Leading up to the triumphal entry into Jerusalem, Jesus performed his last recorded big miracle, raising Lazarus from the dead. In scripture you can see where Jesus, the prodigal prophets, and later the apostles raise people from the dead. The amazing thing about Lazarus being raised is that he had been dead for 4 days. The Jewish idea at the time was that when a person dies their spirit would "hover" around their bodies for about 3 days. After that they would move on to the after life. So Lazarus was "dead dead". His sister's did not want the stone rolled away because he would have stunk. It excited the people. At this time the people of Judea were looking for the Messiah, and Jesus was doing all of these miraculous things. He was raising people from the dead, restoring sight to the blind, which was a sign of Messiah. The chief priests and Pharisees did not like that and called a meeting where they plotted to kill Jesus (John 11).
John 11:48 (ESV) "If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him, and the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation."
In addition they planned to kill Lazarus as well, because his testimony was so powerful.
John 12:10 (ESV) So the chief priests made plans to put Lazarus to death as well."
If someone hates Jesus...they should probably hate you too.
If you are a follower of Jesus Christ, and the Spirit of the Lord lives inside of you, you ought to look a whole lot like Jesus, you ought to talk like Jesus, you ought to walk so close to him that you smell like Jesus. Our goal can not be to please the world. We should not cause unnecessary offense, we should have a good reputation with outsiders, but our goal is never to please the lost.
John 15:18-19 (ESV) "If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you, If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you."
The Triumphal entry of Jesus...the coronation of Jesus
This is their King that is coming....riding on a donkey colt...humble
Different from modern day coronation of King Charles III or even our inauguration of the US president. The first inauguration of the first US president, George Washington, was a 2 week party. Washington began a 2 week journey from his home in Mount Vernon on April 16, 1789. He traveled through Alexandria, Baltimore, Wilmington, Philadelphia and Trenton. In each town he was greeted with massive crowds, parades, and symbolic tributes, including a floral arch in Trenton and a child placing a laurel crown on his head in Philadelphia. On April 23rd Washington arrived at Elizabeth Town, NJ and crossed the Hudson River by a ceremonial barge rowed by 13 oarsmen, symbolizing the 13 original colonies. He was met by thousands of cheering New Yorkers, a Spanish ship firing a 13 gun salute and the ringing of church bells. It was a huge deal...in contrast that to Jesus who came in on a donkey, the greatest king who ever lived was the most humble of all. As Jesus was coming into Jerusalem there were large crowds amassing because it was close to Passover.
Luke 19:28-35 (ESV) "And when he had said these things, he went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem. When he drew near to Bethphage and Bethany, at the mount that is called Olivet, he sent two of the disciples, saying, 'Go into the village in front of you, where on entering you will find a colt tied, on which no one has ever sat. Untie it and bring it here. If anyone asks you, 'Why are you untying it?' you shall say this: 'The Lord has need of it.' So those who were sent went away and found it just as he has told them. And as they were untying the colt, its owners said to them, 'Why are you untying the colt?' And they said, 'The Lord has need of it.' And they brought it to Jesus, and throwing their cloaks on the colt, they set Jesus on it."
The 2 disciples go and find a colt that had never been ridden on before. This was prophesied in Zechariah 9:9 (ESV) "Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your king is coming to you; righteous and having salvation is he, humbled and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey." 500 years before Jesus.
God chooses and uses the humble and willing
1 Corinthians 1:26-29 (ESV) "For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being might boast in the presence of God."
Christ Jesus is our ultimate example of humility. Christ Jesus being perfect, without sin. Christ Jesus was human and fully divine, he was God.
Philippians 2:5-8 (ESV) "Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross."
Christ demonstrated this perfectly. God used humble people throughout time to accomplish great things. King David started out as a shepherd boy. God used Gideon, the smallest and weakest of the people to fight the Midianites and lead the people of Israel. God used the disciples, lowly fishermen to change the world. Jesus poured into the disciples so that they could go out and speak with authority. God uses the humble and the willing.
Luke 19:36-37 (ESV) "And as he rode along, they spread their cloaks on the road. As he was drawing near-already on the way down the Mount of Olives-the whole multitude of his disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works that they had seen,"
The laying down of their cloaks or coats showed an act of submission. We see the same thing in 2 Kings 9:13 an acceptance of kingship. In the book of John it talks about the people cutting down palm branches which was a sign of Jewish pride, Jewish nationalism. They had palm branches on decorations in synagogues and on coins. The palm branches were seen as fitting for a conquering king. The people were showing that they recognized Jesus was their king and they were going to submit to him.
Luke 19:38-40 (ESV) "saying, 'Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!' And some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to him, 'Teacher, rebuke your disciples.' He answered, 'I tell you, if these were silent, the very stones would cry out.'"
The people were shouting Hosanna. They were quoting Psalm 118:25-26 (ESV) "Save us, we pray, O LORD! O, LORD, we pray, give us success! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the LORD! We bless you from the house of the LORD." Hosanna means "Save us! Please Deliver us!" They were expecting a messiah, but one that was different. One that would conquer the Romans and free them and grow their territory. A warrior like David, but a super version. Jesus had different things in mind. He was interested in the spiritual and eternal way.
God's Ways are Always Bigger and Better
We see such a tiny bit of the picture. But God sees EVERYTHING and we only see a small portion.
Ephesians 3:20-21 (ESV) "Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen."
Romans 8:28 (ESV) "And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose."
We ask for help in prayer, but must understand, not my will, but yours God. God is working ultimately for his glory and our good. We don't always understand we should remember...not my will but yours.
The Pharisees want Jesus to stop his followers from worshipping him. What does it mean when Jesus says "even the stones will cry out"? Matthew 3:9 (ESV) "And do not presume to say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham as our father,' for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children for Abraham." God created all creation for his purpose to worship him, to point to him, to cry out to him. Examples of this can be found in Psalm 96:11, 98:7-9, 114:7, Isaiah 55:12. God is worthy of all worship and he will receive it.
Luke 19:41-44 (ESV) "And when he drew near and saw the city, he wept over it, saying, 'Would that you, even you, had known on this day the things that make for peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes. For the days will come upon you, when your enemies will set up a barricade around you and surround you and hem you in on every side and tear you down to the ground, you and your children within you. And they will not leave one stone upon another in you, because you did not know the time of your visitation.'"
Why did he weep? He knew what was going to come. The people stopped listening to his teachings and began listening to the Pharisees and scribes. He also knew what was coming within 40 years...the destruction of the temple and the people were killed. He had great compassion for the people because they were sheep without a sheperd.
Follow Jesus Not the Crowd
We need to honor Jesus no matter what the crowd is doing. The crowd is often going in the wrong direction.
Be Careful Who You Listen To
Not everyone will be good influences. It is important to choose wisely who and what we listen to. Jesus had some strong words for the Pharisees because they were teaching wrong things.
Test for True Teachers
You must confess that Jesus is the Christ (1 John 4:1-3, 1 John 5:1)
They actually practice righteousness (1John 2:4, 1 John 3:10
They hold to the teachings of the apostles (1 John 4:6)
They are not like the world (1 John 4:5)
They have love for other Christians (1 John 4:20-5:1)
Closing Scripture Psalm 118:25-26 & 28-29 (ESV) "Save us, we pray, O LORD! O LORD, we pray, give us success! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the LORD! We bless you from the house of the LORD. You are my God, and I will give thanks to you; you are my God; I will extol you. Oh give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; for his steadfast love endures forever!"
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