The Offer of the Kingdom

THE OFFER OF THE KINGDOM Spring Valley Mennonite; March 7, 2021; Luke 19:29-44 As we count down the weeks leading to the celebration of Resurrection Sunday, we find ourselves with Jesus on the Road which leads to the Cross. We began last week with the account of Mary, sister of Lazarus and Martha, when she, with magnificent extravagance, anointed her Lord for His burial at the Saturday banquet. In my desire to present Jesus' journey chronologically, this morning we will look at the events on Sunday of Passover Week, after the Saturday evening banquet where Mary anointed our Lord. I realize that we are accustomed to hearing about these events on Palm Sunday, but I ask your indulgence as I plan to keep on moving chronologically through the events leading to the crucifixion and Resurrection. The next day after the banquet, probably later in the day, Jesus made His way into Jerusalem, but not in the manner in which the disciples were familiar. On each of their previous visits to Jerusalem, Jesus and His disciples blended into the crowds to avoid attracting attention. Often after healing someone, Jesus told them to keep the miracle to themselves. His reason was that people were attracted to Him only because of the miracles, either to see one or to be one! Jesus desired that people seek Him out for better reasons than just for physical healing or to see a miracle. He desired-and desires today-to be more than entertainment. On an earlier occasion, after Jesus had fed the 5000, the people had desired to make Him King. At that time, He rejected their advances, for the time was not right. We read about this in John 6:15: Jesus therefore perceiving that they were intending to come and take Him by force, to make Him king, withdrew again to the mountain by Himself alone. But today, the Sunday before Passover, Jesus allowed Himself to be proclaimed as King, even instigating the event! He did not restrain the crowds when they cried "Hosanna: blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord, even the King of Israel!" But we get ahead of ourselves... All four Gospel writers record what we call " the Triumphal Entry" into Jerusalem; we will draw from all four, but primarily we will look at the account in Luke's Gospel. Turn to Luke 19, beginning in verse 29. (READ 29-34) I. AN UNUSUAL REQUEST As we set the scene for this momentous event, we read in John 12:9 that a great multitude of Jews had made their way to Bethany when they heard that Jesus had returned. Perhaps these were some of the same Jews who had believed a few weeks earlier at the raising of Lazarus from the dead. Our impression is that many of these were with Jesus and the disciples the next day when they left Bethany to go to Jerusalem. The road which entered Jerusalem from the East rises from the Jordan valley over 3400 feet in elevation. The road crests on the hilly ridge just east of Jerusalem, the most prominent hill on this ridge being the Mount of Olives. It is there that the first glimpse of Jerusalem can be taken. As the company of Jesus, disciples and followers crested this rise, Jesus paused and told two disciples to go into the nearby village of Bethphage. There they would find a donkey tied, along with her colt. They were to bring them back. This must have puzzled the disciples, for what use would Jesus have for a donkey? In the almost three years they had accompanied Jesus, He had always walked everywhere. Riding was reserved for the wealthy or for the Roman leaders. But now Jesus was requesting a donkey. But Jesus had a purpose. He was fulfilling the prophesy of Zechariah 9:9: "Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout in triumph, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your king is coming to you; He is just and endowed with salvation, Humble, and mounted on a donkey, even on a colt, the foal of a donkey." It was now time-the hour had come-for Jesus to formally present Himself as King and Messiah to the nation of Israel. To ride into Jerusalem on the donkey held great symbolic meaning. And this meaning was not lost on the disciples and those following Jesus! There are two levels of understanding here: what the crowds and disciples thought was happening, and what Jesus was actually doing. These two differing views agree on some points, and not on others. As the crowd observed Jesus riding on the donkey's colt-which by the way, had never been ridden before-they remembered the prophesy from Zechariah and began proclaiming Jesus as King! Cries of "Hosanna" began to ring out! They began to quote Psalm 118:26: "Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord!" Picking up our text at verse 35...(Read vv. 35-38) To honor a king, it was the custom to spread coats and palm branches on the road as the honored leader approached the city gates. Jesus was publicly declaring Himself as Messiah. And everything He did the next few days supported His claim. And as they say, "The crowd went wild!" But what kind of kingdom were the people and the disciples expecting? Each year at Passover season, Messianic expectations emerged. With the Passover reminder of how God had miraculously freed the Jews from slavery in Egypt, the promise and expectation of deliverance were awakened. The people longed for freedom, as they had in Egypt millennia before. They were looking for the Messiah who would give them that freedom. In the 619 years since the Babylonians had conquered Jerusalem, the Jews had enjoyed independence for less than 100 years. The Babylonians, the Persians, the Greeks and now the Romans had ruled. The Jews were longing for freedom and a conquering King who would establish a glorious kingdom with great material blessing. The followers of Jesus lining the road that day fully expected this glorious kingdom was beginning at that