Having said these things, he went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem.
When he came near to Bethsphage and Bethany, at the mountain that is called Olivet, he sent two of his disciples, saying, “Go your way into the village on the other side, in which, as you enter, you will find a colt tied, which no man had ever sat upon. Untie it and bring it. If anyone asks you, ‘Why are you untying it?’ say to him: ‘The Lord needs it.’ ”
Those who were sent went away, and found things 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 needs it.” Then they brought it to Jesus. They threw their cloaks on the colt, and sat Jesus on them. As he went, they spread their cloaks on the road. As he was now getting 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 which they had seen, saying, “Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven, and glory in the highest!”
Some of the Pharisees from the multitude said to him, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples!”
He answered them, “I tell you that if these were silent, the stones would cry out.”
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On vv28, 29, 39 The disciples staggered and stayed at the matter, but…
The disciples staggered and stayed at the matter, but Christ goeth on boldly though death were before his eyes.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv28–32 28 And when he had thus spoken, he went…
28 And when he had thus spoken, he went before, ascending up to Jerusalem.
Ver. 28. He went before] To meet death in the face. This was true magnanimity. Herein he showed himself the Captain of our salvation, though perfected by sufferings.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain On vv28, 29, 35, 39 Jerusalem (as we before noted) stood upon a hill;…
Jerusalem (as we before noted) stood upon a hill; those that went to it therefore ascended. This going before the company was noted by Mar 10:32; here again Luke taketh notice of it; to let us know certainly with what alacrity our Saviour managed the business of man’s redemption. He knew that he was at this time to be the sufferer, and to die at Jerusalem; to show that he was freely willing, he leadeth the way.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
William Burkitt 1703 · Public Domain On v28 Our Lord (as noted before) was now upon his…
Our Lord (as noted before) was now upon his last journey to Jerusalem, where he was to shed his blood, and lay down his life for the redemption and salvation of a lost world; and it is observable, what a double demonstration he gives of his great willingness and forwardness to go up to Jerusalem, there to die.
1. Both St. Luke here, and St. Mark, Mar 10:32 tell us, that he went before the company leading the way, when he went to suffer. Lord! With what alacrity and holy cheerfulness did thou manage the great work of man’s redemption! None ever went so willingly to a crown as thou to thy cross.
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2. Our Saviour, who all his life traveled like a poor man on foot, now he goes up to Jerusalem to die for us, he will ride, to show his great forwardness to lay down his life for us, but what was the beast he rode upon! An ass’s colt; to fulfill that prophecy,Tell ye the daughter of Zion, Behold, thy King cometh, riding upon an ass. Zec 9:9 Yes it was a colt which never man rode before; to let us see how the most unruly and untamed creatures become obedient and obsequious to Christ, and render themselves serviceable to him at his pleasure. It was also a borrowed ass, whereby our Savior’s right to all the creatures was manifested; and accordingly he bids his disciples to tell the owner, That the Lord had need of him: not your Lord, or our Lord, but the Lord, that is, he that is Lord of the whole earth, whose are the cattle upon a thousand hills.
Here note, what a clear and full demonstration Christ gave of his divine nature: of his omnisciency in foreseeing and foretelling the event; of his omnipotency in inclining the heart, and over-ruling the will of the owner to let the colt go; and of his sovereignty, that as he was Lord of the creatures, he could command and call for their services whenever he needed them. The colt being brought, and our Saviour set thereon.
Observe, next, the actions of the multitude in acknowledging Christ to be our King; they spread their clothes in the way, casting their garments on the ground, for him to ride upon, according to the custom of princes when they ride in state; yes, the multitude do not only disrobe their backs, but expend their breath in joyful acclamations and loud hosannas, wishing all manner of prosperity to their meek but mighty Prince. In this princely, yet poor and despicable pomp, does our Saviour enter the famous city of Jerusalem. Oh how far was our holy Lord from affecting worldly greatness and grandeur! He despised that glory which worldly hearts fondly admire; yet because he was a King, he would be proclaimed such, and have his kingdom confessed, applauded, and blessed: but that it might appear that his kingdom was not of this world, he abandons all worldly magnificence. Oh glorious, yet homely pomp! Oh meek, yet mighty Prince!
Observe lastly, the peevish envy of the wicked Pharisees, who were then in company: they grudge our Saviour this poor honor; they envy him this small triumph of coming into the city upon an ass’s colt, attended by a company of poor people, strewing the way with boughs of trees, with hosannas and joyful acclamations in their mouths: these poor people’s mouths they would have stopped; Master, rebuke thy disciples; they did not like the music. Christ tells them, that they labor in vain to suppress the testimony given by his disciples, for if they should be silent, the stones would cry out yes, cry out shame of them for neglecting their duty: as if Christ had said, the speechless stones will speak and give witness to me, if men will not.
Learn hence, they that are owned of God, shall not want ownings and witnessings from man, at one time or other, in one way or other, though the envy and malice of men do never so much gainsay and oppose it.
William Burkitt's Expository Notes on the New Testament (1700–1703) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Henry 1710 · Public Domain On v28 We have here the same account of Christ's riding…
We have here the same account of Christ's riding in some sort of triumph (such as it was) into Jerusalem which we had before in Matthew and Mark; let us therefore here only observe,
I. Jesus Christ was forward and willing to suffer and die for us. He went forward, bound in the spirit, to Jerusalem, knowing very well the things that should befall him there, and yet he went before, ascending up to Jerusalem, Luk 19:28. He was the foremost of the company, as if he longed to be upon the spot, longed to engage, to take the field, and to enter upon action. Was he so forward to suffer and die for us, and shall we draw back from any service we are capable of doing for him?
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II. It was no ways inconsistent either with Christ's humility or with his present state of humiliation to make a public entry into Jerusalem a little before he died. Thus he made himself to be the more taken notice of, that the ignominy of his death might appear the greater.
III. Christ is entitled to a dominion over all the creatures, and may use them when and as he pleases. No man has a property in his estate against Christ, but that his title is prior and superior. Christ sent to fetch an ass and her colt from their owner's and master's crib, when he had occasion for their service, and might do so, for all the beasts of the forest are his, and the tame beasts too.
IV. Christ has all men's hearts both under his eye and in his hand. He could influence those to whom the ass and the colt belonged to consent to their taking them away, as soon as they were told that the Lord had occasion for them.
V. Those that go on Christ's errands are sure to speed (Luk 19:32): They that were sent found what he told them they should find, and the owners willing to part with them. It is a comfort to Christ's messengers that they shall bring what they are sent for, if indeed the Lord has occasion for it.
VI. The disciples of Christ, who fetch that for him from others which he has occasion for, and which they have not, should not think that enough, but, whatever they have themselves wherewith he may be served and honoured, they should be ready to serve him with it. Many can be willing to attend Christ at other people's expense who care not to be at any charge upon him themselves; but those disciples not only fetched the ass's colt for him, but cast their own garments upon the colt, and were willing that they should be used for his trappings.
VII. Christ's triumphs are the matter of his disciples' praises. When Christ came nigh to Jerusalem, God put it of a sudden into the hearts of the whole multitude of the disciples, not of the twelve only, but abundance more, that were disciples at large, to rejoice and praise God (Luk 19:37), and the spreading of their clothes in the way (Luk 19:36) was a common expression of joy, as at the feast of tabernacles. Observe, 1. What was the matter or occasion of their joy and praise. They praised God for all the mighty works they had seen, all the miracles Christ had wrought, especially the raising of Lazarus, which is particularly mentioned, Joh 12:17, Joh 12:18. That brought others to mind, for fresh miracles and mercies should revive the remembrance of the former. 2. How they expressed their joy and praise (Luk 19:38): Blessed be the king that cometh in the name of the Lord. Christ is the king; he comes in the name of the Lord, clothed with a divine authority, commissioned from heaven to give law and treat of peace. Blessed be he. Let us praise him, let God prosper him. He is blessed for ever, and we will speak well of him. Peace in heaven. Let the God of heaven send peace and success to his undertaking, and then there will be glory in the highest. It will redound to the glory of the most high God; and the angels, the glorious inhabitants of the upper world, will give him the glory of it. Compare this song of the saints on earth with that of the angels, Luk 2:14. They both agree to give glory to God in the highest. There the praises of both centre; the angels say, On earth peace, rejoicing in the benefit which men on earth have by Christ; the saints say, Peace in heaven, rejoicing in the benefit which the angels have by Christ. Such is the communion we have with the holy angels that, as they rejoice in the peace on earth, so we rejoice in the peace in heaven, the peace God makes in his high places (Job 25:2), and both in Christ, who hath reconciled all things to himself, whether things on earth or things in heaven.
VIII. Christ's triumph's, and his disciples' joyful praises of them, are the vexation of proud Pharisees, that are enemies to him and his kingdom. There were some Pharisees among the multitude who were so far from joining with them that they were enraged at them, and, Christ being a famous example of humility, they thought that he would not admit such acclamations as these, and therefore expected that he should rebuke his disciples, Luk 19:39. But it is the honour of Christ that, as he despises the contempt of the proud, so he accepts the praises of the humble.
IX. Whether men praise Christ or no he will, and shall, and must be praised (Luk 19:40): If these should hold their peace, and not speak the praises of the Messiah's kingdom, the stones would immediately cry out, rather than that Christ should not be praised. This was, in effect, literally fulfilled, when, upon men's reviling Christ upon the cross, instead of praising him, and his own disciples' sinking into a profound silence, the earth did quake and the rocks rent. Pharisees would silence the praises of Christ, but they cannot gain their point; for as God can out of stones raise up children unto Abraham, so he can out of the mouths of those children perfect praise.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible (1708–1710) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain On vv28–40 And it came to pass when he was come…
And it came to pass when he was come nigh,.... The other evangelists, Matthew and Mark, add "unto Jerusalem"; but this Luke designs afterwards, Luk 19:37 and therefore here means, as is expressed, that he was come nigh
to Bethphage and Bethany; two tracts of land which reached from Mount Olivet to Jerusalem; so that when he was there, he was nigh unto the city:
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at the mount, called the Mount of Olives; or "Elaion", as the Ethiopic version, which retains the Greek word for it; and which has its name from the great number of olive trees that grew upon it:
he sent two of his disciples; their names are not mentioned by any of the evangelists, but it is very probable they were Peter and John; of the places here mentioned; See Gill on Mat 21:1.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain On vv29, 37, 38, 39, 40 He drew nigh to the place where the borders…
He drew nigh to the place where the borders of Bethphage and Bethany met, which was at the foot of the Mount of Olives. Matt. xxi, 1; Mark xi, 1.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On vv28, 29, 38, 40 Verse 28. He went before] Joyfully to anticipate his…
Verse 28. He went before] Joyfully to anticipate his death, say some. Perhaps it means that he walked at the head of his disciples; and that he and his disciples kept on the road before other companies who were then also on their way to Jerusalem, in order to be present at the feast.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain On v28 Luk 19:28-40. When he had thus spoken — When…
Luk 19:28-40. When he had thus spoken — When he had finished the preceding parable in Zaccheus’s house; he went before — Continued his journey, and led the way as foremost of the company, thus showing his readiness to suffer; ascending up to Jerusalem — Being determined to appear there at the approaching passover, though he well knew that he was to encounter persecution and death there. And when he was come nigh to Bethphage and Bethany — Both these villages being situated at the foot of the mount of Olives, and Jesus being between them, on the road from Jericho to Jerusalem, he might very properly be said to have been nigh to both, and nigh to Jerusalem, which was at the distance of two miles only: he sent two of his disciples, &c. — See this paragraph explained, Mat 21:1-16; Mar 11:1-10. The whole multitude began to praise God — Speaking at once, as it seems, from a divine impulse words which most of them did not understand. Peace in heaven — God being reconciled to man. Rebuke thy disciples — Paying thee this immoderate honour. If these should hold their peace, the stones which lie before you would immediately cry out — That is, God would raise up some still more unlikely instruments to declare his praise. Or, that he would, by a miracle, raise up others to glorify his name, rather than silence should be kept on this occasion. But though Jesus did not refuse the honours that were now paid him, he was far from assuming the dignity of an earthly prince, or any state pageantry whatsoever. On the contrary, he humbled himself exceedingly; his riding on an ass being an instance of great meekness, according to what was prophesied of him, Zec 9:9.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain On vv28, 40 See the notes at Mat. 21:1-16.
See the notes at Mat. 21:1-16.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain On vv34, 40 It may here be asked, how the owners of…
It may here be asked, how the owners of the colt knew who the Lord was, of whom the disciples spoke? It may be answered, that perhaps they had already heard that Jesus of Nazareth, who the Jews though was to be their temporal king, was coming about that time to Jerusalem, and that they saw from their dress, or other external marks, that they were the disciples of Jesus. (Dionysius)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Lange's Commentary on the Holy Scriptures 1864 · Public Domain On v28 The Final Conflict and the Culmination of the Glory…
PART THIRD
The Final Conflict and the Culmination of the Glory of the Son of Man
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_________
FIRST SECTION
THE FINAL CONFLICT
Luk_19:28 to Luk_23:56
A. The Entry into Jerusalem, with its attending Circumstances Luk_19:28-48
1. The Entry Itself (Luk_19:28-40)
(Parallels: Mat_21:1-9; Mar_11:1-10; Joh_12:12-19)
28And when he had thus spoken, he went before, ascending up to Jerusalem. 29And 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 [the7] disciples, 30Saying, 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 [and loosing him bring8] him hither. 31And if any man ask you, Why do ye loose him? thus shall ye say unto him, Because the Lord hath need of him. 32And they that were sent went their way, and found even as he had said unto them. 33And as they were loosing the colt, the owners thereof said unto them, Why loose ye the colt? 34And they said, [Because, V. O.9] The Lord hath need of him. 35And they brought him to Jesus: and they cast their [own] garments upon the colt, and they set Jesus thereon. 36And as he went, they spread their clothes in the way. 37And 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 38voice for all the mighty works that they had seen; Saying, Blessed be the King that cometh in the name of the Lord: peace in heaven, and glory in the highest. 39And some of the Pharisees from among the multitude said unto him, Master [Teacher], rebuke thy disciples. 40And he answered and said unto them, I tell you that, if these should [shall] hold their peace, the stones would [will] immediately cry out.
EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL
Chronology.—At the entry into the Passion-week, it becomes possible to us to follow our Lord from day to day, and at last almost hour by hour. According to Joh_12:1, He came six days before the Passover to Bethany. Since now this began with the 14th Nisan, our Lord must already on the 8th have come into the circle of His friends in Bethany, and therefore on the Friday or Saturday before His death. If we consider, however, that our Lord on His last Sabbath certainly made no extended journey, that we read nothing of any village before or in the neighborhood of Bethany where He could have spent the day of rest, that on the other hand the last-named village appears to have been also the last stopping-place of the journey, it then becomes extremely probable that He entered before the Sabbath, and therefore on Friday, into the village of Lazarus. After the ending of the weekly Divine service, the feast was held at which Mary anointed the Lord, but which Luke passes over in silence. And if now the entry into Jerusalem, Joh_12:12, took place on the day after this feast, there is then no ground to transfer this day to any other than Palm-Sunday. The view of those who, on account of some little difference in the four Evangelists, maintain that two entries took place, may well be regarded as already antiquated; ex abundanti, comp. Von Baur, Kanonische Evang. p. 196.
Luk_19:29. Bethphage and Bethany.—The designation of locality does not proceed from the position of the travellers from Jericho, in which case Bethany must have been named first, since Bethphage was almost a suburb of Jerusalem. But since the two places were so nearly contiguous that they were scarcely distinct, the account of the approach begins here in a popular manner with the more distant locality lying nearest to Jerusalem. In brief, at the moment when the two disciples are despatched, our Lord has Bethany behind Him, Bethphage before Him, and points to the latter when He says δεικτικῶς: Go ye into the village over against you.
Two of the disciples.—From the graphic trait of Mar_11:4, that they find the colt tied “by a door without, in a place where two ways met,” we should almost conjecture that his original authority, Peter, was eye-witness, and therefore one of the two. But that John, here also, as in the preparation for the Passover, accompanied, is, on account of the tone of his narrative of the entry, less probable. In vividness, at least, his representation is inferior to that of the Synoptics.
Luk_19:30. Whereon yet never man sat.—“A creatively fresh new time, a new prince, a new beast.” Lange. We may compare the new grave in which no one was ever yet laid, Luk_23:53, and, from the Old Testament, the young heifers on which never yet a yoke had come, which upon a new wagon drew the Ark of the Covenant, 1Sa_6:7.
Luk_19:31. And if any one ask you.—There is nothing in and of itself improbable in supposing that our Lord had friends in Bethphage, and may have made arrangements with them which He did not think necessary to communicate to His disciples. If, however, we consider the mysterious form of the command; if we consider how little it was in the spirit of our Saviour to give to something very ordinary a guise of singularity; if we compare the preparation of the Passover, and if we keep the very unique significance of this entry with its attendant circumstances well in mind,—it is then undoubtedly most natural to see here also a manifestation of that foreknowledge which, so soon as it was necessary, could penetrate even that which lay beyond the sphere of the senses and of common calculation. Without doubt, however, the owners of the beast of carriage belonged to the many concealed friends of our Lord, and He had in spirit foreseen that a command addressed in His name to these men would not be in vain.
Luk_19:32. They that were sent went their way.—The purpose of this whole command was not so much to come into possession of a beast of carriage, as rather to exercise the disciples in unconditional obedience, even there where something remained inexplicable to them, and at the same time to strengthen them in their faith in the superhuman foreknowledge and the Messianic character of the Lord; for foreknowledge of hidden things belonged undoubtedly to the traits which were especially expected in the perfect Servant of God, comp. Joh_16:30; and with wisdom does the Lord reveal this trait of His Messianic character, in that very hour in which He permits homage to be offered to Him, in His dignity as the Messiah.
