Palm Sunday - JESUS WAS WEEPING!
Luke 19:28-19:44
I wish simply to remind you of a familiar story from the Bible. It
began early Sunday morning as Jesus was walking toward Jerusalem.
Jesus stops for a moment & sends 2 of his disciples ahead of Him into
a nearby village to carry out a special errand. Here is how Luke
records that event:
"As He approached Bethphage & Bethany at the hill called the Mount of
Olives, He sent two of His disciples, saying to them, `Go to the
village ahead of you, & as you enter it, you will find a colt tied
there, which no one has ever ridden. Untie it & bring it here. If
anyone asks you, `Why are you untying it?' tell him, `The Lord needs
it.'" [Luke 19:28b-31]
A. The 2 disciples must have wondered about what Jesus told them to
do, because none of the Gospel accounts about the ministry of Christ
ever mention Him riding any animal to get from one place to another.
He must have walked hundreds of miles up & down the land we now call
the "Holy Land," but there is no mention of Him ever riding, except
in a boat across the Sea of Galilee.
But now, He gives this unusual command to go into the village to get
a colt that had never been ridden, & to bring it to Him. It must have
seemed a strange command, indeed.
He even tells them the exact words they are to use should anyone
question them. They are to say, "The Lord needs it." Was this
prearranged? Did the owners know what Jesus was going to do? We don't
know.
B. It is obvious, though, that Jesus knew what He was going to face
in the city of Jerusalem. So His decision to go into Jerusalem must
have been one of the most difficult Jesus ever made.
And on top of that, to ride into the city on a colt, rather than to
walk into it as He had often done before, must have been an even more
difficult decision, because riding a colt into the city was a public
declaration that He was a King.
ILL. You see, in times of war the conqueror would ride upon a
prancing stallion. But in times of peace, the king would ride a colt
to symbolize that peace prevailed. So, for Jesus to ride into
Jerusalem upon a colt is to declare that He is a King.
I. HOW WOULD THE PEOPLE RESPOND TO THAT?
How would the people respond to that? Would they recognize that His
Kingdom was not of this world - that it was a spiritual kingdom, & He
was to be a spiritual King? Small chance, because He had been
teaching them that for 3 1/2 years, & still they had not learned that
lesson.
A. Perhaps some of them would greet Him with laughter. Maybe they
would be amused by what Jesus was doing. After all, it was a rather
ridiculous picture. Here is a carpenter declaring Himself to be a
King!
Perhaps some would think, "He is a lunatic, living in a world of
fantasy - imagining Himself to be a King!" And they would laugh at
him.
B. Others would greet Him with anger - upset because they would
interpret His riding into the city as arrogance & blasphemy against
God.
C. Of course, many would hail Him with joy, welcoming Him as an
earthly King, come to reestablish the throne of David, & overthrow
the Roman Empire. They were ready & eager to place a crown upon His
head.
D. Among the crowds would be people He had healed. Some had been
among the thousands He had fed. Many more had seen some of His
miracles, & listened as "He spoke with authority." They had listened,
& their lives had been changed.
Jesus knew all of this. He knew that just over the horizon was the
cross, looming like a monster ready to consume Him. But Luke tells us
that in spite of it all, Jesus still "...set His face steadfastly to
go to Jerusalem."
II. JESUS RIDES TOWARD THE GATES OF THE CITY
As Jesus rides down toward the gate of the city, the crowds are
growing, & there is a festive air, for it is Passover & pilgrims are
gathering from far & near for this greatest of all Jewish holidays.
A. Even before Jesus arrives, the news has spread that Jesus had
raised Lazarus from the dead. You can imagine the excitement that
prevails.
"Have you heard the news? Lazarus died, & was buried in a tomb so
long that his body was starting to decay. But this teacher from
Nazareth called, `Lazarus, come forth' & Lazarus came forth. I saw
him! They stripped away the grave clothing, & he actually walked &
breathed & lived again! Surely only the Messiah - only the Son of God
could do that!"
The news travels from one person to another, until finally when Jesus
was ready to enter the city, great crowds had collected on both sides
of the road. They were there! They had cut palm branches & were
shouting, "Hosanna to the king!" Excitement prevailed throughout the
whole city!
B. Then Jesus looked over His waiting audience. He must have seen the
mixture of expressions on their faces.
1. There were those who loved Him: Perhaps Bartimaeus was there, a
man who had received his sight, no longer in his beggar's rags. How
about Zacchaeus? He had paid back his debt to society, & had made his
peace with God. And the lepers? Their skin had been cleansed & now
they were rejoicing for the healing that the Lord had given them.
ILL. Maybe Jairus' daughter was there - back to life again after
experiencing death. Lazarus & Mary & Martha & Mary Magdalene - they
were all there! Their lives reflected the love that was in their
hearts for this man who had taught them, & molded them & changed them.
2. There were also sinister faces there. Faces with squinty eyes,
waiting for Him to say one wrong word - to make one mistake.
ILL. The Sadducees & Pharisees were there. They were supposed to be
keepers of the law, the spiritual leaders. But Jesus had gained so
much popularity that they felt threatened. So, full of jealousy, they
watched Him.
ILL. The Romans were there, fearing revolt & watching for any sign of
rebellion against Rome. They were ready & waiting to crush any
uprising.
Jesus realized, as He listened to their "Hosannas," that soon the
sinister voices would drown out the voices of love - that those
crying for Him to be King would soon be crying, "Crucify Him!" or
simply standing aside, saying nothing at all.
C. Now Jesus is descending along the road from the Mt. of Olives,
across the brook, toward the gate, the crowds thronging around Him.
I wonder how the apostles were reacting to all of this? I have always
thought that Judas was probably ecstatic - basking in the reflected
glory - because Judas may have wanted an earthly Kingdom more than
any of the others.
