From as early as the 4th century, Christians have recognized this day as Palm Sunday, which of course commemorates the moment when Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey.
It's often referred to as Holy Week. Of course, Holy Week culminates in the celebration of Christ's resurrection on Easter Sunday.
And perhaps beginning on this day and through the week, you have a particular reading plan.
Perhaps you're reading through the Gospels, as they tell, of the days leading up to the crucifixion and then, of course, the crucifixion itself and the resurrection.
Our church has never really followed a liturgical calendar, at least not very rigidly.
We do what most churches do, of course, with Easter and Christmas, and occasionally we'll throw in one of the other dates as well.
But today, we're going to jump on board with the typical Christian liturgical calendar,
joining with literally millions of Christians around the world today who are meditating on the significance of this moment in the life of Christ.
And we're going to do so by considering the account of this found in the Gospel of Luke.
Luke 19, beginning at verse 28.
When he had said these things, he went on ahead going to Jerusalem.
When he drew near to Bethphage and Bethany at the mount that is called Olivet,
he sent two of his disciples, saying,
Go into the village in front of you, where on entering you will find a colt tied, on which no one has ever sat.
Untie it and bring it here.
If anyone asks you, why are you untying it?
You shall say this,
The Lord has need of it.
So those who were sent away and found it just as he had told them.
And as they were untying the colt, its owner said to them,
Why are you untying the colt?
Reasonable question.
They said,
The Lord has need of it.
And they brought it to Jesus and throwing their cloaks on the colt, they set Jesus on it.
And as he rode along, they spread their cloaks on the road.
As he was drawing near, already on the way down the Mount of Olives,
the whole multitude of his disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works they had seen,
saying,
Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord.
Peace in heaven and glory in the highest.
And some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to him,
Teacher, rebuke your disciples.
And he answered,
I tell you, if these were silent, the very stones would cry out.
And when he drew near and saw the city, he wept over it,
saying,
Would that you, even you, had known on this day the things that make for peace,
but now they are hidden from your eyes.
For the days will come upon you when your enemies will set up a barricade around you
and surround you and hem you in on every side
and tear you down to the ground,
you and your children within you,
and they will not leave one stone upon another in you
because you did not know the time of your visitation.
And he entered the temple and began to drive out those who sold,
saying to them,
It is written,
My house shall be a house of prayer.
You have made it a den of robbers.
And he was teaching daily in the temple.
The chief priests and the scribes and the principal men of the people
were seeking to destroy him.
But they did not find anything they could do,
for all the people were hanging on his words.
Amen.
What is important for us to remember
what the Gospels,
by Gospels I mean
the four Gospel pieces of literature in the New Testament,
it's important for us to remember
what they intend to accomplish
as a literary genre.
Many people will equate them to biographies,
but while they contain biographical information,
the authors of these Gospels
were not intending simply to tell us a few things
about Jesus' life.
That's not exactly what they are.
The Gospels are collections
of historical data
meant to persuade,
meant to persuade the readers
of a particular thing,
of the identity and the work of Christ,
of Jesus, of Nazareth,
and to persuade the reader,
therefore,
to trust in him
as the promised Messiah
and the Son of God
who has come to save us from our sins.
So they're not storybooks
designed to entertain us.
They are arguments
meant to convince us.
That's what the four Gospels are.
That's what they intend
to accomplish,
what their authors intended to accomplish.
Now, each of the four Gospel authors
have unique sources.
They also have unique audiences
for their material.
Matthew and John
were both part of Jesus' band of disciples
and were themselves eyewitnesses
of the events and the teachings
of Jesus' ministry.
John Mark was not a direct disciple
of the Lord Jesus,
but he came shortly thereafter
and was mentored
by the Apostle Peter.
Some point along the way
throughout their ministry in Rome,
those who had been listening
to Peter's preaching
and hearing Peter's eyewitness testimony
of the things of Jesus
asked that Mark would record those things
that they may have a copy of it
and the Lord has used that
so that we might have Mark's Gospel as well.
And then we come to Luke.
Luke was a companion
of the Apostle Paul
and because of that,
he moved in prominent Christian circles
in the first century
and his Gospel
presents the accounts
of various eyewitness testimonies
of the Lord Jesus.