Luk_19:33. The owners thereof.—In Mark: “Certain of them that stood there.” What the Saviour foresaw, takes place actually; objections are raised; but at the appointed watchword (δ́τι, the definite answer to the question διὰ τί) every objection is let fall. “Non potuere, Domino huic obsequentes, frustrari.” Bengel.
Luk_19:35. Their own garments.—“Ἑαυτῶν colors this act of honor.” Meyer. A similar hearty homage appears in this, that they, according to Luke, set our Lord upon the colt (ἐπεβίβασαν). while the others only speak in general of His sitting thereon (καθίζειν). Besides the disciples, who in this way displayed their reverence for Him, there are, Luk_19:36, others named who spread out their garments as a carpet before His feet, while, Luk_19:37, the jubilant exclamations of the multitude, which here is to be carefully distinguished from the disciples, are spoken of.
Luk_19:37. At the descent of the mount of Olives, πρὸς τῇ καταβάσει τοῦ ό̓ρους, κ.τ.λ.—According to Luke, who distinguishes the different elements of the act of homage, even somewhat more accurately than Matthew and Mark, the enthusiasm begins there to reach its culmination precisely when the final goal of the peaceful train is in sight. When they have come near to the point of descent of the mount of Olives, to the height from which the whole city spreads itself out like a great panorama before the view of the beholders, the jubilant joy rises higher and higher, while the way begins to descend.
The mighty works.—Matter for praise is least of all lacking; Barimæus is found in person among the multitude, Luk_19:43; the View of the capital city awakens again remembrance of similar miracles, and the name Lazarus is upon the lips of all; comp. Joh_12:17. The notice of Luke, Luk_19:37, although he keeps silence otherwise as to the miracle at Bethany, contains however so far an indirect proof of the truth of the narrative, John 11., as this, that it appears from it that our Lord, without doubt, in the time immediately preceding, must have performed some great σημεῖο, which was yet entirely fresh in memory, and raises enthusiasm even to such a height. What particular miracle this however was, we learn only from John.
Luk_19:38. Blessed be the King.—It is noticeable that the report of the hymn in Luke shows a less specifically Old Testament character than in Matthew and Mark. In this respect the Paulinist does not belie himself. The parallelism requires us to understand εἰρήνη here not in the literal sense of “peace,” pax, since this reigns in heaven evermore, and is never troubled, never disturbed; but in the signification of laus or gloria. In heaven, therefore, is given to God the Lord honor, in the highest [regions] glory. See Luk_2:14.
Luk_19:39. Some of the Pharisees.—This feature also is peculiar to Luke, and has the highest internal probability. In their eyes our Lord is nothing but a Rabbi in Israel, who is riding on an ass to the city, and who has it at any moment in his power to repress the enthusiasm of the disciples within the bounds of the most unsympathizing composure. [“Their spirit was just that of modern Socinianism: the prophetic expressions used, the lofty epithets applied to Him, who was simply in their view a διδάσκαλος, offended them.” Alford.] He himself is more or less responsible for it, if they in their pious zeal go too far, and he will do well to give the fathers of the people no just cause of offence. We recognize here quite the same men who before also had often attempted to make our Lord responsible for that which displeased them in His friends, who, besides, despised the people, that knew not the law. It was permitted to no one to strike a higher key of joy than Pharisaism found consistent with decorum.
Luk_19:40. If these should hold their peace.—Proverbial expression, to indicate that it is in individual cases harder to impose silence on men, than to cause that which itself is speechless to speak, comp. Hab_2:11. A covert intimation of the destruction of Jerusalem, in which the stones of the city and the temple should proclaim the majesty of our Lord. An intimation which is the more striking, if we imagine to ourselves that at this very moment perhaps the echo of the Hosannas was heard against the marble temple, and the acclamations of the people were thus given back from the heights of Zion. “With these words our Lord at the same time expresses a great law of the life of the kingdom of God. When men hold their peace from praising God, and very especially, when a dark despotism imposes silence on the better-minded, when the gospel is suppressed, then the stones begin to cry out: they proclaim the judgments of the Lord, whose glory can have no end.” Lane.
DOCTRINAL AND ETHICAL
1. See the parallels on Matthew, Mark, and John.
2. In His entry into Jerusalem, the Lord has been sent to some for a fall, and to others for a rising again. At all times this event in His history has called forth scandal and gainsaying. We may remember the unbelieving heathen who at the time of Tertullian (see Apol. advers. Gentec, Luke 10) scoffed at the Christians as asinarii; the scoffing Jew who asked them: If thy Christ is a God, why has He then ridden upon an unclean beast? (Lipmannus in his now almost forgotten Nizachon), and especially the English atheists, the Wolfenbüttel fragmentists, and many younger heroes in the domain of the negative criticism. Here also holds good the saying: Luk_7:35.
3. The whole entry of our Lord has no lesser purpose than this, to reveal Himself as King in the spiritual kingdom of God. Before His death He will by an unequivocal act proclaim the great truth which He, as the holy secret of His life, had hidden from most of the uninitiated, and only as it were whispered in the car of receptive individuals. Once in His life He grants to His own publicly to proclaim what lies so deeply at their heart, and He fulfils intentionally a prophecy which at His time was unanimously interpreted of the Messiah. If He has previously considered the declaration of His dignity as dangerous, He now counts silence inconceivable. It is the day on which He who came to His own and His own received Him not, commits Himself to the love of those who so deeply honored Him, and reveals himself to the gaze of those who look with devotion upon Him. This was for His cause, yea, for the whole Israelitish nation, necessary. It was hereafter never possible to say that He had never declared Himself in a wholly unequivocal manner. When Jerusalem afterwards was accused of the murder of the Messiah, it should not be able to say that the Messiah had omitted to give a sign intelligible for all alike. Our Lord will prove that He is more than a prophet mighty in word and deed; that He is King in the full force of the word.
4. But His kingdom is not of this world; can He show it more evidently? His attire, the beast He sits on, His train, His whole demeanor proclaims it. No wonder that afterwards Herod no more than Pilate founded on this entry any imputation whatever. The Roman garrison may remain composedly in the tower Antonia, when this peaceful festal throng enters in at the gates of Jerusalem.
5. The deepest significance of this act of our Lord will be understood only when it is brought into direct connection with the history of His Passion. Voluntarily does the Lamb approach His murderers now that the time of slaughter has arrived. By such a public step He guards on the one hand against an assassination, and on the other hand brings on more rapidly His suffering and dying, for by this very act the hate of His enemies increases; Judas sees himself again deceived, when the Lord suffers even this opportunity of mounting an earthly throne to pass by unused; and while Jesus does nothing more to keep the enthusiasm of the multitude alive by brilliant miracles, the whole enthusiasm of the multitude at the end is nothing more than the last upstreaming brilliancy of an evening sun, before it vanishes beneath the horizon.
6. In connection with the fate of all Israel, this hour may be named the decisive and irrevocable turning-point. Assuredly we may, if we look at the same time at Jesus’ words and tears, Luk_19:41-42, regard this entry as a carefully prepared last attempt to preserve Israel as a people. Because Jerusalem contents itself to-day with the fleeting Hosannas, it has drawn upon itself the fulfilment of the judgment that its stones hereafter shall yet cry out: for the entry now gave to all opportunity to show their temper without disguise; the people now did not stand under the influence of the priests; no one’s tongue was bound to silence by a command; it was the day which decided whether Jerusalem would become the blessed centre of all nations, or the terrible monument of retributive justice. What would have happened if Jerusalem had considered on this day the things which belonged unto her peace,—this is a question not capable of solution, and therefore also an idle one. Suffice it, since they now remained hidden from her eyes, the die was cast, and after the hen had vainly essayed to gather her brood together, the eagles, forty years after, stretch out not in vain their talons upon the carcass.
7. In this way the event itself becomes of moment for all following times. While it prepared the way for Jesus’ death and Jerusalem’s destruction, it has at the same time prepared the way for the reconciliation of the whole world, and for the bringing in of the Gentiles. At the same time it serves as proof, that although the kingdom of God comes not with observation, yet where it comes it cannot forever remained concealed. What here took place is in no way in conflict with the parables of the Mustard-Seed and of the Leaven. “When the kingdom of God in its mustard-seed and leaven state has in a hidden way worked for a time, the working thereof must make itself known in great results, as facts which press themselves upon the attention of every one, and it is the great historical epochs of the world which are formed therefrom. What gradually goes on must also come to special view in individually great effects. We should misunderstand the force of the Leaven and of the Mustard-Seed, if we suppose that everything must always remain in this hidden gradual development. It would be just such an error as if we should suppose that the great results striking the eye were to be the first. Only in connection with that inner secretly working power, which comes therein to manifestation, can they be rightly understood. The kingdom of God is indeed also the city that lies upon the hill, and the light that must lighten all.” Neander, Der glorreiche Einzug Christi in Jerusalem, cine Palmsonntagsbetrachtung. Berlin, 1848, p. 10.
8. The entry of our Lord into Jerusalem is the fulfilment of the Old Testament prophecy, Zec_9:9. On the other hand, the entry itself is in turn the prophecy of His return in glory, when He, surrounded by His many thousands of saints, whose Hosanna has then become a Hallelujah, shall descend from heaven upon earth. 1Th_4:16; comp. Zec_14:4.
9. There is a striking contrast between the honor and esteem with which the Pharisees and Sanhedrists received an earthly conqueror, Alexander the Great, and the coldness with which they received the King of Peace three centuries after, when He also will make His entry into Jerusalem. Then no expressions of homage appeared to them strong enough; now even the least is too strong. To a contrast not less striking than that is which is to be noticed between the reception of Jesus and that of an earthly king, Erasmus alludes in his Paraphr. N. T. ad h. l. Opera, Edit. Basil. 7. p. Luke 186: to the contrast between the entry of the high-priest of the New and of the Old Testament. Externally considered, Erasmus speaks of the high-priest of Israel, but he means thereby without doubt the Pope of Rome, the so-called Vicar of Christ, whose outward, pomp stands in such glaring contrast with this humble entry of the Sovereign of the kingdom of God.
10. The stones of the temple of Jerusalem have not been the only ones which in the most literal sense of the word proclaim the glory of God and His Anointed. More and more does the testimonium lapidum become for Christian Apologetics of inestimable worth, and the inscription on the Salzburg rock-gate: te saxa loquuntur, proves itself true in the historical sphere also before our eyes and ears. Call to mind for instance the latest excavations of Nineveh, Babylon, &c., and compare the interesting writing of Otto Strauss, “Nineveh, and the Word of God,” Berlin, 1855.
HOMILETICAL AND PRACTICAL
As often, so also here, when there is anything of moment to be done, there the Lord sends His disciples two and two.—The obedience of faith: 1. Not easy; 2. never put to shame.—Whoever carries out the command of the Lord, must often reckon on opposition.—“The Lord hath need of him,” an answer before which all opposition must be dumb.—In the service of the Lord, even the unclean may be purified, the despised invaluable, that which stands idle be used.—Even earthly good must be applied to the service of the Heavenly King.—Even for the friends of the Lord there comes a time for speaking, which terminates the time of silence.—Even an humble yet upright homage is well pleasing to the Saviour.—“Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God.” Isa_40:3; Psa_24:7-8; Psa_68:4.—The wonderful works of our Lord the glory and joy of His disciples.—Joy in Jesus must terminate in glory rendered unto God.—The Hosanna of the people: 1. The echo of the accord of many a psalm in the Old Testament; 2. the beginning of the lay of praise in the New Testament; 3. the prophecy of the perfect festal lay in Heaven.—The enmity of the flesh against the revelation of the life of the Spirit.—The voice of the stones in honor of Christ: 1. How loud it calls; 2. how powerfully it preaches.—The entry into Jerusalem a revelation of the threefold character of our Lord: 1. Of His prophetic dignity; since He a. knows hidden things, b. accomplishes marvellous things, c. foretells future things; 2. of His high-priestly dignity: He is a. the immaculate, b. the compassionate, c. the willing High-priest of the New Covenant; 3. of His kingly dignity: He reveals Himself at this entry a. as the promised Messiah, b. as the King of the spiritual kingdom, c. as the future Vanquisher of the world.—The question: Who is this? answered out of the history of the Entry into Jerusalem, Mat_21:10.—At the entry into Jerusalem there is a threefold example given us: 1. By the people; 2. by the disciples; 3. by our Lord. The first we have to follow to a certain point, the second exactly, the third only from afar.—Our Hosanna and Hallelujah must be: 1. Of higher mood; 2. as freely rendered; 3. less transient than that before the gate of Jerusalem.—At the entry into Jerusalem, no one maintains neutrality towards our Lord; only enthusiasm on the one, and hatred on the other, side.—The vanity of the praise of a world in which the Hosanna and the “Crucify” follow so quickly on one another. Act_14:8-20.—Behold I come to do Thy will, O my God!, Psalms 40.
Starke:—Christ avails Himself of His Divine right as the Lord and Heir of all things, and causes to come to Him what is His own.—Brentius:—The kingdom of Christ brings along with humility the greatest glory with it: Lord, open our eyes; 2Ki_6:17.—Jesus has chosen to have nothing His own.—If things often turn out very differently from what men have thought, yet they always come to pass as God has said.—Without great commotion and manifold speeches of men, there is no making progress in the cause of religion.—Servants of Christ in all emergencies appeal to their Lord’s command.—The Lord has in all places hidden friends, who reveal themselves at the right time.—Heaven and earth have been again united through Christ.—Quesnel:—God’s praise is to the ears of the world troublesome.—Zealots without understanding must be answered with forbearance and mildness.—Even to lifeless creatures does God give a tongue when it pleases Him.—Heubner:—The might of Jesus over human hearts.—Obedience is better than scrupulosity.—The kingdom of the Messiah brings on a spiritual spring.—Lifeless creatures testify against the blindness and unthankfulness of men.
Advent Sermon:—Harless:—1. The character of the King; 2. His coming; 3. those to whom He comes; 4. those with whom He abides.—Tholuck:—The Advent call: Thy King cometh.—W. Hofacker:—How Jesus, who comes in the flesh, comes yet continually in the Spirit: 1. To whom He comes; 2. with what intent; 3. with what result.—F. Arndt:—The entry of the King of all kings into the city of all cities: 1. Unimposing to the outward sense; 2. majestic to the eye of faith; 3. intensely desired by help-imploring hearts.—F. W. Krummacher:—Passions-buch, p. Luke 49: How this gospel strengthens us in faith: 1. In the Divine Messianic dignity of our Lord; 2. In the blessed coming of His kingdom.—Couard:—Thy King cometh: 1. He is come; 2. He is ever coming; 3. He will come.—Stier:—1. To whom comes He? 2. how comes He? 3. how shall we receive Him?—How in the life of Jesus continual loftiness and lowliness are found conjoined.—Fuchs:—The Palm-Sunday acclamation, a salutation of the youthful Christian throng on their confirmation day.—Niemann:—Blessed be, &c.: 1. How this acclaim then resounded; 2. and should yet resound; 3. shall hereafter resound aloud.—Rautenberg:—The diverse reception of our Lord.—Kraussold:—Beholdthy King cometh to thee.—Dittmar:—The Advent of Jesus, and the necessity of the present time.—Thomasius:—The preparation of the church for the coming of our Lord: 1. Purpose; 2. conditions.—Hauschild:—Blessed be He that cometh: 1. To suffer; 2. to rule; 3. to give everlasting salvation.—Florey:—What makes the entry of our Lord into Jerusalem so heart-cheering?—Brandt:—The final entry of Jesus into Jerusalem a blessed spectacle.
Footnotes:
[7][Luk_19:29.—Αὑτοῦ omitted by Tischendorf, Alford; bracketed by Tregelles with B., Cod. Sin., L.—C. C. S.]
[8]Luk_19:30.—According to the reading of B., D., L., which here place a καί before λύσαντες.
[9]Luk_19:34.—Ὅτι should be read, as by Lachmann and Tischendorf, [Tregelles; omitted by Tischendorf in his 7th ed.] The witnesses for it are too preponderating to allow the supposition, with Meyer [and Alford], that it has crept in from Luk_19:31. [Ὅτι found in A., B., D., Cod. Sin., K., L., M. Yet the fact of manuscripts fluctuating here, while none omit ὅτι in Luk_19:31, favors the supposition that it has crept in from there.—C. C. S.]
Lange's Commentary on the Holy Scriptures (Critical, Doctrinal, and Homiletical), ed. John Peter Lange, English translation edited by Philip Schaff (1864–1880) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain On vv29, 30, 31, 35, 37, 38, 40 CHRIST'S TRIUMPHANT ENTRY INTO JERUSALEM AND TEARS OVER IT.…
CHRIST'S TRIUMPHANT ENTRY INTO JERUSALEM AND TEARS OVER IT. (Luke 19:28-44)
Bethphage--"house of figs," a village which with Bethany lay along the further side of Mount Olivet, east of Jerusalem.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain On vv28, 31, 39, 40 § 111.—JESUS PROCEEDS TO JERUSALEM, Luk_19:28-44.
§ 111.—JESUS PROCEEDS TO JERUSALEM, Luk_19:28-44.
Mat_21:1-17; Mar_11:1-11; Joh_12:12-50.
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28. Thus spoken… went before… up to Jerusalem—And now our Lord, having explained what was not the purpose or the coming result of his going to Jerusalem, and having left for record his announcement that it was for no earthly kingdom, is ready to prosecute his march. After leaving the house of Zaccheus, he proceeds, followed by the passover crowd, to Bethany; at which place be arrives, as we suppose, on Friday afternoon, and spends the Saturday-Sabbath preceding the passion week; and at the supper, in the house of Simon the leper, is anointed by Mary. (See notes on Mat_20:34.) The next day, being Palm-Sunday, and the first day of passion week, he makes his triumphal entry into Jerusalem. (See notes on Matthew 21.)
