What made the triumphant entry into Jerusalem so triumphant? I look at three components of Jesus ministry that made this moment so triumphant. We look at the triumphant entry into Jerusalem from three perspectives; Prophetic, The Wake of Jesus Ministry, and The Divine Plan of God.
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What made Jesus entry into Jerusalem so triumphant? And what can we as Christians learn from this portion of his Ministry? We'll examine the triumphant entry into Jerusalem from three perspectives.
(1) Consider the prophetic significance of
(2) Consider the events in the immediate wake of Jesus Entry into Jerusalem:
(3) Consider this event within the context of God's Divine Plan
Intro:
Hey Everyone and welcome back to the Harvest Bible Podcast with Micah Hess. This is a show where we are looking for meaning, purpose, and clarity through scriptural understanding.
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Today's message is going to revolve around the account of Jesus triumphant entry into Jerusalem. I'm going to focus on the account from the Gospel of Luke in chapter 19 from verses 28 through 40. And rather than walking through this account verse by verse, I want to explore this event through 3 different perspectives.
Once we've touched on some of the significance of the event from those three standpoints, we will try and wrap our heads around some core characteristics Jesus and his ministry that help us to understand just what exactly the Triumph of Jesus was at his first advent. The three big ideas being:
To get started I'll go ahead and read the account from Luke 19:28-40. This is from the NASB.
Luke 19:28-40
Triumphal Entry
28 After He had said these things, He was going on ahead, going up to Jerusalem.
29 When He approached Bethphage and Bethany, near the mount that is called Olivet, He sent two of the disciples,
30 saying, “Go into the village ahead of you; there, as you enter, you will find a colt tied on which no one yet has ever sat; untie it and bring it here.
31 “If anyone asks you, ‘Why are you untying it?’ you shall say, ‘The Lord has need of it.’ ”
32 So those who were sent went away and found it just as He had told them.
33 As they were untying the colt, its owners said to them, “Why are you untying the colt?”
34 They said, “The Lord has need of it.”
35 They brought it to Jesus, and they threw their coats on the colt and put Jesus on it.
36 As He was going, they were spreading their coats on the road.
37 As soon as He was approaching, near the descent of the Mount of Olives, the whole crowd of the disciples began to praise God joyfully with a loud voice for all the miracles which they had seen,
38 shouting:
“BLESSED IS THE KING WHO COMES IN THE NAME OF THE LORD;
Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!”
39 Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Him, “Teacher, rebuke Your disciples.”
40 But Jesus answered, “I tell you, if these become silent, the stones will cry out!”
This was a monumental event in the ministry of Christ. Jesus and the disciples were working their way towards Jerusalem and towards what Jesus knew was going to be his death. The disciples however seem to have been under the impression that they were all hurtling towards the establishment of the Kingdom of Israel as an independent entity on Earth, that was their idea of a triumph. I'll note some scriptures as we go along that make that clear. But it's important to remember the timing here. We were only about a week out from the Jewish Passover. What that would've meant is that the roads into Jerusalem would have been full of people who were also traveling to Jerusalem. This wasn't just the 12 disciples chanting hosanna and throwing their garments and palm branches in front of a triumphant Jesus, this was a crowd travelers and pilgrims from all over! A crowd of people buzzing with excitement about Jesus and all the miraculous things that they had heard about him. Could this be the Messiah so long awaited for? How could the inspiration and adoration inspired by Jesus point to any other conclusion, he had after all raised a man, Lazarus, from the Jaws of death itself! Jesus was on the road to victory, but not the victory everyone thought he was heading for.
Prophetic Perspective
To really bring out some of the significance of this event, I want to look at the triumphal entry through the standpoint of Prophetic expectations. The Jewish people had definite expectations for the Messiah. Those expectations seemed mainly to have revolved around the idea of a conquer or great king in the style of King David who would free them from the yoke of foreign oppression. They expected a savior who could save them from swords and armor. They didn't expect a savior who could save them sin and death. They didn't expect a miraculous healer or shepherd with the traits of submission and compassion which Jesus exemplified so well. To get a feel for what the Jewish expectation for a messiah was, let’s step back in our bibles to Zechariah chapter 9, where this event in particular was prophesied about.
Just a hint of the background about Zechariah, he was a prophet at the time when the Jews were returning from exile in Babylon. He prophesied to encourage and strengthen the resolve of the Jewish people when they were building the Second temple, which if you recall they ran into some resistance with that once the work started. The Jewish nation as whole however was still dominated by the Medo-Persian Empire, they were allowed to return from their exile in Babylon and even permitted to rebuild the temple. But after that 70 years of captivity was over, there was a giant question hanging over the mind of the Jewish nation - What happens next?
