Luke 19:28-40

Butler's Comments

SECTION 3

Praise (Luke 19:28-40)

28 And when he had said this, he went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem. 29When he drew near to Bethphage and Bethany, at the mount that is called Olivet, he sent two of the disciples, 30saying, Go into the village opposite, where on entering you will find a colt tied, on which no one has ever yet sat; untie it and bring it here. 31If any one asks you, -Why are you untying it?-' you shall say this, -The Lord has need of it.-' 32So those who were sent went away and found it as he had told them. 33And as they were untying the colt, its owners said to them, Why are you untying the colt? 34And they said, The Lord has need of it. 35And they brought it to Jesus, and throwing their garments on the colt they set Jesus upon it. 36And as he rode along, they spread their garments on the road. 37As he was now drawing near, 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 they had seen,38saying, Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest! 39And some of the Pharisees in the multitude said to him, Teacher, rebuke your disciples. 40He answered, I tell you, if these were silent, the very stones would cry out.

Luke 19:28-34 Creation: John's gospel account tells us that Jesus arrived in Bethany six days before the Passover of His last week on earth (John 12:1), Bethany was on the eastern side of the Mt. of Olives, about two miles from Jerusalem. Jesus apparently stayed in the home of Lazarus and his sisters (Martha and Mary) Friday night and Saturday night and left early Sunday morning to enter the city of Jerusalem (cf. Matthew 26:6-13; Mark 14:3-9; John 21:1-8). About a mile down the road toward Jerusalem, lay the village of Bethphage. The word Bethphage in Hebrew means house of unripe figsit was in the vicinity of Bethphage that Jesus cursed the fruitless fig tree (cf. Matthew 21:18-20; Mark 11:12-21). It was from this little village that Jesus began what is called His Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem.

This passage exudes divine authority. The reader cannot escape the implication that everything is done by foreknowledge and by divine schedule. When Jesus sent the two disciples (probably Peter and John) into Bethphage for the colt, there had been no prearrangements so far as the record goes. The description of the animals, where they were to be found and the reply to be given the owners all indicate the disciples were sent not by prearrangement but on the basis of the foreknowledge of Jesus. The same kind of foreknowledge was displayed by Jesus (undoubtedly for the benefit of His disciples) when the room for the last supper was obtained (cf. Matthew 26:17-19; Mark 14:12-16; Luke 22:7-13). If the action of Jesus here seems presumptuous, that is because it is! He intended this whole event (entry into Jerusalem) to be one of triumph. He would now affirm His lordship over all creation. He intended to receive the praise of all creation as due Him. The earth and all that is in it belongs to Him. The owners of the colt were doubtless disciples of Jesus; the animals were only borrowed for a time and then to be returned or reclaimed. The two sent for the colt were to furnish the explanation, The Master has need of it, if they were challenged. Actually, they brought two animalsthe colt and its mother (cf. Matthew 21:2), undoubtedly necessary to get the colt to come willingly.

Jesus might have walked into Jerusalem that Sunday morning, A.D. 30 but He rode on the colt of an ass to lay before the city (especially its rulers) a graphic, symbolic claim to be the Messiah. It was predicted by the prophet Zechariah (Zechariah 9:9) that the King of the Jews would come to them humble and lowly, riding on the foal of an ass. Earlier, thousands would have made Him king according to their earthly aspirations (John 6:15). Now, He announces He is King according to the Father's pre-ordained plan. He enters royally. He enters freely, not as a prisoner or victim. He did not hide or hurry. He acted deliberately and purposefully. The time has come for the great strugglefor the showdown. The time has come for the world to either acknowledge its ruler or to renounce Him. Not only was He announcing His kingship, He was announcing the nature of His kingship. He did not claim kingship as the Gentile world would expect (cf. John 18:33-38). He did not ride in on a white stallion with a troop armed with swords. He rode on a beast of burden. His army was an unorganized mob; a multitude of shouting, conquered sheepherders and farmers. John records that His disciples did not understand at first the mysterious or unique action of Jesus in riding upon the coltbut after He was glorified they remembered that this had been written of the Messiah in their prophets. This event which is said to be a fulfillment of the prophecy of Zechariah concerning the Messiah's first coming, gives the careful Bible student a clear key for understanding the many other highly figurative and symbolic prophecies of the Old Testament concerning the Messiah and His kingdom, The whole context of Zechariah 9:9-17 is about the Messiah. Barnes thinks the prophecy of Zechariah 9:9 was always, by the Jews, applied to the Messiah. We have not found that to be so. In fact, one modern Jewish Bible encyclopedia, in its article on the prophet Zechariah, attributes Zechariah 9:1-17; Zechariah 10:1-12; Zechariah 11:1-17 to the final days of Jeroboam, son of Joash, to the beginning of the Assyrian conquest. Only the part of Zechariah's imagery depicting the coming king as a triumphant and victorious one commanding peace to the nations would fit apocryphal aspirations. It is evident even from the New Testament that few Jews would accept (not even Jesus-' own disciples) a humble, lowly messiah.