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain On vv28, 29, 30, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40 28. he went before] Literally, “he began to journey…
28. he went before] Literally, “he began to journey in front of them;” as though, for the delivery of the parable, He had paused to let the crowd gather round Him.
ascending] The road from Jericho to Jerusalem is a continual ascent. See Luk_10:30-31.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain On vv28, 29, 30, 31, 33, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40 (28) He went before, ascending up to Jerusalem.—Better, going…
(28) He went before, ascending up to Jerusalem.—Better, going up, as elsewhere throughout the New Testament. The words indicate the same mode of journeying as that which we have traced before—the Master going on in advance, and the disciples following. (See Notes on Luk_8:1; Mar_10:32.)
The journey from Jericho to Jerusalem was literally an ascent all the way (see Note on Luk_10:30), and in this sense, as well as following the language common to most nations, in speaking of their capitals, the verb might well be used. The English word “ascend,” however, is not used elsewhere in the New Testament of any earthly journeys.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain On vv28, 29, 30, 31, 35, 36, 37, 39 Vers. 28-48. Jesus enters Jerusalem as King Messiah (vers.…
Vers. 28-48. Jesus enters Jerusalem as King Messiah (vers. 29-44). His work in the temple (vers. 45-48). St. Luke here passes over in silence the events which happened after the episode at the house of Zacchaeus at Jericho and the speaking the great parable of "the pounds." This parable may have been spoken in the house of Zacchaeus before leaving Jericho, but it seems better to place it somewhere in the course of the walk from Jericho to Bethany, a distance of some twelve miles.
St. John fills up the gap left in the narrative of St. Luke.
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The main body of pilgrims to the feast, with whom Jesus and his company were travelling, left him on the Jericho road at Bethany: they going on to their caravanserai in the holy city, he remaining for two nights with his friends at Bethany the next evening Jesus was entertained at Bethany in the house of Simon the leper (Mat_26:6-13 Mar_14:3-9) the feast at which Lazarus the risen sat a guest and Martha served, and to which Mary brought her precious ointment and her contrition. (Joh_11:1-9)
Jesus must have arrived at Bethany before sunset on Friday, Nisan 7, and therefore before the sabbath began.
The sabbath was spent in quiet. The supper probably took place directly after the end of the sabbath. The next morning (Palm Sunday)the Lord started for Jerusalem, and entered the holy city in the triumphant way as King Messiah related by St. Luke in our Gospel.
Vers. 28-44. From Jericho to Jerusalem.
The last glimpse which we obtain of Moses presents him wending his way up the slope of Mount Nebo, thence to give one fond gaze towards the land he might not enter, and, having so done, then to lay himself down and die. Imagination has often attempted to portray the working of the great lawgiver"s mind, the emotion of his heart, the thoughts which must have crowded on him as he took that last solitary journey to the sepulchre which no man must know, in which the Lord alone was to bury him. Jesus Christ, by whom came grace and truth, is now facing the hill of sacrifice. He has begun the ascent to Mount Calvary, not alone and yet alone; the people crowd behind, but of the people there is none with him in the region of consciousness and desire. Only the Father knows the Son. Let us not attempt to draw aside the veil. Words to be pondered, but not commented on, are these (ver. 28): "When he had thus spoken, he went before, ascending up to Jerusalem." Coming near the capital, Jesus and his apostles made for Bethany. It was Friday evening. He must spend the last sabbath on earth in the quiet of the rural village. We can suppose what that sabbath was not so much to him, for now he is moving in a sphere beyond our vision, but to those with whom he passed the hallowed hours. When the sun sets and the sabbath is over, a family feast is made in the house of Simon, once a leper. Lazarus, the man raised from the dead, one of the party, Martha for the time resuming her old ways, and Mary filling her heart with his love, until, swayed by an irresistible impulse, she pours on him the contents of an alabaster box of ointment the preparation against the approaching burial. It was on the Sunday morning that the Lord set out for Jerusalem, at first in the ordinary guise of a pilgrim. People were hovering around the home, waiting for him, and at every step of the journey the number increased. Then occurred the transaction mentioned in vers. 29-35. From a place not now to be identified, but not far from Bethany, called Bethphage, or "the house of figs," the Saviour "in lowly pomp rides on to die." Verily, the King comes, "meek and lowly." His state, his pageant, at best is humble. And yet its simplicity is its royalty; its want of the poor tinsel and trapping of earthly greatness is the sign of the kingdom which is in the world, yet not of it. "Behold the Man!" "Behold your King!" The procession sweeps onward, along the southern shoulders of Olivet, until the road, having gained the summit of the hill, turns northward and begins the descent. And there the stream that had poured out from Jerusalem when the news was borne that the Prophet was on his way to the city met the stream pouring towards Jerusalem, and the disciples, inspired by an enthusiasm which was caught up and prolonged by the multitude, rent the air with songs (ver. 38) of joy and praise to God, and rock and cave and peak sent it back in gladsome echoes. Truly, a soul-stirring entry! The whole city is moved as Jesus of Nazareth rides through its gate, and passes towards Mount Zion and the holy and beautiful house which glitters on its heights. Before we think of him there, pause over two characteristic signs of the King given in his journey on that day.
I THE KING"S WORD OF POWER. (Ver. 31) "Say, The Lord hath need of him." We do not believe that there was any secret agreement between Christ and the owner of the colt. But he was a man prepared for the announcement; he was at least in the outer circle of believers. He understood who was meant by "the Lord," and the Lord"s need was the one irresistible argument. So should it be. That the Lord needs, that there is a use for us and ours, should be enough. First, the King"s word has its bond over us personally. Man, woman, it is for thee that Jesus calls. He needs thy heart, for he redeemed it; thy life, for it is his; thyself, for "he is thy Lord, and worship thou him." Shall not the response "straightway" be, "Now to be thine, for ever thine"? And then the possessions. Art thou ready to give him what thou hast, however dear it may be? Ah! the life is a new life when Christ"s voice, as the voice of the life"s true Master, is heard, and the answer is returned, "Here am I; for thou didst call me.
II THE KING"S SORROW. (Ver. 41) "He beheld the city, and wept over it." It has been noticed that "at the grave of Lazarus he had dropped silent tears, but here he wept aloud. All the shame of his mockery, all the anguish of his torture, was powerless to extort from him a single groan, or to wet his eyelids with one trickling tear, but here all the pity that was in him overmastered his human spirit, and he not only wept, but broke into a passion of lamentation in which the choked voice seemed to struggle for its utterance." It was the agony of the Saviour over the lost. There had been the time of the visitation, and Jerusalem had not known it. Now was the day, the hour, the last offer, the last opportunity; and it was to be rejected. The city was hardened in ignorance. It was blinded by its own deceived heart, and all that remained was ruin. And thus he weeps still; for still men hear their own passions and inclinations, not the voice of the prophets whom he rises early and sends. "Ye hearts that love the Lord, If at this sight ye burn, See that in thought, in deed, in word, Ye hate what made him mourn.
Vers. 28-38. Christ"s royalty.
Something like a royal procession is here described. On the foal of an ass, on which it comported as well with Oriental ideas of honour as with Christian ideas of peace that he should ride, the "King came, meek," but not without attention and acclaim, into Jerusalem. A large company of the curious, the devout, and even the enthusiastic, welcomed him as "the King that came in the Name of the Lord." At last, thought his disciples, his hour is come; at last their Master was entering on his heritage, was assuming his kingdom; at last their long-delayed hopes were to be fulfilled. Gladly they accepted and sustained the greetings of the multitude, and fondly, we may be sure, they hoped that a triumphant issue was at hand. But it had no such ending as they looked for. Jesus went into the temple, healed the sick, received the adoration of the children, whose voices (as we can well believe) were the last to sink into silence, and went quietly back to Bethany. What, then, did it mean? What was the service and significance of the scene?
I A VALUABLE REMINDER OF HIS POWER OF SELFRESTRAINT. He had been moving among men as "one that serveth," as one that "ministered." He had moved as a very humble traveller along the path of human life. But how easy it would have been for him to call forth the honour of the people, and to live amid the excitements of popularity, and to reach the high places of power! But this he resolutely declined to do, choosing deliberately the lowlier but the nobler path of humble, holy service.
II A STRIKING INDICATION OF HIS ACCEPTANCE WITH THE PEOPLE, NO one can say that Christ"s teaching was not profound; it was deep as the very fountains of truth. No philosophy went further; he went down into the deep places of the human soul. Yet, while the philosophers made their appeal to the cultured, Christ addressed himself to the multitude, to the common human heart. And "all the people were very attentive to hear him." So here, while the men who prided themselves on their knowledge looked on with angry disdain (ver. 29), the people and the children were enthusiastic in his favour they recognized in the Prophet of Nazareth the true Teacher that had come from God. Better be numbered among the simple-hearted who can appreciate the Divine than among the wise and learned who misread the providence of God, and stand sullen and silent while everything is inviting to joy and praise. Better be the ignorant cottager whose heart is full of reverence, or the little child who has the songs of Zion on his lips and the love of Jesus in his heart, than the learned critic who never bends the knee or bows the heart in homage to the true and the eternal.
III A HINT OF CHRIST"S TRUE ROYALTY. The Messiah of the Jews was to be a King. To that conclusion prophecy pointed with unfailing finger, and on that event Jewish faith rested with gathering hope. The Son of David was to occupy his father"s throne; the daughters of Jerusalem were to rejoice because "her King was coming." Claiming the Messiahship, Jesus was bound to claim this sovereignty, but how do this without encouraging the current fallacy as to his temporal and visible royalty? Is not this simple scene the answer? Christ then and thus said, "I am the King you are awaiting." But its extreme simplicity and its transiency showed that he did not intend to wear the trappings and be surrounded with the common grandeurs of earthly royalty; it showed that he came not for pomps and pageantries and outward triumphs, but to seek a sovereignty of another kind in another realm altogether. That very simple and passing regal state was only an emblem of the spiritual sovereignty which was immeasurably, higher and more to be desired. Sweet to his ear may have been the acclaim of the populace and the hosannas of the children; but how much sweeter is the voice of man or woman or of little child who goes in glad submission to his feet to offer loyal service to the Divine Redeemer, to place heart and life beneath his gracious and benignant sway!
IV A PROPHECY OF FAR FUTURE GLORY. Never on this earth will that scene be re-enacted; but there is an hour coming when, in another realm, it will be amplified and perpetuated. Christ will be acknowledged King by all the hosts celestial and terrestrial. The transient gladness of the sacred city will be nothing to the everlasting joy of the new Jerusalem; the passing enthusiasm of that happy demonstration to the abiding blessedness of the life in the heavenly land. Yet may we take that one hour of Jerusalem"s acceptance of her King as a prelude and a prophecy of the adoration which the redeemed of every kindred and tribe shall pay him when they cast their crowns at his feet. "Oh that with yonder sacred throng We at his feet may fall," etc.!
PRACTICAL LESSONS. We gather:
1. That Jesus Christ is now claiming the real, spiritual sovereignty of ourselves. He is calling upon us not to strew his path with palm branches, but to offer him the first place in our heart; to yield him our perfect trust, our unfailing and unfading love, our cheerful and constant obedience.
2. That the rest of soul which follows such surrender of ourselves is incomparably better than the passing exultation of a triumphal entry.
3. That by loyal and devoted service in his cause we shall gain a place in the acclaiming company that will praise the King in his celestial glory. C.
Eagerness in the upward path.
"He went before, ascending up to Jerusalem." "To go to Corinth" once meant to give way to dissipation. What did it mean to "go to Jerusalem"? To the Jews generally it meant to go to some sacred service, to visit the temple of Jehovah, to enter the sacred precincts where sacrifice was offered to God. To Jesus Christ, now, it meant to go on to martyrdom and to death. But still to go thither was to "go up," was to "ascend, and in his progress to that sacred city he did not lag behind, nor even walk abreast; he "went before," he showed great eagerness in that upward and most honourable path. Such was his eagerness of soul that the disciples were astonished and even awed as they beheld it; (Mar_10:32) they were profoundly impressed with the ardour and intensity of his spirit: "As they followed they were afraid." We may share the Saviour"s spirit of holy ardour and elevation as we tread
I THE PATH OF HOLY PRIVILEGE. When may we be said to be on the upward road so tar as our activities are concerned? When we are presiding? or when we are ruling? or when we are winning? or when we are rejoicing? It"-racy be so. But assuredly we are then on the way that slopes upward and heavenward when we are in the path of sacred privilege, when we are "on our way to God to his nearer presence, to the worship of the Holy and the True One, to communion with the righteous Lord of all, to fellowship with Christ, to gathering at his table of love, to work in his vineyard. Then are we in the high places the heavenly places;" then are we engaged in an exercise of human power which is most worthy of our highest faculties and reflects dignity on our human nature; then are we "ascending" in spirit; and we do well to feel that it is not a time for slackness of speed, for exhaustion of spirit, for signs of weariness. We should show a sacred ardour, a holy eagerness, like unto him who "went before" as he ascended to Jerusalem.
II THE WAY OF WITNESS-BEARING. To go to Jerusalem was, to our Lord, to go where he should "bear witness to the truth"; (Joh_18:37) should bear witness by words, of which many would be utterly misunderstood, and many treated with high disdain; should bear witness by suffering, by calm, brave, patient endurance of wrong. And to do this was to go up, to ascend; as it is to-day, and will always be. Where shall we find the martyr-witnesses among mankind? Not as we look down, but as we look up up to the very loftiest altitudes that human foot has ever trodden. Kings and statesmen walk not along such lofty, such truly celestial paths as do they who speak amid derision or suffer without flinching to attest the living truth of God. When we go forward toward self-sacrifice for Christ"s sake we "ascend up" to the high places of the kingdom of God. It may well be with no faltering or lingering step, but with a free and forward movement, like him who now "went before," that we move to those sacred and noble levels.
III THE MOUNT OF TRANSLATION. Jesus went up to Jerusalem, to Calvary, to that wondrous redeeming death which is the world"s great sacrifice. We may well say that he ascended to that. That was the culminating point of his career; that not only concluded, but crowned his course. And after receiving all the light which he has shed upon it, we need not be ever speaking of death as a dark valley down which we must descend; we may rather regard it as a mount of translation up which we move. In all things physical, indeed, we descend to die; our powers become lower, our life grows less. But we walk by faith in Christ Jesus. And by faith we regard ourselves as going up to the gateway which admits to the celestial glories. In view of that which immediately afterwards awaits us, we need not lag behind; we may press forward, like our Master, as we draw toward the close, and may eagerly pass on the way which ends in death and victory. C.
Vers. 28-48. The advent of the humble King.
To illustrate still more thoroughly the character of his kingdom as one not of ostentation and worldly glory, but of humility, our Lord directed two of his disciples to procure for him a colt, the untrained foal of an ass, that he might ride into Jerusalem thereon. The marvellous way in which the ass was lent to him indicated preternatural knowledge. Upon this colt, then, he sat, and passed amid the hosannas of the people into the sacred city. But his advent was in tears, and his terminus was not a palace, but the temple. The whole character of the procession and its termination tended to upset all vulgar Messianic hopes and lead thinking minds to reflection. Let us look at the different stages of the royal progress and such lessons as they suggest.
I THE HUMBLE CHARACTER OF THE PROCESSION. (Vers. 28-40) For it was on an ass, not on any royal mule, he rode; to fulfil the prophecy of Zechariah, "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". (Zec_9:9) The very fact of his selecting such a lowly and despised animal indicated his humility. At the same time, his perfect command of the untrained colt revealed his sovereignty in animated nature that, like an unfallen Adam, he was lord of the lower creatures. It was akin to his being with the wild beasts and unscathed in the wilderness. But secondly, the extemporized character of the procession was humiliating. A great king gets the parade organized, and knows what will for the most part compose his escort. But this King of kings rests his escort upon the extemporized enthusiasm of the crowd, and values at its proper figure the measure of enthusiasm that is evoked. He knew that the same people who then shouted, "Hosanna; Blessed be the King that cometh in the name of the Lord: peace in heaven, and glory in the highest!" would a few days after cry out, "Crucify him!" And so he was humiliated rather than honoured by the shallow enthusiasm of the motley crowd. Thirdly, the unseemly interruptions of the Pharisees rendered it humiliating. So irritated were they that they urged him to rebuke the disciples for crying out as they were doing. But the Lord only declared that, if the disciples were silent, the very stones would get tongues to sound his praise. This Pharisaic jar, this unseemly interruption, must have been humiliating to the Lord. To bear it as he did demonstrated the humility and meekness of his spirit. Truly he was "meek and lowly in heart.
II THE TEARS OF THE ADVANCING KING ARE NOTABLE. (Vers. 41-44) For instead of a city welcoming him, instead of this city of the great King recognizing the day of her visitation, and opening her arms for her Deliverer, there was apathy and scorn for his methods and aims. No wonder, therefore, that he had to speak about the siege of Titus, which he saw plainly must come. Pursuing their poor worldly policy, they must be encompassed ultimately by the Roman eagles. And so he wept those tears of deepest sorrow over the impenitence of Jerusalem. How different from the processions of earthly monarchs or great captains! The very last thing looked for on such occasions would be tears. The sympathy of this Saviour for Jerusalem sinners was deep indeed when it led him to such a weeping-time as the processionists witnessed.
III HIS SECOND PURIFICATION OF THE TEMPLE WAS THE CULMINATION OF THE PROCESSION. (Vers. 45, 46) The tempter wanted him to begin his Messianic work by a harmless descent from the temple-pinnacle; he began his work by entering into the temple and casting out the traffickers. And now he has to finish his work by repeating the purification. Usually the processions of kings end at palace gates and in palace halls; but the procession of Christ ends at the temple and in its court. He must convert it from a den of thieves to a place of prayer. The meaning of his kingdom could not be better represented. It was really the sphere of religion and of worship that he made his own; in the regulation thereof he was supreme, and exercised his influence.
