immediately be fulfilled. He had passed upward toward Jerusalem by the way of the Mount of Olives. He had sat upon the ass and had been acclaimed by the whole multitude of His disciples, as they said, “Blessed be the King that cometh in the Name of the Lord.” There, however, the prophecy was broken off. Christ will come once more by the way of the Mount of Olives. Once more He will come as King of kings, and as Lord of lords, mid the glad acclaim of the people. In that day His feet shall stand upon the Mount of Olives; and the Lord, our God shall come and all the saints with Him.

I. THE PREFACE TO THE MAGNIFICAT (Luk 19:28)

Our verse says, “And when He had thus spoken, He went before, ascending up to Jerusalem.” It is very vital to the proper comprehension of this study, to briefly grasp the words which Christ had spoken before He went up to Jerusalem, and before the holy hosannas were sounded forth acclaiming Him King.

1. The words spoken before, manifested that Jesus knew the Cross and not the crown lay before Him. Beginning with verse eleven, we read, “And He (Jesus) added and spake a parable, because He was nigh to Jerusalem, and because they thought that the Kingdom of God should immediately appear.”

In order to prepare His disciples for what would happen, Christ sought to forewarn them concerning His rejection and crucifixion. They thought Christ would immediately set up His Kingdom: the Lord knew that His Kingdom would not then be set up, but that in the stead thereof a cross would be set up on the hill of Golgotha.

There is no doubt but that Jesus knew that the Cross, and not the crown, lay before Him.

2. The words spoken before, were followed by Christ hastening on toward His death. The words are most striking. Our verse says, “He went before,” that is, He hastened on ahead of His disciples, going up to Jerusalem. There is something very similar to this in the Book of Mark. Mark says, “And they were in the way going up to Jerusalem; and Jesus went before them: and they were amazed.”

Then Jesus took the disciples and began to tell them how they were going up to Jerusalem, and how the Son of Man should be delivered unto the chief priests and scribes, and be mocked, and scourged, and spit upon, and killed.

Thus it was, that, knowing fully His death, He hastened on His way.

II. THE MESSAGE FROM THE MOUNT OF OLIVES (Luk 19:29)

1. We stop a moment to ask, could Christ have ascended, then and there, from that mount? Of course, we all know, that a little while later, after His resurrection, He did ascend from the Mount of Olives. Why then could He not have ascended, as He stood there with His disciples? Had He gone on Home, He would have missed all of the anguish which He knew lay ahead of Him,-the betrayal, the Cross, the thirst, the sword thrust; the raging mob wagging their heads against Him; the seven cries of the Cross; the darkness; the breaking of the blood vessels of His heart; the entombment-all of these might have been missed, had He ascended as He stood hard by the Mount of Olives. But, not so. Christ knew that for the work of the Cross He had come into the world, and having loved His own, He loved them unto the end.

He pressed on His way through fire and flood, through darkness and death, in order that He might give His life a ransom for many.

2. We still linger a moment to ask, if Christ had ascended at that time, could He ever descend to reign and to rule on David’s throne? The Mount of Olives nigh to Bethphage and Bethany is made prominent in the Scripture by two great events. First, it was from that Mount that He ascended, and secondly, it is to that Mount that He shall come in His Second Advent. The Prophet has told us, “His feet shall stand in that day upon the Mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem to the East.”

Certainly our Lord was God. He lived and moved as one with the Father. He wrought out the Father’s purposes and fulfilled the Father’s will. It would, therefore, have been utterly impossible for Him to have broken the will of God, and to have ascended before His passion and resurrection. Had He broken that will, and had He ascended. He could never have descended, in fulfilment of Zechariah’s prophecy; for there would have been no hearts made ready to receive Him, and no lips ready to acclaim Him King of kings and Lord of lords.

III. THE MASTER’S USE OF THE MENIAL ASS (Luk 19:30-31; Luk 19:34)

Jesus said; “Ye shall find a colt tied.” This colt was the foal of an ass.

It was not customary for kings to ride upon an ass. It is the horse, with strength and beauty; with proud mien, and with haughty step, that is generally chosen by a king.

Let us note then, therefore, a few things.

