Luke 19:28-44
Wednesday Evening Bible Study
January 30, 2002
:28 And when he had thus spoken, he went before, ascending up to Jerusalem.
This will be Jesus’ final week. We are coming to “Palm Sunday”.
: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,
Bethphage – Bethphage – “house of unripe figs”. A small village between Bethany and Jerusalem.
Bethany – Bethania – “house of dates” or “house of misery”; a village at the Mount of Olives, about two miles (3 km) from Jerusalem, on or near the normal road to Jericho
mount of Olives – where the villages of Bethphage and Bethany were located, east of Jerusalem.
: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.
colt – polos – a colt, the young of a horse; of a young ass; an ass’s colt
It would be the colt of a donkey (Mat. 21:2).
whereon yet never man sat – It’s not a “used donkey”.
: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.
the Lord – kurios – he to whom a person or thing belongs, about which he has power of deciding; master, lord; is a title of honour expressive of respect and reverence, with which servants greet their master; this title is given to: God, the Messiah
:32 And they that were sent went their way, and found even as he had said unto them.
I guess you could say that perhaps Jesus already had all this arranged ahead of time, but I think the reason that the gospel writers mention it (Matt. 21:1-3; Mark 11:1-6; John 12:14) is because there was something unusual about the acquiring of the donkey.
Lesson
Word of knowledge
Jesus is demonstrating a “word of knowledge”.
He is telling them of things that will take place.
This is very similar to how Samuel told Saul about the things that were ahead of him in his life.
(1 Sam
10:2-6 KJV) When thou art departed from
me to day, then thou shalt find two men by Rachel's sepulchre in the border of
Benjamin at Zelzah; and they will say unto thee, The asses which thou wentest
to seek are found: and, lo, thy father hath left the care of the asses, and
sorroweth for you, saying, What shall I do for my son? {3} Then shalt thou go
on forward from thence, and thou shalt come to the plain of Tabor, and there
shall meet thee three men going up to God to Bethel, one carrying three kids,
and another carrying three loaves of bread, and another carrying a bottle of
wine: {4} And they will salute thee, and give thee two loaves of bread; which
thou shalt receive of their hands. {5} After that thou shalt come to the hill
of God, where is the garrison of the Philistines: and it shall come to pass,
when thou art come thither to the city, that thou shalt meet a company of
prophets coming down from the high place with a psaltery, and a tabret, and a
pipe, and a harp, before them; and they shall prophesy: {6} And the spirit of the
LORD will come upon thee, and thou shalt prophesy with them, and shalt be
turned into another man.
And everything happened just as Samuel said.
With Saul, we talked about how God used this to build Saul’s faith, to prepare him for that place to have the Holy Spirit come upon him.
I think that this might be the same for the disciples, that Jesus is going to do one more little thing to build their faith – by telling them what was going to happen.
:33 And as they were loosing the colt, the owners thereof said unto them, Why loose ye the colt?
the owners – kurios – he to whom a person or thing belongs, about which he has power of deciding; master, lord. This is the same word that the disciples were to use in saying that “the Lord hath need of him”.
:34 And they said, The Lord hath need of him.
the Lord – kurios – he to whom a person or thing belongs, about which he has power of deciding; master, lord; is a title of honour expressive of respect and reverence, with which servants greet their master; this title is given to: God, the Messiah
Some have suggested that the owner of the colt might have been believers. Whether or not they were, they don’t put up an argument.
:35 And they brought him to Jesus: and they cast their garments upon the colt, and they set Jesus thereon.
When Solomon was made king, David gave instructions
(1 Ki 1:33-35 KJV) The king also said unto them, Take with you
the servants of your lord, and cause Solomon my son to ride upon mine own mule,
and bring him down to Gihon: {34} And let Zadok the priest and Nathan the
prophet anoint him there king over Israel: and blow ye with the trumpet, and
say, God save king Solomon. {35} Then ye shall come up after him, that he may
come and sit upon my throne; for he shall be king in my stead: and I have
appointed him to be ruler over Israel and over Judah.
Solomon didn’t ride on a colt, and it wasn’t one that hadn’t been ridden upon. He rode his dad’s mule. He rode the King’s mule.
Riding a mule into Jerusalem could be seen as something a king of the Jews might do.
Matthew tells us that this act of Jesus riding on the colt of a donkey was a fulfillment of a prophecy:
(Zec 9:9 KJV) 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.
There are two things to note about this:
1. This is the procession of a king.
2. This is a procession marked by humility.
lowly – ‘aniy – poor, afflicted, humble, wretched
Lesson
A Humble King
Here is the King of Creation, the Creator of the heavens and the earth, riding on the colt of a donkey.
Even though He is King, He takes a path of humility.
