Luke 19:37-40

2 d. Luke 19:37-40. The Entry.

From the moment that Jesus seats Himself on the colt, He becomes the visible centre of the assemblage, and the scene takes a character more and more extraordinary. It is as if a breathing from above had all at once taken possession of this multitude. The sight of the city and temple which opens up at the moment contributes to this burst of joy and hope (Luke 19:37). The object of ἐγγίζοντος, coming nigh, is not πρὸς τῇ καταβάσει (πρὸς τήν would be necessary); it is rather Jerusalem, the true goal of the journey. Πρὸς τῇ is a qualification of ἤρξαντο : “ at the descent, they began.” From this elevated point, 300 feet above the terrace of the temple, which is itself raised about 140 feet above the level of the valley of the Cedron, an extensive view was had of the city and the whole plain which it commands, especially of the temple, which rose opposite, immediately above the valley. All those hearts recall at this moment the miracles which have distinguished the career of this extraordinary man; they are aware that at the point to which things have come His entry into Jerusalem cannot fail to issue in a decisive revolution, although they form an utterly false idea of that catastrophe.

John informs us that among all those miracles there was one especially which excited the enthusiasm of the crowd; that was the resurrection of Lazarus. Already on the previous evening very many pilgrims had come from Jerusalem to Bethany to see not only Jesus, but also Lazarus, who had been raised from the dead. This day the procession meets at every step with new troops arriving from the city; and these successive meetings call forth ever and again new bursts of joy.

The acclamation, Luke 19:38, is taken in part from Psalms 118:25. This hymn belonged to the great Hallel, which was chanted at the end of the Paschal Supper as well as at the feast of Tabernacles. The people were accustomed to apply the expression, He who cometh in the name of the Lord (in the Psalm, every faithful one who came to the feast), to the Messiah. Probably the word βασιλεύς, king, is authentic in Luke; and its omission in some MSS. arises from the texts of the LXX. and of Matthew.

The expression, in the name of, is dependent not on blessed be, but on He who cometh: “the King who comes on the part of God as His representative.” The peace in heaven is that of the reconciliation which the Messiah comes to effect between God and the earth. Luke omits the word Hosanna, which his readers of Gentile origin would not have understood.

The fact related Luke 19:39-40 belongs to Luke alone. Pharisees had mingled with the groups, to spy out what was passing. Aware that their authority is slipping from them (John 12:19), they had recourse to Jesus Himself, begging Him to keep order in His crowd of followers. They are disgusted at seeing that, not content with setting Himself up as a prophet, He dares publicly to accept Messianic homage. The saying, Rebuke thy disciples, was doubtless accompanied with an irritated and anxious look towards the citadel of Antonia, the residence of the Roman garrison. This look seemed to say: “Seest thou not...? Are not the Romans there? Wilt thou destroy us?” The answer of Jesus has a terrible majesty: “If I should silence all those mouths, you would hear the same acclamations proceeding from the ground! So impossible is it that an appearance like this should not be, once at least, saluted on the earth as it deserves to be!”

The terms used appear to have been proverbial (Hab 2:11). Some have referred the term, the stones, to the walls of the temple, and of the houses of Jerusalem, which, as they fell in ruins forty years after, rendered homage to the kingly glory of Jesus; but this meaning is far-fetched. The form of the Paulo-post future (κεκράξονται) is frequently used by the LXX., but, as here, without having the special signification which is attached to it in classical Greek. The grammatical reduplication simply expresses the repetition of the cry of those inanimate objects: “It will be impossible to reduce those stones to silence, if once they shall begin to cry.” The simple future in the Alex. is a correction.