And the purpose
of this collection of testimonies
by Luke's own admission
is that we might have certainty
about the person
and the work of Jesus
of Nazareth
as it relates
to our personal salvation.
Let me just read you
the opening dialogue
of his Gospel,
the very first four verses.
Luke says,
Inasmuch as many have undertaken
to compile a narrative
of the things
that have been accomplished
among us,
just as those
who from the beginning
were eyewitnesses
and ministers of the word
have delivered them to us,
it seemed good to me also,
having followed all things closely
for some time past,
to write an orderly account
for you,
most excellent Theophilus,
that you may have certainty
concerning the things
you have been taught.
So,
the events recorded for us
in Luke 19
are there
to contribute
to Luke's persuasive argument
about the Gospel of Jesus.
If we're trying to wonder
why are these here,
what is their purpose,
fundamentally,
Luke has already told us,
they are here
as part of an orderly account
of the life
and ministry
and teachings
of the Lord Jesus
in order that we might
have certainty
about what actually happened
in His life
so that we may increase
in our faith in Him
as Messiah and Lord.
Now,
the significance
of the triumphal entry,
as we often refer to it
in Christian language,
the significance of it
to the arguments
of the Gospels
is undoubtable
because all four of them
include a detailed account
of this particular event.
Now,
that's unusual.
It's not unusual
for Matthew,
Mark,
and Luke,
the synoptic Gospels,
to share lots of material
between one another,
although,
with differing perspectives,
they have lots of the same material
that they're covering.
John is different from that.
John is doing a different kind of thing
with his Gospel,
filling in some gaps.
It's unusual for us
to find moments
in Jesus' life
that are recorded
in all four,
and so when they are recorded
in all four,
we should pay careful attention
to why they're there.
Well,
this is one such story.
It's in all four
of our Gospels,
and it's not merely mentioned
in the four Gospels.
It's actually covered
in incredible detail.
It highlights
a significant moment
of prophetic fulfillment,
and it reveals
a great deal
about Jesus' character,
purpose,
as the Messiah of God.
And what Luke does here for us
in Luke 19
that I find to be so helpful
is he groups
three unique scenes
together
to help us see
Jesus
as our prophet,
priest,
and king.
Studying through this this week,
I thought about
the toys that I had,
that we had as kids.
I think Mattel made them.
They were called
viewfinders,
which were like
these funny little
camera-looking things.
You'd put your eyes up to it,
and they had the reel,
the picture reel
that you'd stick in the top.
You could change out the reels,
and there was a lever
on the side.
When you look through the camera,
you saw a picture,
and if you pull the lever
on the side,
the reel turns,
and you see the next picture.
You guys have those as kids?
Yeah, okay.
So you know
what I'm talking about.
Viewfinders,
Mattel made them.
I don't know
if they make them anymore,
but I remember them
as a kid.
I thought about that.
As Luke is compiling
these eyewitness accounts,
and as he gets to
chapter 19 here,
and he's telling us
about this momentous moment
in Jesus' life
and ministry,
and he groups
these three pictures together,
I want to take
the viewfinder approach
to the text.
That is,
I want us to
kind of flip through
the three scenes
pictured here
so that we might
get a general idea
of what happened
while thinking
primarily
about how each scene
contributes to
our understanding
of the gospel,
our understanding
of the gospel of Jesus.
So that's what we're
going to do.
We can't cover
every detail.
I'll have to leave
that to you,
but what we're going
to do,
we're just going to
pull the lever
a couple times.
We're going to see
the scenes.
We're going to examine
them briefly,
and ask how is this
contributing to our
understanding of the
gospel of Jesus?
scene number one.
We might call it
riding down the road.
Riding down the road.
The first picture here
is our Bible viewfinder.
It's a celebratory scene.
Jesus is mounted
on a donkey
traveling from
the Mount of Olives
to Jerusalem.
A growing multitude
of people are beginning
to line the streets
with clothing
and palm branches.
The crowd
greets the Lord Jesus
not as a rabbi.
They greet him
in this moment
as a king.
And their shouts
are shouts of
salvation from God.
Clearly,
they believed
that Jesus
was the promised
Messiah King
come from God
to deliver them.