The Prophecies of Zechariah were giving them the answer to that Question. Chapter 9 is basically a prophecy about the various events in Israel up to the time of Jesus First Advent. If anyone would like to study this in a little more depth just email me and I'll share a great sermon from Carl Hagensick about Zech 9 with you. For now though the verse of interest to us is verse 9.
" 9 Rejoice greatly, Daughter Zion!
Shout, Daughter Jerusalem!
See, your king comes to you,
righteous and victorious,
lowly and riding on a donkey,
on a colt, the foal of a donkey. " [Zech 9:9]
This prophecy and many others had been sitting in the background of the Jewish mentality for hundreds of years until finally by the time of the first advent, the Jewish people were so zoned in on this idea of the restoration of Israel and the return of a King, that when someone like John the Baptist came along everyone wondered if he might be the one who would be the king they were longing for (Read Luke 3:15,16). And this is despite the fact that Nothing in scripture paints John the Baptist as a warrior king who would rally Israel to defeat the Romans. But, it was apparent to the people that he was a prophet and he had been sent by God. So they waited, with the hearts pounding and their hopes rising, that this could be it.
There are loads of other scriptures in the OT that describe the Messiah as a king. Look at Jer 23:5-6 for another example of that. And that’s what the Jews wanted! Freedom from the kingdoms that ruled over them. They were looking for someone who could restore Israel to prominence and glory, a king who could go forth and fight their battles and lead them to victory. And since that is what they wanted and expected, they couldn't conceive of anything other than that. And ya know, it makes me wonder if any of the religious leaders ever read this Zech 9:9 scripture and noticed the oddity in it. It says that the king is coming, righteous and victorious, but lowly (humble) and riding upon a colt, the colt of a donkey.
Did anyone ever read that and think, wow that seems like a strange picture, a victorious general riding on a beast of burden? Why not a warhorse? Or a beautiful armored chariot or some other symbol of power and might? There's a hint right there as to what this prophecy really means. The victory of Christ at his first advent was not the restoration of Israel, but in submitting himself to God, even unto death on the cross, thus providing the ransom sacrifice for all mankind. And absorbing the consequences of our sins, so that we might experience the ultimate grace of God.
That wasn't the victory that the people were expecting however. All of those other scriptures in the OT that described the messiah as being rejected and bearing the sins of others as a suffering servant seemed to have been lost on or ignored by the people.
Ministry Perspective
Now let's look at the triumphant entry from the perspective of Jesus Ministry. What I mean by that, is that we want to understand what put the people in such an uproar over Jesus coming into Jerusalem. Because they treated him like a king. In verse 36 of Luke 19 it said that "as they were going, they were spreading their coats on the road." This is how ancient Israel greeted their kings in triumph, see 2 Kings 9:13. What did Jesus do that moved the people with such fervor?
(1) Looking back to Luke 18:31-34 Jesus told his disciples what they should expect once they got to Jerusalem. Stating his approaching death outright doesn't seem to have gotten his point across though. Looking forward to Luke 19:11-27 Jesus told the parable of the money usage. And it tells us in verses 11 and 12 exactly what Jesus motivations were in telling them this parable at the time. "11 While they were listening to these things, Jesus went on to tell a parable, because He was near Jerusalem, and they supposed that the kingdom of God was going to appear immediately. 12 So He said, “A nobleman went to a distant country to receive a kingdom for himself, and then return." The very first verse of the parable is the key element Jesus wanted to convey to the disciples at that time. There are more lessons contained in the parable than this, but for now this is all I want to focus on. In this parable Jesus is the nobleman, and in order to receive a kingdom he had to go away, or die and be resurrected. But then he would be gone for a long time. This is the key though, Jesus was SO TOTALLY SUBMITTED to God and God's will for him, that he didn't think twice about heading to his death. At this point he knew he was a dead man walking, and he only had so much time to try and impart as knowledge and understand to his disciples as possible. And the disciples really struggled with this idea of a messiah who was a suffering servant instead of a conquering king. Even as late as in Acts 1:6, right before Jesus ascension they were still convinced that the Restoration of the kingdom of Israel was right around the corner. But Jesus is laying the foundation now to help them to change their understanding of what true victory looks like in this life. And again - This isn't just Jesus talking the talk here, Jesus is leading by example for the Church. Showing us what true submission, service, and self-sacrifice look like.
So these first two events are about Jesus trying refocus his disciples expectations for his messiahship. The rest of these events are going to help us see what Jesus was actually accomplishing In his ministry. How he was affecting the hearts and livelihoods of those people he rubbed shoulders with in his ministry.
