Well, good morning, everyone. Let me add my welcome to Graham's.
As you've already heard, my name's Alistair. I have the privilege of being on staff here.
And it would be helpful if you have your Bibles open in front of you at Luke chapter 19.
But before we dive into this passage and look at it together, let's have a word of prayer, shall we?
Heavenly Father, we thank you for the privilege that we have of gathering this morning to hear from your word.
Father, we pray that you would touch us by your word, that we would be blessed, and that we would also be challenged.
And we ask all of this, that we may glorify you in our lives. In Jesus' name. Amen.
So, just a show of hands, very quickly. How many of you have ever booked a holiday online before?
There you go. So that's quite a lot of you.
Now, I'm going to let you into a little bit of a secret. I'm not a great fan of technology.
So I find it really, really scary booking a holiday online.
Because you can look on the website. You find this amazing deal.
You see these absolutely breathtaking photos.
You read reviews of how people love that hotel, that resort, that country, that beach, whatever it is.
And you're so excited.
Because you've been saving up for it all year round.
But the question that lingers in the back of my mind is, what will I find when I get there?
What will I find when I get there? Will it be as nice as it's supposed to be?
And so, when Sabine and I went on our honeymoon in 2013 in May, we went to a hotel in Graz in Austria.
We were there for two days.
And my brother-in-law had said that it was an amazing hotel with a fantastic view.
So we were really excited.
So you can imagine how devastated we were when we pulled up to a construction site.
The hotel that we were staying for, staying at for two days, had a 360 degree building site around it.
So it was not very nice.
And there are huge reviews, there are many reviews online of people finding dirty rooms, bugs in the shower.
Of just not finding things the way they were supposed to be.
Well, the big question that I want us to think about this morning is, what is the king going to find?
What will the king find?
So when Jesus arrives in Jerusalem, is he going to find a people who are devoted to him?
A people who love him and who worship him in spirit and truth?
Or will he find a construction site?
Will he find a people who make a whole load of noise, but on the inside, they are spiritually bare and empty?
What will the king find?
Now, why do I say that this is the question we're going to think about this morning?
Who is this king that we're talking about and where is he going to find something?
Well, let's just have a quick recap of where we've been in Luke's gospel.
Maybe you remember at the beginning of Luke's gospel, Luke says that he has written an orderly account to Theophilus, a man, a friend of his,
that he may have certainty about the things that he's been taught concerning Jesus Christ.
And throughout Luke's gospel, Luke has left us little signposts to help us navigate through this orderly account of the life of Jesus.
So in Luke chapter 9, verse 51, it says,
And he set his face to go to Jerusalem.
And then in chapter 13, 22 and 17, 11, there is a phrase which says along the lines of,
And Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem.
So the whole of Luke's gospel has been building up to the moment that we see on the page right in front of us.
In Luke chapter 19, verse 28, the king arrives in Jerusalem.
Now this is the beginning of a new section in Luke's gospel and the orderly account of the life of Jesus.
And it is from Luke chapter 19, verse 28 to 21, verse 30.
And the big question that we're going to be thinking about over the next few weeks is,
Will God's people accept God's king?
Jesus is God's king who was sent by God to rule over God's people.
And we're going to spend a few weeks in this section.
I want you to have that question in the back of your mind.
But at the beginning of this new section, we see Jesus, God's king, the chosen one.
So the question that we're going to ask is, what will the king find?
There are three things that we'll see this morning.
We'll see the king arrives.
We'll see the king weeps and the king rebukes.
Will Jesus find a people who are expecting him?
A people who are excited about his arrival and the arrival of God's kingdom?
Or will he find a people who've turned their backs on him?
Well, let's look at the passage and see what God has to teach us this morning.
So the first thing that we see is that the king arrives.
Verses 28 to 40, the king arrives.
So at this moment, Jesus is standing just outside Jerusalem.
He's just taught the crowds and disciples about the kingdom of God.
And he turns to two of his disciples and says, go to the next village and you'll find a donkey.