1. The Master had need of a lowly beast. The ass is a beast of burden. It is a beast cumbered with toil. It is a beast of humble carriage. It is meek, obedient, ready to serve.

Is there not then a spiritual significance to the word, “The Lord hath need of him”?

Where is he who has not felt himself the least among men, weak, unequipped, and unable to do the large thing, and the spectacular thing? Yet, for such an one the Master hath need. Read 1Co 1:26-31.

2. The Master’s use of the ass, in glorified service. How wonderful it all was! The Lord of lords, and the destined King of kings; the One who was very God of very God, whom angels ever worshiped, rode, sitting upon an ass, and a colt the foal of an ass. This does not carry us from the sublime to the ridiculous. It dignifies the lowly. It glorifies the meek.

Are we not called into partnership with Jesus Christ? Are we not ambassadors of a King, doing royal service? How then hath the Lord honored His lowly ones?

IV. HOSANNAS AND HALLELUIAHS (Luk 19:37-38)

What obeisance was shown the Lord Jesus upon this day? The people took their garments and cast them on the colt. Then, as Jesus went along, they spread their clothes in the way.

1. Let us view the humble, happy hearts of His disciples. They who gave voice to their praise, had reason to rejoice. Had Christ not proved a blessing to them all? He had moved in and out among them with words of comfort and of cheer. He had taught them the way of life, of light, and of love. He had healed their sick, fed their hungry, and raised their dead.

They who cried, “Blessed be the King that cometh in the Name of the Lord: peace in Heaven, and glory in the Highest,” had another reason for their cry. He was the destined King of Israel, He was born King of the Jews; He was heralded as Israel’s King and Deliverer; He was crucified King of kings, and He is coming a King, to take David’s throne.

The people, as they cried, thought that the hour had struck and that the time had come for the fulfilment of all the Old Testament prophecies of Israel’s restoration and of the Messiah’s reign.

2. Let us transfer the voices of these hosannas to a coming age. The rejoicings and praise of that day were not long lived; and yet, they are the foregleam of another day. When Christ does come again, and the people behold Him whom they have pierced, and He is received into their love with open arms; then He will turn their sorrow into singing, and their sighs into shouts of joy.

The whole world shall yet reverberate with the praise of Christ’s redeemed. Even the little children in the Temple will voice His praise. The King Himself will rejoice: He who reigns in the midst of Israel, will save, He will rejoice over His people with joy; He will rest in His love, He will joy over His people with singing.

V. RELIGIOUS PHARISEES PROFFER REMONSTRANCES (Luk 19:39-40)

A cloud began to mar the beauty of the clear sky on that glorious day. At first it may have been no larger than a man’s hand, but it grew until with the fierceness of a sweeping tornado it beat out its fury upon the form of the Crucified One.

1. The rulers were disparaging the Deity of the Lord. Those who acclaimed Christ on that fitful day proclaimed Him Lord, and King. They even worshiped Him, and thus acclaimed Him God. This the Pharisees condemned.

Jesus Christ had invariably claimed that He was God. He had taught the people that He had come forth from the Father, and had come into the world. He had said that He wrought the works of the Father, and spoke the words of the “Father. He had proclaimed that He was the Resurrection and the Life; that He was the Light of the world; that He was the Bread of Life; that He was the Door of the sheepfold; that He was the Good Shepherd, who gave His life for the sheep.

The people now, who gathered about Him, were ready to grant His claims. They were willing to acknowledge Him as Lord. They hoped that the day of their deliverance from the tyranny of the Roman yoke had come.

In all of this the unbelieving Pharisees saw no more than the crumbling of their own power, and the loss of their own prestige. Therefore, they declaimed Him.

2. The rulers were desiring the death of Christ. While the disciples praised Christ with their hosannahs and hallelujahs, the Pharisees were, in truth, going about seeking how they might betray Him. Already they sought His death. Little did they know that they could have done nothing against Him, unless He Himself had yielded to their perfidy, and the Father willed His death.

VI. WEEPING AND WAILING OVER ISRAEL’S FATE (Luk 19:41-44)

There is no one who doubts that Christ might not have overthrown every enemy with the word of His mouth. Other kings, when they saw the possibility of a Kingdom lying in their grasp, have ruthlessly slain every heir apparent to the throne, and everyone who might have proved an obstacle to their kingship, or a menace to their throne. Not so, did Christ.