IV HE TAUGHT DALLY IN THE TEMPLE UNTIL THE END. (Verb. 47, 48) He was surrounded by his enemies. They were on the qui vive to secure him and put him away. But now that his hour of self-sacrifice is near, he feels himself immortal till his work is done. It is the interests of others that occupy him. He must teach to the last. And so from Bethany he comes in morning by morning to instruct the interested crowds. What solemn lessons they must have been, those closing ones of Jesus! And they attracted great attention, and their popularity restrained his enemies, although it must have intensified their determination to put him out of the way. Thus we have seen how this humble King entered Jerusalem to work reformation there, and, if possible, save the people by enlightening and teaching them. If his mission failed with most, it succeeded with some, and inaugurated the new kingdom, which is "righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Ghost. R.M.E.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain On v28 Ascending up to Jerusalem
Luk_19:28-40
Ascending up to Jerusalem
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Christ journeying to Jerusalem
I.
THE MANNER IN WHICH HE WENT. The only occasion on which we find Him riding. Fulfilment of a prophecy.
II. THE RECEPTION HE MET WITH.
III. THE SORROW OF WHICH HE WAS THE SUBJECT, NOTWITHSTANDING THE ACCLAMATIONS HE RECEIVED.
1. A benevolent wish.
2. An alarming sentence.
3. A melancholy prediction.
Conclusion: Let us remember for our warning, that gospel opportunities when slighted will not be long continued. (Expository Outlines.)
He went before
These are some of the thoughts which are suggested to our minds, as we see Jesus in the Scripture before us, taking the first place in the progress to Jerusalem and death. The position was emblematical as well as actual; and it suggests some teachings for us which are very calculated to bring comfort to our souls. Let us glance, first of all, for a moment, at the motion and position in itself. See the alacrity and willingness of Jesus to enter all suffering for us. And what do we learn here, but that His heart was in the sad work which He had undertaken to do. The thoroughness of Christs love is brought before us here. He was thorough in love. Mark, too, Christs assumption of the position of a leader. He knew the place that had been assigned to Him by the Father; it was headship in suffering, as well as in glory; He took up at once, in that last journey, His rightful place. See, too, how our blessed Lord takes up a double position. He is at once leader and companion; His little company were one with Him; He with them; but yet a little before them. He talks with us, while He goes on before; He does not separate the leader and the companion; His lordship over us is so sweet, that He heads us as friends; having a common interest in all He does. And now, there is great teaching and comforting for us in all this. In the first place, we who follow Christ have to explore no untried, untrodden way. It is thus our comfort that we have always one to look to. Ours is no interminable road, no lonely, solitary path. Jesus, if only we can see aright, is never very far ahead. The mowers who mow in line, have much more heart during the burden and heat of the day, when their scythes sweep through the grass, keeping time to the stroke of a fellow-workman in front. The steadfastness of Christs purpose is also forcibly suggested to us here. Firmly and intelligently, with a full knowledge of the indignity and death before Him, our Lord started forth, and took the headship of His little band on His way to Jerusalem. That steadfastness is of immense importance to us. Were there the least wavering in Christs character, we were undone. And we hold on to this steadfastness now. We believe Him to be the same yesterday, and to-day, and for ever; we see Him now acting from the cross, in the same spirit wherewith He journeyed to it. And now, let us in our trial-times see how Jesus has gone before in all. Is the path of weariness the one marked out for us; behold upon it the One who sat wearied upon Jacobs well; no longer weary, it is true, but remembering well all earths wearinesses of body and spirit; and offering us His company on the trying path. Or, is it that of rejection? No thornier road is there on earth than that of biting poverty--poverty, with all its temptations and stings; well! Jesus was poor, and hungered and athirst, and had not where to lay His head. Before the poor; right on upon this path, is the figure of the Lord; let them but feel that He is their Lord, and they shall no longer be distressed at being the worlds casts-off; our being a cast-off of the world will not much matter, if we be companions of the Son of God. Then comes death itself--the last journey; the way from which human nature shrinks; the one which, despite rank or wealth, it must surely tread. Here, if we be inclined to faint, Jesus can be seen by His people, if only they believe. (P. B. Power, M. A.)
The Lord hath need of him
The Lords need
This trifling incident contains big principles.
I. It gives us AN IDEA OF PROVIDENCE. Tendency of the age is to the seen. But mind kicks against it. Mind is like a bird, which pines in a cage. Here is hope for religion--the mind kicks against artificial conditionings. If you like you may say the mind likes, like a bird, to make its nest. True! but it wants above it not a ceiling but a sky. You cant cramp mind in your nutshell organizations. Shut it behind walls--and then it will ask, Who is on the other side of the wall? Providence involves two things. First--idea of God preserving, guarding our being and well-being. He preserves, though we dont see the way. How did Christ know that the colt was to be found at this stated moment? and that the owner would part with his property? Similarly, we must allow for the knowledge of God. The second thing involved in Providence is the idea of government.
II. IN PROVIDENCE ATTENTION IS GIVEN TO LITTLE THINGS AS WELL AS GREAT. A colt tied. It is demeaning Gods economy--some will say. That all depends on your conception of Gods economy. He numbers the hairs of our head. He sees when the sparrow falls.
III. GOD HOLDS EVERY CREATURE RESPONSIBLE TO SHOW ITSELF WHEN WANTED. Everything, in Gods order, has its time, and is not itself till that time reveals it. Sea-wrack on the sea-beach is ugly, slimy, hideous. But the same sea-wrack in a pool? How it spreads itself and makes every tiny filament beautiful! So prophecy in human history needs to be corroborated by the event, before it can fairly be understood. Apparently little events--what worlds of good or evil may turn on them!
IV. SOLUTION OF THE MYSTERIES OF LIFE. They go to the man for the colt. Would not common sense ask, What have you to do with the colt? Simply, The Master hath need of him. You have a favourite daughter. One day she is not well--only a cold, you think. But she grows feverish, and you call in the doctor. Doctor prescribes, but still the sweet one sickens; and one day in his solemn look the mother reads the hard sentence--her child must die. Why is it? The Lord hath need of it. (J. B. Meharry, B. A.)
One Lord
The Lord our God is one Lord, so there may be no debate about the direction of our worship, about the Owner of our powers, about the Redeemer of our souls. See how this operates in practical life. The disciples might naturally feel some little difficulty about going to take anothers mans property; so the Lord said unto them, If any man say ought unto you, ye shall say the Lord hath need of them, and straightway he will send them. But suppose there had been a thousand lords, the question would have arisen, which of them? But there is one Lord, and His name is the key which opens every lock; His name is the mighty power which beats down every mountain and every wall, and makes the rough places plain. What poetry there is here! Why, this is the very poetry of faith. It is not mere faith; it is faith in flower, faith in blossom, faith in victory!
Thefulfilment of minute prophecies
Not the fulfilment of sublime predictions, so called; but the fulfilment of little, specific, minute, detailed prophecies. God does nothing unnecessarily, speaks nothing that seems exaggeration or superabundance. There is a meaning in the most delicate tint with which He hath varied any leaf; there is a significance in the tiniest drop of dew which ever sphered itself in beauty on the eyelids of the morning. And that Christ should go into Jerusalem upon an ass, and a colt the foal of an ass! That is not decorative talk; that is not mere flowery prophecy, or incidental or tributary foretelling. In all that we should account little and of inconsequential moment is fulfilled to the letter. What then? If God be careful of such crumbs of prophecy, such little detailed lines of prediction, what of the life of His children, the redeemed life of His Church? If not one tittle could fall to the ground respecting things of this kind--matters of order, arrangement, sequence--is He unrighteous to forget the greater when He remembers the less? Will He count the hairs upon your head, and let the head itself be bruised? Will He paint the grass, and let the man fall to decay? Is He careful about birds floating in the air, and careless about lives redeemed by the sacrificial blood of His Son? (J. Parker, D. D.)
Ownership
A nobleman who had a magnificent garden was ill in bed, and ordered his butler to go into the hot-house and bring him the finest bunch of grapes he could find. He came to the hot-house, he opened the door, he examined all the clusters--he fixed on the best--he brought out his knife and cut it. Just as he did so, a cry was raised, Theres a man in the hot-house I theres a man in the hot-house! The gardeners, young and old, dropped their spades and water-pots, and ran to the hot-house. As they glanced through the glass, sure enough, there stood the man, and in his hand the Queen Cluster--the very one which they had been watching for months--the one which was to take the prize at the Horticultural Show I They were furious--they were ready to kill him--they rushed in and seized him by the collar, What are you about! they said, How dare you!--you thief!--you rascal!--you vagabond! Why does not he turn pale?--why does he keep so cool?--why does he smile? He says something--the gardeners are silent in a moment--they hang their beads--they look ashamed--they ask his pardon--they go back to theirwork. What did he say to make such a sudden change? Simply this--Men! my lord bade me come here and cut him the very finest bunch of grapes I could find. That was it! The gardeners felt that the hot-house, the vine, and every cluster on it was his. They might call it theirs, and propose to do this and that with it--but really and truly it was his who built the house, and bought the vine, and paid them for attending to it. Just so, dear children, the Lord has a claim on all we possess; our souls, our bodies, our tongues, our time, our talents, our memories, our money, our influence, our beloved relatives. Ye are not your own; and whenever He has need of anything we must let it go--we must learn to yield it up to Him as cheerfully as the owner yielded up his colt. (J. Bolton, B. A.)
Why we are needful to God
Why was it? asked Mrs. N---- of her own heart as she was walking homewards from the communion-table. Why was it? she almost unconsciously exclaimed aloud. Oh, I wish somebody could tell me! Could tell you what? said a pleasant voice behind her, and looking around, she saw her pastor and his wife approaching. Could you tell me, said she, why the Saviour died for us? I have never heard it answered to my satisfaction. You will say it was because He loved us; but why was that love? He certainly did not need us, and in our sinful state there was nothing in us to attract His love. I may suppose, Mrs. N----, said her pastor, that it would be no loss for you to lose your deformed little babe. You have a large circle of friends, you have other children, and a kind husband. You do not need the deformed child; and what use is it? Oh, sir, said Mrs. N--, I could not part with my poor child. I do need him. I need his love. I would rather die than fail of receiving it. Well, said her pastor, does God love His children less than earthly, sinful parents do? I never looked upon it in that way before, said Mrs. N. (Christian Age.)
Every good man is needful to complete Gods design
An expert mechanician constructs a certain axle, tempered and burnished, to fit the hub of a certain wheel, which again he fashions as elaborately to fit the axle, so that a microscope detects no flaw; and now nothing can take the place of either but itself; and each is labour lost without the other. True, they are only an axle and a wheel, each a single one, a minute one, a fragile one; not costly in material, nor remarkable in structure; but in the absence of either, the chronometer which should decide the arrival of Englands fleet at Trafalgar must hang motionless. Every good man is such a fragmentary and related instrument in the hands of God. He is never for an hour an isolated thing. He belongs to a system of things in which everything is dovetailed to another thing. Yet no two are duplicates. Nothing can ever be spared from it. The system has no holidays. Through mans most dreamless slumbers it moves on, without waiting for delinquents. (Austin Phelps.)
Blessed be the King that cometh.
Jesus our meek and humble King
I. OUR KING IN HUMILITY.
1. Jesus is our King.
(1) The prophecies announce Him as such. (Isa_9:6;
Zec_9:9.)
(2) He avowed Himself a King. (Mat_11:27; Joh_18:37.)
(3) He proved by the power of His will that He was a King.
Mat_21:3.)
2. Jesus is our humble King.
(1) He refused royal honours. (Joh_6:15.)
(2) In opposition to the presumption of the Jews, He would never act nor appear as King. (Joh_18:36.)
(3) He debased Himself in all humility.
3. Follow Him in His humility.
(1) By contrition and a sincere confession of your sins.
(2) By resignation in adversities.
(3) By humility in earthly happiness.
II. OUR MEEK KING. This may be seen--
1. From the purpose of His coming--of His Incarnation. He comes as a Friend and Saviour; and wants to be loved, not feared.
2. From His earthly life.
(1) He was full of love and mercy towards the suffering, whom He invited to come to Him.
(2) He was full of mercy and tenderness towards sinners and His own enemies.
3. From the experience of your own life. Jesus came to you as a meek King--
(1) In your afflictions, to console you.
(2) In your sins, which He bore in patience.
(3) In your conversion, the work of His mercy. Strip yourself of the old man with his deeds, as the Jews stripped themselves of their garments, and let Jesus walk over your former self.
4. Learn of your King to be meek of heart also. (Mat_11:29.)
(1) As a superior towards your subjects.
(2) Towards sinners and your enemies.
(3) In tribulations and afflictions. (Stauss.)
Praise thy God, O Zion
I. First, we shall observe here DELIGHTFUL PRAISE. In the thirty-seventh verse every word is significant, and deserves the careful notice of all who would learn aright the lesson of how to magnify the Saviour.
1. To begin with, the praise rendered to Christ was speedy praise. The happy choristers did not wait till He had entered the city, but when He was come nigh, even now, at the descent of the Mount of Olives, they began to rejoice. It is well to have a quick eye to perceive occasions for gratitude.
2. It strikes us at once, also, that this was unanimous praise. Observe, not only the multitude, but the whole multitude of the disciples rejoiced, and praised Him; not one silent tongue among the disciples--not one who withheld his song. And yet, I suppose, those disciples had their trials as we have ours.
3. Next, it was multitudinous. The whole multitude. There is something most inspiriting and exhilarating in the noise of a multitude singing Gods praises.
4. Still it is worthy of observation that, while the praise was multitudinous, it was quite select. It was the whole multitude of the disciples. The Pharisees did not praise Him--they were murmuring. All true praise must come from true hearts. If thou dost not learn of Christ, thou canst not render to Him acceptable song.
5. Then, in the next place, you will observe that the praise they rendered was joyful praise. The whole multitude of the disciples began to rejoice. I hope the doctrine that Christians ought to be gloomy will soon be driven out of the universe.
6. The next point we must mention is, that it was demonstrative praise. They praised Him with their voices, and with a loud voice. If not with loud voices actually in sound, yet we would make the praise of God loud by our actions, which speak louder than any words; we would extol Him by great deeds of kindness, and love, and self-denial, and zeal, that so our actions may assist our words.
7. The praise rendered, however, though very demonstrative, was very reasonable; the reason is given--for all the mighty works that they had seen. We have seen many mighty works which Christ has done.
8. With another remark, I shall close this first head--the reason for their joy was a personal one. There is no praise to God so sweat as that which flows from the man who has tasted that the Lord is gracious.
II. I shall now lead you on to the second point--their praise found vent for itself in AN APPROPRIATE SONG. Blessed be the King that cometh in the name of the Lord. Peace in heaven, and glory in the highest.
1. It was an appropriate song, if you will remember that it had Christ for its subject.
2. This was an appropriate song, in the next place, because it had God for its object; they extolled God, God in Christ, when they thus lifted up their voices.
3. An appropriate song, because it had the universe for its scope. The multitude sung of peace in heaven, as though the angels were established in their peaceful seats by the Saviour, as though the war which God had waged with sin was over now, because the conquering King was come. Oh, let us seek after music which shall be fitted for other spheres! I would begin the music here, and so my soul should rise. Oh, for some heavenly notes to bear my passions to the skies! It was appropriate to the occasion, because the universe was its sphere.
4. And it seems also to have been most appropriate, because it had gratitude for its spirit.
III. Thirdly, and very briefly--for I am not going to give much time to these men--we have INTRUSIVE OBJECTIONS. Master, rebuke Thy disciples. But why did these Pharisees object?
1. I suppose it was, first of all, because they thought there would be no praise for them.
2. They were jealous of the people.
3. They were jealous of Jesus.
IV. We come now to the last point, which is this--AN UNANSWERABLE ARGUMENT. He said, If these should hold their peace, the very stones would cry out. Brethren, I think that is very much our case; if we were not to praise God, the very stones might cry out against us. We must praise the Lord. Woe is unto us if we do not! It is impossible for us to hold our tongues. Saved from hell and be silent! Secure of heaven and be ungrateful! Bought with precious blood, and hold our tongues! Filled with the Spirit and not speak! (C. H. Spurgeon.)
The triumphal entry
Christs triumphal entrance into Jerusalem is one of the most noted scenes in gospel story. It is a sun-burst in the life of the Son of Man. It is a typal coronation. It is a fore-gleam of that coming day when Jesus shall be enthroned by the voice of the universe.