Look at what He had recently taught the disciples:
(Mark 10:32-45 KJV) And they were in the way going up to
Jerusalem; and Jesus went before them: and they were amazed; and as they
followed, they were afraid. And he took again the twelve, and began to tell
them what things should happen unto him, {33} Saying, Behold, we go up to
Jerusalem; and the Son of man shall be delivered unto the chief priests, and
unto the scribes; and they shall condemn him to death, and shall deliver him to
the Gentiles: {34} And they shall mock him, and shall scourge him, and shall
spit upon him, and shall kill him: and the third day he shall rise again. {35}
And James and John, the sons of Zebedee, come unto him, saying, Master, we
would that thou shouldest do for us whatsoever we shall desire. {36} And he
said unto them, What would ye that I should do for you? {37} They said unto
him, Grant unto us that we may sit, one on thy right hand, and the other on thy
left hand, in thy glory. {38} But Jesus said unto them, Ye know not what ye
ask: can ye drink of the cup that I drink of? and be baptized with the baptism
that I am baptized with? {39} And they said unto him, We can. And Jesus said
unto them, Ye shall indeed drink of the cup that I drink of; and with the
baptism that I am baptized withal shall ye be baptized: {40} But to sit on my
right hand and on my left hand is not mine to give; but it shall be given to
them for whom it is prepared. {41} And when the ten heard it, they began to be
much displeased with James and John. {42} But Jesus called them to him, and
saith unto them, Ye know that they which are accounted to rule over the
Gentiles exercise lordship over them; and their great ones exercise authority
upon them. {43} But so shall it not be among you: but whosoever will be great
among you, shall be your minister: {44} And whosoever of you will be the chiefest,
shall be servant of all. {45} For even the Son of man came not to be ministered
unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.
The “chiefest” should be the servant of all.
Is this what Jesus lived? After He speaks these things, and even after He will have this “Triumphant Entry” into Jerusalem, look what He does:
(John
13:1-5 KJV) Now before the feast of the
passover, when Jesus knew that his hour was come that he should depart out of
this world unto the Father, having loved his own which were in the world, he
loved them unto the end. {2} And supper being ended, the devil having now put
into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon's son, to betray him; {3} Jesus knowing
that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he was come from
God, and went to God; {4} He riseth from supper, and laid aside his garments;
and took a towel, and girded himself. {5} After that he poureth water into a
basin, and began to wash the disciples' feet, and to wipe them with the towel
wherewith he was girded.
Even after having had this HUGE exalting at the Triumphant Entry, Jesus is still being a servant.
Contrast this with Saul.
When Saul first became king, he was humble. He couldn’t understand why he would be chosen to be king (1Sam. 9:21).
But after Saul had a couple of victories under his belt, he began to think he could do things however he wanted. When he was rebuked by the prophet Samuel and told that he had lost the kingdom, he was still clinging to his pride,
(1 Sam
15:30 KJV) Then he said, I have sinned:
yet honour me now, I pray thee, before the elders of my people, and before
Israel …
Lesson
The key to humility
I think Jesus gave us the key to humility. It’s being a servant.
Here He was, the King of Kings, and He started washing the disciples’ feet.
(John 13:13-17 KJV) Ye call me Master and Lord: and ye say well;
for so I am. {14} If I then, your Lord and Master, have washed your feet; ye
also ought to wash one another's feet. {15} For I have given you an example,
that ye should do as I have done to you. {16} Verily, verily, I say unto you,
The servant is not greater than his lord; neither he that is sent greater than
he that sent him. {17} If ye know these things, happy are ye if ye do them.
When you find yourself getting too taken by yourself, when you find yourself griping because you didn’t get the recognition you thought you deserved, the key to “happiness” is being a servant.
Find a lowly job that doesn’t seem to be much fun, and do it.
:36 And as he went, they spread their clothes in the way.
This is kind of like “rolling out the red carpet”, so that Jesus’ donkey is walking on a “red carpet” instead of the road. There is also a sense of humility and subjection in the picture as well, as Jesus’ donkey is walking on their coats, as if He’s walking on them.
: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;
he was come nigh – eggizo – to bring near, to join one thing to another; to draw or come near to, to approach
the descent – katabasis – descent; the act of descending; the place of descent; that part of the mountain where the descent is made
the whole – hapas – quite, all, the whole, all together, all
multitude – plethos – a multitude; a great number, of men or things; the whole number, the whole multitude, the assemblage; the multitude of the people
to rejoice – chairo – to rejoice, be glad; to rejoice exceedingly
praise – aineo – to praise, extol, to sing praises in honour to God
mighty works – dunamis – strength power, ability; inherent power, power residing in a thing by virtue of its nature, or which a person or thing exerts and puts forth; power for performing miracles
One of the things that was fresh on the peoples’ mind was the raising of Lazarus (John 11) from the dead:
(John 12:12-18 KJV) On the next day much people that were come
to the feast, when they heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem, {13} 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. {14} And Jesus, when
he had found a young ass, sat thereon; as it is written, {15} Fear not,
daughter of Sion: behold, thy King cometh, sitting on an ass's colt. {16} These
things understood not his disciples at the first: but when Jesus was glorified,
then remembered they that these things were written of him, and that they had
done these things unto him. {17} The people therefore that was with him when he
called Lazarus out of his grave, and raised him from the dead, bare record.
{18} For this cause the people also met him, for that they heard that he had
done this miracle.