Their triumphant
shouts then
suggest they expected
him to make
his move
during this
particular
Passover event.
And they weren't
entirely wrong.
Jesus indeed
was the promised
Messiah King
and he would
indeed deliver
his people
during this
celebration
of Passover.
But he wouldn't
do it at all
how they wanted
or at all
how they expected.
He didn't come
as a conquering king
to defeat
Roman oppressors.
He came
as a humble king
to lay down
his life
as a sacrifice
for their sins.
I want to highlight
three ideas
for you in this picture
that's presented
to us by Luke.
The first thing
I want you to notice
is that the scene
here is deliberate.
It's deliberate.
Look with me
at verse 28.
When he had said
these things
he went on ahead
going up to Jerusalem
and when he drew near
to Bethphage and Bethany
at the mount
that is called Olivet
he sent two of his
disciples saying
go into the village
in front of you
where on entering
you will find
a colt tied
on which no one
has ever yet sat.
Untie it
and bring it here.
If anyone asks you
why are you
untying it
you shall say this
the Lord has need of it.
So those who were sent
went away
and found it
just as he had told them
and as they were
untying the colt
its owners said to them
why are you
untying the colt
and they said
the Lord has
need of it.
Deliberate
is what comes
to the surface here.
There is a common notion
about Jesus
that
he was
an incredible teacher
who just
unfortunately
was crushed
beneath
the will
of history
as one writer
put it.
That he was just
kind of
he was doing
a lot of good things
he was
he was a notable man
and he just happened
to be
wrong place
wrong time
and was crushed
by the corruption
of his day.
The idea
it intends
to portray
the Lord
as a good man
caught in circumstances
that were
out of his control
those circumstances
being Roman oppression
in Palestine
of the day
those circumstances
being a corrupt
spiritual government
among
the Jewish people
who of course
were
his enemies
in these moments
and we understand
how all of that went.
The Bible however
repeatedly asserts
the opposite of that.
At no point
was Jesus
ever in anything
but total control
of what was happening
to
and around him.
He knew
from the very beginning
what his purpose was.
it was to
die for our sins
to raise from the dead.
He repeatedly
revealed this
to his disciples
even telling them
exactly how it would
unfold
and how it would
take place.
And at this point
in Luke's gospel
if you were to trace
the chapters leading up
you would find
that what Jesus
is doing
is he's making
a very direct
purposeful
deliberate
intentional move
towards Jerusalem
acknowledging
that this will be
his last move
toward Jerusalem.
That what awaits
him there
is betrayal
he will be turned
over to the Roman
authorities
he will be crucified
and then subsequently
rise from the dead.
It's all deliberate.
He's in total control.
Even in his own trial
you'll remember
Pilate
urging him
at one point
to answer for himself.
Pilate unwilling
to crucify him
in that moment
says don't you realize
that I have the power
to free you.
You'll remember
Jesus' response.
You would have
no power over me
were it not given you
from the Father.
He's in total control.
He knows what's happening
and he's moving
towards that
and this story
is no different.
What we see here
in the triumphal entry
in the moments
leading up to it
we see on Jesus' part
careful premeditation.
He's moving
toward Jerusalem
he's probably
two miles
outside of the city
he intentionally
pauses near the villages
of Bethphage
and Bethany
as he was
prone to visit
many times before
and he prepares
himself
for this
royal procession.
now how he knew
the donkey
would be there
and would be tied up
isn't explained
to us in the text.
Perhaps it was
his omniscience
and his divine person
and his divine nature
that was just aware
and knew what would unfold.
I think the simplest
explanation
is the best one
in this case
which is that
Jesus just planned
for this moment.
It's almost as if
he's even
made his arrangements
with the owners
of this donkey
and he's even
supplied a passcode
as if to say
hey I'm going to
send some people
your way eventually
and when you see
them untying it
ask them what they're doing
and if they say
these words
the Lord has need of it
you'll know it's from me.
I think it's just
deliberate arrangement
premeditation
he's working things out
he's doing it on purpose
but why?
Why would he arrange
such a thing?
John and
Matthew's gospels
remind us
that this was
an explicit fulfillment
of something spoken
by the prophet Zechariah.