I. THE SCENE.
II. THE CHIEF LESSON INCULCATED BY THE SCENE: ENTHUSIASM SHOULD BE CONSECRATED TO THE SERVICE OF CHRIST. There was feeling and thrill and deep life and outbursting emotion in the triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem, and He approved it all. I argue for the equipment of enthusiasm in the service of Christ. There should be a fervency of spirit that will radiate both light and heat. The faculties should be on fire. There are higher moods and lower moods in the Christian life, just as there are higher moods and lower moods in the intellectual life. Every scholar knows that there are such things as inspirational moods, when all the faculties awaken and kindle and glow; when the heart burns within; when the mind is automatic, and works without a spur; when the mental life is intense; when all things seem possible; when the very best in the man puts itself into the product of his pen; when the judgment is quick and active, the reason clear and far-seeing, and the conscience keen and sensitive. These are the moods in which we glory. These are the moods which give the world its long-lived masterpieces. These are the moods which we wish to enthrone in the memories of our friends. You remember Charles Dickenss charming story, David Copperfield. In it there is pictured the parting that took place between the two young men, Steerforth and Copperfield. Young Steerforth, putting both hands upon Copperfields shoulders, says: Let us make this bargain! If circumstances should separate us, and you should see me no more, remember me at my best. Steerforth is only a type of us all. Every one of us wishes to be remembered at his best. I argue for mans best in the religious life. Man is at his best only when he is enthusiastic. Enthusiasm is power. It is the locomotive so full of steam that it hisses at every crack and crevice and joint. Such a locomotive carries the train with the speed of wind through hill and over valley. It has been enthusiasm that has carried the Christian Church through the attainments of ages. By enthusiasm, when it is in an eminent degree, men propagate themselves upon others in matters of taste, of affection, and of religion. Iron cannot be wielded at a low temperature. There must be heat, and then you can weld iron to iron. So you cannot weld natures to each other when they are at a low temperature. Mind cannot take hold of mind nor faculty of faculty, when they are not in a glow. But when they are in a glow they can. We see this exemplified in society. Hundreds and hundreds of men, who are rich in learning, ponderous in mental equipment, ample in philosophical power, who are low in degree of temperature, and who labour all their life, achieve but little. You see right by the side of these men, men who have no comparison with them in native power or in culture, but who have simplicity, straightforwardness, and, above all, intensity, and what of them? Why, this: they are eminent in accomplishing results. There are people, I know, who have an antipathy to enthusiasm and emotion in religion. They object that we cannot rely upon enthusiasm. They forgot that if it spring from the grace of God it has an inexhaustible fountain. One hour enthusiastic people cry Hosanna; but the next hour they cry Crucify. I deny that the hosanna people of Jerusalem ever cried crucify. The charge that they did is without a single line of Scripture as a basis. Peter and James and John, and men of that class, did they cry crucify? Yet the hosanna people were made up of such. In a city in which there were gathered from all parts of the nation not less than two millions, there were certainly enough people of diverse minds to create two parties diametrically opposed, without requiring us to slander the grace of enthusiasm, and circulate false reports about the hosanna people. I stand by the hosanna people, and fearlessly assert that there is no proof against their integrity. Enthusiasm I That is what the Church needs. It is only the enthusiast who succeeds. Enter the history of the cause of Christ, and there also will you find the statement borne out. What was Paul, the chief of Christian workers, but an enthusiast? Rob Paul of his enthusiasm, and you blot out of existence the churches of Corinth and Ephesus and Galatia and Thessalonica and Troas. Rob him of his enthusiasm and you annihilate the Epistles to the Romans, Corinthians, Ephesians, and the Pastoral Epistles. This day of palm branches has been duplicated and reduplicated ever since the triumphal entrance of Jesus into Jerusalem, and this reduplication will continue until Jesus is ultimately and for ever crowned on the great day of final consummation. The world is full of hosannas to the Son of David. The humble Christian school of the missionary in foreign lands is a hosanna sounding through the darkness of heathendom. The philanthropic institution that rises into sight all over Christendom is a hosanna to the Son of David echoing through civilization. The gorgeous cathedral, standing like a mountain of beauty, is a hosanna to the Son of David worked into stone and echoing itself in the realm of art. The holy life of every disciple, which is seen on every continent of the earth, is a hosanna to the Son of David ringing throughout all humanity. These hosannas shall be kept until the end come, and then all the universe of Gods redeemed will peal forth the grand Hallel in the hearing of eternity. (David Gregg.)
Enthusiasm in religion
What is your religion if it have no enthusiasm in it? Who wants a wooden Christianity or a logical Christianity only? Christianity loses its power when it loses its pathos. Every religion goes downward when it loses the power of exciting the highest, most intelligent, and most courageous enthusiasm. Some of us have need to be cautioned against decorum. Alas! there are some Christian professors who do not know what it is to have a moment of transport and ecstasy, unutterable emotion--who never, never go away upon the wings of light and hope, but are always standing, almost shivering--eating up their dry logic, and never knowing where the blossom, the poetry, and the ecstasy may be found. Christianity should excite our emotion and make us sometimes talk rapturously, and give us, sometimes at least, moments of inspiration, self-deliverance, and victory. It was so in the case before us. The whole city was moved. There was passion, there was excitement on every hand. But, then, am I advocating nothing but emotion, sensibility, enthusiasm? Far from it. First of all, let there be intelligent apprehension, and profound conviction respecting truth. Let us see that our foundations, theological and ethical, are deep, broad, immovable. Then let us carry up the building until it breaks out into glittering points, farflashing pinnacles, and becomes broken into beauty. (David Gregg.)
The coming King
I. THE ESTIMATE FORMED OF OUR LORD BY THE CROWD. King.
II. HIS CREDENTIALS. In the name of the Lord. Divine commission attested.
1. By His words.
2. By His works.
III. THE BLESSINGS WHICH COME WITH THE KING. Peace and glory.
IV. THESE BLESSINGS ACCOMPANY EVERY ADVENT OF THE KING THAT COMETH IN THE NAME OF THE LORD.
1. It was so at His first coming.
2. It shall be so at His second coming. It is so when the King comes to reign in the sinners heart. (J. Treanor, B. A.)
Hosannas to Jesus
I. THAT WHICH MAKES MEN ILLUSTRIOUS, AND WORTHY OF DISTINCTION--lofty genius, heroism, expansive benevolence, mighty achievements--all that intensified and sublimely illustrated to a degree infinitely beyond what is possible to attainment by ordinary mortals, DISTINGUISHES THE LORD JESUS, AND ENTITLES HIM TO OUR HOMAGE AND PRAISE, Take--
1. Genius. What is genius? Genius originates, invents, creates. Talent reproduces that which has been, and still is. The spindles in our mills, the locomotives in our shops represent genius. The swift play of the one, and the majestic tread of the other across the continents on paths of steel, is genius in motion. Now turn the light of these definitions upon the Lord Jesus Christ, and see if He has not genius worthy of our best praise. It were folly to deny creative genius to Him, by whose word the worlds sprang into being, and by whose power they continue to exist. It were folly to deny originality to the Alpha and Omega of all mind and matter, life and spirit. Folly again to deny superior intellectual acumen to Him, who is the light of all intellect, the inspirer of all right thought, the incentive to all noble action. The blind saw, and the deaf heard, and the dumb spake, and the dead awoke. As to the modifying influence which Coleridge says is implied in the highest type of genius, it has been truly affirmed: The genius of Christ, exerted through His gospel in which His Spirit presides, has made itself felt in all the different relations and modifications of life. Take the next element of distinction that men applaud.
2. Heroism. Spontaneous is the homage paid to heroes. In some lands they are deified and worshipped. Heroism! Produce another example, such as Jesus of Nazareth, from the long list of the worlds illustrious! Take the next quality in lofty manhood that men extol--
3. Benevolence. Of this Jesus was the perfect personification.
4. Wonderful achievement receives applause from men. The multitude praised God for all the mighty works that they had seen. Our works may be good, Christs are mighty as well as good. We visit the sick, Christ cures them.
II. HIS PRAISES HAVE BEEN SUNG IN ALL AGES, ON ACCOUNT OF HIS WORTHINESS OF ALL HOMAGE IN HEAVEN AND IN EARTH. Abraham, the representative of the patriarchal age, looked forward to His day with glad anticipations, and praised the promised seed. Jacob, in his dying predictions, sang of the Shiloh, and waited for His salvation. Moses chose for the subject of his eulogy the Prophet like unto himself, unto whom the people should hearken. David in exalted strains sang of His character and works, His trials and triumphs, His kingdom and glory, and died exulting, Blessed be the Lord God of Israel from everlasting and to everlasting. Let the whole earth be filled with His glory. Amen and Amen. The prophets all rejoiced in Zions delivery and Judahs King. At His birth, angels and shepherds and sages sang His praises. As in some of the old monasteries one choir of monks relieved another choir in order that the service of praise might not cease, so as one generation of the children of God has retired to its rest, another has caught up the glad strains of hosannas to Christ, and in this way they have been perpetuated down the centuries.
III. THERE ARE THOSE, HOWEVER, WHO WOULD INTERRUPT THE PRAISES OF GODS PEOPLE: YEA, WORSE, SUPPRESS THEM ALTOGETHER. We learn from our text that this was the desire of the Pharisees on this occasion. Thus, the wicked and unbelieving now would stop all ascriptions of praise to Christ. They would quench the flames of devotion that the Holy Ghost kindles in the hearts of believers. Praise Nature! Sing odes to the landscape! Worship the beautiful in what your eyes see, the tangible, that of which you have positive knowledge through the certification of your senses! Dont be wasting your devotion on the unseen, the unknowable, the mythical, the intangible!--so says the Agnostic. Do homage to Reason! Let Reason be the object of your worship; its cultivation the effort of your life! What wonders it has accomplished in science and philosophy!--so says the Rationalist. Sing of wine, feasting, sensuality! Bacchus is our god. Praise him! Worship him! says the Profligate. Sing of wars, and of victories, and of conquests! Apollo is the god whom we worship, and whose praises we resound. Therefore, spread your palms with paeans of triumph at the feet of victors!--so say Conquerors. Standing erect, with his thumbs thrust in the arm-holes of his vest, his chest thrown forward and his head backward, like an oily, overfed, bigoted Pharisee, Sing of me, says the Self-Righteous. Praise the Saviour! says the believer, and the call receives a response. (N. H. Van Arsdale.)
The stones would immediately cry out
Guilty silence in Christs cause
I. Our Saviour means to intimate, that THIS SILENCE WOULD BE VILE. Let us, then, proceed with this dismal business, and arraign this fearful silence.
1. We tax it, first, with the most culpable ignorance. If you found a man, who was entirely insensible to Miltons Paradise Lost, or Cowpers Task, dead to the touches of Raffaels pencil, to all the beautiful and sublime scenery of nature, to all that is illustrious and inspiring in human disposition and action, you would be ready to say, Why, this senselessness is enough to make a stone speak. But where are we now? Men may be undeserving of the praise they obtain; or if the praise be deserved in the reality, it may be excessive in the degree; but there can be no excess here. It is impossible to ascribe titles too magnificent, attributes too exalted, adorations too intense, to Him who is fairer than the children of men, who is the chief among ten thousand, and the altogether lovely. Now to be insensible to such a Being as this, argues, not merely a want of intellectual, but of moral taste, and evinces, not only ignorance, but depravity. He who died, not for a country, but for the world, and for a world of enemies--He awakens no emotion, no respect. Shame, shame!
2. We charge this silence, secondly, with the blackest ingratitude I need not enlarge on this hateful vice. The proverb says, Call a man ungrateful, and you call him everything that is bad. The Lacedaemonians punished ingratitude. The ungrateful, says Locke, are like the sea; continually receiving the refreshing showers of heaven, and turning them all into salt. The ungrateful, says South, are like the grave; always receiving, and never returning. But nothing can equal your ingratitude, if you are silent. For you will observe, that other beneficiaries may have some claim upon their benefactors, from a community of nature or from the command of God; but we have no claim, we are unworthy of the least of all His mercies.
3. We tax this silence with shameful cruelty. We arc bound to do all the good in our power. If we have ourselves received the knowledge of Christ, we are bound to impart it. If the inhabitants of a village were dying of a disease, and you had the remedy, and held your peace; if you saw a fellow-creature going to drink a deadly poison, and instead of warning him you held your peace; if you saw even a poor stranger going to pass over a deep and deadly river, upon a broken bridge, and you knew that a little lower down there was a marble one, and you held your peace; is there a person, that would ever pass you without standing still and looking round upon you and exclaiming, You detestable wretch, you infamous villain, you ought not to live! If these should hold their peace, the stones would cry out. How is it, then, that we have so much less moral feeling than the lepers had, when they said, This is a good day, and reflecting upon their starving babes said, If we altogether hold our peace, some evil will befall us; let us therefore go and tell the kings household?
II. Secondly, our Saviour seems to intimate, that THIS SILENCE IS DIFFICULT. Now we often express a difficulty by an obvious impossibility. The Jews said, Let Him come down from the cross, and we will believe on Him. Their meaning was, that they could not believe on Him; for the condition seemed to them impossible. The Saviour here says, You impose silence upon these disciples, but this is impossible; yes, they will hold their peace when dumb nature shall become vocal, and not before. If these should hold their peace, the stones would cry out; that is, their principles will actuate them, their feelings must have operation and utterance. If you could enter heaven, you would find that there He attracts every eye, and fills every heart, and employs every tongue. And in the Church below there is a degree of the same inspiration.
1. The impressions that Christ makes upon His people by conviction are very powerful.
2. The impressions He produces by hope are very powerful.
3. The impressions He produces by love are very powerful. He so attaches His disciples to Himself by esteem and gratitude, as to induce them to come out of the world, to deny themselves, to take up their cross, and to be willing to follow the Lamb whithersoever He goeth.
III. Our Saviour here intimates further, that THIS SILENCE WOULD BE USELESS. If, says He, those of whom you complain were to hold their peace, you would gain nothing by their silence; there would not be a cessation of My praise, but only a change of instruments and voices; rather than My praise should be suspended, what they decline others would be sure to rise up to perform; if these should hold their peace, the stones would cry out.
1. First, we shall glance at the supposed silence.
2. And, secondly, observe the improbable instruments that are employed to perpetuate the testimony. It is not said, If these should hold their peace the angels would cry out, men would cry out; no; the stones would cry out. Can stones live? can stones preach and write and translate the Scriptures? Can they aid in carrying on such a cause as this? Why not? He can employ, and often does employ, the most unlikely characters. The wrath of man praiseth Him. We see this in the case of Henry the Eighth. It is of great importance to know whether we are Gods servants, or whether we are Gods enemies; but as to Him, He can employ one as well as another. This was the case with Saul of Tarsus. He was a persecutor once; but then he was called by Divine grace, and preach the faith that once he endeavoured to destroy. All the Lords people once were enemies: but He found a way into their hearts, and He made them friends. They were all once stones; but of these stones God has raised up children unto Abraham. They were as hard as stones, as insensible as stones, as cold as stones; but they are now flesh, and every feeling of this flesh is alive to God.
3. Thirdly, notice the readiness of their appearance. If these should hold their peace, the stones would immediately cry out. The Kings business requires haste; both because of its importance, and the fleeting uncertainty of the period in which He will allow it to be performed.
4. Then, lastly, observe the certainty of their appearance, when they become necessary. The certainty of the end infers the certainty of all that is intermediately necessary to it. Upon this principle, our Saviour here speaks; it is, I am persuaded, the very spirit of the passage. My praise--as if He should say--must prevail; and therefore means must be forthcoming to accomplish it, and to carry it on. Let us, first, apply this certainty as the prevention of despair. Secondly; as a check to vanity and pride. My brethren in the ministry, we are not--no, we are not essential to the Redeemers cause. We are not the Atlases upon which the Church depends; the government is upon His shoulders who filleth all in all. Thirdly; as a spur and diligence and zeal. (W. Jay.)
All ought to praise God
Have we not heard, or have I not tom you years ago, of some great conductor of a musical festival suddenly throwing up his baton and stopping the proceedings, saying Flageolete! The flageolete was not doing its part of the great musical utterance. The conductor had an ear that heard every strain and tone. You and I probably would have heard only the great volume of music, and would have been glad to listen with entranced attention to its invisible charm, but the man who was all ear noted the absence of one instrument, and throwing up his baton, he said, Flageolet. Stop till we get all that is within us into this musical offering. So I want our hymn of praise to be sung by every man, by every power in his soul. (J. Parker, D. D.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
B. W. Johnson 1891 · Public Domain On v28 28–40. Going up to Jerusalem. The ascent begins at…
28–40. Going up to Jerusalem. The ascent begins at Jericho, and about 3,000 feet has to be climbed before the city is reached. The account of the royal entrance into Jerusalem is given in Matt. 21:1–16; Mark 11:1–11, and John 12:12–19. See the notes on Matthew.
At the descent of the mount of Olives. Where the city and temple burst into view.
B. W. Johnson's The People's New Testament with Notes (1889–1891) — public domain. Electronic text from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL) ThML edition.
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary 1892 · Public Domain On v28 Luk_19:28. Went before.—I.e., at the head of the disciples.…
CRITICAL NOTES
Luk_19:28. Went before.—I.e., at the head of the disciples. Cf. Mar_10:32. Ascending.—The road from Jericho to Jerusalem is one long ascent.
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Luk_19:29. Bethphage.—A village apparently on the east of Bethany. The name means “house of figs.” The place itself has not been identified. It is mentioned in the Talmud. Bethany.—The home of Lazarus and his sisters. It lies on the eastern slope of the Mount of Olives, fully a mile beyond the summit, and not very far from the point at which the road to Jericho begins its more sudden descent towards the Jordan valley” (Smith, “Dictionary of the Bible”).
Luk_19:30. A colt.—The more circumstantial account in St, Matthew speaks of a mother and her colt. The Saviour rode upon the colt while the mother was led beside it, after the manner of a sumpter. Never man sat.—And therefore sent for a sacred purpose. Cf. Num_19:2; Deu_21:3; 1Sa_6:7.
Luk_19:35. Cast their garments.—As in honour of a king (cf. 2Ki_9:13).
Luk_19:36. In the way.—As also leaves of trees and palm-branches.
Luk_19:37. And when He was.—St. Luke alone indicates the point at which the popular enthusiasm began to manifest itself. “Bethany is hardly left in the rear before the long procession must have swept up and over the ridge, where first begins ‘the descent of the Mount of Olives’ towards Jerusalem. At this point the first view is caught of the southeastern corner of the city. The Temple and the more northern portions are hid by the slope of Olivet on the right. It was at this precise point, ‘as He drew near, at the descent of the Mount of Olives’—may it not have been from the sight thus opening upon them?—that the hymn of triumph burst forth from the multitude” (Stanley, “Sinai and Palestine”). St. John speaks of a company going out from the city to meet the procession (Luk_12:18), and explains that the enthusiasm was principally excited by the raising of Lazarus from the dead.
Luk_19:38. Peace in heaven.—I.e., between God and man; and on this account “glory [to God] in the highest.”
Luk_19:40. If these, etc.—Rather, “if these shall hold their peace, the stones will cry out” (R.V.). The words are of a proverbial character; they recall, too, Hab_2:11.