(2) Let's take a look at one of the events that happened the night before the entry to Jerusalem. This account is found in John 12:1-7. The dinner where Lazarus, Martha, and Mary were present and Mary was so moved by Jesus presence that she offered something very precious and very unique to him. There's just so much significance in this event we’re just going to scratch the surface with this account. But let’s read it from the Gospel of John Chapter 12 verses 1-7.
The Anointing at Bethany HCSB John 12:1-7
12 Six days before the Passover, Jesus came to Bethany where Lazarus was, the one Jesus had raised from the dead. 2 So they gave a dinner for Him there; Martha was serving them, and Lazarus was one of those reclining at the table with Him. 3 Then Mary took a pound of fragrant oil—pure and expensive nard—anointed Jesus’ feet, and wiped His feet with her hair. So the house was filled with the fragrance of the oil.
4 Then one of His disciples, Judas Iscariot (who was about to betray Him), said, 5 “Why wasn’t this fragrant oil sold for 300 denarii and given to the poor?” 6 He didn’t say this because he cared about the poor but because he was a thief. He was in charge of the money-bag and would steal part of what was put in it.
7 Jesus answered, “Leave her alone; she has kept it for the day of My burial. 8 For you always have the poor with you, but you do not always have Me.”
These verses are just overflowing with meaning and importance. Remember back in the first chapter of John where we read John the Baptists testimony about Jesus? In chapter 1 verse 29 it John says, “…. Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!" Well this event is the lamb being anointed for that sacrifice that was going to take away the sins of the world. I think it is unlikely that Mary understood just how close to death Jesus really was at this point. Which makes this event all the more astounding. That she, That Mary was SO moved with love and submission to take this luxurious gift and use to anoint Jesus. Think about the kind of love and devotion that Jesus must have inspired within her heart, as it welled up with emotion and she poured out her heart to Jesus in front of the whole gathering.
Now it's interesting that in the other accounts of this event in Matt & Mark they focus on Mary's anointing of his head. While here in the Gospel of John it focuses on Mary's anointing also of his feet. One commentary that I looked at described the event as, "Incredibly lavish and devotional." And I thought that was so fitting. Personally I'm not a person of strong emotions. There are a few things I feel strongly about, and a few different pet peeves of mine that can fire me up pretty quickly, but overall I like to think of myself as pretty even keeled. I can't help but wonder, what would it take to move me to do something like this? This wasn't just Mary expending her monetary wealth or material possessions, Mary actually let her hair, her crowning glory (see 1 Cor 11:15) be used to wipe Jesus Feet. This was total submission. This was almost reckless extravagant love here! This is the kind of feeling that Jesus Ministry instilled in those around him. It's amazing to me that Mary was overcome with the desire to do this, that she did it in front of the whole room. At the least the disciples plus Lazarus and Martha. She didn't care what anyone thought, she just knew that there was something truly spectacular and miraculous about Jesus, and she needed to show her love and devotion in some way.
I wish some of the other reactions, other than that of Judas were recorded for us here. I can't imagine much other than stunned silence. But Judas speaks up first and is rather critical of Mary's act of devotion here. His line of attack was that this was too extravagant a gift, the pound of fragrant oil, to have been used on anything other than being sold and the money given to the poor. 300 Denarii was about a year's wages for the average laborer, but the scriptures tell us that this attack was made from a self-serving motive. What Jesus says in Mary's defense is striking. Now I read the account from the HCSB, because the wording of verse 7 is very clear. Jesus said, "Leave her alone; she has kept it for the day of My burial." Some translations will say something a little different, like NASB which reads, Let her alone, so that she may keep it for the day of my burial. But the difference between the two is interesting. For now I'll content myself with saying that I prefer the HCSB translation because it makes it clear, that Jesus knew that he was on death's door. He knew the significance of this gift from Mary, even if she didn't grasp the significance of this anointing. He knew that he was being anointed for his death.
Here in this incident there's a really touching interplay between service and submission here. Mary's act of service here was at a cost to herself. It cost her this precious ointment. Maybe it was a family heirloom or it was the culmination of years of work and saving. No matter how she got it, she deemed it more appropriate to gift it all to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, than to save it for herself. But there was a social cost as well. She unabashedly symbolized her love and affection for Jesus, opening herself up to the entire room. And what was the reaction of the room? To basically scold her for being irresponsible with her material possessions. That would have been a hard thing to hear if you were Mary. But when Jesus spoke up in her defense, that’s where the interplay comes in between service and submission. By speaking on her behalf, Jesus said this thing that she has done, this gift she has given, she has kept it for the day of My burial. The day of my burial is just an arm's length away. And it will be here before even my disciples see it coming. Jesus was submitting to the fate that he knew was awaiting him. And that fragrance of Mary's service to him, probably comforted and strengthen his resolve like nothing else could.