moment. They hoped that King Jesus was riding into Jerusalem to take the throne of David. No king since Solomon, the son of King David, had ridden into Jerusalem on a donkey. Now Jesus, the Son and descendent of King David, was doing exactly just that. Jesus was officially presenting Himself to Israel as their King. What would the nation do with the offer? II. THE OFFICIAL RESPONSE OF THE JEWISH LEADERS The next verses tell us of the official response of the Jewish leaders. (READ VV. 39-40) Luke summarizes in these two short verses the attitude of the Jewish nation toward Jesus as He presented Himself as King: "Tell your followers to shut up! We reject any such response: you are no king, but a troublemaker." John tells us that the Pharisees had already decided to put Jesus to death, along with Lazarus because "many of the Jews were going away and were believing in Jesus." (John 12:11) Earlier in his Gospel, John had written, "He came unto his own and His own received Him not." Isaiah had predicted that He would be "Despised and rejected among men." One of the signs of the Messiah was that He would work miracles. The Jewish leaders could not ignore that miracles had been performed, the latest and greatest was the raising of Lazarus. But the religious leaders had already concluded that Jesus only was able to do miracles because Satan gave Him the power. As leaders of the Nation, they had officially rejected Israel's King and Messiah. Although a warrant for His arrest had been issued, but they had decided not to arrest Him during the Passover feast, fearing an uprising from the crowds of people (Mark 14:2: "For they were saying, 'Not during the festival, lest there be a riot of the people.") Is it not interesting that the Jewish rulers had decided to leave Jesus alone during the Passover season? But Jesus forced their hand. Again we notice that Jesus chose the hour of His sacrifice and death. Matthew 21:10-11 presents the Palm Sunday response of the people in another manner: "And when He had entered Jerusalem, all the city was stirred, saying, 'Who is this?' And the multitudes were saying, 'This is the prophet Jesus, from Nazareth in Galilee." Only a prophet from Nazareth-not God's Son, the Messiah. Not the King, but only a prophet. Only a few of the crowd truly recognized Jesus as more than a prophet, but as the Messiah. They recognized Jesus as a miracle worker, but not as their Messiah. And who does not want to see or be part of a miracle, especially if one is sick and in need of healing, or hungry and in need of food? Miracles are spectacular, miracles provide quick answers, and require little from me. But to recognize and acknowledge Jesus as Messiah and Lord, and to bow in submission to Him is a completely different matter! I think a fair question for any believer is to ask themselves whether they are seeking a miracle worker or a Messiah. Rather than looking for a cure for our root problem of sin, I wonder how many people seek God only for relief from the symptoms of sin and its consequences. Perhaps this is indicated by those who only pray to God when they are in trouble. "God, fix my problem; rescue me from my mistake." Jesus did not come and die only to bail us out when we have problems. He came to change and transform us, not to make our lives pleasant and trouble-free. Our Lord knew the shallowness of these praises, and the lack of depth of their commitment. He knew that when the chips were down, all would desert Him. He knew the results of Israel's rejection of their Messiah, and reflected it in His response to all these things: What was Jesus' response? III. JESUS' RESPONSE Look at verse 41 (Read through v. 44). While the people were cheering, Jesus was weeping! This is not the word for quiet weeping, but for loud lamentation! Why was He weeping? I believe Jesus was weeping out of compassion and love for the people of Israel, and out of love for His chosen Holy city of Jerusalem. Several days after the triumphal entry, we read Jesus' words as recorded in Matthew 23:37-39, "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, the way a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were unwilling. Behold, your house is being left to you desolate! For I say to you, from now on you shall not see Me until you say, 'Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!" As Jesus rode into Jerusalem that day, he saw ahead what was going to happen to Jerusalem in less than 40 years. The Jews would rebel against Rome, and over a million men, women, and children would die as the city fell in 70 AD. It would be a horribly grim time, and would signal the end of Jewish society in the land. The city of Jerusalem would be leveled, all buildings dismantled stone by stone. The Temple has never been rebuilt. After a second revolt against the Romans around 135 A.D., the Jewish nation ceased to exist. For over 1900 years there was no organized nation of Israel-until the Jewish homeland was established on May 14, 1948. When Jesus returns to Jerusalem at His second coming, He will be greeted with these same words, "Blessed is He Who comes in the name of the Lord." Jesus will return, not in peace and humility, but exalted and as the conquering King of all the earth! Rather than riding a donkey, He will be mounted on a white horse of war, as pictured in Revelation 19:11: "And I saw heaven opened; and behold, a white horse, and He who sat upon it is called Faithful and True; and in righteousness He judges and wages war And His eyes are a flame of fire, and upon His head are many diadems." At that time, Israel will accept Jesus as Messiah, and realize their mistake. Jesus foresaw that "Because they did not recognize the time of their visitation"-that the Messiah had indeed come-Judgment would fall upon the nation and that God would begin working with the