1. Christ wept over Jerusalem. We read that when He was come near He beheld the city and wept over it. The city of Jerusalem was dear to the Master’s heart. Christ taught that we should pray for the peace of Jerusalem, and that they would prosper who loved her. It was He, who with the pen of the Psalmist, wrote, “Peace be within thy walls, and prosperity within thy palaces.” Thus, also, did the Lord love Jerusalem. He sought her good and wept when He saw her coming sorrows.

2. Christ prophesied Jerusalem’s fall. He said, “The days shall come upon thee, that thine enemies shall cast a trench about thee, and compass thee around, and keep thee on every side, and shall lay thee even with the ground, and thy children within thee.”

All of this was to come upon Israel, because she knew not: the day of the Lord’s visitation. These things came to pass when Titus destroyed Jerusalem.

VII. A PROPHETIC HOUSE-CLEANING (Luk 19:45-46)

After Christ had. wept over Jerusalem and had prophesied her utter collapse, He went into the Temple and began to cast out them that sold therein, and them that bought.

1. In this we see Christ’s zeal for His Father’s house. His Father’s House was made for a House of prayer: but the Jews had turned it into a den of thieves.

2. In this we see a manifestation of the cause of the Temple’s final destruction-it was because the people had forsaken the Lord their God, and had defiled His House with their abominations.

Ezekiel had given a picture of all of this (see chapter 8), when he wrote of the abominations that were done in Jerusalem, and of how the Temple itself was given over to wickedness. Then it was that the glory of the Lord left the Temple, and the angel with a slaughter weapon in his hand went forth to slay utterly.

3. In this we see Israel’s future cleansing. As Christ cleansed the Temple in that day, so also will He cleanse it when He comes again. He will do this for His Holy Name’s sake. In the place where there has been shame, there shall be glory. In the place where wickedness has prevailed, righteousness will reign. The Lord God will give a new heart unto His people and put a new Spirit within them.

AN ILLUSTRATION

“Gerhardt, a German shepherd boy. was one day watching his master’s flock of sheep in a valley near the edge of a forest. Through the woods there came a hunter, who asked him, ‘How far is it to the next village?’ ‘Six miles, sir,’ said Gerhardt, ‘but there is no road-there is only a sheep track.’ The hunter looked at the narrow crooked path, and said, ‘Will you leave your sheep long enough to show me the way to the village? I am tired, and hungry, and thirsty. I have lost my guide in the way. I will pay you for your trouble.’ The shepherd boy replied, ‘I cannot leave my sheep, sir. They would stray into the forest, where they would be eaten by wolves or stolen by robbers.’ The hunter said. “Well, what of that? They are not your sheep. Even if a few of them were lost or stolen, your master would not know it, and I will give you as much as you would earn in a year taking care of sheep.’ ‘I cannot,’ replied Gerhardt. ‘My master pays me for my time, and he trusts me with his sheep; and if I give you my time, and lose some of my master’s sheep, then it will be the same thing as if I had stolen the sheep.’ ‘Well,’ said the hunter, ‘will you leave your sheep with me; I will watch them, and you go to the village and find me a guide?’ The boy shook his head, saying, ‘The sheep do not know your voice, and besides you have tried to make me play false, and how do I know that you will not play false with my sheep?’ This time the hunter laughed and said, ‘I can see, my lad, that you are a good faithful boy. I will never forget you. Show me the way and I will try to follow it myself.’ Gerhardt opened his dinner pail and offered his lunch, poor as it was, to the huntsman. The huntsman ate it, and then started on his way to the village. A few days later, Gerhardt learned that the huntsman was none other than the grand duke who owned all the land round about, as well as the sheep which he was tending. The duke was so pleased with the boy’s faithfulness that he gave him a nice home and sent him to college.

“Faithfulness is a beautiful thing to possess. The duke remembered and rewarded the shepherd boy’s faithfulness. God will remember and reward your faithfulness. Even in the ways of difficulties, when things are hard, remember the verse, ‘Be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life.'”