(3) Matt 20:20-28, Mark 10:35-45 Sons of Zebedee are requested to have the right and left seats next to Jesus. Jesus tells them, you don’t know what you’re asking for. Can you drink from the cup I drink of? When the disciples got indignant Jesus reminds them that the Christian formula is different from that of Gentiles. The way to life is through death, the way to rule is through serving, and the path to a crown is burdened with a cross. (Matt 10:38-39, 16:25, 23:11, Mark 8:35, skip for time
(4)Matt 20:29-34, Mark 10:44-52, The two blind men call out loudly, despite being told by the crowds to be quiet. Jesus was moved with compassion and healed them.
Divine Plan Perspective
This final perspective I want to explore the triumphant entry through is from the perspective of the Divine plan of God. The first advent of Jesus Christ was a critical inflection point in the trajectory of that plan. Up to this point in the history of mankind, society had continued to fall further and further into sin. There were the OT promises made to Israel about a coming messiah and blessing all the nations of the earth, but as we know, there was a lot of confusion and misunderstanding when it came to the topic of who and what the Messiah would be. The Jews expected a great king and general to lead them to victory. But that wasn't at all what Jesus sought to accomplish at his first advent. I love what it says in John 3:17 about Jesus first advent mission. “For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him." This just makes it so plain why Jesus was here in the first place. Salvation for mankind, not just the descendants of Abraham, but the whole world. A kind of saving that was beyond even the broadest imaginations of the Jewish leaders. They yearned for independence and power and so they wanted a king who would fight their battles and win! And instead they got a king who died for them. A king who said, I'm here to fight a different battle. I'm here to fight a battle you don’t even know how badly you're losing. A battle against sin and the fallen and evil nature it brings about. Jesus and only Jesus could do this. Submission to the will of God was so key here. Being willing to save mankind, even at the cost of his own life.
Let's take a quick look at 1 Tim 2:3-6
3 This is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior,
4 who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.
5 For there is one God, and one mediator also between God and men, the man Christ Jesus,
6 who gave Himself as a ransom for all, the testimony given at the proper time.
From the time that Adam and Eve sinned in the garden, mankind had been estranged from God. The Jewish nation had had some form of atonement with God, but in all those animal sacrifices in the OT were only shadows of things to come, the actual sacrifice to cleanse sins, the true and substantial cleansing of sins could only come about after Jesus Christ came and provided the ultimate ransom sacrifice of his own flesh and blood - see Heb 10:1. That's how he is able to be the mediator talked about in 1 Tim 2:5. He is the one and ONLY Mediator between God and Man. The only one who can bridge that chasm of sin that has estranged God and humanity. And in verse 6 we see the timing is crucial. Jesus life was the given at the proper time, but if you read verse 6 from the marginal note it would read as … the testimony to be given at the proper time. Just like there was a plan for Jesus at his first advent, the three and a half years of his ministry came together in the triumphant entry here in Luke, everything was coming together for his ministry to culminate in his death on the cross. The testimony of Christ's death on the cross will come to be understood by all humanity at the proper time. It said back in verse 4 of 1 Tim 2, that God desires all men to be saved and come to a knowledge of the truth. The truth of the saving power of Christ. And if that's what God wants, you can bet it will happen. All things in their proper time.
Am I preaching wonderously here?
Conclusions/Summary:---------------------------------------------------
So what does all this mean for us? What do these scriptures, and the Triumph of Christ teach us about faith and spiritual growth. To help us understand that answer, I want to break down the Triumph of Christ into these 3 components for our purposes today.
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Starting with submission to God. This is an incredibly hard thing to do. To give up that feeling of control over your life and direction, and to ask God to guide you by faith instead. But not only is this difficult. It's incredibly unpalatable to our society and culture here in America and the broader western world for that matter. But submission to the plan of God was the entire reason that that Jesus was here in the first place. The culture will try to tell you that submission to anything or anyone or even the idea of higher moral standard is archaic and oppressive. The culture wants you to believe that morality is defined by the individual. And really the reason the culture says that is because it is reacting to the struggle that so many of us feel to find meaning and purpose in life. So the culture says that the fix for is we must remove all boundaries that would inhibit us from any pursuit of happiness. There can no limits on my self-expression in any way. And that is the path to victory.