Luk_19:41. And when.—“The road descends a slight declivity, and the glimpse of the city is again withdrawn behind the intervening ridge of Olivet. A few moments, and the path mounts again; it climbs a rugged ascent, it reaches a ledge of smooth rock, and in an instant the whole city bursts into view. Immediately below was the valley of the Kedron, here seen in its greatest depth as it joins the Valley of Hinnom, and thus giving full effect to the great peculiarity of Jerusalem seen only on its eastern side—its situation as of a city rising out of a deep abyss. It is hardly possible to doubt that this rise and turn of the road, this rocky ledge, was the exact point where the multitude paused again, and ‘He, when He beheld the city, wept over it’ ” (Stanley, “Sinai and Palestine”). Wept.—The word implies “wept aloud.”
Luk_19:42. Even thou.—I.e., as well as the disciples. In this thy day.—Rather, “in this day” (R.V.).
Luk_19:43. Cast a trench.—Rather, “cast up a bank” (R.V.); strictly speaking, “a palisade,” It and a wall of masonry were afterwards used by Titus in investing the city.
Luk_19:44. Thy children.—Not merely infants, but the inhabitants generally. The city is personified as a mother. Visitation.—I.e., season of grace. Cf. Gen_1:24; Exo_4:31, etc.
Luk_19:45. Into the temple.—This is a second purification of the Temple, the first being recorded in Joh_2:13-17. Sold therein.—I.e., doves, sheep, cattle, for use in sacrifice.
Luk_19:46. It is written.—Isa_56:7. Den of thieves.—Rather, “den of robbers” (R.V.).
Luk_19:48. Were very attentive.—Rather, “the people all hung upon Him, listening” (R.V.).
MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.—Luk_19:28-48
A New Kind of King.—St. Luke takes no notice of the stay at Bethany, and the sweet seclusion which soothed Jesus there. He dwells only on the assertion of royalty, which stamped an altogether unique character on the remaining hours of Christ’s life.
I. Christ’s part in originating the triumphal entry.—He sent for the colt, with the obvious intention of stimulating the people to just such a demonstration as followed. Note the remarkable blending of dignity and poverty in “The Lord hath need of him.” It asserts sovereign authority and absolute rights, and it confesses need and penury. He is a king, but He has to borrow even a colt on which to ride in triumph. Though He was rich, for our sakes He became poor. Jesus then deliberately brought about His public entry. He thereby acts in a way perfectly unlike His whole previous course. And He stirs up popular feelings at a time when they were specially sensitive, by reason of the approaching Passover and its crowds. Formerly He had avoided the danger which He now seems to court, and had gone up to the feast, as it were, in secret. But it was fitting that once, for the last time, He should assert before the gathered Israel that He was their King, and should make a last appeal. He deliberately makes Himself conspicuous, though—or we might say because—He knew that thereby He precipitated His death. The nature of His dominion is as plainly taught by the humble pomp as is its reality. Gentleness and peace, a sway that rests not on force nor wealth, are shadowed in that rustic procession and the pathetic poverty of its leader, throned on a borrowed colt, and attended, not by warriors or dignitaries, but by poor men, unarmed, and saluted, not with the blare of trumpets, but with the shouts of joyful, though, alas! fickle hearts.
II. The humble procession, with the shouting and the background of hostile spies.—The disciples eagerly caught at the meaning of bringing the colt, and threw themselves with alacrity into what seemed to them preparation for the public assertion of royalty, for which they had long been impatient. How different the vision of the future in their minds and His! They dreamed of a throne; He knew it was a cross that was in store for Him. They broke into loud acclamations, summoning, as it were, Jerusalem to welcome its King. Christ’s royalty and Divine commission are proclaimed from a thousand throats, and then up swells the shout of praise, which echoes the angels’ song at Bethlehem, and ascribes to His coming power to make peace in heaven with an else alienated world, and thus to make the Divine glory blaze with new splendour, even in the highest heavens; their song was wiser than they knew, and touched the deepest, mysteries of the unity of the Son with the Father, of reconciliation by the blood of the cross, and of new lustre accruing to God’s name thereby, even in the sight of principalities and powers in heavenly places. Their shouts died away, and their faith was almost as short-lived. High-wrought emotion is a poor substitute for steady conviction. But cool, unemotional recognition of Christ as King is almost as unnatural. There were cool observers there, and they make the foil to the glad enthusiasm. Note that these Pharisees, mingling in the crowd, have no title for Jesus but “Teacher.” He is no King to them. To those who regard Jesus but as a human teacher, the acclamations of those to whom He is King and Lord always sound exaggerated. People with no depth of religious life hate religious emotion, and are always seeking to repress it. A very tepid worship is warm enough for them. Formalists detest genuine feeling. Propriety is their ideal. Christ’s answer is probably a quoted proverb. It implies His entire acceptance of the character which the crowd ascribed to Him, His pleasure in their praises, and, in a wider aspect, His vindication of outbursts of devout feeling, which shock ecclesiastical martinets and formalists.
III. The King plunged in bitter grief in the very hour of His triumph.—The fair city brings before His vision the awful contrast of its lying compassed by armies and in ruins. He hears not the acclamation of the crowd. “He wept,” or, rather, “wailed”—for the word does not imply tears so much as cries. That sorrow is a sign of His real manhood, but it is also a part of His revelation of the very heart of God. The form is human, the substance Divine. The man weeps because God pities. Christ’s sorrow does not hinder His judgments. The woes which wring His heart will, nevertheless, be inflicted by Him. Judgment is His “strange work,” alien from His desires; but it is His work. Note the yearning in the unfinished sentence. “If thou hadst known.” Note the decisive closing of the time of repentance. Note the minute prophetic details of the siege, which, if ever they were spoken, are a distinct proof of His all-seeing eye. And from all let us fix in our hearts the conviction of the pity of the judge, and of the judgment by the pitying Christ.
IV. Christ’s exercise of sovereign authority in His Father’s house.—Two things are brought out in the compressed narrative.
1. The fact. It was fitting that, at the end of His career, as at the beginning, He should cleanse the Temple. The two events are significant as His first and last acts. The second one, as we gather from the other evangelists, had a greater severity about it than the first. The need for a second purifying indicated how sadly transient had been the effect of the first, and was thus evidence of the depth of corruption and formalism to which the religion of priests and people had sunk.
2. His vindication of His action. It is in right royal style. The first cleansing was defended by Him by pointing to the sanctity of “My Father’s house”; the second by claiming it as “My house.” The rebuke of the hucksters is sterner the second time. The profanation, once driven out, and returning, is deeper; for whereas, in the first instance, it had made the Temple a “house of merchandise,” in the second it turned it into a “den of robbers.” Thus evil assumes a darker tint by lapse of time, and swiftly becomes worse if rebuked and chastised in vain. We see here
(1) Christ’s calm courage in continuous teaching in the Temple;
(2) the growing hatred of the authorities; and
(3) the eager hanging of the people on His words, which baffled the murderous designs of the rulers. Meekly and boldly He goes on the appointed way. The day’s task of winning some from impending ruin shall still be done. So should His servants live, in patient discharge of daily duty, in the face of death, if need be. The enemies, who heard His words and found in them only food for deeper hatred, may warn us of the possibilities of antagonism to Him that lie in the heart, and of the terrible judgment which they drag down on their own heads, who hear, unmoved, His daily teaching, and see, unrepentant, His dying love.—Maclaren.
SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS ON Luk_19:28-48
Luk_19:28-44. The Triumphal Entry of Jesus into Jerusalem.
I. The preparations for it (Luk_19:28-36).
II. The entry itself (Luk_19:37-38).
III. The murmurs of the Pharisees (Luk_19:39-40).
IV. The lamentation over the city (Luk_19:41-44).
Luk_19:28. “Had thus spoken.”—And when He had thus spoken, had thus judicially, in His own revealed royal person, decreed the destruction of His foes, He went onward to Jerusalem, there to deliver Himself up as the Paschal Lamb into their hands.—Stier.
Luk_19:29. “Sent two of His disciples.”—The sending of the two disciples is an indication of the deliberate purpose of Jesus to give special solemnity to this scene. Hitherto He had withdrawn Himself from popular homage; but He wished to be proclaimed once at least as Messiah and King in the midst of His people (Luk_19:40). This was the moment of manifestation so impatiently desired by His brethren (Joh_7:3-4), and was also a last appeal to the population of Jerusalem (Luk_19:42). There was nothing in this course of action to compromise His work, for He well knew that His life was drawing near to an end (Luk_13:32-33). He therefore allowed free course to the enthusiasm of the multitude; He even provokes the manifestation which follows, while He gave to it a more peaceful and humble character than it might have assumed.—Godet.
Luk_19:30. “Never man sat.”—Humble as were the arrangements for this triumphal entry into Jerusalem, a royal dignity is manifested in the spirit in which they were made. The animal chosen to carry the Saviour was to be one which had never before been used on any common occasion.
Luk_19:31. “The Lord hath need.”—These words seem to imply that Jesus knew the persons to whom the disciples were sent—that they were friends or disciples. Perhaps in this incidental allusion we have another indication of previous visits paid by Jesus to Jerusalem.
Luk_19:32. “Found even as He had said.”—Prophetical fore-knowledge rather than omniscience seems to be indicated by the action of Jesus on this occasion.
Luk_19:35-36. Jesus Claims and Receives Homage.—Jesus virtually claimed homage, and His disciples responded to Him by paying it. They might, no doubt, easily have procured ordinary trappings for the animal on which He rode, but they chose to prove their desire to consecrate themselves and their possessions to His service by making use of their own garments. Jesus, by accepting their homage, asserted His royal dignity, and by the humble circumstance of His triumph, as arranged by Him, proclaimed that His kingdom was not one of this world.
Luk_19:37-44.
I. The joy of the disciples and of the multitude on coming in sight of the city.
II. The grief of Jesus at the same moment.
Luk_19:37-48.
I. The purpose Christ developed.—He came to teach, to heal, to exemplify a sublime character, to offer an expiatory sacrifice, to manifest His Kingship.
II. The homage Christ received.
III. The sorrow Christ felt.
IV. The kingly duty Christ fulfilled.—Palmer.
Luk_19:37. “Began to rejoice.”—Once mounted on the ass, Jesus became the centre of the procession, visible to all, and the scene began more and more to assume an exceptional character. It is as if a breath from on high, a precursor of that of Pentecost, had moved the populace. The sight of the city, and of the Temple, which at this very point appeared in all their beauty, contributed to the outburst of joy and hope which came so suddenly. All hearts recalled at this moment the miracles which had marked the career of this extraordinary Man—miracles which been so numerous as almost to have exhausted the sense of wonder.—Godet.
Luk_19:38.
I. The character in which Jesus is to be received.—“The King that cometh in the name of the Lord.”
II. The happy results anticipated from His reign.—
1. “Peace in heaven—i.e., peace re-established between heaven and earth.
2. “Glory in the highest”—fresh and more wonderful manifestations than had been given before of God’s gracious character and of His majesty and power.
Luk_19:39. “Some of the Pharisees.”—They cannot in any sense have been disciples of Jesus. Their spirit was exactly like that of modern Socianism; they objected to prophetical expressions being used and lofty epithets being applied to one whom they regarded as merely a teacher.
“Rebuke Thy disciples.”—The Pharisees had, for the time, lost the power of silencing the acclamations of the people, and so they have recurrence to Jesus himself. They were offended that He accepted recognition as the Messiah, and perhaps were even afraid of the enthusiasm of the populace leading to a seditious outbreak against the Roman authorities.”
Luk_19:40. “The stones will immediately cry out.”—Hitherto the Lord had discouraged all demonstrations in His favour; latterly He had begun an opposite course. On this one occasion He seems to yield His whole soul to the wide and deep acclaim with a mysterious satisfaction, regarding it as so necessary a part of the regal dignity in which, as Messiah, He, for the last time, entered the city, that, if not offered by the vast multitude, it would have been wrung out of the stones rather than be withheld.—Brown.
Luk_19:41-42. The Tears of Christ over the Indifference of Men.
I. Spiritual indifference was the sign of concealed ruin.—
1. Indifference conceals from men the downward progress of the soul’s life.
2. It, at the same time, hides the Christ who alone can save.
II. In spiritual indifference Christ saw a self-wrought ruin.
III. In spiritual indifference He saw ruin rapidly becoming hopeless.—Hull.
I. The tears and words of Christ are the tears and words of a true patriot.
II. He lamented the destruction of Jerusalem as a theocratic kingdom—as a Church.
III. Jerusalem was a home of souls—a hive of living men and women—whose rejection of Him involved overthrow and ruin.—Liddon.
Luk_19:41. “Wept over it.”—The words just spoken by the Pharisees displayed that obstinate resistance to Him which involved the ultimate ruin and overthrow of the city and nation. The contrast between what was and what might have been, was so great that He could not refrain from lamentation.
Luk_19:42. “Even thou.”—Or, “thou also,” i.e., “thou, as well as the humble crowd of disciples now forming the procession.”
“Thy peace.”—Probably an allusion to the meaning of the name Jerusalem—the “city of peace.”
“Belong unto thy peace.”—Acceptance of the sovereignty of Jesus would have meant laying aside that worldly and rebellious spirit which brought about the ruin of the nation.
Luk_19:43. “Cast a trench.”—Cf. Isa_29:3 : “And I will encamp against thee round about, and will lay siege against thee with a mount, and I will raise forts against thee.”
Luk_19:44. I. The visitation of Jerusalem by Christ our Lord was unobtrusive.
II. The visitation of Jerusalem was final. Our Lord’s words account
(1) for the decay and ruin of nations;
(2) for the decay and fall of churches;
(3) for the decay of seats of learning;
(4) for loss in the individual life, when manifest warnings and visitations are neglected.—Liddon.
Visitation.—God’s visitations are connected in Holy Scripture with various motives.
I. The common use of the word associates it with judgment; with the judicial infliction of punishment of some sort (Psa_89:32; Num_16:29).
II. But Divine visitations are often connected with a purpose of blessing (Gen_21:1; 1Sa_2:21).
III. Visitation sometimes, too, means warning—a meaning intermediate between that of blessing and judgment (Psa_17:3; Job_10:12). It is in this sense that our Lord describes His own ministry as the visitation of Jerusalem. It was partly a visitation of judgment, as our Lord judged the scribes and priests and Pharisees, though His judgment was not final. Yet more was it a visitation of blessing; it brought with it instruction, grace, and pardon. Failure to know the time of a visitation is followed by grave consequences, because
(1) it implies a culpable deadness of spiritual interest, and
(2) an equally blame-worthy pre-occupation with some other more engrossing interest.—Liddon.
Luk_19:45. “Began to cast out.”—From the parallel passage in St. Mark we learn that the cleansing of the Temple did not take place on the day of the triumphal entry. On that day Jesus entered the Temple and looked round about upon all that was passing in it (Mar_11:11). On the following day He purified it from the abuses which had sprung up in it, and which had not been effectually checked by His first act of cleansing (Joh_2:15).
Luk_19:46. “My house,” etc.—In the reply of Jesus there are quotations from two passages in the prophets—Isa_56:7 and Jer_7:11.
Luk_19:47. “The chief priests,” etc.—Three classes of persons were roused to opposition:
I. The chief priests, whose neglect of the Temple was reproved by the action of Jesus, and whose gains were diminished by the suppression of the traffic.
II. The scribes, who were envious of the fame and influence He acquired by His teaching.
III. The “chief of the people,” or the wealthy classes, who were for the most part attached to the Sadducean party, and afraid of the effects of any patriotic movement. From this point the Pharisees, who must have approved of the cleansing of the Temple, cease to be the most prominent persecutors of Jesus.
Luk_19:48. “Very attentive.”—Rather, “hung upon Him.” Hung upon Him, as the bee doth on the flower, the babe on the breast, the little bird on the bill of her dam. Christ drew the people after Him by the golden chain of His heavenly eloquence.—J. Trapp.
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary (gen. ed. Joseph S. Exell; Funk & Wagnalls, c. 1892) — public domain (pre-1929). A full-Bible homiletical/sermon-outline anthology covering 65 of 66 books (2 John is absent from the source module). Text from a community e-Sword module.
William B. Godbey 1900 · Public Domain On v29 Joh 12:12-19; Mat 21:1-11; Mat 21:14-17; Luk 19:29-44; Mar…
TRIUMPHANT ENTRY
Joh 12:12-19; Mat 21:1-11; Mat 21:14-17; Luk 19:29-44; Mar 11:1-11. John: “On the morrow a great multitude, having come to the feast, hearing that Jesus comes into Jerusalem, took the branches of the palm-trees, and came out to meet Him, and continued to cry out, Hosanna! Blessed is He that cometh in the name of the Lord, the King of Israel!” Having arrived at Bethany Sunday evening, and lodged at the house of Mary, Martha, and Lazarus, on Monday morning Jesus goes to Jerusalem, over Mount Olivet, as the road then led. Now it goes around it, south of the summit.