Bring it to me.
And so they go and bring it to Jesus because the Lord needs it, as Jesus says.
Do you remember what you were doing on the 29th of April, 2011?
Probably not.
Maybe it's just a date I've picked out, but it's actually a pretty important date to the royal family.
So maybe you were sitting at home glued to your television as you watched the wedding procession of Prince William and his wife-to-be, Kate.
You probably remember scenes similar to this one.
Tons of people flocked to the streets to see the wedding, to see the procession as the prince and his bride made their way to the church,
surrounded by big, beautiful horses, by people dressed in lovely and frankly a little bit strange outfits as well.
But they were being pulled in this really lovely decorated carriage.
It was even declared a public holiday so that people could be there in London.
Or if you couldn't be there in person, that you could at least watch it on television.
That's the kind of entrance we'd expect from royalty, isn't it?
Even in Jesus' day, when the king returned to a city, there was a huge festival that took place which took absolutely days to prepare.
The animals were fattened weeks in advance to prepare a huge feast.
The streets were lined and jam-packed with people who were shouting encouragements and expressing their love for their king who's just returned.
But Jesus doesn't make an entrance like that.
Instead of coming in with all the attention on him, instead of being pulled by a huge horse and a lovely carriage,
Jesus is going to enter Jerusalem on the back of a humble donkey.
Now this isn't an insignificant detail that Luke has just thrown in there to pique our interest.
But this detail helps us see who Jesus is.
So let me read a verse from the Old Testament which is pointing forward to the promised king of God, the Messiah,
the one who would save God's people.
This verse is from the book of Zechariah,
which was written pointing forward to the day that God would reconcile the world to himself.
It points to the day where God's kingdom would come and the arrival of his king.
So let's read this verse together.
Rejoice greatly, daughter Zion.
Shout, daughter Jerusalem.
See, your king comes to you,
righteous and victorious, lowly and riding on a donkey,
on a colt, a fowl of a donkey.
Do you see the significance of Jesus riding into Jerusalem on a donkey?
Jesus hasn't just randomly thought,
oh yeah, that would be a good way to get into the city.
Take the load off my feet.
But Jesus has done this to point out his identity as God's king.
And the whole of the Old Testament points to Jesus being God's king,
the Messiah of God's people.
Look at the description of the king in this verse.
God's chosen king will be righteous and victorious,
but he will also be humble.
Now based on what we've already seen in Luke's gospel
and based on what we'll see in these final chapters,
this is a completely fitting description of Jesus, isn't it?
Jesus is the son of God.
He never sinned.
He was perfect.
Never rebelled against God.
And yet he died a criminal's death.
Was it because he deserved it?
No.
Was it because his enemies defeated him?
Definitely not.
In fact, the absolute opposite is true.
At the cross of Jesus, we see his righteousness
and his victory most clearly.
Why?
Because at the cross of Jesus,
he defeated mankind's worst enemy, sin.
The sin which cuts us off from God.
The wrongdoings of our lives,
which make us deserving of God's wrath.
All of that was poured on Jesus,
but he was not defeated.
He rose victorious from the grave three days later.
He defeated sin and death
and made reconciliation with God possible
for all those who call on his name.
This is God's king.
This is the king who God had chosen
to rule over his people.
So think back to the question.
What is this king going to find?
As Jesus makes his way to Jerusalem,
we see two responses.
We see faith and we see rejection.
Look at what the disciples are doing
in verses 37 and 38.
The whole crowd of disciples began joyfully
to praise God in a loud voice
for all the miracles they had seen.
Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord.
Peace in heaven and glory in the highest.
Jesus' disciples are declaring who Jesus is
and they are glorifying and praising God
for the wonderful things that they have seen.
They might not have fully understood
exactly what Jesus' kingdom would look like
or exactly how Jesus is going to be God's king,
but they believed that he was the Messiah
and they joyfully worshipped God because of it.
The disciples had faith
and that faith led them to joyfully worshipping God.
So that's the faith of the disciples.