Fuente: Neighbour’s Wells of Living Water

8

Went before. He took the lead in journeying toward Jerusalem.

Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary

LET us mark, for one thing, in these verses, the perfect knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. We see Him sending two of His disciples to a village, and telling them that they would find at the entrance of it, “a colt tied, whereon yet never man sat.” We see Him describing what they would see and hear, with as much confidence as if the whole transaction had been previously arranged. In short, He speaks like one to whom all things were naked and open,-like one whose eyes were in every place,-like one who knew things unseen as well as things seen.

An attentive reader will observe the same thing in other parts of the Gospel. We are told in one place that “He knew the thoughts” of His enemies. We are told in another, that “He knew what was in man.” We are told in another, that “He knew from the beginning who they were that believed not and who should betray Him.” (Mat 12:25; Joh 2:25; Joh 6:64.) Knowledge like this is the peculiar attribute of God. Passages like these are meant to remind us, that “the man Christ Jesus” is not only man. He is also “God blessed for ever.” (Rom 9:5.)

The thought of Christ’s perfect knowledge should alarm sinners and awaken them to repentance. The great Head of the Church knows them and all their doings. The Judge of all sees them continually, and marks down all their ways. There is “no darkness where the workers of iniquity can hide themselves.” (Job 34:22.) If they go into the secret chamber the eyes of Christ are there. If they privately scheme villainy and plot wickedness, Christ knows it and observes it. If they speak secretly against the righteous, Christ hears. They may deceive men all their life long, but they cannot deceive Christ. A day comes when God “will judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ, according to the Gospel.” (Rom 2:16.)

The thought of Christ’s perfect knowledge should comfort all true-hearted Christians, and quicken them to increased diligence in good works. The Master’s eye is always upon them. He knows where they dwell, and what are their daily trials, and who are their companions. There is not a word in their mouths, or a thought in their hearts, but Jesus knows it altogether. Let them take courage when they are slandered, misunderstood, and misrepresented by the world. It matters nothing so long as they can say, “Thou, Lord, who knowest all things, knowest that I love thee.” (Joh 21:17.) Let them walk on steadily in the narrow way, and not turn aside to the right hand or the left. When sinners entice them, and weak brethren say, “Spare thyself,” let them reply, “My Master is looking at me. I desire to live and move as in the sight of Christ.”

Let us mark, for another thing, in this passage, the publicity of our Lord’s last entry into Jerusalem. We are told of His riding in on an ass, like a king visiting his capital, or a conqueror returning in triumph to his native land. We read of a “multitude of disciples” surrounding Him as He rode into the city, “rejoicing and praising God with a loud voice.” The whole history is strikingly unlike the general tenor of our Lord’s life. On other occasions, we see Him withdrawing from public observation, retiring into the wilderness, charging those whom He healed to tell no man what was done. On the present occasion all is changed. Reserve is completely thrown aside. He seems to court public notice. He appears desirous that all should see Him, and should mark, note, and observe what He did.

The reasons of our Lord’s conduct at this crisis of His ministry, at first sight, may appear hard to discover. On calm reflection they are clear and plain. He knew that the time had come when He was to die for sinners on the cross. His work as the great Prophet, so far as His earthly ministry was concerned, was almost finished and completed. His work as the sacrifice for sin and substitute for sinners, remained to be accomplished. Before giving Himself up as a sacrifice, He desired to draw the attention of the whole Jewish nation to Himself. The Lamb of God was about to be slain. The great sin-offering was about to be killed. It was meet that the eyes of all Israel should be fixed upon Him. This great thing was not to be done in a corner.

For ever let us bless God that the death of our Lord Jesus Christ was so widely known and so public an event. Had He been suddenly stoned in some popular tumult,-or privately beheaded like John the Baptist in prison, there never would have been wanting Jewish and Gentile unbelievers, who would have denied that the Son of God had died at all. The wisdom of God so ordered events that such a denial was rendered impossible. Whatever men may think of the doctrine of Christ’s atoning death, they can never deny the fact that Christ died. Publicly He rode into Jerusalem a few days before His death. Publicly He was seen and heard in the city until the day that He was betrayed. Publicly He was brought before the High Priests and Pilate, and condemned. Publicly He was led forth to Calvary, and nailed to the cross. The corner-stone and crowning-event in our Lord’s ministry was His death for sinners. Of all the events of His ministry, that death was the one most public, and the one witnessed by the greatest number of Jews. And that death was the “life of the world.” (Joh 6:51.)

