Securing A Crucifixion – Part 1
Luke 19:28-48 (28-40)
June 14, 2020
In the prophet Daniel we read of an interesting prophecy.
Daniel 9:24-26 “Seventy weeks have been decreed for your people and your holy city, to finish the transgression, to make an end of sin, to make atonement for iniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy and to anoint the most holy place. “So you are to know and discern that from the issuing of a decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem until Messiah the Prince there will be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks; it will be built again, with plaza and moat, even in times of distress. “Then after the sixty-two weeks the Messiah will be cut off and have nothing, and the people of the prince who is to come will destroy the city and the sanctuary. And its end will come with a flood; even to the end there will be war; desolations are determined.”
• What you have there is a specific announcement of exactly when the Messiah would die.
• Specifically it will happen 434 years after an announcement is made to rebuild Jerusalem.
The prophecy is a little tricky because we aren’t Jewish.
Basically you have to convert to a Jewish calendar
And then convert back to our calendar to fully grasp it.
But basically I’ll give it to you like this.
• On March 5, 44BC Artaxerxes gave the decree to rebuild Jerusalem.
• 173,880 days later (62 years) we have another event unfold.
• March 30, 33AD Jesus enters Jerusalem for the Triumphal entry.
I start you off this morning with that prophecy
Because I want you to be aware of something.
The rejection and murder of Jesus
Was a precalculated and predetermined plan of God.
Many times in the gospels we see Jesus facing potential death
Only to hear the phrase, “His time had not yet come”.
(John is particularly fond of that phrase).
• We see Jesus walk away from being thrown off a cliff.
• We see Jesus walk away from stonings.
• We see Jesus walk away from arrest warrants.
They can’t do anything to Him because it’s not His time.
However, if you will remember there was one time listed in the Scriptures when the religious leaders specifically DID NOT want to arrest or kill Him.
Matthew 26:3-5 “Then the chief priests and the elders of the people were gathered together in the court of the high priest, named Caiaphas; and they plotted together to seize Jesus by stealth and kill Him. But they were saying, “Not during the festival, otherwise a riot might occur among the people.”
• They wanted to kill Him
• They repeatedly tried to kill Him.
• The only date they didn’t want to do it was during this Passover for fear that the overwhelming crowds might make it difficult to carry out their scheme.
However, this was the time God had sovereignly picked.
Jesus was God’s Passover Lamb.
Jewish Law permitted for that first Passover Lamb to be killed at 3pm on Friday and that is precisely when Jesus would breathe His last.
THIS WAS THE TIME.
NOW I TELL YOU THAT,
Not only to show you the sovereign perspective of God behind the cross,
But also because it explains for us what is an incredibly BIZARRE SCENE.
Of all the events in the New Testament,
And of all the events surrounding the life of Jesus,
NONE IS MORE PECULIAR THAN THIS ONE.
For starters, Jesus has never yet allowed anyone to be so bold and public with a Messianic announcement as He is here.
• Every other time the issue of Him being Messiah threatens to turn into a big ordeal, He shuts it down.
When the disciples realized it
Luke 9:18-21 “And it happened that while He was praying alone, the disciples were with Him, and He questioned them, saying, “Who do the people say that I am?” They answered and said, “John the Baptist, and others say Elijah; but others, that one of the prophets of old has risen again.” And He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” And Peter answered and said, “The Christ of God.” But He warned them and instructed them not to tell this to anyone,”
Or when He fed the 5,000
John 6:15 “So Jesus, perceiving that they were intending to come and take Him by force to make Him king, withdrew again to the mountain by Himself alone.”
But here, not only does Jesus participate,
He sends two disciples for the specific donkey He will ride for the parade.
We’ve never seen this before from Jesus.
Other obvious peculiarities are things like this FICKLE CROWD.
• Today (likely Monday) they are yelling Hosanna
• 4 days from now (Friday) they will be yelling crucify
The hypocrisy of the scene is really gut wrenching.
But still that’s not all the oddities
We have here a very STRANGE CORONATION.
• The crowd here publicly and loudly commends Jesus as their King.
• But as soon as the parade is over Jesus will condemn the crowd.
• This crowd expects Jesus to go in and declare war on Rome.
• But the only place Jesus will declare war is in the temple.
• Jesus Himself will reveal that the truth will now be hidden from this crowd.
• Yet, He is about to spend 3 days preaching the gospel to them in the temple.
It’s just bizarre things.