But the other response is the Pharisees.
They reject God.
See, they heard what the disciples were shouting
and they turned to Jesus and said,
Jesus, stop them.
Rebuke them.
Do you remember last week
how Graham took us through a parable
and we saw some servants who didn't want a king?
Well, this week we see it,
but not in a parable.
We see it in real life.
The Pharisees are rejecting God's king.
And the devastating news
is that the Pharisees should have been the ones
who were expecting Jesus.
They should have been joining in the disciples
as they shouted praise to God,
not telling Jesus to stop them.
See, the Pharisees should have been welcoming Jesus in.
They should have been joining in with the shouting.
These people were the teachers of the law.
They were the people who taught Israel about God.
They taught the Old Testament.
They could quote you.
They could quote to you tons of the Old Testament.
They could speak to you for hours
about God's promised king who would come.
But as the king stands right in front of them,
instead of cheering with joy,
they snap at and they reject Jesus.
The people who should have been standing
at the gates of Jerusalem to welcome Jesus in.
The people who should have been hanging
on his every single word.
Instead of welcoming him, they reject him.
But Jesus says,
if my disciples stop singing praises to God,
then the stones will cry out.
No amount of opposition will stop
the declaration going forth
that God's king has arrived.
Now as we sit here this morning,
over 2,000 years away from this event,
the same declaration rings true.
God's king has arrived.
The question that I want you to think about
is how will we react to God's king?
Will we believe in him and praise God joyfully?
Or will we reject him?
Now a question that you may be thinking about is,
well, why is Jesus deserving of joyful praise?
Well, because he is God in the flesh.
He is the son of God.
He is the solution to our biggest problem.
In Genesis chapter 3,
at the beginning of the Bible,
we see Adam and Eve rebel against God.
They reject God's rule.
They say, we don't want your care.
But a promise is made amidst all the chaos
that one day God would send a man
to save the people of this world.
And this person will defeat sin and Satan
and will reconcile the world to himself.
The whole of the Old Testament
fleshes out what that promise looks like
and it finds its fulfillment in Jesus Christ.
The one who is humbly walking towards the cross
even though he is righteous and blameless.
Jesus is going to the cross
so that our sins can be dealt with.
So that we can be called the children of God.
Jesus will take all of our sinfulness
so that he can give us his righteousness.
That is why Jesus is deserving
of joyful praise this morning.
Will you accept this king?
Will you think about him
or will you reject him?
Now this is not a decision to make lightly
because it has eternal significance
and because it matters so much to Jesus.
And we see that in verses 41 to 44
because the king arrives
but the king weeps.
Verses 41 to 44.
So let me ask you a little bit
of a personal question this morning.
What makes you cry?
Think about that for a second.
What makes you cry?
Now for those of you who know me well
and there's quite a few of you here this morning
you will know that I'm not
the most emotional person in the world.
And so tears are not something
that happen in my life every single day.
But like everyone else in the world
I do cry.
But I think there are two kinds of tears, aren't there?
There are the good kind
where we cry because of joy
because we're happy
and then there are the bad kind.
We cry because we're hurt.
So the last time I recall crying tears of joy
was at my wedding in 2013.
As I watched my wife Sabina come down the aisle
I had a wee choke
and you did that thing
and you're like,
no I'm not crying, I'm not crying.
That's exactly what happened.
But I was crying tears of joy.
There's nothing to be ashamed of.
But maybe you're not like me.
Maybe you cry at a good movie scene.
Maybe you cry at the end of a nice book
that you've been reading.
But sadly the truth is
that most of the tears that happen in our world
are tears of pain.
We cry when we lose loved ones
or when we get hurt ourselves.
But have you ever wondered
what makes God cry?
Or have you ever wondered
if God cries at all?
Well in verses 41 to 43
we see that God does cry
and we will find out
what makes Him cry.
As Jesus looks over the city
of Jerusalem
He weeps.
Jesus is weeping
because of their disobedience.