Christianity offers a radically different view. Different to the point where its not able to fit into a sub context of the modern culture. It just doesn’t fit inside any of those boxes. Instead Christianity is a counter culture, because it's completely unique. Christianity doesn't tell you that victory is in the pursuit of happiness. The only way to victory is to submit yourself to the victory that's already been won for you. Christianity can tell you why you're struggling for meaning and purpose in life. Because there's a God sized hole in your heart. Ever since that first act of disobedient sin was committed, humanity has been at odds with God. The struggle in our lives is against our own sinful nature. And no matter what we do or how hard we try, we cannot overcome that massive barrier between us and God. But this is where the good news gets really good. God knew that there was no way for humanity to get out of the hole we dug ourselves into. So he sent his son, Jesus to help us. Not just help us, but to fight the battle against sin for us, and win it. 1 Tim 2:6 - Who gave himself a ransom for all. That ransom price that Jesus paid for the life of the first sinner effects every sinner since then (See Rom 5:18-19). Since Jesus submitted to going down the road of suffering and shame, all we have to do it submit to the victory he's already won. And once you've tasted the grace that submission will teach you. Then your heart will start to change. Once you've felt God's grace, you won't be able to help but to submit to it.
By going through with the Triumphant entry into Jerusalem, by engaging in the brief moment of letting the crowds announce his presence as the true King of Israel, he was further ensuring his death. He told the disciples this on several occasions that going to Jerusalem meant his death. I mentioned some of those scriptures earlier. The scribes and Pharisees were already out to get him, but this was too much. They told Jesus, how dare you let the people swoon over you like this. Tell this crowd to stop. And because Jesus knew that if this was God's will and God's purpose for him, then absolutely nothing would be able to stop it, he said to them, “I tell you, if these become silent, the stones will cry out!” God has an infinite arsenal of ways to accomplish his will, if the people weren't crying out, then some other creation would take its place. This was yet event that metaphorically ensure that Jesus would be nailed to the cross.
Now the second component of Jesus victory was his service to others. The roots of that service were in his love and empathy for humanity. I love scriptures like Matt 9:36 we read about the way his heart just poured out for those he met. "Seeing the people, He felt compassion for them, because they were distressed and dispirited like sheep without a shepherd." Jesus was continually reaching out and helping those who needed it. No matter how much of sin and decay he saw, he never became cold to it. The energy and effort was something he expended gladly all the way to his final moments. Knowing that he was the only one who could guide these lost sheep back to God, he instead actively reached out those who needed healing the most, those who had outward imperfects as well as those whose hearts were what needed healing the most. Just like a shepherd he led those sheep to the life giving water only he could provide. Never holding back even a drop of it.
The third and final component I want to touch on is the sacrifice of Jesus fleshly human body. When we think of Jesus sacrificing his body it's easy to only think of him dying on the cross. And this is true, but Jesus hung from the cross was not a single act but the culmination of a ministry of sacrificing his flesh. And It's especially appropriate at this time of the year to remind ourselves of Jesus words on the night of the last supper. This is where Jesus instituted what we sometimes call the Lord's supper or the memorial supper. In Luke 22:19 after handing them the unleavened bread Jesus said to the disciples, "This is My body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of Me." The work and ministry ofJesus weren't like a rock star Televangelist preacher. He knew where his ministry was taking him, to the breaking of his physical body on the cross. And this was dangerously close to that final moment when Jesus body would be broken completely. This was what it was all about, A ministry of healing and service. Mary's anointing of Jesus at the feast. The praise and shouts of Hosanna when he entered Jerusalem. His death on the cross. Notice the language describing the suffering servant prophecy from Isa 53, I'll leave you with verses 4&5.
"4 Surely our griefs He Himself bore, And our sorrows He carried; Yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken, Smitten of God, and afflicted. 5 But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; The chastening for our well-being fell upon Him, And by His scourging we are healed."
Jesus did all this, so that we might receive God's grace freely and without restraint. Fulfilling the requirements that justice demanded, by absorbing the blows of sin, by allowing him body to be crushed, and being chastened and scourged, though he didn't deserve it. Appreciate the cost of the grace you and I have received. The grace is free to us, but it cost Jesus everything. And he sacrificed his body to last moment on the cross. Let's do our best to following the pattern of Submission, Service, and Sacrifice as it was laid out to us by Jesus. And strengthen and encourage others as we strive to continue on this long and narrow way.
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Hey everyone thanks for listening, and if you liked the show do me a huge favor and leave a review for it! And follow me on Instagram and twitter, you can find both in the show description.
And a quick note on the next episode. We'll be returning to the series in the book of Acts. I'll cover Ch 3 verses 1-11 in the next episode. If you have any questions or comments about those verses I'd love to hear them. You can send them to me at hmbiblepodcast@gmail.com.
Lord Bless!