Luke 19:28-40
Our reading today is about kingship, choice and discipleship.
Our reading today is about kingship, choice and discipleship.
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1. Kingship
Today we celebrate the triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem.
Jesus comes to Jerusalem as its rightful king, as the one who God has anointed to be his King.
Jesus is riding a colt. He knows what he is doing.
He does not enter into the city on a magnificent war horse, and there is something about him coming in humility.
But Jesus is making a statement. He knows the great prophecy of Zechariah 9:9
“Lo, your king comes to you;
triumphant and victorious is he,
2. Choice
The disciples declare that Jesus is king and they praise him.
They throw their garments at his feet, Walter Raleigh style. It is a dramatic and symbolic way of saying that their lives belong to Jesus, their king. They are saying to him, ‘You can walk over me’.
The Pharisees however reject Jesus.
Or maybe it was pride. They just could not submit their lives to someone who was not themselves.
One of my lecturers at university said to me, ‘I could never become a Christian because I could never let someone else tell me how to live my life’. Fair enough. He had understood and made his choice.
Or maybe the Pharisees rejected Jesus because of fear. Fear of what the Roman authorities would do if they realised what Jesus was claiming. Of fear for themselves if they chose to follow Jesus.
In the previous verses Jesus has told a story of people who rejected their king with terrible consequences, and in the following verses Jesus weeps over Jerusalem because he sees the coming devastation on the city ‘because you did not recognise the time of your visitation from God’.
It is very clear that in riding into Jerusalem on a colt, Jesus is giving people a choice.
3. It is about discipleship, being a follower of Jesus the king.
Discipleship is about obedience.
1. Kingship
Today we celebrate the triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem.
Jesus comes to Jerusalem as its rightful king, as the one who God has anointed to be his King.
Jesus is riding a colt. He knows what he is doing.
He does not enter into the city on a magnificent war horse, and there is something about him coming in humility.
But Jesus is making a statement. He knows the great prophecy of Zechariah 9:9
“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.”
And Jesus’ disciples understand what he is doing.
on a colt, the foal of a donkey.”
And Jesus’ disciples understand what he is doing.
They declare him as king.
And when the Pharisees tell Jesus to order his disciples to stop, he tells them; ‘If they were silent the stones would shout out’.
In other words, even if there is no human who recognises that he is king, creation itself declares that he is king’.
I’ve brought a stone with me. You can listen to me, or you can listen to this stone. We are saying the same thing. Jesus is King. Jesus is the one who God has appointed to be ruler of this creation.
And when the Pharisees tell Jesus to order his disciples to stop, he tells them; ‘If they were silent the stones would shout out’.
In other words, even if there is no human who recognises that he is king, creation itself declares that he is king’.
I’ve brought a stone with me. You can listen to me, or you can listen to this stone. We are saying the same thing. Jesus is King. Jesus is the one who God has appointed to be ruler of this creation.
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2. Choice
The disciples declare that Jesus is king and they praise him.
They throw their garments at his feet, Walter Raleigh style. It is a dramatic and symbolic way of saying that their lives belong to Jesus, their king. They are saying to him, ‘You can walk over me’.
The Pharisees however reject Jesus.
Perhaps they thought he was going too far. It was OK for him to teach about God, but to claim to be God’s king, the promised king who all Israel was waiting for, was too much
Or maybe it was pride. They just could not submit their lives to someone who was not themselves.
One of my lecturers at university said to me, ‘I could never become a Christian because I could never let someone else tell me how to live my life’. Fair enough. He had understood and made his choice.
Or maybe the Pharisees rejected Jesus because of fear. Fear of what the Roman authorities would do if they realised what Jesus was claiming. Of fear for themselves if they chose to follow Jesus.
In the previous verses Jesus has told a story of people who rejected their king with terrible consequences, and in the following verses Jesus weeps over Jerusalem because he sees the coming devastation on the city ‘because you did not recognise the time of your visitation from God’.
It is very clear that in riding into Jerusalem on a colt, Jesus is giving people a choice.
3. It is about discipleship, being a follower of Jesus the king.
Discipleship is about obedience.
The two disciples in verse 29 listen to Jesus and then do what he says
And discipleship is about praise.
‘They began to praise God joyfully with a loud voice for all the deeds of power that they had seen’. (v37)
The disciples saw astonishing works of power: healings, even people being raised from the dead
But what are the works of power that we have seen? For what do we praise God with joy?
a) We praise him for the powerful works that we see him do now.
And discipleship is about praise.
‘They began to praise God joyfully with a loud voice for all the deeds of power that they had seen’. (v37)
The disciples saw astonishing works of power: healings, even people being raised from the dead
But what are the works of power that we have seen? For what do we praise God with joy?
a) We praise him for the powerful works that we see him do now.
The touches of God that we experience, or very specific answers to prayer. When we notice them, they are very powerful.
At the beginning of many enquirers’ courses, I ask people to share whether they have had encounters with God. It is surprising how many people have had them.
And if you have had anything like that, I would encourage you to write it down. It is very easy to forget these things, and such an encouragement to be able to remember them.
So today I praise God for the people who only saw the visible and are now beginning to see the invisible, for the money that has been bequested to Thorpe when they were financially struggling. And I thank God for the fact that he used Alirae to prompt me to go and see Mary Heather last Sunday, even though I had just done a funeral, and for the fact that Adie, her little dog, died a few hours before she died.
Coincidence. Almost certainly. But as William Temple said, ‘When I pray, coincidences happen’.
b) But more than that: we praise God for the works that Jesus did then, the works they saw and wrote down for us.
So today I praise God for the people who only saw the visible and are now beginning to see the invisible, for the money that has been bequested to Thorpe when they were financially struggling. And I thank God for the fact that he used Alirae to prompt me to go and see Mary Heather last Sunday, even though I had just done a funeral, and for the fact that Adie, her little dog, died a few hours before she died.
Coincidence. Almost certainly. But as William Temple said, ‘When I pray, coincidences happen’.
b) But more than that: we praise God for the works that Jesus did then, the works they saw and wrote down for us.
I praise the works of men and women who have lived before me. And my choosing to praise those specific works, says something about me and my priorities
c) We praise God because he has not abandoned us.
c) We praise God because he has not abandoned us.
He has sent us a king who comes riding on a colt. A king who loves us, who – as we will hear – goes to the cross for us. And a King who overcomes temptation, defeats sin, and defeats death.
‘Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord’.
d) We praise God because he is the one who brings peace and glory.
The disciples declare ‘Peace in heaven and glory in the highest heaven’.
There is a circle here. In Luke 2 when Jesus is born, the angels (heaven) declare, ‘Peace on earth and glory in the highest’. Now as the King comes, the people (earth) respond, ‘Peace in heaven and glory in the highest’.
So we praise him because he is the king who come to unite
heaven and earth, who opens the door so that we can know God as our Father, and so that we can have peace and we will have peace.
‘Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord’.
d) We praise God because he is the one who brings peace and glory.
The disciples declare ‘Peace in heaven and glory in the highest heaven’.
There is a circle here. In Luke 2 when Jesus is born, the angels (heaven) declare, ‘Peace on earth and glory in the highest’. Now as the King comes, the people (earth) respond, ‘Peace in heaven and glory in the highest’.
So we praise him because he is the king who come to unite
heaven and earth, who opens the door so that we can know God as our Father, and so that we can have peace and we will have peace.
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