And yet, in some ways, it is the only normal week of Jesus’ entire ministry
Since it is the only time that Jesus
Will have full reign of all the teaching in the temple.
It is really just a bizarre unfolding of events.
It is a backward feeling week.
SO HOW DO WE MAKE SENSE OF IT?
• Why does Jesus allow for such a public coronation?
• Why does Jesus then turn and condemn the people who praised Him?
• Why does Jesus cause such a stir in the temple by clearing it?
• Why does Jesus go toe to toe with the religious elite, almost antagonizing them?
THE ANSWER:
HE IS PUSHING THEM TO FULFILL GOD’S SOVEREIGN WILL.
HE IS IN JERUSALEM TO DIE,
While every event here was true and deserved,
They were also intended to push His enemies to a point of desperation.
After these next 4 days His enemies would only have two options.
• They would either have to bow to Him or kill Him,
• But after this week coexisting would not be an option.
Jesus is intentionally moving towards His own murder.
It is an amazing week.
During this week
• He is going to be declared King by the masses.
• He is going to totally reform the purpose of the temple.
• He is going to stand toe to toe against the religious elite in endless debate.
And then He is going to be arrested
• He is going to be beaten
• He is going to be wrongly tried
• He is going to be crucified
And it is all part of a plan that was devised before time began.
A plan that was announced to the day over 500 years earlier.
This time as Jesus approaches Jerusalem,
He is going to secure a crucifixion.
It’s obviously more text than we can get through this morning,
But let’s start looking at the event together.
There are 5 things that jump out at us in verses.
#1 THE SUBMISSIVE WILL OF JESUS
Luke 19:28-35
This certainly isn’t new information to us.
After all, we have seen this resolve in Jesus over and over.
He came to this earth with the primary goal of dying for sinners.
Luke 18:31-33 “Then He took the twelve aside and said to them, “Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and all things which are written through the prophets about the Son of Man will be accomplished. “For He will be handed over to the Gentiles, and will be mocked and mistreated and spit upon, and after they have scourged Him, they will kill Him; and the third day He will rise again.”
The disciples didn’t understand that, but Jesus certainly did.
Of all the people in the caravan traveling toward Jerusalem,
Jesus is the only One who is fully aware
Of what must happen in Jerusalem.
• Everyone else is going blindly.
• Everyone else, we learned last week, “supposed that the kingdom of God was going to appear immediately.” (19:11)
Only Jesus knows what is really coming.
• And yet, Jesus is not deterred.
• He pushes forward.
• He keeps going.
Not just walking into a trap, but PURPOSELY walking into a situation
Where He will give His enemies no choice but to bow to Him or kill Him.
Again we say that Jesus is all in.
(28-29a) “After He had said these things, He was going on ahead, going up to Jerusalem. When He approached Bethphage and Bethany, near the mount that is called Olivet…”
• The Mount of Olives sets just east of Jerusalem.
• And on the back slope of the mountain, opposite Jerusalem sets the villages of “Bethphage and Bethany”.
• From those villages you can’t see Jerusalem.
• You have to cross the summit of the Mount of Olives before you see the city and then you descend down into Jerusalem.
So Jesus has made the journey now from Galilee.
• He has crossed the Jordan
• He has climbed to Jericho (healed 2 blind men, saved Zaccheus)
• He is about to cross over Mt. Olivet and it will all begin.
Jesus is willing, in fact He is determined.
Hebrews 12:2 “fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”
And further evidence of that determination
Is seen in the fact that Jesus purposely fulfills
The most in your face prophesy that He could have fulfilled.
He’s about to have the audacity to climb on the back of a donkey’s colt
And enter Jerusalem amid a crowd quoting Psalms 118.
(29b-31) “He sent two of the disciples, saying, “Go into the village ahead of you; there, as you enter, you will find a colt tied on which no one yet has ever sat; untie it and bring it here. If anyone asks you, ‘Why are you untying it?’ you shall say, ‘The Lord has need of it.’”
Certainly we once again marvel at the omniscience of Jesus.
This yet again a demonstration of His deity.
• He knows about this colt.
• He knows that it is tied up.
• He knows that the owners will loan it.
Furthermore it is a colt which has never been ridden,
It is a colt reserved only for Him.
And His disciples found it just as He said.
(32-35) “So those who were sent went away and found it just as He had told them. As they were untying the colt, its owners said to them, “Why are you untying the colt?” They said, “The Lord has need of it.” They brought it to Jesus, and they threw their coats on the colt and put Jesus on it.”
There is a definite reason why this is occurring.