Gentiles, setting Israel aside for a season. The reestablishment of Israel as a nation in the land seems to me to signal the approaching end of this church age. I would like to close with passing on to you-- IV. THE REMARKABLE HISTORY OF THIS EASTERN GATE That Eastern Gate through which Jesus entered is the same gate through which He will enter as conquering King at His Second Coming. This Eastern Gate is the only gate which leads directly to the Temple Mount. Listen to the prophesy of Ezekiel 43:1: "Afterward he brought me to the gate, the gate that faces toward the east. And behold, the glory of the God of Israel came from the way of the east". "And the glory of the Lord came into the temple by the way of the gate which faces toward the east." 44:1-2: "Then he brought me back to the outer gate of the sanctuary which faces toward the east, but it was shut. And the Lord said to me, 'This gate shall be shut; it shall not be opened, and no man shall enter by it, because the Lord God of Israel has entered by it; therefore, it shall be shut." While this prophesy refers to the eastern gate of the newly rebuilt temple grounds, many see it also referring also to the eastern gate of the city walls, which has been sealed and has resisted reopening. From several sources on Bible Prophesy we have a fascinating history regarding the Eastern Gate: The walls and gates of Jerusalem have been torn down and rebuilt several times. When they were rebuilt, they were rebuilt on the same spots. Over 500 years ago in 1517 when the Ottoman Turks gain control of Jerusalem under the leadership of Suleiman the Magnificent, he commanded that the city's ancient walls be rebuilt. During this rebuilding project, for some unknown reason, he ordered that the Eastern Gate be sealed up with stones. Legends abound as to why Suleiman closed the Gate. The most believable one is that while the walls were being rebuilt, a rumor swept Jerusalem that the Messiah was coming. Suleiman called together some Jewish rabbis and asked them to tell him about the Messiah. They described the Messiah as a great military leader who would be sent by God from the east. He would enter the Eastern Gate and liberate the city from foreign control. Suleiman then decided to put an end to Jewish hopes by ordering the Eastern Gate sealed. He also established a Muslim cemetery in front of the Gate, believing that no Jewish holy man would defile himself by walking through a Muslim cemetery. Twice in the last century an attempt to open the sealed Eastern Gate has failed. The first attempt was on December 9th, 1917, when the Grand Mufti, the Arab leader of Jerusalem, tried to open this gate. He had ordered the other gates to Jerusalem sealed to deter the approaching allied Expeditionary Army led by the British General Allenby. This was back in the early 1900s when the British were dismantling the Ottoman Empire, which had ruled over the land of Israel for 400 years. But, the Grand Mufti did need to have one gate remain open, so he ordered his workmen to open the mysterious sealed gate. As the workmen picked up their sledgehammers, Allenby's airplane flew over the city, telling the Arabs to flee. Miraculously, without a shot being fired, the opposing soldiers fled the city. The city was delivered into the hands of the Britain, which one month earlier had promised the Jews the right to re-establish sovereignty over their ancient homeland, via the famous Balfour Declaration. The workmen fearfully put down their sledgehammers and the gate remained sealed. Then, in 1967, the ancient prophecy was fulfilled again. But first, a little history: In 1948, the Jews were granted sovereignty over a portion of their ancient homeland. In retaliation, King Hussein of Jordan, who had control over Jerusalem, including the Temple Mount, forbade the Jews from worshipping at their sacred Western Wall. This was the first time in centuries that the Jews did not have access to the Western Wall, which is a remnant of the wall around the second Temple, which was destroyed by the Romans some 1900 years ago. King Hussein then decided to build a hotel for Arab pilgrims on this section of the Western Wall, closing off this area to Jewish worship forever. The planned hotel was to be built over the Magreb Gate, which Moslems used to enter the Temple Mount. So, the King needed to open another gate so that Moslems could get to the El Aksa Mosque, which was built by Moslems on the site of the Jewish Temple Mount. He ordered his workmen to open the sealed Eastern Gate. But, during this time, Arabs were also preparing to attack Israel, hoping to wipe out the Jewish state. And the Jews were about to preemptively respond to this planned attack. On June 5th of 1967, as the workmen prepared their air-hammers to shatter the huge stones sealing the Eastern Gate, an intimidating array of Israeli aircraft flew overhead. The Six Day War had begun, and the workmen put down their tools. At the end of the Six Day War, the workmen were unable to resume their project because the Jews had managed to recapture their ancient capital of Jerusalem. The Eastern Gate is still sealed. The gate will remain sealed until the day when the promised Messiah will enter into His Kingdom. So, the Eastern Gate remains closed, awaiting the Second Coming of Jesus in power. On what we call "Palm Sunday" Jesus entered through the Eastern Gate and proceeded to enter the Temple. Mark's Gospel tells us that the Lord only looked around, and then returned to Bethany for it was late in the day. Jesus entered Jerusalem knowing He would be rejected and soon nailed to a cross. From being proclaimed as Messiah, he would be crucified as a criminal. But His death was not an unfortunate end to a promising life; He willing offered Himself as the Lamb of God, the ultimate sacrifice for our sins. 1