Luke 19:28-30 NIV
28 After Jesus had said this, he went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem.29 As he approached Bethphage and Bethany at the hill called the Mount of Olives, he sent two of his disciples, saying to them, "Go to the village ahead of you, and as you enter it, you will find a colt tied there, which no one has ever ridden. Untie it and bring it here.
Jesus then anticipates the objections in the next verse.
Luke 19:31 NIV
If anyone asks you, 'Why are you untying it?' say, 'The Lord needs it.'"
This is a huge test for the disciples. Compare it to today. That’s like Jesus telling you to go onto a new car lot and take a brand new car that has never been driven off the lot. Now, I think at this point its good to state that you better be real sure it’s Jesus telling you to do it before you go and take that new car.
Luke 19:32-34 NIV
Those who were sent ahead went and found it just as he had told them. As they were untying the colt, its owners asked them, "Why are you untying the colt?" They replied, "The Lord needs it."
This goes to say a great deal about the time of living as well as the values in possessions. Can you imagine hanging on to your possessions so loosely as to simply let them go at hearing the Lord wants them? Well, that is in fact how we ought to be. Keep a listening ear to the Lords will in your life.
Luke 19:35 NIV
They brought it to Jesus, threw their cloaks on the colt and put Jesus on it.
Now think about this for a second. No one has ever been on this colt. So that would go to say that it’s not able to be ridden at this point. But Jesus has no difficulty riding it. This is a very small part of showing his glory. The larger part resides in this...
Zechariah 9:9 NIV
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.
So in his glory, the Messiah is also fulfilling prophecy. Jesus doesn't come in the manner of Hitler or in the same manner of generals riding on a horse after a victory. No, the creator of the universe is riding upon a foul. A donkey which is famous for carrying great weights. Here he comes to take away the weight of the world... the weight of our sin. In Matthew 11 He says, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”
Remember your God relates to you. Remember that he has been lowly and he knows how you feel where ever you are and what ever you are going through.
Luke 19:37-39 NIV
When he came near the place where the road goes down the Mount of Olives, the whole crowd of disciples began joyfully to praise God in loud voices for all the miracles they had seen: "Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!"
"Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!" Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Jesus, "Teacher, rebuke your disciples!"
The Pharisees didn't want him to accept such a title but rather to rebuke those who named him as such.
Psalm 118:22-23 NIV
The stone the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone; the Lord has done this,
and it is marvelous in our eyes.
Luke 19:40 NIV
"I tell you," he replied, "if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out."
Think about that. Know you why creations exist? It is to glorify God.
Romans 8 speaks of this. As does psalm 148 and other places in the Word as well.
Psalm 96:11-13 NIV
Let the heavens rejoice, let the earth be glad;
let the sea resound, and all that is in it. Let the fields be jubilant, and everything in them;
let all the trees of the forest sing for joy. Let all creation rejoice before the Lord, for he comes,
he comes to judge the earth.
He will judge the world in righteousness
and the peoples in his faithfulness.
Luke 19:41-44 NIV
As he approached Jerusalem and saw the city, he wept over it and said, "If you, even you, had only known on this day what would bring you peace—but now it is hidden from your eyes. The days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment against you and encircle you and hem you in on every side. They will dash you to the ground, you and the children within your walls. They will not leave one stone on another, because you did not recognize the time of God's coming to you."
Jesus sees the day of their judgment and knows that they are blind to it. We know that this occurred in history exactly as he said it would. Titus came in and wiped out Jerusalem in 70 ad.
Luke 19:45-46 NIV
When Jesus entered the temple courts, he began to drive out those who were selling. "It is written," he said to them, "'My house will be a house of prayer'; but you have made it 'a den of robbers.'"
God never desired for his church to be a business and here we see his anger at those who have taken advantage of those who genuinely desires to seek God.
Luke 19:47-48 NIV
Every day he was teaching at the temple. But the chief priests, the teachers of the law and the leaders among the people were trying to kill him. Yet they could not find any way to do it, because all the people hung on his words.
They not only wanted to kill him but to destroy him. And this then points to the great love and mercy Jesus has in knowing what would occur and yet going forward to lay down his life (that which they couldn't take) for us.
So what is your view of Christ from just this passage? As you examine his love and humility make it personal. When you examine the words in the Bible, make it personal... It was written for you. Every word applies to your life and is designed to give you a clear understanding of God and his will for you. We are his temple. Have we allowed ourselves to become a den of thieves? If Jesus then owns your temple, know that he will clense it. But it can be a great deal easier if you help now by recognizing those things in you which require cleaning and beginning the process with him rather than fighting him to hold on to that which is impure.
God loves us enough to die for us and take our punishment. But he also loves us enough to not leave us in our sins. Just as we would not allow a poison to stay in our child’s system, he loves us enough to not allow the poison of sin to remain in us. Have fellowship with Christ that your joy may be full. We have an opportunity beyond just reading the word. We have the opportunity to taste and see that God is good. We have an opportunity to pray with and experience God in our lives. We are the body of Christ. We are the church. Lets take hold of the opportunities he has given us.
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