But it WASN’T IMMEDIATELY RECOGNIZED by the disciples.
In fact John’s gospel says:
John 12:16 “These things His disciples did not understand at the first; but when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that these things were written of Him, and that they had done these things to Him.”
They didn’t fully understand why Jesus would enter the city on a donkey.
• A king going off to battle would ride a red horse.
• A king returning from victory would ride a white horse.
• A king seeking terms of peace would ride a donkey.
That wasn’t at all what they were expecting.
But what Jesus is doing,
Is purposely fulfilling an Old Testament prophecy.
Zechariah 9:9 “Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout in triumph, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your king is coming to you; He is just and endowed with salvation, Humble, and mounted on a donkey, Even on a colt, the foal of a donkey.”
This was intentional on the part of Jesus.
• Thus far He has maintained a low profile regarding His Messianic credentials, but not on this day.
• On this day, He’s going to climb on this donkey and enter the city, all but hanging a banner stating that the king is coming!
And while the disciples may not have fully understood it,
His enemies certainly did.
In their minds He was getting out of control.
John’s gospel also states:
John 12:16-19 “These things His disciples did not understand at the first; but when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that these things were written of Him, and that they had done these things to Him. So the people, who were with Him when He called Lazarus out of the tomb and raised him from the dead, continued to testify about Him. For this reason also the people went and met Him, because they heard that He had performed this sign. So the Pharisees said to one another, “You see that you are not doing any good; look, the world has gone after Him.”
Jesus is forcing their hand.
This is NOT a man who is entering Jerusalem
Hoping to just peacefully participate in the Passover and then go home.
Jesus is entering Jerusalem in such a manner so as to secure His death.
He came to die for sinners.
He came to die on a cross.
He came to die at this specific time.
And He is willfully submitting to that plan.
In fact, He is initiating that plan.
The submissive Will of Jesus
#2 THE SHALLOW WORSHIP OF JESUS
Luke 19:36-40
This is yet another scene that you are certainly FAMILIAR with.
I find it to be one of the most NAUSEATING scenes in the Bible.
It is the pinnacle of hypocrisy and phony worship.
You have a crowd here who goes over the top to proclaim Jesus King
And in just 4 days will adamantly yell, “crucify Him!”
They will cry, “let His blood be on our heads and on our children.”
It is shallow worship to say the least,
But Jesus allowed it because it was so grandiose & “in your face”
That there is no way His enemies could have missed it.
As Jesus is riding this donkey we read that
“they were spreading their coats on the road.”
This was a symbolic gesture.
It was a picture of submission.
It was to give a visual sign that we are placing ourselves under Your feet.
• We are under You
• You are over us
• We submit to You our King.
(37) “As soon as He was approaching, near the descent of the Mount of Olives, the whole crowd of the disciples began to praise God joyfully with a loud voice for all the miracles which they had seen,”
• Jesus is now cresting the peak of Mt. Olivet
• The city is now in view,
• As Jesus begins to descend into the city,
• The crowd really stokes the fire.
They “began to praise God joyfully with a loud voice for all the miracles which they had seen”
John tells us that
• One miracle in particular had captivated their conversation
• That was the raising of Lazarus from the dead,
• But that certainly wasn’t the only miracle they spoke of.
After all, he’s got formerly blind Bartemaus in this crowd.
There’s no telling how many other in the caravan have also been healed,
As Jesus is descending the crowd is in a glorious uproar
Shouting out all the miraculous things He has done.
I can’t help but picture it almost like when a prize fighter is introduced.
• The beater of blindness
• The lambaster of leprosy
• The silencer of storms
• The dominator of demons
• The defeater of death
• And on and on and on…
It is a full blown parade and circus in which
Jesus is being heralded and exalted like no other time in His ministry.
And that was certainly offensive enough to His enemies.
But that’s still NOT ALL they did.
(38) “shouting: “BLESSED IS THE KING WHO COMES IN THE NAME OF THE LORD; Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!”
That statement is a loaded statement.
• It comes as a quote from Psalms 118.
• We’ve likely talked about this before, but let’s make sure you understand it if it’s not familiar to you.
TURN TO: PSALMS 118
Psalms 118 is the song of a champion.
It is sometimes referred to as the Conqueror’s Psalm.
We won’t cover it all, but I can give you the highlights.
• (1-4) begins with exaltation
• (5-9) the Psalmist is in distress but chooses to trust God
• (10-14) the Psalmist is in the fight of his life and should lose
• (15-18) the Psalmist is miraculously spared
• (19-20) the Psalmist rejoices in his victory
And then the final stanza of the Psalm is sort of a ballad or ode
To this great champion, who trusted God and overcame.