So what does the king find
as he arrives in Jerusalem?
Well he finds
a disobedient people
who have turned their hearts
away from God.
Jesus is weeping
over the constant
constant
disobedience
that the nation of Israel
have demonstrated
against God.
All you have to do
is skim
through the Old Testament
and you see time
and time again
how God's chosen people
reject God's law
and reject the people
that God sends to them
to call them back to Him.
Jesus weeps
because these are the people
who are set apart by God.
And instead of obeying Him
and living in peace
like He wanted them to
they reject God
and they are also going to
reject God's chosen king.
Jesus weeps
because He loves
these people.
Imagine the tears
of a father
if he
if his child
spits in his face
turns his back
and as he walks away
he shouts
Dad I want nothing
to do with you anymore.
I don't want your rules
I don't want your good plan
for my life
I don't want your protection
or your care
I want to live my life
my way.
Wouldn't that bring
any parent to tears?
Well that's what we see
happening in these verses
before us.
Jesus is overlooking
the city
which should have
welcomed Him in
but instead
it's turned its back
it's back to Him
and He weeps
because He loves
these people
and He doesn't want
the judgment
to befall them.
They want nothing
to do with Him.
In verse 42
Jesus makes a reference
to peace.
Jesus says
that if only they knew
where they could find
true peace
but it is hidden
from their eyes.
Jesus is speaking
about the peace
that people have
when they are
in a right relationship
with God.
See if God's chosen
people had lived
according to His law
if they had accepted
God's King
then they would have
enjoyed peace with God
but instead
they rebelled
and rejected
Jesus.
And so now
Jesus speaks
judgment
speaks of the judgment
that will come
on them
in verses
43 to 44.
Their enemies
will destroy
the city
not one stone
will be left
in its place.
This is the seriousness
of their disobedience
that's been going on
for generations.
And it's all because
verse 44
they did not recognize
the time
of God's
coming to them.
As Jesus
is saying this
He's overlooking
the city
that should have
been celebrating
as the disciples did.
And as God
is knocking
on the gate
of Jerusalem
He knows
that He will
be rejected.
When the king
comes to town
you'd expect him
to be met with
rejoicing and celebration
wouldn't you?
But instead
this chosen king
in a short time
will not be met
with a feast
He will not be met
with royal robes
but He will be met
with a cross.
He will not be met
with crowds
singing praises
and love
but He'll be met
with a crowd
who are shouting
crucify Him.
Jesus isn't crying
because He needs
attention.
God isn't weeping
because He needs
Jerusalem to praise Him
but God weeps
because of the judgment
that will befall them
because of their
disobedience
and because God
loves them.
They've rejected
the one person
who could bring
them peace.
The one person
who truly cares
for them
and it brings tears
to God's eyes.
Jesus weeps
because of disobedience.
Do we weep
when the world
rejects God?
In a church
I used to attend
years ago
we sang a song
and one of the lines
said this
Break my heart
for what breaks yours.
is that our prayer?
Does our heart
break
and do we
weep for the same
things that grieve
God?
Do we cry
over the lost
souls in this world
who are dying
without a knowledge
of their need
for Jesus?
There are so many
people out there
who have no idea
about the good news
of Jesus.
They don't understand
that Jesus'
mission
was to come
and seek
and save
the lost.
And how will they
find out the truth
about Jesus
if no one tells them?
We should
take the world's
rejection
of God's
King
seriously.
We should
tell people
of their need
to hear about Jesus
because he is
the only one
who can bring
the peace
that the whole
world
is groaning
for.
Peace with God.
Do we love
people enough
to tell them
about Jesus?
Do we care
enough for those
around us
to throw
our fears
and our concerns
and our worries
of feeling
uncomfortable
and do we just
tell them
their need
of Jesus
our Savior?
Let's ask
God to give
us a burden
for the lost
people of this
world
who do not
know Jesus.
How will you
react this morning
to God's
King?
Do you
have faith
and joyful
praise of the
disciples or
are you
rejecting Jesus
and living in
disobedience to
God?
