Thursday, April 18, 2019

Luke 19:28-40 comments: a triumphal entry


19:28 ¶  And when he had thus spoken, he went before, ascending up to Jerusalem. 29  And it came to pass, when he was come nigh to Bethphage and Bethany, at the mount called the mount of Olives, he sent two of his disciples, 30  Saying, Go ye into the village over against you; in the which at your entering ye shall find a colt tied, whereon yet never man sat: loose him, and bring him hither. 31  And if any man ask you, Why do ye loose him? thus shall ye say unto him, Because the Lord hath need of him. 32  And they that were sent went their way, and found even as he had said unto them. 33  And as they were loosing the colt, the owners thereof said unto them, Why loose ye the colt? 34  And they said, The Lord hath need of him. 35  And they brought him to Jesus: and they cast their garments upon the colt, and they set Jesus thereon. 36  And as he went, they spread their clothes in the way. 37  And when he was come nigh, even now at the descent of the mount of Olives, the whole multitude of the disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works that they had seen; 38  Saying, Blessed be the King that cometh in the name of the Lord: peace in heaven, and glory in the highest. 39  And some of the Pharisees from among the multitude said unto him, Master, rebuke thy disciples. 40  And he answered and said unto them, I tell you that, if these should hold their peace, the stones would immediately cry out.

Here is a scene of triumph before sorrow. A prophecy goes;

Zechariah 9:9  Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold, thy King cometh unto thee: he is just, and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass.

It is interesting that no fuss is recorded at the disciples’ appropriation of this man’s animals (Matthew 21 also mentions the mother of the colt.) But, God owns all creatures and we simply are stewards of His property.

Psalm 50:7 ¶  Hear, O my people, and I will speak; O Israel, and I will testify against thee: I am God, even thy God. 8  I will not reprove thee for thy sacrifices or thy burnt offerings, to have been continually before me. 9  I will take no bullock out of thy house, nor he goats out of thy folds. 10  For every beast of the forest is mine, and the cattle upon a thousand hills. 11 
I know all the fowls of the mountains: and the wild beasts of the field are mine.

Luke 12:6  Are not five sparrows sold for two farthings, and not one of them is forgotten before God?

Speaking of stones in verse 40, an interesting word study is apparent here.

Isaiah 55:12  For ye shall go out with joy, and be led forth with peace: the mountains and the hills shall break forth before you into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.

Notice the following metaphor;

Matthew 3:9  And think not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father: for I say unto you, that God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham.

Certainly, God could do this. After all, we are made out of the dust of the ground as per Genesis 2:7. It is not hard to imagine God making rocks and stones have sound come out of them if something as complicated as life can come from inert elements of the earth by His command.

Here the crowd of disciples announces Christ as king. The Pharisees are not pleased with that. This isn’t something they want their Roman overlords to hear.

John 11:45 ¶  Then many of the Jews which came to Mary, and had seen the things which Jesus did, believed on him. 46  But some of them went their ways to the Pharisees, and told them what things Jesus had done. 47  Then gathered the chief priests and the Pharisees a council, and said, What do we? for this man doeth many miracles. 48  If we let him thus alone, all men will believe on him: and the Romans shall come and take away both our place and nation.

In fact, a crowd of Jews will assert their loyalty to Rome, that they do not have a king other than Caesar,...

John 19:15  But they cried out, Away with him, away with him, crucify him. Pilate saith unto them, Shall I crucify your King? The chief priests answered, We have no king but Caesar.

…even condemning themselves to torment and suffering in this life for centuries to come…

Matthew 27:25  Then answered all the people, and said, His blood be on us, and on our children.

It is a blessed thing, though, that many verses show us that God is not done with His people, that nation He chose out of the Gentiles at Ur nearly two thousand years before Christ.

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