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Mark: “When they draw near to Jerusalem, to Bethphage and Bethany, near to the Mount of Olives, He sends forth two of His disciples, and says to them, Go ye into the village which is opposite you, and going into it, you will immediately find a colt tied, on which no one of men has sat. And if any one may say to you, Why do you do this? say that the Lord has need of him, and immediately he will send him hither. They departed, and found the colt tied at the door without, on the crossing of two roads, and they are loosing him; and certain ones of those standing there began to say to them, What are you doing, loosing the colt? And they said to them as Jesus commanded. And they led the colt to Jesus, and cast their garments on him, and He sat on him.” I made a specialty of pursuing this old road over the mountain which Jesus traveled on this notable occasion. Bethphage is about half-way from Bethany to the summit, on the mountain slope. From this place, in the journey, Jesus sent the two disciples, whose names are not given, with orders to go into a village on the mountain in full view, and bring to Him the young donkey, which had never been mounted. Matthew says they brought the mother along with the colt. Those donkeys have wonderful strength, utterly out of proportion to their size, which is quite diminutive. They are much used in the Holy Land, really more than any other domestic animal, the camel ranking next, and being used for all heavy burdens. Some get confused in the statement of Matthew that “He sat on them,” thinking that He rode both of the donkeys, which is untrue, as “them” does not refer to the animals, but to the clothes which they laid on the young animal, and on which Jesus sat. Why did Jesus ride the donkey? Why not a horse? The reason is very obvious. The horse is the symbol of war, being always used in battle; while the donkey, too slow for war, is the universal symbol of peace, and consequently the appropriate animal for the Prince of Peace to ride. Again, the donkey symbolizes humility, as he is the poor man’s animal, eating about as much as a sheep, hardy enough to live in the desert, and so small and tough that he can climb a mountain like a goat. Jesus came, the first time, in His humiliation, homeless and friendless, riding into Jerusalem on the donkey. He will come the second time in His glory, riding on a white cloud.
John: “Jesus, having found the young donkey, sat on him, as has been written, Fear not, daughter of Zion; behold, thy King cometh, sitting upon the colt of the donkey.” (Zec 9:9) That is certainly a very beautiful prophecy. As Jerusalem occupies the summit of Mount Zion, the application is clear and unmistakable.
Mark: “And many strew their garments in the way; and others cut down the branches from the trees, and continued to strew them in the way. Those going before and those following alter continued to shout, saying, Hosanna! Blessed is He that cometh in the name of the Lord! Blessed is the kingdom coming in the name of our father David I Hosanna in the highest!” Luke says: “He, drawing nigh to the descension of the Mount of Olives, the whole multitude of His disciples, rejoicing, began to praise God with a loud voice for all the miracles which they had seen.” After the gushing, Oriental style of saluting kings and conquerors, they threw down their garments for Him to ride over them, demonstrative of their perfect submission to His authority, and at the same time they strew His way with palm-leaves, which are so majestic and beautiful in Oriental climates, and vividly symbolic of royalty, conquest, and victory. They had waited three years for that wonderful hour, and now feel sure that the desideratum for which they had prayed, sighed, and cried to God so long is fast culminating into a glorious reality; and when they reach Jerusalem, they are very sanguine that He will be crowned King of the Jews. At that time there were no factories, and clothing was so scarce and costly, comparatively with our day, that we can hardly estimate the sacrifice which they so cheerfully and gladly made in throwing down the best apparel they had, in the dusty road, for the donkey to tread upon. O they are so glad to hail Him King of the Jews, little dreaming that this grand ovation was but a scintillation of the oncoming glory of the triumphant entry of King Jesus into Jerusalem on the white cloud, symbolized by the white donkey, when the mighty host of angels and glorified saints will accompany Him. Thus they witnessed an exultant prelibation of the grandest triumph in the history of redemption, when our Lord shall descend from heaven on the throne of His glory, accompanied by the celestial millions. The perfect submission they manifested by casting their garments beneath the tread of the donkey, and the royal triumphs emblemized by the palm-leaves strewn in the Conqueror’s path, and the joyous shout of the appreciative disciples, “Blessed is He that cometh in the name of the Lord! Glory in the highest!” O what a grand adumbration of our Lord’s triumphant return on the throne of His millennial glory, to girdle the globe with peace, righteousness, holiness, and victory! Satan will be chained and imprisoned; the six-thousand-year weekdays of toil, temptation, conflict, and suffering under the dark reign of Satan will be fled and gone, and the bright Sabbath of Eden return in millennial glories,
“Undimmed by sorrow, unhurt by time;”
the earth, exultant from the long winter of sin and oppression, will again leap into the life of perpetual springtime; and sterility, wintry storms, wasting tempests, will retreat forever before the glorious Sun of righteousness, rising on all the world, with healing in His wings, dissipating forever the long, dismal night of sin, and girdling the globe witch God’s hallowed millennial day. As the happy years roll on, the people will forget the awful suffering, conflict, and desolation of bygone ages. This shouting multitude caught a glimpse of the oncoming victory, and thought the long-prayed-for triumph had actually come. But it receded away, leaving bright memories which have inspired the saints in all subsequent ages. While we contemplate this symbolic adumbration of our Lord’s coming glory, let us all thank God and take courage, remembering that we are eighteen hundred and sixty-seven years nearer that glorious hour when the triumphant coming of our King shall not only verify the prophecies, but triumphantly fulfill the thrilling symbolism of this memorable occasion.
Joh 12:16. “And His disciples did not at first understand these things; but when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that these things had been written in reference to Him, and they did them to Him.” When the Holy Ghost descended on them at Pentecost, sanctifying and flooding them with light on the precious Word, then they were able to tightly divide the Word of Truth, and separate the prophecies — some appertaining to His first coming, in humiliation; and others to His glorious coming in triumph. At the time of this public entry into Jerusalem, they were awfully disappointed, because He rendered Himself invisible and passed out of their hands when they came to crown Him King; but the Pentecostal baptism, which followed the glorification of Jesus, gave light on all these mysteries and filled them with joy.
“Then the multitude, being with Him, continued to testify that He called Lazarus out of the tomb, and raised him up from the dead.” Lazarus was then with Him, one of His loving disciples, and also a host of people who had actually witnessed that wonderful miracle, regarded as the greatest of our Savior’s ministry. Therefore the multitude came to Him because they heard that He had performed this miracle.
“Then the Pharisees said to one another, You see that you profit nothing. Behold, the world has gone after Him.” This grand ovation which Jesus received, along with the popular excitement over the resurrection of Lazarus, stirred the gall of the Pharisees and the higher clergy to the very bottom.
Luk 19:39 “And certain ones of the Pharisees from the crowd said to Him, “Teacher, rebuke Thy disciples.” Dead religion can’t stand hallelujah meetings. They are literal torture to dead professors and dry-bone preachers. “Responding, He said to them, I say unto you, that if they must keep silent, the rocks will shout.” We see that the Lord believes in shouting meetings. This was a more noisy time than you ever witnessed at a holiness camp, and yet the Lord rebuked no one for fanaticism, but commended the whole affair. The Lord is going to be praised with “a loud voice.” If the Churches will not do it, He will convert the drunkards and harlots, though their hearts be hard as stone, till they will shout His praises. The rocks did cry out the next Friday, when He hung on the cross, and they were rent with the earthquake shock.
“And when He drew nigh, seeing the city, He wept over it, saying, If thou hadst known, even in this thy day, the things appertaining to thy peace; but now they are hidden from thine eyes. Because the days shall come upon thee, and thine enemies will throw a blockade around thee, and encompass thee in a circle, and they will press thee on all sides; they will slay thee and thy children in thee, and will not leave in thee stone upon stone, because thou hast not known the time of thy visitation.” On the very spot, descending Mount Olivet, here referred to, where Jesus poured forth gushing tears, weeping over the city, we have a most conspicuous view of all Jerusalem. Christian money has built a beautiful, snowy-white stone church-edifice on that very spot. It is called “The Church of Jesus Weeping.” His omniscient eye saw the great and formidable Roman armies coiled round the city, like a huge boa-constrictor, cutting off all ingress and egress, dooming the inmates to famine, which, along with the sword, slew them so rapidly that interment was impossible. Consequently the pestilential exhalations, from the putrefying corpses, produced an awful pestilence, which swept its withering epidemic through the air, actually competing with the sword and famine by heaping the city with mountains of the dead. Josephus says the horrors of the siege actually beggared all possible description, Jesus, with immortal eyes, seeing the future like the present, gazes on these awful and shocking tragedies, while His pure, tender, unfallen human heart gives way to profoundest pity and lacerating sympathy, till His eyes flood with gushing tears. Only four days intervening till the bloody scene of Calvary is to seal the doom of that devoted city, and expedite the righteous judgments of the Almighty, the Holy Spirit, as we here see from the words of Jesus, having already been grieved away, while hell, with its black legions, has come to the front.
Mar 11:11. “Jesus came into Jerusalem, and into the temple; and looking round upon all things, the hour already being late, went out to Bethany with the twelve.” You must not forget that “temple,” in these Scriptures, simply means the Holy Campus, which is said now to contain thirty-five acres, with many valuable buildings on it, and more then than now; for none but the priests were admitted into the temple proper. Jesus, with His apostles, had lodged in Bethany the preceding night, and now goes back and lodges there Monday night. If He had lodged in the city, there is no doubt but His enemies would have attacked Him. Having lodged Sunday and Monday nights in Bethany, Tuesday and Wednesday nights in some of the villages on Mount Olivet, He remained in the city Thursday night, being arrested by His enemies at midnight.
Mat 21:10. “Jesus having come into Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred, saying, Who is this?” We do not wonder at the excitement and the inquiry which had been produced by an entrance so exceedingly demonstrative. Besides the native population, multitudes have already arrived in the city, that they may prepare for the oncoming Passover. As the children of Abraham, the most enterprising people in the world in all ages, had gone away into all the cities of the known world, there to sojourn and accumulate wealth, therefore to the great annual Passover they came from the ends of the earth. “And the multitudes continued to say, This is Jesus, the Prophet, from Nazareth of Galilee. The blind and the lame were coming to Him in the temple, and He healed them.” Many of them are there now. O how they thronged me, last November and December. begging for contributions, which I was only delighted to give, of course, in small value! Jerusalem this day is a practical Bible looking-glass. O what a glory when the blind and the lame all crowded around Him there in the great Temple Campus, and on their sightless eyeballs He poured the light of day, and made the lame to leap for joy!
“And the high priests and scribes, seeing the wonderful things which He did, and the children in the temple, crying, Hosanna to the Son of David, got mad, and said to Him, Do you hear what they are saying? And Jesus says to them, Yes; have you not read that out of the mouth of babes and sucklings Thou hast perfected praise?” (Psa 8:3.) We still see that Jesus believes in noisy meetings — none too young and none too old to shout aloud the praises of God. It made these big preachers and Church officers very mad; and they still get mad when you get up a sweeping holiness revival, and they hear the people praising the Lord with a loud voice, with no exception of age, sex, race, sect, or color.
William B. Godbey, Commentary on the New Testament (1896–1900) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Alexander MacLaren 1905 · Public Domain On v37 Luk 19:37 - Luk 19:48.
Luke
A NEW KIND OF KING
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Luk 19:37 - Luk 19:48.
‘He went on before.’ What concentrated determination, and almost eagerness, impelled His firm and swift steps up the steep, weary road! Mark tells that the disciples followed, ‘amazed’-as they well might be-at the unusual haste, and strange preoccupation on the face, set as a flint.
Luke takes no notice of the stay at Bethany and the sweet seclusion which soothed Jesus there. He dwells only on the assertion of royalty, which stamped an altogether unique character on the remaining hours of Christ’s life.
I. The narrative brings into prominence Christ’s part in originating the triumphal entry {Luk 19:30 - Luk 19:34}. He sent for the colt with the obvious intention of stimulating the people to just such a demonstration as followed.
As to the particulars, we need only note that the most obvious explanation of His knowledge of the circumstances that the messengers would encounter, is that it was supernatural. Only one other explanation is possible; namely, that the owners of the animal were secret disciples, with whom our Lord had arranged to send for it, and had settled a sign and countersign, by which they would know His messengers. But that is a less natural explanation.
Note the remarkable blending of dignity and poverty in ‘The Lord hath need of him.’ It asserts sovereign authority and absolute rights, and it confesses need and penury. He is a King, but He has to borrow even a colt to make His triumphal entry on. Though He was rich, for our sakes He became poor.
Jesus then deliberately brought about His public entry. He thereby acts in a way perfectly unlike His whole previous course. And He stirs up popular feelings at a time when they were specially excitable by reason of the approaching Passover and its crowds. Formerly He had avoided the danger which He now seems to court, and had gone up to the feast ‘as it were in secret.’ But it was fitting that once, for the last time, He should assert before the gathered Israel that He was their King, and should make a last appeal. Formerly He had sought to avoid attracting the attention of the rulers; now He knows that the end is near, and deliberately makes Himself conspicuous, though-or we might say because-He knew that thereby He precipitated His death.
The nature of His dominion is as plainly taught by the humble pomp as is its reality. A pauper King, who makes His public entrance into His city mounted on a borrowed ass, with His followers’ clothes for a saddle, attended by a shouting crowd of poor peasants, for weapons or banners had but the branches plucked from other people’s trees, was a new kind of king.
We do not need Matthew’s quotation of the prophet’s vision of the meek King coming to Zion on an ass, to understand the contrast of this kingdom with such a dominion as that of Rome, or of such princes as the Herods. Gentleness and peace, a sway that rests not on force nor wealth, are shadowed in that rustic procession and the pathetic poverty of its leader, throned on a borrowed colt, and attended, not by warriors or dignitaries, but by poor men unarmed, and saluted, not with the blare of trumpets, but with the shouts of joyful, though, alas! fickle hearts.
II. We have the humble procession with the shouting disciples and the background of hostile spies.
The disciples eagerly caught at the meaning of bringing the colt, and threw themselves with alacrity into what seemed to them preparation for the public assertion of royalty, for which they had long been impatient. Luke tells us that they lifted Jesus on to the seat which they hurriedly prepared, while some spread their garments in the way-the usual homage to a king:
‘Ride on triumphantly; behold, we lay
Our lusts and proud wills in Thy way.’
How different the vision of the future in their minds and His! They dreamed of a throne; He knew it was a Cross. Round the southern shoulder of Olivet they came, and, as the long line of the Temple walls, glittering in the sunshine across the valley, burst on the view, and their approach could be seen from the city, they broke into loud acclamations, summoning, as it were, Jerusalem to welcome its King.
Luke’s version of their chant omits the Jewish colouring which it has in the other Gospels, as was natural, in view of his Gentile readers. Christ’s royalty and divine commission are proclaimed from a thousand throats, and then up swells the shout of praise, which echoes the angels’ song at Bethlehem, and ascribes to His coming, power to make peace in heaven with an else alienated world, and thus to make the divine glory blaze with new splendour even in the highest heavens.
Their song was wiser than they knew, and touched the deepest, sweetest mysteries of the unity of the Son with the Father, of reconciliation by the blood of His Cross, and of the new lustre accruing to God’s name thereby, even in the sight of principalities and powers in heavenly places. They meant none of these things, but they were unconscious prophets. Their shouts died away, and their faith was almost as short-lived. With many of them, it withered before the branches which they waved.
High-wrought emotion is a poor substitute for steady conviction. But cool, unemotional recognition of Christ as King is as unnatural. If our hearts do not glow with loyal love, nor leap up to welcome Him; if the contemplation of His work and its issues on earth and in heaven does not make our dumb tongues sing-we have need to ask ourselves if we believe at all that He is the King and Saviour of all and of us. There were cool observers there, and they make the foil to the glad enthusiasm. Note that these Pharisees, mingling in the crowd, have no title for Jesus but ‘Teacher.’ He is no king to them. To those who regard Jesus but as a human teacher, the acclamations of those to whom He is King and Lord always sound exaggerated.
People with no depth of religious life hate religious emotion, and are always seeking to repress it. A very tepid worship is warm enough for them. Formalists detest genuine feeling. Propriety is their ideal. No doubt, too, these croakers feared that this tumult might come to formidable size, and bring down Pilate’s heavy hand on them.
Christ’s answer is probably a quoted proverb. It implies His entire acceptance of the character which the crowd ascribed to Him, His pleasure in their praises, and, in a wider aspect, His vindication of outbursts of devout feeling, which shock ecclesiastical martinets and formalists.
III. We see the sorrowing King plunged in bitter grief in the very hour of His triumph.
Who can venture to speak of that infinitely pathetic scene? The fair city, smiling across the glen, brings before His vision the awful contrast of its lying compassed by armies and in ruins. He hears not the acclamation of the crowd. ‘He wept,’ or, rather, ‘wailed,’-for the word does not imply tears so much as cries. That sorrow is a sign of His real manhood, but it is also a part of His revelation of the very heart of God. The form is human, the substance divine. The man weeps because God pities. Christ’s sorrow does not hinder His judgments. The woes which wring His heart will nevertheless be inflicted by Him. Judgment is His ‘strange work,’ alien from His desires; but it is His work. The eyes which are as a flame of fire are filled with tears, but their glance burns up the evil.
Note the yearning in the unfinished sentence, ‘If thou hadst known.’ Note the decisive closing of the time of repentance. Note the minute prophetic details of the siege, which, if ever they were spoken, are a distinct proof of His all-seeing eye. And from all let us fix in our hearts the conviction of the pity of the judge, and of the judgment by the pitying Christ.
IV. We have Christ’s exercise of sovereign authority in His Father’s house.
Luke gives but a summary in verses 45-48, dwelling mainly on two points. First he tells of casting out the traders. Two things are brought out in the compressed narrative-the fact, and the Lord’s vindication of it. As to the former, it was fitting that at the end of His career, as at the beginning, He should cleanse the Temple. The two events are significant as His first and last acts. The second one, as we gather from the other Evangelists, had a greater severity about it than the first.
The need for a second purifying indicated how sadly transient had been the effect of the first, and was thus evidence of the depth of corruption and formalism to which the religion of priests and people had sunk. Christ had come to cleanse the Temple of the world’s religion, to banish from it mercenaries and self-interested attendants at the altar, and, in a higher application of the incident, to clear away all the degradations and uncleannesses which are associated with worship everywhere but in His Church, and which are ever seeking, like poisonous air, to find their way in thither also, through any unguarded chink.
The vindication of the act is in right royal style. The first cleansing was defended by Him by pointing to the sanctity of ‘My Father’s house’; the second, by claiming it as ‘My house.’ The rebuke of the hucksters is sterner the second time. The profanation, once driven out and returning, is deeper; for whereas, in the first instance, it had made the Temple ‘a house of merchandise,’ in the second it turned it into a ‘den of robbers.’ Thus evil assumes a darker tint, like old oak, by lapse of time, and swiftly becomes worse, if rebuked and chastised in vain.