Zechariah chapter 9
verse 9
he says
rejoice greatly
O daughter of Zion
shout aloud
O daughter of Jerusalem
behold
your king is coming to you
righteous
and having salvation
is he
humble
and mounted
on a donkey
on a colt
the foal
of a donkey
this is fulfillment
of the prophecies
Jesus
intentionally moves
towards this
he intentionally
arranges it
in order that
he might fulfill
what the prophets
had spoken
there's no coincidence
here
this is
premeditated
careful planning
on the part
of the Lord
another thing
that contributes
to this idea
is the fact
that
this is different
from how Jesus
typically operated
in Jerusalem
his attendance
at the various
festivals and feasts
was always
greatly anticipated
by the people
and if you read
through the gospels
you'll find that
this is not normal
for Jesus
Jesus often
arrived late
he often arrived
in relative secrecy
in order that
he might prevent
this very thing
from happening
we even read
of other times
in his ministry
where the crowd
so impressed
so moved
by his power
sought to make
him a king
by force
we find it
in John 6
in particular
the feeding
of the 5,000
what do the people
do?
they move
in order that
they might make
him a king
by force
and what does
Jesus repeatedly
do in those moments?
he escapes
he gets out of there
it's not time
his hour has not come
this is not normal
for Jesus
this isn't glory
seeking
in a selfish sense
in a human
sinful sense
at this point
no this is
deliberate action
on Jesus' part
held off
for this particular
moment
in order that
he might communicate
a specific thing
he was unequivocally
identifying himself
in this moment
as the Messiah
King
that's its purpose
it was deliberate
intentional
premeditated
Jesus in this act
fulfilling the scripture
says
I am him
but the scene
isn't only deliberate
we find that the scene
is also quite dramatic
isn't it?
verse 35
and they brought it
to Jesus
and throwing their
cloaks on the colt
they set Jesus
on it
and as he rode along
they spread their
cloaks on the road
and as he was
drawing near
already on the way
down the Mount
of Olives
the whole multitude
of his disciples
began to rejoice
and to praise God
with a loud voice
notice the singular
tense there
multitudes of people
multitude typically
means it's not even
worth bothering
trying to count
there's so many
multitude of people
but what are they
shouting and singing?
with one voice
with unity of voice
in unison together
an amazing moment
why are they shouting?
verse 37
for all the mighty works
that they had seen
what were they saying?
blessed is the king
who comes in the name
of the Lord
peace in heaven
and glory in the highest
dramatic
so word quickly spreads
that Jesus
was on his way
as he gets closer
to the city
the crowd
grows
larger and larger
but the drama
comes from what
the people did
as Jesus passed by
we're told here
that they lined
the streets
with their clothes
their cloaks
they cast them down
on the road
as if to roll out
something of a red carpet
for the Lord
but then Matthew
Mark and John
add something
that Luke does not include
which is that
they were also
laying down palm branches
which is why we
refer to this
as Palm Sunday
what is the significance
of that?
it's depicting
a royal procession
it's implying
triumph
over their enemies
those of you
who like
the Hunger Games
will remember
the Mockingjay
being an emblem
of revolution
in the fictional
country of Panem
in the similar sense
the palm branch
was a symbol
it was an emblem
of salvation
and deliverance
to first century Jews
who were crushed
beneath the oppressive
rule of the Roman Empire
it dates back
to the second
Maccabean revolt
just two centuries
before the time
of Jesus
they began to print
them even on coins
these palm branches
it was a symbol
it was an emblem
of revolution
against Rome
an emblem
of salvation
from God
against their enemies
and as Jesus
rides into the city
from the Mount
of Olives
they roll out
the red carpet
so to speak
they throw down
the palm branches
why?
they're shouting
for salvation
he has come
to deliver us
finally
from our enemies
there's also
drama
in what they said
quoting Psalm 118
which was common
at this festival
in particular
the people shouted
praises to God
declaring that
Jesus
was the promised one
sent from God
to bring them peace
Hosanna
they shouted
which just means
save us Lord
blessed is your king
who has come
what is this?