Your answer
to that question
really is not
insignificant.
It affects the
way you live
now and it
will affect
eternity.
Everything that
happens from
now to the
end of time.
Those who are
at peace with
God have been
promised to
live in peace
with God
for eternity
to have
constant
communion with
God in
the place
that we
call heaven
but those
who reject
God
Jesus says
that God
will reject
them too
and they
will be
under his
just judgment
forever.
So if you've
never thought
about this
this morning
if you've
never heard
about this
this morning
please
take time
to think
about it.
ask the
person who
may be
brought you
to church
this morning
or come
and speak
to anyone
you've
seen up
front.
We would
not want
you to
leave this
building
thinking
that your
response to
God's
king is
irrelevant
because it
is not.
It is of
the utmost
importance.
So we've
seen the
king arrive.
We've seen
King Jesus
weep and
now in
verses 45
to 48
we see the
king rebukes.
Jesus
arrives in
Jerusalem
and he
goes to
the temple.
Now what
would you
expect to
find in
a temple?
You'd
expect to
see people
who are
devoted to
praying and
to worshipping
God,
wouldn't you?
A place
where people
are devoted
but instead
Jesus finds
that the
temple has
been turned
into a
market store.
If people
were to
obey the
Old Testament
laws then
they needed
to travel to
the temple
and offer
sacrifices.
to God.
But as you
can imagine
travelling with
livestock and
other animals
wasn't the
easiest thing
not even
today.
And so
in Jesus'
day people
set up shop
and they
would sell
animals that
people could
buy so
they could
bring their
sacrifices which
is actually
a pretty good
thing, pretty
helpful thing
to do.
However,
the problem
that Jesus
is addressing
here is that
there seem to
be people who
in cooperation
with the
priests are
selling animals
in the
courts of
the temple.
More
specifically in
the place
where non-Jews
are supposed
to worship,
the place where
they're supposed
to pray.
And not only
that but they're
selling animals
at an inflated
price so that
they can make
money.
They were
corrupt and
they were
stopping people
from worshipping
God.
These sales
people were
prohibiting people
from their
worship.
They were
making money
off of
people's
worship and
they weren't
even thinking
twice about
it.
They were
trying to
make money
but in the
process they
were stopping
people from
coming to
God.
They put
their financial
gain above
the spiritual
need of
people.
And so
Jesus drives
them out.
And in
verse 46
Jesus quotes
from the
book of
Isaiah.
Now you
don't have to
turn there but
if we were
to look
back at
that passage
we would
see that
God is
speaking to
the people
of Israel
the leaders
of Israel
and he is
saying that
the temple
is supposed to
be a beacon
of light.
It is supposed
to be the
place where
people can
hear about
God and
the salvation
that he
offers.
Let me read
Isaiah 56
verse 7
the verse
that Jesus
quotes.
For my
house will
be called
a house of
prayer for
all nations.
Do you see
the problem?
The temple
was supposed
to be a
house of
prayer where
all peoples
from all
over the
world could
come and
hear about
God and
praise him.
But now
if anyone
was to come
to the
temple instead
of being able
to pray in
peace and
quiet,
instead of
being able to
pray and
pour out their
hearts before
God,
they would
find market
stalls.
Instead of
being able to
listen to the
priests and
teachers of
the law to
understand the
Old Testament
to hear the
marvelous works
of the
almighty
creator God,
they would
find money
lenders arguing
for more and
more interest.
Instead of the
temple being a
welcoming place to
foreigners,
it has become a
den of robbers.
And so Jesus
drives them out.
But in verses
45 and 48,
if you look down,
you'll see the
authority of
God's king.
In verse 45,
Jesus drives out
people and
nobody stops
him.
He cleanses
the temple and
it's almost as
if the people
raise their
hands, bow
their heads and
walk out because
they know that
what they're doing
is wrong.
They have been
rebuked.
And in verse
48, we see
Jesus staying and
teaching people in
the temple and it
says that they
hung on his
words.
