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SermonWriter
Resources for Lectionary Preaching
 
 
 
!
Palm Sunday
!
Year C
!!!!!!  
!!!!!! April 4, 2004
 
 
 
 
 
*NOTE:*  The primary SermonWriter materials for this Sunday are based on the Passion text.
I am providing this exegesis and links to sermons, based on the Palms text, as a supplement.
*SCRIPTURE:*  Luke 19:28-40
 
 
*EXEGESIS:*
 
 
*19:28 -- 21:38:*  JESUS' MINISTRY IN JERUSALEM
 
Jesus has been on the road to Jerusalem and death since 9:51.
That journey came to an end at 19:27.
19:28 begins the story of his ministry in Jerusalem, which continues through 21:38, and is followed by his passion (chapters 22-23) and resurrection (chapter 24).
*VERSE 28:  *AFTER HE HAD SAID THIS
 
*/28/*/After he had said this, he went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem.
/
 
 
"After he had said this" links the Triumphal Entry to the Parable of the Ten Pounds (vv.
11-27).
This parable has much in common with the Parable of the Talents (Matt.
25:14-30), but is tailored to introduce the Triumphal Entry, to include the following distinctive features: 
 
-- Jesus tells this parable "because he was near Jerusalem, and because they supposed that the kingdom of God was to appear immediately" (v.
11).
-- The nobleman goes to a distant country "to get royal power for himself and then return" (v.
12).
-- The nobleman gives ten pounds to ten slaves -- one pound each -- for which he holds them accountable.
-- The citizens hate the nobleman and do not want him ruling over them.
-- At the end, the nobleman says, "But as for these enemies of mine who did not want me to be king over them -- bring them here and slaughter them in my presence" (v.
27).
The royal greeting that Jesus will receive in Jerusalem does not signify that he has obtained his royal power and is ready to establish his reign.
Instead, entering Jerusalem, Jesus is preparing his departure to a distant country where he will get royal power and then return in his Second Coming.
"going up to Jerusalem."
Jerusalem is where Jesus will die, but is also where he will be resurrected and where the church will be born at Pentecost (Acts 2 -- also written by Luke).
Once the Holy Spirit comes upon the disciples, they will become Jesus' witnesses "in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth" (Acts 1:8).
In other words, Jerusalem -- the place of Jesus' death -- will also be the starting place for the worldwide proclamation of the Gospel.
*VERSES 29-35:  *A COLT THAT HAS NEVER BEEN RIDDEN
 
*/29/*/When he had come near Bethphage and Bethany, at the place called the Mount of Olives, he sent two of the disciples, /*/30/*/saying, "Go into the village ahead of you, and as you enter it you will find tied there a colt that has never been ridden.
Untie it and bring it here.
/*/31/*/If anyone asks you, 'Why are you untying it?'
just say this, 'The Lord needs it.'
" /*/32/*/So those who were sent departed and found it as he had told them.
/*/33/*/As they were untying the colt, its owners asked them, "Why are you untying the colt?" /*/34/*/They said, "The Lord needs it."
/*/35/*/Then they brought it to Jesus; and after throwing their cloaks on the colt, they set Jesus on it.
/
 