the people
believing Jesus
to be that king
greeted him
with emblems
of deliverance
and shouts
of triumph
for God's salvation
and indeed
they had the right
person
and their concept
of what this person
would do
was not far off
but their expectations
of how he would
fulfill his mission
were completely wrong
by week's end
some of the people
in this crowd
will turn against him
turning their shouts
of Hosanna
into shouts
of crucify
others will simply
be crushed
under the discouragement
of another Messiah
who has failed
to do what they hoped
he would do
and would abandon hope
and go home
such is always the case
for those
whose expectations
of Jesus
are skewed
people come to Jesus
for all kinds of reasons
they come hoping
that it will bring
some kind of prosperity
to their lives
they come hoping
that it will bring
some type of comfort
or reassurance
to their anxieties
that they feel
there's all kinds of reasons
for people to come to Jesus
but if you're not coming
to Jesus
for who he is
and for the purpose
for which he came
to fulfill
you're ultimately
going to walk away
disappointed
even angry
ready to completely
turn against him
but their misunderstanding
here
it doesn't take away
from the significance
of the moment
what they did
was right
what they did
was necessary
they just didn't realize
how right it was
and how necessary
it was
it's deliberate
it's dramatic
thirdly
it's divinely determined
the scene
is divinely determined
look at verses
39 and 40
the Pharisees
always tend to pop up
don't they
and some of them
did here
they're in every crowd
I suppose
and some of the Pharisees
said
teacher
rebuke your disciples
and he answered
I tell you
if these were silent
the very stones
would cry out
now unsurprisingly
the Pharisees
take notice
of the commotion
and they move
to rebuke the Lord
now perhaps
their concern
is simply that
this is a lot
of commotion
this is loud
these are shouts
of kingship
have they forgotten
that we are
occupied
by Rome
that there's a
proconsulate
from Rome
who is here
there is a garrison
here
perhaps their concern
is that Rome
is going to
the Romans
are going to get
their attention
is going to be sparked
they're going to come
they're going to think
that this is some sort
of insurrection
that would be good
for no one
and so perhaps
the Pharisees
are just bringing
Jesus' attention
to that
I don't know
I think maybe
there's more to it
than that
I think they
recognized
exactly what was
happening
I think they
understood
they recognized
Jesus' actions
as a deliberate
statement
of his
messianic
identity
and they
demanded
in this moment
that he set
the record
straight publicly
hey
teacher
while all these
people are around
saying that you're
Messiah
why don't you
just go ahead
and correct them
before things
get out of hand
and we must
appreciate Jesus'
answer in verse
40
rather than
quiet the crowd
or argue
with his
detractors
Jesus pointed
to the purposes
of God
it was God's
determined plan
to send his
son for the
purpose of our
salvation
and that truth
would not be
silenced
even if every
person on the
road that day
suddenly became
mute
such is God's
truth that if
every person
refused to speak
it
the rocks
themselves
would cry out
the glory
of God
and of our
Lord and Savior
Jesus Christ
it cannot be
stopped
it's
definely
determined
if we won't
do it
God will use
another portion
of his
creation
to do it
the world
can silence
God's people
it can never
silence God
the heavens
declare the
glory of God
wrote David
no power
of hell
no scheme
of man
will ever
overcome
what God
has determined
to do
the Pharisees
say teacher
do something
about this
he doesn't
argue with them
he doesn't
silence the
crowd
he just says
this is God's
doing
it's God's
doing
to quote
Psalm 118
again
it's the Lord's
doing
it's marvelous
in our eyes
even if they
stop the rocks
will cry out
you can't
stop what
God is doing
to save
his people
Jesus
says
here
amazing
that's
scene
number one
riding down
the road
we're gonna
pull the lever
now we're gonna
move to
scene number
two
we might call
this one
weeping at
the wall
weeping at
the wall
look at
verse 41
and when he
drew near
and saw
the city
he wept
over it
now I
can't imagine