Let us leave the whole passage with the cheering reflection, that the joy of Christ’s disciples at His entry into Jerusalem, when He came to be crucified, will prove as nothing compared to the joy of His people when He comes again to reign.-That first joy was soon broken off and exchanged for sorrow and bitter tears. The second joy shall be a joy for evermore.-That first joy was often interrupted by the bitter sneers of enemies, who were plotting mischief. The second joy shall be liable to no such rude interruptions. Not a word shall be said against the King when He comes to Jerusalem the second time. “Before Him every knee shall bow, and every tongue confess that He is Lord.” (Php 2:11.)

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Notes-

v30.-[Ye shall find a colt tied, &c.] Let it be noted, that the public entry into Jerusalem which we read of here, is one of the few events in our Lord’s history which all four Gospel writers relate. There is evidently an importance about it as a step in our Lord’s earthly ministry, which we should not overlook.

The allegorical meanings which many commentators attach to the whole transaction, appear to me, to say the least, very questionable. I am unable to see that “the colt” is a type of the Gentile Church, and our Lord’s riding on it a type of the Gentiles becoming obedient to the Gospel. Those who wish to see instances of allegorical views of the subject, will find them in the commentaries of Pellican and Brentius, and in Luther’s Exposition of the Gospel for the First Sunday in Advent.

It may be well to remark that there was nothing ignominious or unworthy of a great person in riding on an ass. In eastern countries asses have in every age been used by persons of high rank. (See Jdg 5:10.)

v31.-[The Lord hath need of him.] It is not quite clear whether these words were meant to have a miraculous constraining influence on the mind of the master of the colt, or whether he would simply regard it as a case of borrowing for some eminent person’s use. The former of the two opinions seems the more probable. It is clear that throughout the whole transaction of this last entry into Jerusalem, a constraining miraculous influence was exercised over the minds of many persons, showing plainly what our Lord might have easily done, if He had been minded to take to Himself a temporal dominion.

v32.-[Found as he had said.] It is interesting to note here how many various minute circumstances were mentioned by our Lord when He sent His disciples for the colt, and how accurate His description proved.

v37.-[Multitude of the disciples.] We must necessarily suppose that many of the disciples here mentioned were not really disciples in heart. They followed our Lord probably in much ignorance, and under very mistaken expectations.

v38.-[Peace in heaven.] We can only conjecture what the multitude meant by this expression. It is possible that they intended to declare their belief that Messiah’s reign of universal “peace” and His advent in “glory,” was on the point of beginning. In the ‘ mouths of many it was probably a scriptural phrase used at any period of great religious rejoicing, without any distinct application to Messiah’s times.

v39.-[Rebuke thy disciples.] This expression seems to show clearly that the Pharisees considered the multitude to be treating Jesus as the Messiah, and considered Jesus to be claiming the Messiahship by His not checking the language His attendants used. His riding on the colt would doubtless bring to their recollection the famous prophecy of Zechariah, which all Jews applied to the Messiah, and would add to their displeasure.

v40.-[The stones would cry out.] This expression must evidently be regarded as a proverbial and figurative one. If men did not rejoice at Christ’s advent, even inanimate nature would cry shame.

In leaving this passage, it is fair to remark, that the view I have set forth in the Exposition, of our Lord’s design in making His public entry into Jerusalem, is not that which is commonly given by commentators. It seems generally thought that our Lord’s principal object was to manifest His kingly power, and His dominion, when He thought fit to exercise it, over the wills of men.