Luke 19:35-40 Crowds: Even before Jesus-' arrival at the home of Lazarus, the crowds of Passover pilgrims were awaiting His coming to Jerusalem (see John 11:55-57). Passover was the most significant national memorial of the Jews with all its overtones of deliverance from foreign oppression and divine intervention in history. The pilgrims were already engaged in religious rites of purification so they could participate. Josephus estimates some three million pilgrims jammed into Jerusalem and its suburbs at Passover time. People renewed old acquaintances, met cousins and other relatives for the first time in years, gossiped, talked politics, taxes and the state of the religious status quo. Popular opinions of the great, new Prophet and Rabbi (reputed to be a miracle-worker) versus the official pronouncements of the rulers concerning Him were discussed.

There were thousands of pilgrims already inside the city of Jerusalem (cf. John 12:12-13) and these came out to meet Him (John 12:18) as He approached. In addition, there were thousands of pilgrims still coming toward Jerusalem surrounding Him as He rode on the colt (Matthew 21:8-9; Mark 11:8-10; Luke 19:35-38) accompanying Him toward the city. This whole multitude was expecting Jesus to come to Jerusalem and make good on His promises to set up God's kingdom as they perceived God's kingdom (cf. Mark 11:9-10). This multitude was in a state of frenzied euphoria remembering all the mighty works they had seen the Prophet of Galilee do. The thousands began to throw their cloaks down in the path of the colt upon which Jesus rode. Many of them climbed palm trees and cut off branches to throw down for the colt to walk upon, (Matthew 21:8; Mark 11:8; John 12:13). Some waved the branches back and forth. The palm branch was an emblem of victory and restoration of peace (cf. 1Ma. 13:51; 2Ma. 10:6-7; Revelation 7:9). They all shouted with loud roaring (Gr. phone megale,voice, great), joyfully, Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest. Some shouted Hosanna (Matthew 21:9; Mark 11:9; John 12:13) which is an Aramaic word meaning, Save now, we pray!

The common pilgrims are shouting, King! But His garment is not a royal robe; it is homespun and seamless. His charger is a dumb, beast of burden, not yet old enough to be ridden. His court is of fishermen and hated publicans. His cavalcade is a mob of Galileans. Yet no pageant that ever passed through the streets of imperial Rome has so impressed the centuries as this one. The triumphal entries of Roman emperors have all but been forgotten, but this one, in every detail, is known and retold year after year, century after century.

As He moved toward the city He was creating a great stir (Matthew 21:10) (Gr. seismos, quaking, trembling). He was creating an earthquake of emotional excitement, but that is about all it amounted to with most of the thousands. The most striking characteristic of Judaism, of that century, and one which set it apart from all other religions of antiquity was its messianic fervor. The Jews looked for their golden age in the messianic future and not in the past like Greece and Rome. The Messiah of the Jews was supposed to usher in:

a.

Perfect happiness and peace.

b.

Super-abundance of materialism.

c.

Power over the whole world, politically.

d.

Destruction of all enemies.

e.

Supernatural renovation of the natural order.

The rulers were also quaking but from a different emotionenvy and hatred. They had already given orders for Jesus-' arrest (see John 11:53-57). Now they are wringing their hands in frustration and fear (John 12:19; Matthew 21:10-16) because they want to kill Him but they do not dare while the cheering, jubilant thousands are acclaiming Him as their king. A confrontation is about to take place in one of the remote and despised frontiers of the Roman empire which will have cosmic repercussions. Men charged with teaching and administering the Word of God and His covenant are preaching to kill a Man who has already raised three people from the dead! They are even planning to kill one of those He raised from the dead (Lazarus, John 12:10-11).

There were even Pharisees in that clamoring, shouting multitude with Jesus that Sunday morning as He approached Jerusalem. They knew very well that the Tower of Antonia was fully garrisoned with Roman troops with orders from Pontius Pilate to subdue with swift and ruthless force any signs of rebellion or sedition. The Roman procurator always reinforced his troops in Jerusalem at Passover time, Sentries were placed on the roofs of all the great colonnades like Solomon's Porch and others. Many of the soldiers, off-duty, roamed the streets and shops of Jerusalem, When the great roars of Hosanna, and Blessed is the King.. went up just outside the city walls and echoed across the Brook Kidron it sent shivers up the spines of the Roman soldiers. It would signal to their way of thinking, rebellion, riot, fighting and bloodshed. Many such skirmishes had already occurred within the city of Jerusalem between hot-headed Jews and Roman soldiers. Roman patience was wearing thin with the Jews. The Pharisees knew this well. They wanted to keep their political positions and their city from devastation by these powerful conquerors. So Pharisees curtly admonished Jesus, Rabbi, rebuke your disciples. They demanded that Jesus quiet the crowd and put an end to all the praise lest some very serious blood-letting result from it.