(22-26) “The stone which the builders rejected Has become the chief corner stone. This is the LORD’S doing; It is marvelous in our eyes. This is the day which the LORD has made; Let us rejoice and be glad in it. O LORD, do save, we beseech You; O LORD, we beseech You, do send prosperity! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the LORD; We have blessed you from the house of the LORD.”
You immediately recognize the first line of verse 26
• As the line that this crowd was quoting.
• “Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the LORD”
Other gospel accounts tell us they were also shouting verse 25,
• “O LORD, do save”
• You don’t see it in that form in other gospels, rather you see the Hebrew word “Hosanna” being shouted, which means “do save”.
The point is that this is a bold scene His enemies could not have ignored.
• You have Jesus, setting on that donkey and entering Jerusalem as a blatant and obvious fulfillment of prophecy.
• You have the crowd pledging submission to Him by throwing their coats on the road.
• You have the crowd reciting and praising and boasting in His great miraculous power.
• You have the crowd singing one of the most Messianic loaded Psalms in the entire Old Testament about Him.
It is a huge scene
And one that would DEMAND A RESPONSE from the religious elite.
And Luke gives us that response.
(39) “Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Him, “Teacher, rebuke Your disciples.”
They can’t believe how bold and loud this whole thing is.
• Never in a million years did they dream that Jesus would have this kind of audacity.
At best they thought He might sneak up to Jerusalem to enter the feast
And do His best to not get noticed or arrested.
But they never expected this.
In their minds this was blasphemy of the highest order.
• How dare He ride that donkey in…
• How dare He allow these testimonies…
• How dare He allow them to quote Psalms 118 over Him…
And so the Pharisees demand Him to call the whole thing off.
• Stop the parade…
• Stop the testimonies…
• Stop the worship…
• Stop the singing…
This event achieved its desired effect.
Jesus’ enemies now see that something had to be done.
He can’t be allowed to keep going on like this.
And before we go on, let’s just take a minute here
And recognize the LOVE AND COMMITMENT of our Lord.
Throughout His ministry Jesus has proclaimed salvation to men.
• Just recently he promised salvation to Bartemaus and Zaccheus.
• But that salvation hinged upon an atoning sacrifice.
Every time Jesus promised salvation,
He was entering an agreement
To bear the sin of those He promised to save.
• We are so thankful that Jesus is not as fickle as this crowd.
• We are so thankful that Jesus is not as committed as we often prove to be.
• We are so thankful that Jesus did what was necessary to purchase our pardon.
He was faithful and He was committed right to the very end.
He came to die for sinners and that is exactly what He will do.
We must marvel at the great love and commitment of our Savior.
What great love He demonstrates for His own.
He doesn’t just proclaim love to us,
He makes for certain that He is able to fulfill His promise.
IT IS REMARKABLE LOVE.
WELL, NOW HE’S DONE IT AND PREDICTABLY
THE PHARISEES WANT HIM TO STOP IT ALL.
But Jesus answers them.
(40) “But Jesus answered, “I tell you, if these become silent, the stones will cry out!”
Now, many times I’ve read that statement and made what I think is a pretty common assumption.
• That Jesus was simply saying that He is going to be praised one way or another, and of they quit singing then the rocks will start singing.
• It makes for a good sound bite, and some have even written songs to that affect singing, “Ain’t no rock, gonna cry in my place”
But I’m going to submit to you that
This is NOT what Jesus meant by the statement.
INSTEAD,
Jesus is transitioning to the shocking message that He is about to preach
Namely that, if Israel doesn’t worship Him as they should,
Then the next testimony that will be heard
Is the testimony of the stones.
Let me show you.
I’ll just introduce this next point.
The Submissive Will of Jesus, the Shallow Worship of Jesus
#3 THE SEVERE WEEPING OF JESUS
Luke 19:41-44
Here Jesus actually overlooks the city, weeps,
And gives a shocking and very condemning message.
This morning, I just want you to focus in on this message of the stones.
These people are crying out
“Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!” (38)
But Jesus says, (42) “If you had known in this day, even you, the things which make for peace!”
That is to say, “You are singing about peace,
but you don’t have a clue what you are talking about.”
In fact, Jesus speaks of a coming judgment
In which Jerusalem will be sacked and leveled to the ground.