ILL. I imagine that Peter walked with chest expanded -enjoying the
throngs & the cheers of the crowd - maybe with one hand on his sword
just in case something went wrong - thinking to himself, "Maybe it
was worth it to leave the fishnets & boats. Maybe at last we are
going to get what we deserve."
ILL. Possibly there was Thomas, a bit skeptical about everything that
was going on - wondering what is going to happen next.
ILL. Maybe Andrew was overwhelmed by it all. He was so used to
bringing people to Jesus one by one, or in small groups - & now look
at them all!
ILL. What about James & John? Do you suppose they were thinking about
Jesus being crowned King - so that they could be on His right & left
hand in positions of authority & power?
They were all there in Jerusalem - loving faces - sinister faces -
anxious apostles. Crowds trampling almost one upon another - when
suddenly - the whole procession stopped.
III. SUDDENLY THE WHOLE PROCESSION STOPPED
ILL. Do you suppose it could have been a little like rush hour
traffic on the big city expressway? One car stops, then all the other
cars stop, like a chain reaction. I can just hear the people way back
in the crowd that day saying, "What's the holdup? What is going on?
Why don't you guys move on?"
A. But the people who were closest to Jesus could see - & they
realized that it was He who had stopped the parade. Then they saw His
body begin to shake. Maybe at first they thought He was laughing.
Laughter would seem to be natural - for everybody else was laughing,
& joy prevailed.
But then they saw His face, & they saw no evidence of laughter.
Rather, they saw sorrow & tears. He was not laughing. He was crying.
B. The Scripture tells us that Jesus reacted emotionally many times
from different scenes that He saw. When He saw the poor. When He saw
the hungry. When He saw people sinning. When He saw the ill. The
Scriptures say repeatedly that "...He had compassion on them."
But it only tells us of two times that Jesus cried. One time He cried
at the grave of Lazarus. You remember, Mary & Martha were both
weeping, & it says that Jesus wept with them. He wept for them. He
entered into their grief with compassion & He identified with their
sorrow & despair.
IV. WHY WAS JESUS CRYING?
This was the 2nd occasion. He looked at the city of Jerusalem. He saw
the mixture of faces & the masses of humanity crowding there - & He
realized the emptiness of their lives. They had not heard the message
of peace. They did not understand the purpose of His coming.
Listen as I read Luke 19:41-44. "As He approached Jerusalem & saw the
city, He wept over it & said, `If you, even you, had only known on
this day what would bring you peace - but now it is hidden from your
eyes. The days will come upon you when your enemies will build an
embankment against you & encircle you & hem you in on every side.
They will dash you to the ground, you & the children within your
walls. They will not leave one stone on another, because you did not
recognize the time of God's coming to you.'"
They had eyes, but they didn't see. They had ears, but they didn't
hear. They missed the whole point of the message that God had given
to them.
A. The fact they waved palm branches showed that they didn't
understand, because that is exactly what they did when the Maccabees
overthrew the Syrian oppressors & reestablished worship in the
temple.
By waving palm branches they were showing that they expected Jesus to
be another warlord - another general of the armies - one who would
lead them to overthrow the Romans. They were saying that they were
ready to pick up their swords & shields & go to war if He would lead
them!
B. Jesus said, "I didn't come for that purpose. I came to show you a
more excellent way. I came to show you the way of love." He had
said, "Love your enemies & pray for those who persecute you. If
someone smites you on the cheek, turn to him the other also. If
someone wants your coat, give him your shirt as well. If they command
you to carry their pack a mile, go two."
Those people who listened to Him must have thought, "Well, those are
beautiful words, but surely He doesn't mean Rome? He doesn't expect
us to love Rome? Only a lunatic would command you to love Rome. We
can't love Rome!"
But don't you see - that was exactly what He was saying? "Love even
Rome - because Rome with her mighty army has seen the power of the
sword. But Rome has not seen the power of love. Show them love!"
C. The nation of Israel had the opportunity to show Rome something
new & different. But because they didn't understand Jesus - because
they completely misunderstood His mission - Jesus wept over them
because the opportunity would be taken away & they would never have
it again.
These were God's people - God's chosen people. God had loved them &
led them across the wilderness & into the Promised Land. But they did
not understand the Messiah when He walked in their midst. Because of
that, Jesus wept.
D. What a contrast! As He sits upon the beast of burden, He sees the
towering Temple of God silhouetted against the sky. But beyond that -
in the years immediately ahead - He sees the armies of Titus
surrounding the Holy City. He sees Temple stones being taken down &
the whole city leveled.
He sees bodies in the streets & blood running in the gutters &
hundreds of thousands of people crying because they are starving to
death while Titus waits for Jerusalem to surrender.
All of that because they didn't recognize the Messiah when He came!
How different their lives could have been. How different the history
of Israel could have been if they had only recognized the one who
came into their midst, riding on a colt.
It is Matthew who adds that as Jesus looked at the city He said, "O
Jerusalem, Jerusalem. How often would I have gathered you together as
a hen gathers her chicks beneath her wings. But you would not come."
Today, just like the city of Jerusalem, we find ourselves in the
presence of Jesus. I wonder what He finds when He looks into our
faces?
Does He see people concerned about so many things - worried about
income taxes - worried about job security - worried about their
health, or lack of it? Does He see people who are so busy doing
things here & there - so busy that they never bother to consider
those things that are eternally important?
Does he see people who recognize Him for who He is? The Messiah, the
Christ, the Son of God?
When He turns & looks into our lives, I wonder, will He weep once
again because of what He sees? Or will we have the joy that passes
all understanding as we respond to His outstretched arms & hear Him
say, "Well done, good & faithful servant. Enter thou into the joy of
thy Lord"?
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