that if this
was your first
time coming
to this chapter
and you
just got
through this
celebratory
event that
you would
have expected
that the
next thing
to happen
would be
Jesus
weeping
and yet
that's what
happens
indeed
it differs
greatly from
the first
scene
the setting
is essentially
the same
only Jesus
is a little
closer to
the city
perhaps as
he's come
down from
the Mount
of Olives
if you're
familiar at
all with
the geography
of that
he would
have been
viewing the
panorama
of the
east side
of the
wall of
Jerusalem
the expanse
of the
city
comes into
his view
the contrast
between this
and the
first scene
though is
that
as the
crowd
celebrates
his arrival
the Lord
laments
traveling over
the Mount
descending
toward the
eastern gate
of Jerusalem
Jesus
suddenly
burst into
tears
this
is not
merely
the
swelling
of
your
eyes
when
you're
somewhat
moved
emotionally
this is
a
likely
loud
weeping
wailing
kind of
moment
for the
Lord
based on
the
language
that's
used
here
and they
weren't
tears
of joy
over his
reception
by the
people
they were
tears
of sorrow
over his
rejection
by the
people
seems
backward
doesn't
it
as the
people
shout
Jesus
weeps
but why
well the
answer is
in his
prophetic
lament
look at
verses
43 and
44
Jesus
says
the days
will come
upon you
he's
speaking
he's
anthropomorphizing
the city
of Jerusalem
here is what
he's doing
he's referring
to the city
as he looks
at the city
and he says
the days
will come
upon you
when your
enemies
will set
up a
barricade
around
you
they
will
surround
you
they
will
hem
you
in
on
every
side
and
they
will tear
you
down
to the
ground
you
and your
children
within
you
they
will
not
leave
one
stone
upon
another
in
you
because
you
did
not
know
the
time
of
your
visitation
now
the
shouting
crowds
we've
already
said
they
believe
Jesus
was
there
to
free
them
from
Rome
and
yet
as
soon
as
Jesus
gets
to
the
city
he
prophesies
a
coming
day
when
Jerusalem
would
endure
a
terrible
fate
at
the
hands
of
Rome
already
cluing
us
in
on
the
fact
that
what
he
actually
came
to
do
was
quite
different
than
what
any
of
them
expected
him
to
do
his
mission
was
not
at
all
what
they
wanted
which
is
why
many
of
them
would
ultimately
turn
against
him
by
weeks
end
of
course
what
just
a
few
years
later
the
Roman
general
Titus
raised
the
city
including
the
temple
complex
itself
to
the
ground
but
don't
misunderstand
the
weeping
here
Jesus
tears
did not
flow
out of
concern
for
brick
and
mortar
he
wept
over
the
souls
of
the
people
who
would
continue
to
reject
his
rule
and
ultimately
suffer
the
wrath
of
God
as
a
result
that's
why
he's
weeping
doesn't
care
about
a
wall
he'd
come
to
replace
the
temple
he
doesn't
really
care
about
that
temple
what
is
he
weeping
over
it's
the
souls
of
the
people
how
do
we
know
well
verse
42
here's
what
he
said
would
that
you
even
you
had
known
on
this
day
the
things
that
make
for
peace
but
now
they
are
hidden
from
your
eyes
and
as
a
result
of
that
their
blindness
their
spiritual
blindness
this
destruction
would
come
peace
the
people
thought
of
peace
only
in
terms
of
their
relationship
with
Rome
Jesus
spoke
of
peace
in
terms
of
their
relationship
to
God
peace
was
the
purpose
of
his
incarnation
peace
was
the
purpose
of
his
ministry
peace
was
the
purpose
of
his
crucifixion
and his
resurrection
and his
ascension
peace
between
God
and man
it would
be
achieved
through
an
atonement
that he
would
make
for
sin
he would
do it
on a
cross
just days
after this
moment
Jesus
the
sinless
son
of
God
bore
the
wrath
of
God
in
the
place
of
sinners
who
by
nature
hate
him
and in
taking
our
sins
Jesus
then
imputes
he credits
to us
his
righteousness
reconciling
man
with
God
peace
between
God
and those
who have
rebelled
against
him
peace
Jesus
speaks
of
not
peace
with
Rome
peace
with
God
was
he
Messiah
yes
had
he
come
to
deliver
them
during
this
Passover
yes
was
it
to
bring
peace
with
Rome
no
it
was
to
bring
a
greater
peace
the
things
that
make
for
peace
what
Jesus
refers
to
in
verse
42
are
simply
repentance
toward
God
and
faith
in
the
Lord
Jesus
Christ
those
are
the
things
that
make
for
peace
he
would
supply
the
peace
the
things
that
make
for
peace
are
repentance
and
faith
and
this
was
not
a
new
message