And notice what Jesus says in verse 44, “and they will not leave in you one stone upon another”
This is the testimony of the stones that Jesus is referring to.
The Pharisees want Jesus to stop the crowd from exalting Him as King
And Jesus says, “That’s the worst possible thing that could happen.”
Because if they stop worshiping Me,
You aren’t going to like what comes next.
• You will have only the rubble of a former city
• And the testimony of scattered stones,
• Stones crying out that they did not receive the peace they expected.
It’s no wonder Jesus is weeping over this city.
He is the King
He came to purchase peace
But despite the parade
He is about to be totally rejected
WHAT A SAD REALITY WE SEE HERE
IT IS THE MOST HYPOCRITICAL OF SCENES IN ALL THE BIBLE.
• Here we had a crowd of people giving all sorts of lip service to Jesus.
• Here we had a crowd giving supposed worship to Jesus.
• They talked about His miracles.
• They sang about His credentials.
• They laid their coats in the road.
In less than a week they are going to yell crucify and totally reject Him.
And the result of their hypocrisy will be total destruction.
This scene certainly warrants
A rebuke against false and hypocritical worship.
For here we learn that
• False worship DOES NOT DELIGHT Jesus.
• False worship DOES NOT PACIFY Jesus.
• False worship DOES NOT SATISFY Jesus.
False worship grieves Jesus and angers Jesus.
For no sooner does this parade end than does Jesus
• Weep over the city
• Pronounce judgment on her
• And then travel down and declare war on the religious system operating in the temple.
And we must learn this.
Isaiah said it years earlier:
Isaiah 29:13 “Then the Lord said, “Because this people draw near with their words And honor Me with their lip service, But they remove their hearts far from Me, And their reverence for Me consists of tradition learned by rote,”
• Jesus quoted that verse to the Pharisees who could care less about genuine worship,
• But who only carried about traditions like washing your hands before you eat.
• Going through the motions does not please the Lord.
The prophet Jeremiah saw the same.
Jeremiah 7:8-11 “Behold, you are trusting in deceptive words to no avail. “Will you steal, murder, and commit adultery and swear falsely, and offer sacrifices to Baal and walk after other gods that you have not known, then come and stand before Me in this house, which is called by My name, and say, ‘We are delivered!’ — that you may do all these abominations? “Has this house, which is called by My name, become a den of robbers in your sight? Behold, I, even I, have seen it,” declares the LORD.”
• Jesus will quote that verse the religious elite when He clears out the temple.
Hosea saw the blatant hypocrisy.
Hosea 6:4-6 “What shall I do with you, O Ephraim? What shall I do with you, O Judah? For your loyalty is like a morning cloud And like the dew which goes away early. Therefore I have hewn them in pieces by the prophets; I have slain them by the words of My mouth; And the judgments on you are like the light that goes forth. For I delight in loyalty rather than sacrifice, And in the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.”
• Jesus quoted that verse to the Pharisees when they sought to condemn the disciples for eating on the Sabbath.
And the point is that religion or praise or tradition for show
Was never acceptable to Jesus.
In fact it grieved Him.
And here He spoke of the inevitable effects
Of shallow and hypocritical worship.
The inevitable effect is judgment.
These people never loved Jesus.
• It was all a show.
• It was all a farce.
• They sang the songs
• They joined the parade
• They laid down their coats
But they never loved Him.
They never served Him.
And when the going got tough they abandoned Him.
The Triumphal Entry will forever stand as
The most hypocritical and nauseating worship event
In the history of the world.
It was the day when Christ’s enemies pretended to love Him
Because they hoped to benefit from His success.
Far too many do that very thing today.
And I think it is only right that each of us examine our own hearts in this regard.
• Do I love Christ?
• Do I desire Christ?
• Do I trust Christ?
Or am I just here because of what I think He can do for me?
This morning I simply ask you to pledge again your love for Christ.
• Go beyond the parade…
• Go beyond the show…
• Go beyond the service…
• Go with Christ to worship Him in the temple.
• Go with Christ to worship Him in the upper room.
• Go with Christ to worship Him in the garden.
• Go with Christ to worship Him before Pilate.
• Go with Christ to worship Him at Calvary.
Don’t let the entire summation of your Christian faithfulness
Be summed up in the statement, “I go to church”.
“I attended the parade”
Christ deserves far more LOYALTY than that.
Christ deserves far more GENUINENESS than that.
Christ deserves far more REVERENCE than that.
Furthermore, those who don’t give it are destroyed.
This King will not be mocked forever.
