Today’s passage: Luke 19:28-44
Helpful thoughts:
- Jesus entered Jerusalem on the day the Law required the Passover lambs be selected (Exodus 12:2-6).
- Zechariah 9:9 – “Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your king is coming to you; righteous and having salvation is he, humble and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.”
- Some of the people in this crowd who were heralding the coming of the King were truly believers. Most however, were simply expecting freedom from Rome and the rise of Israel. On the outside, it might have been hard to tell the difference. (Isaiah 53:3-4) It is possible to use words of esteem without truly esteeming the King.
- Words of worship without truth and repentance are not worship at all. (John 4:23)
- Some of the people in this crowd who were heralding the coming of the King were truly believers. Most however, were simply expecting freedom from Rome and the rise of Israel. On the outside, it might have been hard to tell the difference. (Isaiah 53:3-4) It is possible to use words of esteem without truly esteeming the King.
- The stones would cry out in judgment against Israel for her rejection of Messiah. Jesus’ statement in verse 40 was a claim to deity and a word of judgment.
- Rome destroyed Jerusalem in A.D. 70 and according to Jesus’ words, this was a judgment for their unbelief.
- The peace Israel needed was not with Rome. They were at war with God.
Questions to consider:
- Whose coronation did the unbelieving Israelites truly desire? Why did they reject Jesus? Why was there “worship” not only empty, but also rebellious?
- In what ways was Jesus’ divine omniscience on display in this passage?
- What are the “things that make for peace” that Jesus spoke of in verse 42? What had He entered Jerusalem to do? Why was this entry into the city “Triumphal” and who will share in the triumph?