Jesus-' answer was a refusal to even try to silence the shouting. He could not do so (except by miraculously suspending their voices or some other supernatural intervention over human free will). If He should try to suppress such spontaneously strong emotions, they would find some other way to express what is being shouted. Even the stones would cry out, would not seem to be intended literally, but figuratively. Although there is a sense in which the things which have been made (nature) cry out in testimony to God when men refuse (cf. Romans 1:18 ff.)! It is impossible to extinguish praise to God by hard repression, The Pharisees were soon to find that out! The Pharisees were trying to save their nation by repressing Messianic praise; Jesus knew that praising and acknowledging the Messiah would be the only way to save it.

Applebury's Comments

The Triumphal Entry
Scripture

Luke 19:28-40 And when he had thus spoken, he went on before, going up to Jerusalem.

29 And it came to pass, when he drew nigh unto Bethphage and Bethany, at the mount that is called Olivet, he sent two of the disciples, 30 saying, Go your way into the village over against you; in which as ye enter ye shall find a colt tied, whereon no man ever yet sat: loose him, and bring him. 31 And if any one ask you, Why do ye loose him? thus shall ye say, The Lord hath need of him. 32 And they that were sent went away, 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 drew their garments upon the colt, and set Jesus thereon. 36 And as he went, they spread their garments in the way. 37 And as he was now drawing nigh, even 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 which they had seen; 38 saying, Blessed is 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 the multitude said unto him, Teacher, rebuke thy disciples. 40 And he answered and said, I tell you that, if these shall hold their peace, the stones will cry out.

Comments

going up to Jerusalem.Jesus frequently reminded the disciples that He was going to Jerusalem where He would bring His earthly ministry to its climax.

when he drew nigh to Bethphage and Bethany.Little is known about Bethphage except that the word means house of figs, and that it was near Bethany.

Bethanyhouse of affliction or, according to some, house of datesis well known as the home of Mary and Martha, sisters of Lazarus. Jesus stayed at their home when He was in that area (Luke 10:38-42; John 12:1). It was located on the southeast slope of the mount of Olives a short distance from Jerusalem.

John indicates that the triumphal entry occurred on the day after Jesus-' arrival at Bethany which was six days before the passover. See John 12:1; John 12:12.

Go your way into the village.One of the two just mentioned, or possible another that was near.

Jesus gave detailed instruction about the colt which the disciples were to bring for Him to ride on. No man had ever ridden the colt. Why Jesus selected it is not stated. Prophecy, of course, indicated that He was to enter the city riding on the colt.

The Lord hath need of him.There has been much speculation as to whether or not Jesus used supernatural knowledge in giving this detailed instruction to His disciples. An example of His use of such power is given in Matthew 17:27. But it isn-'t necessary to assume that he made use of it in this case. Previous arrangements could have been made by Him with the owners. All the disciples had to say was: The Lord has need of him.

Jesus-' miraculous powers were used to demonstrate God's approval of His teaching and work, He never used it merely to amaze people. See Luke 23:8-12.

and set Jesus thereon.The disciples threw their garments on the colt and set Jesus on him. Both Matthew and John mention the prophecy of Zechariah 9:9 which was fulfilled as the victorious King came triumphantly, even though humbly, riding into Jerusalem.

at the descent of the mount of Olives.Jesus and the disciples had gone to the top of the mount of Olives and were ready to go down the western slope that led to the city of Jerusalem when the multitudes met Him and began praising God for the works they had seen done.

John suggests that the resurrection of Lazarus had greatly influenced the people at this time (John 12:9-13). Blessed is the King that cometh in the name of the Lord.Suggested by Psalms 118:26 and Isaiah 62:11. See comment on Luke 13:35.

They had been wondering when the kingdom was to appear; now they were acclaiming Jesus as King.

And some of the Pharisees.The Pharisees kept a close watch on all of Jesus-' activities. When they heard the crowd praising Him, they said, Teacher, rebuke your disciples. In their opinion, this was blasphemy, They wanted Him to stop the praise that came spontaneously from the hearts of the people.

if they shall hold their peace.Jesus-' answer made it clear to the Pharisees that He did approve what the people were doing and that He had no intention of restraining them. Nothing could prevent their expression of gratitude to God for what He had done for them through Jesus. If the people become silent, He said, the stones will cry out.