:38 Saying, Blessed be the King that cometh in the name of the Lord: peace in heaven, and glory in the highest.
blessed – eulogeo – to praise, celebrate with praises; to invoke blessings; to consecrate a thing with solemn prayers; to ask God’s blessing on a thing; favoured of God, blessed
peace – eirene – a state of national tranquillity; security, safety, prosperity, felicity, (because peace and harmony make and keep things safe and prosperous); of the Messiah’s peace
glory – doxa – opinion, judgment, view; in the NT always a good opinion concerning one, resulting in praise, honour, and glory; splendour, brightness; magnificence, excellence, preeminence, dignity, grace; a most glorious condition, most exalted state
the highest – hupsistos – highest, most high
Mark records a few more of the words the people were speaking:
(Mark 11:9-10 KJV) And they that went before, and they that
followed, cried, saying, Hosanna; Blessed is he that cometh in the name
of the Lord: {10} Blessed be the kingdom of our father David, that cometh in
the name of the Lord: Hosanna in the highest.
“Hosanna” means “save now”.
These words are drawn from:
(Psa 118:25-26 KJV) Save now, I beseech thee, O LORD: O LORD, I
beseech thee, send now prosperity. {26} Blessed be he that cometh in the name
of the LORD: we have blessed you out of the house of the LORD.
:39 And some of the Pharisees from among the multitude said unto him, Master, rebuke thy disciples.
the multitude – ochlos – a crowd; a casual collection of people; a multitude of men who have flocked together in some place; a throng. This isn’t the same word used for “multitude” in verse 37, which simply means a large number, here it’s talking about the crowd, the whole crowd including all the unbelievers.
rebuke – epitimao – to show honour to, to honour; to tax with fault, rate, chide, rebuke, reprove, censure severely; to admonish or charge sharply
There seems to be a hint of jealousy with the Pharisees.
John records,
(John 12:19 NLT) Then the Pharisees said to each other,
"We've lost. Look, the whole world has gone after him!"
They think that the crowd has gone too far in giving this kind of praise to a human person. They’re right. But this isn’t a normal human person. This isn’t a normal day.
:40 And he answered and said unto them, I tell you that, if these should hold their peace, the stones would immediately cry out.
Question: If the stones cried out, would that have been the first “Rock Band”? (sorry)
hold their peace – siopao – to be silent, hold one’s peace; used of one’s silence because dumb; metaph. of a calm, quiet sea
stones – lithos – a stone; of small stones; of building stones
immediately cry out – krazo – to croak; of the cry of a raven; hence, to cry out, cry aloud, vociferate; to cry; cry out aloud, speak with a loud voice
The word “immediately” isn’t in the Greek text.
We’ll see why in a minute. This was a day ordained from eternity past that Jesus should be praised. If the people don’t praise Him, then all of creation will oblige.
:41 And when he was come near, he beheld the city, and wept over it,
wept – klaio – to mourn, weep, lament; weeping as the sign of pain and grief for the thing signified (i.e. for the pain and grief); to weep for, mourn for, bewail, one
Jesus didn’t weep because He was going to die. He wept for the city and what it would be going through.
Lesson
The compassion of Jesus
Here is a city that is going to reject Him and then kill Him. And He’s weeping for it.
:42 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.
they are hid – krupto – to hide, conceal, to be hid; escape notice
this thy day – Jesus is talking about a special, specific day in the plan of God.
Daniel’s Seventy Weeks.
The prophet Daniel predicted the day that Messiah would appear.
(Dan 9:25-26 KJV) Know therefore and understand, that from the
going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the
Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks: the street
shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times. {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.
It starts with a commandment, or, a decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem.
Nehemiah
2:5-AV And I said
unto the king, If it please the king, and if thy servant have found favour in
thy sight, that thou wouldest send me unto Judah, unto the city of my fathers'
sepulchres, that I may build it.
This took place (according to Neh.2:1) in the month of Nisan (assumed the first day), in the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes: March 14, 445 B.C.
seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks
7 weeks and 62 weeks = 69 weeks.
Daniel worked off of the Babylonian calendar:
Prophetic year = 360 days (compare Dan.9:27, 7:24,25; Rev.13:4-7; Rev. 12:13,14; Rev.12:6)
69 weeks x 7 years x 360 days = 173,880 days
March 14, 445 B.C. + 173,880 days = April 6, 32 A.D.
The event that occurred on April 6, 32 A.D. is what we’re reading about here, Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem. Palm Sunday.
Go back to the Psalms:
(Psa 118:22-27 KJV) The stone which the builders refused is become the head stone of the corner. {23} This is the LORD'S doing; it is marvellous in our eyes. {24} This is the day which the LORD hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it.
I believe “this is the day” refers to the same day. It was a day that God determined, that God had “made”. Look what the people were to say on “that day”:
{25} Save now, I beseech
thee, O LORD: O LORD, I beseech thee, send now prosperity. {26} Blessed be he
that cometh in the name of the LORD: we have blessed you out of the house of
the LORD. {27} God is the LORD, which hath showed us light: bind the sacrifice
with cords, even unto the horns of the altar.
All wrapped up on “that day” was the rejecting of the corner stone (vs.22) and the binding of the sacrifice to the altar (vs.27), speaking of His death for us.