The King Arrives
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The King Arrives
The King Arrives
As we have gone through the first 19 chapters of Luke, we have followed the ministry of Jesus.
But now, he is arriving in Jerusalem for his crucifixion. The next time he returns will be his final return.
Now, there are some who believe:
He is the Messiah, the expected King of Israel
He is going to overturn Roman rule and restore Israel
He is going to punish Israel’s enemies
Others believe:
He is a fraud
He is challenging their position, power, and authority
He must be eliminated
There are some that have experienced his ministry:
They have been healed
They have been fed
They have been defended
They have been freed from evil
When we READ THIS, we FEEL FAR REMOVED from this story
But this story is playing out right in front of us today.
DISCUSS: Russia/Ukraine
What we are watching, for whatever reason it is happening, is how kings conquer other lands.
The subjects of the king expect to crush the enemy
The subjects of the other king expect to crush the enemy
Both sides are nervous because there will be destruction.
So, when Jesus...
After telling this story, Jesus went on toward Jerusalem, walking ahead of his disciples. As he came to the towns of Bethphage and Bethany on the Mount of Olives, he sent two disciples ahead.
Is walking ahead of his disciples, which are many, he is leading what would appear like an army into battle.
Who is in the army?
poor, formerly lame, women, formerly demon possessed.
Not the kind of army you would expect.
He sends two disciples ahead of him...
“Go into that village over there,” he told them. “As you enter it, you will see a young donkey tied there that no one has ever ridden. Untie it and bring it here. If anyone asks, ‘Why are you untying that colt?’ just say, ‘The Lord needs it.’ ”
Question: How did this get setup? We have no insight into how this was arranged.
Why a donkey?
So they went and found the colt, just as Jesus had said. And sure enough, as they were untying it, the owners asked them, “Why are you untying that colt?”
And the disciples simply replied, “The Lord needs it.” So they brought the colt to Jesus and threw their garments over it for him to ride on.
Everything worked as Jesus said, again, this is presented as if it should not be strange to us, but at this point, what would we expect!
The Lord is going to ride into battle, to take the city, to establish his kingdom, on a donkey.
As he rode along, the crowds spread out their garments on the road ahead of him. When he reached the place where the road started down the Mount of Olives, all of his followers began to shout and sing as they walked along, praising God for all the wonderful miracles they had seen.
Imagine this scene…This emerging army of misfits, led by Jesus towards Jerusalem from the East.
King Jehu had a similar ceremony when the people would lay down their cloaks.
No war cries, but shouting and singing as they WALKED along. Singing...
“Blessings on the King who comes in the name of the Lord!
Peace in heaven, and glory in highest heaven!”
This is from the Psalm 118:26-29 “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! We bless you from the house of the Lord. The Lord is God, and he has made his light to shine upon us. Bind the festal sacrifice with cords, up to the horns of the altar! You are my God, and I will give thanks to you; you are my God; I will extol you. Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; for his steadfast love endures forever!”
This Psalm was composed as a royal song of thanksgiving for military victory.
You can see they are proclaiming the arrival of the King.
Notice: PEACE IN HEAVEN…consider that for a moment.
We never consider that heaven is anything other than peace.
Not everyone agrees with this sentiment.
But some of the Pharisees among the crowd said, “Teacher, rebuke your followers for saying things like that!”
He replied, “If they kept quiet, the stones along the road would burst into cheers!”
Interesting that creation itself will shout and sing praises. Jesus considers himself more than just a human. He knows his destiny and role here. He knows this moment.
He is taking on the role of a king, he is the king, he is the Son of the Creator.
And as he goes along, with this large crowd, that is cheering him on...
But as he came closer to Jerusalem and saw the city ahead, he began to weep.
You would think that the crowd singing and praising God would bring him joy.
He should be smiling and happy, rejoicing that he is drawing near to the city.
Instead...
When he saw the city, he saw the plan, he saw all the losses, the good times and the bad times. He saw David dancing as he was bringing the ark and he saw the valley of Hinom where Israelites sacrificed their children in the fires of Molek.
He is experiencing the in person utter rejection of his people.
jer 9:1 “Oh that my head were waters, and my eyes a fountain of tears, that I might weep day and night for the slain of the daughter of my people!”
jer 13 17 “But if you will not listen, my soul will weep in secret for your pride; my eyes will weep bitterly and run down with tears, because the Lord’s flock has been taken captive.”
jer 14 17 ““You shall say to them this word: ‘Let my eyes run down with tears night and day, and let them not cease, for the virgin daughter of my people is shattered with a great wound, with a very grievous blow.”
That is what would seem the be obvious, but there is more that he knows.
“How I wish today that you of all people would understand the way to peace. But now it is too late, and peace is hidden from your eyes. Before long your enemies will build ramparts against your walls and encircle you and close in on you from every side. They will crush you into the ground, and your children with you. Your enemies will not leave a single stone in place, because you did not recognize it when God visited you.”
********How I wish today that you...
He is concerned about the people.
He is concerned about their peace.
The people with him, the Disciples and all the crowd, they are NOT INTERESTED in PEACE.
They are interested in ruling the nations, overcoming their enemies, reclaiming their land.
*********But now it is too late...
But it is too late. Why? Because they are interested in ruling like Babylon
*********Before long your enemies will...
Jesus gets a little prophetic, but not too much.
At this point it is clear the people are restless and Rome will crush them.
The KEY to this event, in ALL THAT LUKE as written, it LEADS UP to this statement.
How I wish today that you of all people would understand the way to peace.
The story of scripture has been God working to restore peace between himself and humanity.
But we have some work to do too.
We are right to be concerned with wars and rumors of wars around the world.
But we should also be concerned with peace in our:
Marriage (Adam and Eve)
Family (Cain and Able, Fathers & Sons)
Community (Lamech and Young Man)
Focusing in further, Jesus’ desire is for us to understand THE WAY to peace.
We are so accustomed to using
Power
Violence
Manipulation
Money
For Jesus though, THE WAY to peace is far different
And that is what we should be concentrating on.