I cannot help thinking that this theory falls short of the true meaning of the event. I have a firm conviction that our Lord did what He did in anticipation of His approaching death on the cross. Before dying for our sins, He called public attention to Himself, and filled Jerusalem with the report of His arrival. The consequence was, that when He was crucified a few days after, the attention of the whole multitude assembled at Jerusalem for the passover, was directed to Him. He was offered up as a sacrifice with the greatest possible publicity, and with the eyes of the whole nation upon Him. One of the greatest helps to this publicity, beyond doubt, was His remarkable entry into Jerusalem. Myriads of Jews from foreign parts came up to the holy city at the feast of the passover. There was probably not one among them who did not hear that a wonderful teacher had arrived, who claimed to be the Messiah, and rode into the city in the manner predicted by Zechariah. His death on the cross a few days after, would doubtless raise many thoughts in their minds, and in many cases would never be forgotten.

Fuente: Ryle’s Expository Thoughts on the Gospels

Luke agrees closely with the other Evangelists in the account of the entry to Jerusalem. He mentions in addition a murmur of the Pharisees and our Lords reply (Luk 19:39-40), as well as the fact that He wept over the city (Luk 19:41-42); and then, after the cleansing of the temple (Luk 19:45-46), he gives a general description (Luk 19:47-48), of the Masters activity during the last days of His public teaching, the particulars being recorded in chaps. Luk 20:1 to Luk 21:6.

Fuente: A Popular Commentary on the New Testament

Our Lord (as noted before) was now upon his last journey to Jerusalem, where he was to shed his blood, and lay down his life for the redemption and salvation of a lost world; and it is observable, what a double demonstration he gives of his great willingness and forwardness to go up to Jerusalem, there to die.

1. Both St. Luke here, and St. Mark, Mar 10:32 tell us, that he went before the company leading the way, when he went to suffer. Lord! With what alacrity and holy cheerfulness did thou manage the great work of man’s redemption! None ever went so willingly to a crown as thou to thy cross.

2. Our Saviour, who all his life traveled like a poor man on foot, now he goes up to Jerusalem to die for us, he will ride, to show his great forwardness to lay down his life for us, but what was the beast he rode upon! An ass’s colt; to fulfill that prophecy,Tell ye the daughter of Zion, Behold, thy King cometh, riding upon an ass. Zec 9:9 Yes it was a colt which never man rode before; to let us see how the most unruly and untamed creatures become obedient and obsequious to Christ, and render themselves serviceable to him at his pleasure. It was also a borrowed ass, whereby our Savior’s right to all the creatures was manifested; and accordingly he bids his disciples to tell the owner, That the Lord had need of him: not your Lord, or our Lord, but the Lord, that is, he that is Lord of the whole earth, whose are the cattle upon a thousand hills.

Here note, what a clear and full demonstration Christ gave of his divine nature: of his omnisciency in foreseeing and foretelling the event; of his omnipotency in inclining the heart, and over-ruling the will of the owner to let the colt go; and of his sovereignty, that as he was Lord of the creatures, he could command and call for their services whenever he needed them. The colt being brought, and our Saviour set thereon.

Observe, next, the actions of the multitude in acknowledging Christ to be our King; they spread their clothes in the way, casting their garments on the ground, for him to ride upon, according to the custom of princes when they ride in state; yes, the multitude do not only disrobe their backs, but expend their breath in joyful acclamations and loud hosannas, wishing all manner of prosperity to their meek but mighty Prince. In this princely, yet poor and despicable pomp, does our Saviour enter the famous city of Jerusalem. Oh how far was our holy Lord from affecting worldly greatness and grandeur! He despised that glory which worldly hearts fondly admire; yet because he was a King, he would be proclaimed such, and have his kingdom confessed, applauded, and blessed: but that it might appear that his kingdom was not of this world, he abandons all worldly magnificence. Oh glorious, yet homely pomp! Oh meek, yet mighty Prince!

Observe lastly, the peevish envy of the wicked Pharisees, who were then in company: they grudge our Saviour this poor honor; they envy him this small triumph of coming into the city upon an ass’s colt, attended by a company of poor people, strewing the way with boughs of trees, with hosannas and joyful acclamations in their mouths: these poor people’s mouths they would have stopped; Master, rebuke thy disciples; they did not like the music. Christ tells them, that they labor in vain to suppress the testimony given by his disciples, for if they should be silent, the stones would cry out yes, cry out shame of them for neglecting their duty: as if Christ had said, the speechless stones will speak and give witness to me, if men will not.