from
Jesus
this
is
what
he
had
preached
from
the
very
beginning
Mark
tells
us
in
Mark
Jesus
came
into
Galilee
proclaiming
the gospel
of God
saying
the time
is fulfilled
the kingdom
of God
is at
hand
therefore
repent
and believe
in the
gospel
what are the
things that
make for
peace
repentance
and faith
repentance
toward
God
faith
in his
son
who has
achieved
the peace
for
us
Jesus
wept
because
on the
whole
the
people
remained
in
darkness
they
were
blind
to
the
things
that
make
for
peace
they
refused
repentance
they
refused
faith
unless
it was
convenient
but a
convenient
faith
is never
a
proper
faith
the
destruction
of
Jerusalem
was
merely
an
emblem
of
their
continued
rejection
and upon
entering
the
city
their
lostness
brought
Jesus
tremendous
grief
if in
scene
one
Jesus
is the
humble
king
in
scene
two
he
is the
weeping
prophet
but there's
one more
scene
we'll pull
the lever
again
the third
scene
we might
call it
cleansing
the
corruption
cleansing
the
corruption
now
in this
third
and
final
picture
the
entire
scene
changes
he's
not
outside
the
city
anymore
there's
no
donkey
there's
no
shouts
no palm
branches
all of
it's
different
he's
not
weeping
over
the
unrepentant
holy
city
of
Jerusalem
anymore
that
moment
has
now
passed
in
this
picture
Jesus
is
actually
in
the
temple
complex
and
he's
cleaning
out
corruption
as
he
teaches
truth
verse
45
and
he
entered
the
temple
and
began
to
drive
out
those
who
sold
saying
to
them
it
is
written
my
house
shall
be a
house
of
prayer
but
you
have
made
it
a
den
of
robbers
the
first
half
of
that
is
a
quote
from
Isaiah
the
second
half
is
a
quote
from
Jeremiah
we'll
get
to
that
in
a
second
but
notice
what
he
clears
the
corruption
to
do
47
and
he
was
he
gets
out
the
dross
so
that
he
can
do
the
work
of
the
word
and
what's
the
response
the
chief
priest
and
the
scribes
and
the
principal
men
of
the
people
were
seeking
to
destroy
him
but
they
couldn't
find
anything
they
couldn't
find
any
way
to
destroy
him
because
all
the
people
were
hanging
on
his
words
I
like
this
scene
the
final
image
we
find
Jesus
acting
as
the
faithful
priest
he's
a
humble
king
he's
a
weeping
prophet
he's
a
faithful
priest
and
as
our
faithful
priest
he is
purifying
the
people's
worship
and
he's
instructing
them
with
God's
truth
both
responsibilities
were
crucial
to
the
priesthood
but
as
you
can
see
corruption
had
pervaded
the
hearts
of
the
spiritual
leaders
here
causing
the
people
to
forsake
a
genuine
spirit
of
worship
and
suffer
serious
spiritual
abuse
the
abuse
came
from
the
sellers
and
the
money
changers
the
sellers
peddled
animals
these
animals
were
used
for
the
festal
sacrifices
a
traveler
one
such
as
Jesus
traveling
from
Galilee
would
not
bring
a
lamb
with
him
he
would
go
to
the
temple
complex
or
somewhere
near
the
temple
complex
and
he
would
purchase
one
a
blemish
one
without
blemish
one
suitable
for
the
sacrifices
and that's
what these
sellers
were doing
but the
animals
were sold
at
exorbitant
markups
so that
the
merchants
were
profiting
off of
the
people's
worship
knowing
that they
had no
option
but to
purchase
their
animals
if they
were going
to do
what God
had instructed
them to
do
you see
the
corruption
in that
the
money
changers
did a
different
thing
they provided
a service
to those
who had to
pay the
temple tax
there was a
certain kind
of currency
that had to be
used for this
and it was a
different currency
than what was
used in everyday
trading
so what the
merchants and
money changers
would do
is they would
set up their
booths so that
someone who had to
pay the temple tax
would have to come in
and they'd give
maybe some
minas or maybe
they'd give
some denarii
and in exchange
they would receive
the proper coins
that they would have
to give for the
temple tax
so what did
the money changers
do
well they charged
incredible fees
for this
because if you're
going to obey
the lord
you had no
choice but to
exchange with
them and they
set the exchange
rates
and they set
them high
abusing the
people
padding their
pockets
the leading
priests then
who were
responsible for
all of this
allowed the
people to be
abused so that
they could line
their own
pockets
and on top of
all of that
this was all
taking place
inside the