Now we don't
know what Jesus
was teaching the
people as he
spoke to them,
but he must have
been speaking
directly into their
lives and their
situations, telling
them exactly what
they needed because
of how they
listened.
Jesus spoke with
an authority that
was not the
norm.
He spoke with
authority because
of who he is.
This is the king
of God through
whom and for
whom the whole
world was
created.
He has no
beginning.
He has no
end.
And he's
teaching people if
only they knew
who he truly
was.
But the chief
priests, the
teachers of the
law and the
leaders of the
people didn't
like what Jesus
was teaching and
they wanted to
kill him.
Now based on
what we've seen
already in Luke's
gospel, we've
seen Jesus
teaching about the
kingdom of God.
He's been
teaching people
about their need
to repent and
turn to God and
their need to
follow him
urgently.
The kingdom of
God is at
hand.
But some
people didn't
like this
teaching.
The religious
leaders in
Jesus' day had
become so
focused on being
good enough for
God, so
focused on
looking the part
and saying the
right things,
looking good in
the eyes of the
people, that
they had
actually replaced
God by their
religious living.
God's
God.
The king has
now arrived and
he's disrupting
their way of
living and
calling people
back to a
true sense of
God and a
true sense of
worship.
And they see
all of this and
they decide that
they're going to
kill Jesus.
So as we draw to
a close this
morning, think
back to that
question.
What will the
king find?
Well, the king has
found a people who
praise him and
declare him as
king and lord, but
he has also found
a people who
have turned their
backs on him.
As he looked
over the city,
over a people
that he loved,
instead of finding
a spiritually
vibrant community
whose desire was
to praise and
worship God with
everything in
their lives, he
finds a rotten
people who in
their disobedience
have rejected God
and will come
under judgment.
King Jesus
walks into the
temple which
was supposed
to be a place
of prayer, but
it is a den
of robbers.
The people's
hearts have been
turned away from
God.
And you see the
love of a father
who weeps over
his children who
have walked away
and the discipline
of a loving father
who corrects them
because of their
disobedient actions.
God's love of a
God.
So I don't think
the king found
what he should
have found.
It shouldn't have
been this way.
But let me ask us
a more urgent
question this
morning.
If this king,
if Jesus were to
look into our
hearts this morning,
what would he
find?
Would he find a
person who
praises and
worships God in
spirit and truth?
would he find a
pure heart whose
desire is to see
the good news of
Jesus go out from
this place and to
touch the whole
world, to reach
the lost souls of
this world?
Or would Jesus
find a heart which
has gone cold?
A person who
goes through all
the motions of a
religious lifestyle,
but a heart which
shows no real love
for God?
Whatever your
answer to that
question is this
morning, I would
encourage you to
keep your eyes on
Jesus.
Maybe you're
looking to him for
the first time, or
maybe you're
returning to him.
In a moment we're
going to end our
service by singing
these words about
Jesus.
This is our God,
the servant king.
He calls us now to
follow him, to bring
our lives as a daily
offering of worship
to the servant king.
As we sing these
words, I want you to
think about them.
Jesus is the servant
king who left his
place of glory in
heaven to come down
and live in a fallen,
corrupt, sinful world,
to save a fallen and
corrupt and sinful
people by dying on a
cross in our place.
Consider this king who
calls us to follow him.
What will the king find
in our hearts this
morning?
Let's pray together.
Just before we sing
our song, let's just
have a moment of
silence.
Consider this king and
consider our hearts
before him.
loving God in heavenly
father, we thank you
that you are a God
who cares, that you
are a God who forgives
and that you are a God
who loves.
Father, forgive us for
the times that we have
rejected you.
Forgive us for the
times when we rebel
against you.
help us be a people
who welcome you in
every part of our
lives with joyful
praise because you
are the only one who
is worthy of our
praise.
Our prayer this
morning is that as
you look into our
hearts, that you
would find a people
who are welcoming
you in and not a
people who are
rejecting you.
Amen.