Luke 19:37-48 – The Triumphal Entry
INTRODUCTION – I have preached from this passage numerous times on Palm Sunday. This message is similar to one I preached in 2015.
- THE CROWD WAS LOUD
(verses 37-38) – The people were applying Old Testament prophecy to Jesus and His triumphal entry into Jerusalem. Verse 38 comes from Psalm 118:26; the entire Psalm was one of the songs that Jewish worshipers sang when traveling to Jerusalem to celebrate Passover. The crowd was also shouting “Hosanna” (Matthew 21:9; Mark 11:9), as predicted in Psalm 118:25. The people were asking Jesus to save them right then. Jesus did save, but in a much better, more thorough, eternal manner. He was their King, but He was crowned with thorns and then crucified. In a sense, these folks wanted something good, but they wanted their own way. If we are louder than God, then we are not really listening to Him, and we may miss His gracious words of salvation.
- THE PHARISEES WERE PHARASAICAL
(verse 39) – The Pharisees were religious leaders, noted for being narrow-minded, even small-minded. They called Jesus “Teacher” (KJV “Master”), but then they tried to teach Him! In fact, these men were already plotting to kill Jesus (verse 47b). They cared more about their positions of authority than about the promise of the Messiah; they were grumbling about God’s fulfilled promise to Israel and to all the world. The Pharisees were pharasaical: they carped, caviled, complained, critiqued, and criticized. What a temptation for us, as well! When life does not unfold as we expect (or demand), we can easily presume to instruct the Master. May we listen to Him rather than try to speak over His voice.
- THE STONES WERE SILENT
(verse 40) – Of course the stones were silent! Stones are inorganic, inanimate. Yet, these rocks could have shouted and would have shouted (making what would have been the world’s first rock concert). This miracle would have been no more difficult for Jesus than His other “mighty works” (verse 37), including the resurrection of His friend Lazarus. What a rebuke to these Pharisees whose heads and hearts were harder than any stone! What a warning to us! May we be soft clay in the Master Potter’s nail-shattered hands.
- THE MESSIAH WAS MOURNING
(verse 41-44) – Jesus “wept” over the city of Jerusalem; He shed tears and loudly lamented the prophetic doom of this special city. As Jesus sobbed, he revealed the very heart of God. It was just one city; moreover, it was this city that would kill Jesus (and laugh Him to scorn while killing Him). Louder than the praise of the crowd and the protests of the Pharisees were the teardrops that fell on the dusty, silent stones. Is this heart of Jesus in us, in me?
- THE MONEY WAS PRINCIPAL – USED HERE AS AN ADJECTIVE
(verses 45-46) – Jesus revealed the real bottom line by disrupting this corrupting system – and the leaders hated Him all the more. Money is a snare, and the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil (I Timothy 6:9-10). When we read about the antagonism that Jesus faced, let us not overlook that money was a principal factor in his death. May we worship God and not money (Matthew 6:24).
CONCLUSION – Jesus taught (verse 47), and many of the people really listened to Him (verse 48). Primarily in His ministry, Jesus instructed people of their need for eternal salvation and of His role as the prophesied Savior. By dying on the Cross and rising the third day, He completed the work of His earthly ministry. Faith in Jesus saves forever. Be “very attentive” (verse 48) to Him today, and ask Him for this gift of salvation. He will make a triumphal entry into your life, and one day you will make a triumphal entry into heaven.