Learn hence, they that are owned of God, shall not want ownings and witnessings from man, at one time or other, in one way or other, though the envy and malice of men do never so much gainsay and oppose it.

Fuente: Expository Notes with Practical Observations on the New Testament

Luk 19:28-40. When he had thus spoken When he had finished the preceding parable in Zaccheuss house; he went before Continued his journey, and led the way as foremost of the company, thus showing his readiness to suffer; ascending up to Jerusalem Being determined to appear there at the approaching passover, though he well knew that he was to encounter persecution and death there. And when he was come nigh to Bethphage and Bethany Both these villages being situated at the foot of the mount of Olives, and Jesus being between them, on the road from Jericho to Jerusalem, he might very properly be said to have been nigh to both, and nigh to Jerusalem, which was at the distance of two miles only: he sent two of his disciples, &c. See this paragraph explained, Mat 21:1-16; Mar 11:1-10. The whole multitude began to praise God Speaking at once, as it seems, from a divine impulse words which most of them did not understand. Peace in heaven God being reconciled to man. Rebuke thy disciples Paying thee this immoderate honour. If these should hold their peace, the stones which lie before you would immediately cry out That is, God would raise up some still more unlikely instruments to declare his praise. Or, that he would, by a miracle, raise up others to glorify his name, rather than silence should be kept on this occasion. But though Jesus did not refuse the honours that were now paid him, he was far from assuming the dignity of an earthly prince, or any state pageantry whatsoever. On the contrary, he humbled himself exceedingly; his riding on an ass being an instance of great meekness, according to what was prophesied of him, Zec 9:9.

Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments

First Cycle: The Entry of Jesus into Jerusalem, Luk 19:28-44.

This narrative embraces: 1 st. The preparations for the entry (Luk 19:28-36); 2 d. The joy of the disciples and of the multitude on coming in sight of Jerusalem (Luk 19:37-40); 3 d. The tears of Jesus at the same instant (Luk 19:41-44).

Fuente: Godet Commentary (Luke, John, Romans and 1 Corinthians)

Luk 19:28-40. The Triumphal Entry (Mar 11:1-11*, Mat 21:1-11*).There is nothing peculiar in Lk.s narrative except Luk 19:28, which recalls Luk 9:51, till we come to Luk 19:37. There the crowd is defined as consisting of disciples, and their exultation ascribed to the mighty works which they had seen. Luk 19:38 b reminds us of Luk 2:14, though here we have peace in heaven (cf. Job 25:2), part of Lk.s paraphrase of Hosanna.

Luk 19:39 f. Lk. only. Syr. Sin. omits of the Pharisees. The verses are Lk.s equivalent for Mat 21:15 f., the praise of the children. Jesus accepts the acclaiming homage of the crowd as Divinely ordained.

Fuente: Peake’s Commentary on the Bible

19:28 And when he had thus spoken, {f} he went before, ascending up to Jerusalem.

(f) The disciples were staggered and stopped by what Christ said, but Christ goes on boldly even though death was before his eyes.

Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes

A. The Triumphal Entry 19:28-40 (cf. Matthew 21:1-9; Mark 11:1-10; John 12:12-19)

Luke did not record Jesus’ actual entrance into the city of Jerusalem. He stressed Jesus’ approach to Jerusalem and His lamentation over it (Luk 19:41-44). This presentation has the effect of eliminating the triumphant spirit of Jesus’ coming and replacing it with sadness over Jesus’ rejection.

Until now, Jesus typically discouraged people from proclaiming that He was the Messiah. Now He not only allowed people to identify Him as such but encouraged them to do so. The time of His official presentation to Israel as her Messiah had come.

"Everything He did over the course of these days was designed to call attention to the fact that He is the Messiah." [Note: Martin, p. 253.]

Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)

VI. JESUS’ MINISTRY IN JERUSALEM 19:28-21:38

Luke’s account of Jesus’ passion highlights Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem and His teaching there before His arrest.

Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)

This is another of Luke’s geographical markers that note Jesus’ progress toward his goal, Jerusalem. He traveled west from Jericho, up the Judean wilderness, and toward Bethany. He walked in front of His followers leading them to the Cross.

Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)