 
We know little about Bethphage, but Bethany is important.
John 1:28 tells us that Jesus was baptized at Bethany, and Luke 24:50 tells us that the ascension will take place there.
John 11 tells us that Bethany is the home of Lazarus, Martha, and Mary, and is where Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead, a miracle that precipitated plans by religious authorities to kill Jesus.
This reference to the Mount of Olives may be related to Zech.
14:4-5:  "On that day his feet shall stand on the Mount of Olives, which lies before Jerusalem on the east....  Then the Lord my God will come, and all the holy ones with him."
"he sent two of the disciples" (v.
29).
We don't know the identity of these disciples, but Jesus will send Peter and John to prepare for the Passover meal (22:8), so it is possible that they are also the ones whom he sends for the colt.
"a colt that has never been ridden" (v.
30).
"According to Num 19:2 and Deut 21:3, an animal to be used for certain sacred purposes must be chosen from those that have never been used for ordinary labor, and according to m. Sanh.
2.5, no one else may ride the king's horse" (Tannehill, 282-283).
A colt can be a horse or donkey, but Matthew 21:2, 5, 7 and John 12:14 specify a donkey -- thus fulfilling Zech.
9:9, which says:  "Rejoice greatly, O daughter Zion!  Shout aloud, O daughter Jerusalem!
Lo, your king comes to you; triumphant and victorious is he, humble and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey."
A donkey is a humble mount, and the colt of a donkey even more so.
Donkeys are smaller than horses -- not as fast or responsive as horses -- unsuitable as a mount in battle.
The colt of a donkey could barely carry a full-grown man.
Kings ride neither colts nor donkeys, but full-grown horses -- well-trained, responsive horses -- horses chosen in part for strength and spirit and in part for appearance -- beautiful horses -- large, impressive mounts -- in much the same way that presidents ride limousines or private jets.
The size and beauty of the king's horse bear testimony to the king's importance.
Furthermore, a man mounted on a large, spirited horse is an intimidating presence, and potential enemies will think twice before attacking a man so mounted.
Jesus is king of the Jews (19:38; 23:2-3, 37-38), but he is a different kind of king -- the kind of king who rides a donkey colt -- comes in peace -- comes to serve -- comes to die.
Just as a king's huge, spirited war-horse sends a message about the man who rides it, so also Jesus' donkey colt sends a message about him -- who he is -- his purpose in coming.
When the two disciples go to fetch the colt, the owners ask, "Why are you untying the colt?"
The disciples respond as Jesus directed, saying, "The Lord needs it."
"They assert God's own eminent domain, his right to all that we are and have" (MacLean & Scherer).
No further discussion is needed.
The owners allow the disciples to take the colt, thus demonstrating the power of Jesus' authority.
"In the culture a major religious or political figure could request the use of livestock, a custom known as /angaria/" (Bock, 312, citing Derrett).
Scholars speculate whether Jesus coordinated with the owners in advance, and it is possible that he did so.
However, to insist that he did is to miss the point.
This is a lesson, not in prior coordination, but in Jesus' authority.
"after throwing their cloaks on the colt, they set Jesus on it" (v.
35).
A king not only rides a great horse, but also sits astride an impressive saddle.
Jesus, the humble king, sits astride a saddle hastily improvised from his disciples' cloaks.
*VERSES 36-38:  *AS HE RODE ALONG
 
*/36/*/As he rode along, people kept spreading their cloaks on the road.
/*/37/*/As he was now approaching the path down from the Mount of Olives, the whole multitude of the disciples began to praise God joyfully with a loud voice for all the deeds of power that they had seen, /*/38/*/saying,/
/ /
/"Blessed is the king/
/who comes in the name of the Lord!/
/Peace in heaven,/
/and glory in the highest heaven!" /
 
 
"people kept spreading their cloaks on the road" (v.
36).
"Luke's record makes no mention of hosannas or branches cut from trees.
Because those belonged commonly to nationalistic demonstrations and parades, perhaps Luke wants this event to carry no such implication.
Jesus is called 'King,' to be sure (v.
38) but Luke makes it clear very soon that the term is in no sense political or military (23:2-5)" (Craddock, 166).
"The entry is regal without being revolutionary or threatening" (Bock, 312).
"the whole multitude of disciples began to praise God" (v.
37).
Matthew says that it is the crowds who shout Hosanna (Matt 21:9), and Mark implies the same (Mark 11:8-9).
John also says that it is the crowd (John 12:9).
Luke, however, specifies that it is the disciples who offer praise, rather than the people of Jerusalem.
"This distinction anticipates the hostile reception of the Pharisees in v. 39 below and, perhaps, also clarifies why a crowd that so joyfully welcomes Jesus would in a few days' time cry out for his blood (23:18, 23)" (Evans, 293-294).
"for all the deeds of power that they had seen" (v.
37).
Note the abundance of Jesus' miracles that Luke the physician records -- mostly healings or exorcisms (4:31-37; 4:38-39; 5:12-16; 5:17-26; 6:6-11; 6:17-19; 7:1-10; 7:11-17; 8:22-25; 8:26-39; 8:40-56; 9:10-17; 9:37-43; 13:10-17; 14:1-6; 17:11-19; 18:35-43).
"The presence of the multitude of disciples evokes echoes of the 'multitude of the heavenly host' at the birth of Jesus (2:13), the multitude of the people Jesus taught in Galilee (6:17), the multitude from the region of Gerasa (8:37), and the multitude that will take Jesus to Pilate and follow him to the place of crucifixion (23:1, 27)" (Culpepper, 369).
The praise of the multitude of disciples echoes the praise of angels and shepherds at Jesus' birth (2:13-14, 20).
"Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord" (v.
38).
Psalm 118:26 says, "Blessed is /the one/ who comes in the name of the Lord," but Luke changes "the one" to "the king."
The people use Psalm 118 to welcome pilgrims to the great feasts in the Holy City, but Jesus is more than a pilgrim -- he is king.
The issue of Jesus' kingship will soon be brought to the front, and will lead to his crucifixion (23:2-3, 37-38).
"The alert reader will recall that in Luke's narrative Jesus has /always/ been king (cf.
1:32 f.)" (Nickle, 203).
"*Peace in heaven.*
This is a strange statement, whereas 'peace on earth' (Luke 2:14) would be perfectly understandable.
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