gentile court
which was
meant to be
a place for
non-jews to
worship and to
hear the truth
of god
and jesus as he
had done on a
previous occasion
comes in
sees the
corruption
and as the
faithful priest
does what all
of the other
priesthood were
afraid to do
or unwilling to
do he drives
out the
animals
he drives out
the merchants
he turns over
the money
changing
tables
he purifies
the corruption
zealous for
true worship
the lord
drives out
those who
had
corrupted it
pronounces the
judgment of
god
on those who
commit such
profane acts
in relationship
to worship
now i'll leave it
to you to dig in
further into the
old testament
quotations here
but let me just
mention the
jeremiah quotation
it's jeremiah
chapter 7
and verse 11
if you want to
write that down
in your margins
it's the second
half of what
jesus says here
you have made it
a den of robbers
that verse in
jeremiah's
prophecy it
it comes in the
context context
of god's wrath
being poured out
against those
who went through
the rituals of
worship
but profaned
god's house
in the process
so this was no
new thing
in fact over and
over in the old
testament we find
this very thing
happening again
and again with
god's people
they do the
sacrifice they do
the letter of the
law but they do a
lot to profane that
as well over and
over god says your
lips praise me but
your heart is far
from me
jesus quotes one of
those passages here
a passage of
judgment a passage
of wrath
how foolish we are
to think that
merely associating
with the things of
god makes us safe
from god
your attendance here
today does not make
you safe from god
your participation
in whatever
christian ritual we
may put forward
the celebration of
palm sunday or
perhaps baptism or
communion or
whatever else we
may do
those things do
not make you safe
from god
just as jesus
purged the temple
of those who
profaned it so
will he one day
purge his church
and those who
only pretend to
know and believe
god will be driven
from his presence
into eternal hell
but the scene isn't
only about corruption
that's the good part
here why is jesus
cleansing the
corruption well he's
zealous for the
true worship
isn't he
but he's clearing
out the way so
that he might do
what a faithful
priest was meant
to do
teach the bible
teach the gospel
proclaim the good
news and the law
of god
to the people
and that's exactly
what he does
he teaches truth
jesus
jesus our faithful
priest proclaims
god's word
to the disdain
of his enemies
who did not
appreciate the
things that he
said
but to the
building up of
his people
such zealousness
for purity of
worship and
proclamation of
truth that ought to
be characteristic of
all those who
follow in the
footsteps of
jesus
but the spiritual
leaders of the
day only angered
them
sets the stage
for a midnight
trial murderous
execution just a
few days later
jesus came to be
what those leaders
were meant to be
and never were
never could be
he is our
faithful
priest
now after we've
looked at the
three scenes we've
gone through our
bible viewfinder what
do we see
well there's a lot
that we might see
but we see a king
unlike any the
world has ever
known
isn't that why we
would celebrate
something like
palm sunday
isn't that the
main idea here
here is our king
and he's different
than anything we've
ever expected
he's certainly
different than
anything we've
seen before
in each one of the
pictures there's
this juxtaposition
of character
that is unusual
in scene one you
have royalty
paired with
humility
in scene two
you have judgment
expressed with
compassion
and in scene three
we find authority
paired with meekness
gentleness
and what's the
point of it all
well Luke told us
it's to give us
certainty of the
fact that Jesus
of Nazareth
truly is the
Christ and the
son of God
he indeed is our
messiah king
who won our
eternal salvation
through his death
and resurrection
salvation
and if you will
only open your
eyes to the
things that make
for peace
namely repentance
towards God
and faith in the
Lord Jesus
he will save you
so then with a
true heart you
might then cry out
with the crowds
blessed is the king
who comes in the
name of the Lord
peace in heaven
glory in the
highest
peace in heaven
voy
!
voy
!
voy
!