The second part of this summary puts in sharp contrast three things-Christ’s calm courage in continuous teaching in the Temple, the growing bitter hatred of the authorities, who drew in their train the men of influence holding no office, and the eager hanging of the people on His words, which baffled the murderous designs of the rulers. The same intentional publicity as in the entrance is obvious. Jesus knew that His hour was come, and willingly presents Himself a sacrifice. Meekly and boldly He goes on the appointed way. He sees all the hate working round Him, and lets it work. The day’s task of winning some from impending ruin shall still be done. So should His servants live, in patient discharge of daily duty, in the face of death, if need be.
The enemies, who heard His words and found in them only food for deeper hatred, may warn us of the possibilities of antagonism to Him that lie in the heart, and of the terrible judgment which they drag down on their own heads, who hear, unmoved, His daily teaching, and see, unrepentant, His dying love. The crowd that listened, and, in less than a week yelled ‘Crucify Him,’ may teach us to take heed how we hear, and to beware of evanescent regard for His teaching, which, if it do not consolidate into resolved and thoroughgoing acceptance of His work and submission to His rule, will certainly cool into disregard, and may harden into hate.
Alexander MacLaren, Expositions of Holy Scripture (1904–1910) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
J. W. McGarvey 1914 · Public Domain On v29 J. W. McGarvey's The Fourfold Gospel [CV. Jesus' Entry…
J. W. McGarvey's The Fourfold Gospel [CV. Jesus' Entry into Jerusalem].
CV. JESUS' TRIUMPHAL ENTRY INTO JERUSALEM. (From Bethany to Jerusalem and back, Sunday, April 2, A. D. 30.) aMATT. XXI. 1-12, 14-17; bMARK XI. 1-11; cLUKE XIX. 29-44; dJOHN XII. 12-19.
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c29 And d12 On the morrow [after the feast in the house of Simon the leper] cit came to pass, when he he drew nigh unto Bethphage and Bethany, at the mount that is called Olivet, a1 And when they came nigh unto [572] Jerusalem, and came unto Bethphage unto { bat athe mount of Olives [The name, Bethphage, is said to mean house of figs, but the derivation is disputed. Canon Cook and others think that the region on the eastern slope of Olivet was called Bethphage, and that Bethany was located in it. If it was a village, all trace of it has long since vanished, and it is not worth while to give the guesses and surmises of commentators as to its location. But it was evidently near Bethany], then Jesus sent { bsendeth two of his cthe disciples, b2 and saith a2 saying unto them, cGo your way into the village [probably Bethphage, for Jesus started from Bethany] athat is over against you, band straightway as ye enter into it, aye shall find an ass tied, and a colt btied, awith her: bwhereon no man ever sat; loose him, athem, band bring him. athem unto me. [Numerous Scripture references show that the ass was held in high estimation in the East. The sons of the judges used them, and David's mule was used at the coronation of Solomon ( Jdg_10:4, 1Ki_1:33). It is specifically stated that no man had ever sat upon this colt, for if the colt had been used by men it would have been unfit for sacred purposes-- Num_19:2, Deu_21:3, 1Sa_6:7.] 3 And if any one say aught unto you, 31; cAnd if any one ask you, bsay unto you, Why do ye this? cWhy do ye loose him? thus shall ye say, The Lord hath need of him. athem; band straightway he will send him. athem. bback hither. [The owner of the ass was no doubt a disciple or well-wisher of Jesus, and therefore readily consented to respond to the Master's need. Such a well-wisher might readily be found in a multitude ready to lay their garments in the road to honor Christ. The words "send him back" are usually construed to be a promise on the part of Christ that he would return the colt when through with him. But such a promise seems rather out of keeping with the dignity of the occasion. We prefer to construe the words as referring to the movements of Christ's two messengers from the neighborhood of Bethany to Bethphage and back again, or to a backward [573] movement along the caravan's line of march.] a4 Now this is come to pass, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken through the prophet, saying, 5 Tell ye the daughter of Zion [the poetical name for the city of Jerusalem], Behold, thy King cometh unto thee, Meek, and riding upon an ass, And upon a colt the foal of an ass. [The prophecy is a combination of Isa_62:11, Zec_9:9. This is the only instance in which Jesus rode. He entered in meekness, for the ass was a symbol of peace as the horse was of war ( Job_39:19-25), but there was nothing degrading about riding such a beast. The Eastern ass is smaller, but livelier, and better framed than the specimens found in our country. They constituted a chief asset in the property of the wealthy-- Gen_12:16, Gen_30:43, Job_42:12, 1Ch_27:30, 1Ki_1:38.] 6 And the disciples { cthey that were sent away, aand did even as Jesus appointed them, cand found even as he had said unto them ba colt tied at the door without in the open street [the streets being narrow, one would very seldom see an ass tied in one]; and they loose him. c33 And as they were loosing the colt, bcertain of them that stood there cthe owners thereof said unto them, Why loose ye the colt? bWhat do ye, loosing the colt? 6 And they said unto them even as Jesus had said: and they let them go. 7 And they bring abrought the ass, and the colt, chim bunto Jesus, aand put on them their garments [The garments were the loose cloaks worn over the tunics or shirts. This cloak survives in the abba or hyke of the modern Arab. The unbroken colt would of course have no saddle, and these loyal disciples lent their cloaks to supply the deficiency, and to do Jesus royal honor. Compare the enthronement of Jehu ( 2Ki_9:13). They prepared both beasts, not knowing which he would choose to ride]; cand they threw bcast ctheir garments upon the colt, and set Jesus thereon. aand he sat thereon. bupon him. da great multitude that had come to the feast, when they heard that Jesus was coming to [574] Jerusalem, 13 took the branches of the palm trees, and went forth to meet him [Palm-trees were never abundant in Palestine, but there were many around Jericho, through which city these Galilean pilgrims had so recently come. They were date palms, the leaves of which were often ten feet in length. They are now comparatively rare, but are found in the plains of Philistia. The palm branch is emblematic of triumph and victory-- Lev_23:40, Rev_7:9; I. Macc. xiii. 51; II. Macc. x. 7], and cried out, Hosanna: Blessed i is he that cometh in the name of the Lord, even the King of Israel [The shouting appears to have been started by those who came out of Jerusalem; it is evident, therefore, that the apostles who were approaching the city with Jesus had nothing to do with inciting this praise.] 14 And Jesus having found a young ass, sat thereon; as it is written, 15 Fear not, daughter of Zion: behold, thy King cometh, sitting on an ass's colt. 16 These things understood not his disciples at the first: but when Jesus was glorified, then remembered they that these things were written of him, and that they had done these things unto him. [The apostles were not conscious that the prophecies were being fulfilled nor did they understand that Jesus was approaching a heavenly rather than an earthly coronation. But after Jesus was glorified, their understandings were spiritually illuminated ( Joh_16:13). They not only remembered the prophecy, but saw in what sense it was that Jesus was king, and how badly mistaken they had been when they expected him to antagonize the Romans. The greatness of her king would have removed all cause for fear if Jerusalem had but accepted him.] 17 The multitude therefore that was with him when he called Lazarus out of the tomb, and raised him from the dead, bare witness. [The two parts of the miracle--the calling and the raising--are both mentioned as alike impressive, sublime, and wonderful.] 18 For this cause also the multitude went and met him, for that they heard that he had done this sign. [It is evident from this that the testimony of those who [575] witnessed the raising of Lazarus had enthused the pilgrims in Jerusalem and had sent a large band of them forth charged with that ardent admiration which produced the shouting of the triumphal entry.] 19 The Pharisees therefore said among themselves, Behold how ye prevail nothing: lo, the world is gone after him. [Again, as at Joh_11:47-49, we notice the self-confessed impotency of the Pharisees, but the Sadducees, under the determined and more resolute leadership of Caiaphas, did not participate in this despair. The Pharisees speak of the world as if its acquisition by Jesus was their loss.] c36 And as he went, athe most part of the multitude bmany [Matthew would have us know that the demonstration was no small affair, but was well-nigh universal. Josephus estimates that the number present at one passover was three million, or about one-half the population of Judæa and Galilee. The language of the Pharisees in 1Co_1:26.] c37 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 [John has shown us just above that the raising of Lazarus was most prominent in their thoughts]; a9 The multitudes that went before him, and that followed [Jesus approached the city leading a multitude of pilgrims, and we have seen from John's account above that another multitude came out of the city to meet him: Jesus approached the city between two great multitudes.] cried, saying, bHosanna [This is the Greek form or spelling of two Hebrew words, Hoshiah-na, which means, Save now, or, Save, I pray, na being a particle of entreaty added to imperatives. The two words are taken from Psa_118:25, which was recognized as the Messianic Psalm. The shout "Hosanna" was customarily used at the feast of the tabernacles and the other festivals. It was a shout of exaltation about equivalent to "Salvation"]; aHosanna to the Son of David [see Psa_118:26]; cblessed is the King that cometh in the name of the Lord: b10 blessed is the kingdom that cometh, the kingdom of our father David: cpeace in heaven, and glory in the highest. aHosanna in the highest. [This phrase is taken to mean in the highest degree or highest strains or in the highest heavens. It is likely they were calling upon heaven to participate in glorifying and to ratify their shouts of salvation. The Evangelists give us the various cries of the multitude, for they did not all cry one thing. The cries, if seriously construed, were a fore-recognition of the Messiahship of Jesus, but popular cries are soon caught up and are as fickle as the impulses which beget them. But the public recognition of the Messiahship of Jesus gave [577] weight to the accusation made by Simon Peter on the day of Pentecost that they had slain the Messiah-- Act_2:36. Comp. Act_3:14, Act_3:15.] c39 And some of the Pharisees from the multitude [not a committee sent from Jerusalem for that purpose] said unto him, Teacher, rebuke thy disciples. [It is possible that these may have been moved with an honest fear that the enthusiasm of the people would call down the vengeance of the Romans ( Joh_11:48), but it is more likely that they were prompted solely by envy.] 40 And he answered and said, I tell you that, if these shall hold their peace, the stones will cry out. [The expression is probably proverbial ( Hab_2:11). The meaning is that the occasion of the great King's visit to his city ( Mat_5:35) was so momentous that, if man withheld his praise, inanimate nature would lend its acclamations.] 41 And when he drew nigh, he saw the city and wept over it, 42 saying, If thou hadst known in this day, even thou, the things which belong unto peace! but now they are hid from thine eyes. [The summit of Olivet is two hundred feet higher than the nearest part of the city of Jerusalem and a hundred feet higher than its farthest part, so that the Lord looked upon the whole of it as one looks upon an open book. As he looked upon it he realized the difference between what his coming might mean to it and what it did mean to it; between the love and gratitude which his coming should have incited and the hatred and violence which it did incite; between the forgiveness, blessing and peace which he desired to bring it and the judgment, wrath and destruction which were coming upon it. The vision of it all excited strong emotion, and the verb used does not indicate silent tears, but audible sobbing and lamentation. The day then passing was among the last before the crucifixion, which would present to the Jews a strong motive for repentance. Had Jerusalem hearkened unto Jesus then, he would have saved her from that self-exaltation which proved her ruin. But bigotry and prejudice blinded her eyes.] 43 For the days shall come upon thee, when thine enemies shall cast up a bank about thee, and compass thee round, [578] and keep thee in on every side. [from where Jesus then stood he could see the houses which were to be thrown down, he could locate the embankments which would be built, and he could trace almost every foot of the line of the wall by which Titus in his anger girdled the city when his embankments were burned--Jos. Wars V. 6. 2, 11. 4-6, 12. 1, 2], 44 and shall dash thee to the ground, and thy children within thee [the city is figuratively spoken of as a mother, and her citizens as her children]; and they shall not leave in thee one stone upon another; because thou knewest not the time of thy visitation. [The term "visitation" usually refers to a season of judgment, but here, as elsewhere also ( Exo_4:31), it means a season of grace. To not leave one stone upon another is a proverbial expression descriptive of a complete demotion, but in the overthrow of Jerusalem it was well-nigh literally fulfilled. Thus, while the people rejoiced in the present triumph, the prophetic eye and ear of our Lord beheld the judgments which were coming upon the city, heard the bitter cry of the starved defenders during the siege, the screams of the crucified left to perish upon their crosses after its capture, all ending in the final silence of desolation when not one stone was left upon another.] b11 And he entered into Jerusalem [his route led him down the steep face of Olivet, past Gethsemane, across the stone bridge which spans the Kedron, and up the slope of Moriah to the eastern gate of the city], a10 And when he was come into Jerusalem, all the city was stirred, saying, Who is this? 11 And the multitude said, This is the prophet Jesus, from Nazareth of Galilee. 12 And Jesus entered into the temple of God [here Matthew tells of the cleansing of the temple, which evidently occurred the next day], 14 And the blind and the lame came to him in the temple; and he healed them. 15 But when the chief priests and scribes saw the wonderful things that he did, and the children that were crying in the temple and saying, Hosanna to the Son of David; they were sore displeased, 16 and said unto him, Hearest thou what [579] these say? And Jesus saith unto them, Yea; did ye never read [ Psa_8:2 as rendered by the LXX.], Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings thou hast perfected praise? [Matthew mingles this scene with events which apparently occurred on Monday, but the enthusiasm and the Hosanna cry evidently belonged to the triumphant Sunday. The presence of our Lord in the temple should, indeed, have been heralded with joy, for as that was the day in which the paschal lamb was presented and set apart, it was fitting that Christ our passover should be presented there amidst rejoicing.] band when he had looked round about upon all things, it being now eventide. [a general expression covering the period both before and after sunset], ahe left them, and went forth out of the city bunto Bethany with the twelve aand lodged there. [Having inspected the temple as his Father's house, Jesus withdrew from it, for in the present state of rancor which fermented within his enemies it was not safe for him to spend the night within Jerusalem.]
[FFG 572-580]
J. W. McGarvey (with Philip Y. Pendleton), Commentaries on the New Testament (The Fourfold Gospel, 1914; Acts; and the epistles) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Arno C. Gaebelein 1922 · Public Domain On v28 V. In Jerusalem -- Chapter 19:28-21:38
V. In Jerusalem -- Chapter 19:28-21:38
CHAPTER 19:28-48
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1. The Triumphal Entry in Jerusalem. (Luk 19:28-40.)
2. Weeping over Jerusalem. (Luk 19:41-44.)
3. The Purification of the Temple. (Luk 19:45-48.)
Luk 19:28-40
The triumphal entry of the Lord into Jerusalem has been before us already in Matthew and Mark. He is presented as King. Luke gives an interesting addition. The multitude of disciples rejoiced and praised God for all the mighty works they had seen. “Blessed be the King that cometh in the name of the Lord; peace in heaven and glory in the highest.” The angelic announcement was “peace on earth”; here the disciples say “peace in heaven.” Such will be the ultimate and glorious effect of the work of Christ, when Satan will be cast out of heaven, the heavenly inheritance redeemed (Eph 1:13), and the reconciliation of things in heaven (Col 1:20) accomplished. All this and much more will surely come, when the King-Messiah comes again. Then there will be peace on earth, peace in heaven and glory in the highest. Luk 19:41-48. What a scene it must have been when He saw the great city and wept over it! Before He utters the great prophecy announcing the doom of the city, He weeps. What a glimpse it gives of the loving heart of the Saviour-King, the friend of sinners! And all came as He announced. The second cleansing of the temple took place after that. See annotations on Mar 11:15-18.
Arno C. Gaebelein, The Annotated Bible (1913–1922) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Paul E. Kretzmann 1924 · Public Domain On vv28, 32, 36 Christ’s Entry into Jerusalem.
Christ’s Entry into Jerusalem.
Christ commissions two disciples:
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v. 28. And when He had thus spoken, He went before, ascending up to Jerusalem.
v. 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,
v. 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.
v. 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.
See Mat 21:1-11; Mar 11:1-11. Not so strongly as Mark, Luk 10:32, and yet with considerable emphasis, Luke places Jesus at the head of the little company that was going up to Jerusalem. He was their Hero, their Leader, their Champion, going into the face of danger for the sake of the redemption of the world. From the low country in the neighborhood of Jericho, Jesus, His disciples, and other pilgrims that were with them, ascended to the highlands, to the mountains, on one of which Jerusalem was situated. Jesus stayed in Bethany on the Sabbath, continuing His journey on the next day. Both Bethany and Bethphage were situated on the southeastern slope of the Mount of Olives, the latter being hardly more than a hamlet or crossroads, with a number of farm-buildings. When Jesus had reached a point on the outskirts of Bethany where the road led toward Bethphage, He sent two of His disciples with the order to go quickly ahead of the slowly moving procession into the hamlet over against them, into the suburban country-place. Upon entering, they would find there a colt tied in a certain place, which had never been ridden, no man having ever sat upon it. This they should loose and bring to Him. If there should be opposition on the part of any man, either the owner or some of the laborers that might be near, as to why they were untying the animal, their answer should be that the Lord had need of the animal.
Paul E. Kretzmann, Popular Commentary of the Bible (1921–1924) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv28, 29, 32, 37, 39 Connecting Statement:
Connecting Statement:
This is the end of the part of the story about Zacchaeus. This verse tells us what Jesus does after this part of the story. (See: End of Story)
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When he had said these things
"When Jesus had said these things"
going up to Jerusalem
Jerusalem was higher than Jericho, so it was normal for Israelites to speak of going up to Jerusalem.
translationWords
Jerusalem
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv28, 29, 30, 31, 36, 38, 40 19:28-40 Jesus’ triumphant entry into Jerusalem fulfilled Zech 9:9-10…
19:28-40 Jesus’ triumphant entry into Jerusalem fulfilled Zech 9:9-10 and symbolically announced that he was the Messiah, the King of Israel.
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.