The Beginning of the End?? (Various Scriptures)

Read Chapter 19 of the Gospel of Luke

In this chapter, Jesus is making His way to Jerusalem for the final week before His crucifixion, during the feast of Passover.  He passes through the town of Jericho where a man, a tax collector for the Romans named Zaccheus, climbs a tree in order to see Him.  It is somewhat ironic that a man who was so loathsome to the Jews would have a name that means “pure.“  Jesus’ visit in Zaccheus’ home changes the little man’s life by taking a man who was pure in name only, and forgiving all his sin.  It was Zaccheus that Jesus was referring to when He said, “For the Son of Man came to seek and to save that which was lost.“ (Luke 19:10).

The next few verses tell us something very enlightening about Jesus.  He speaks one of His many parables to the people who are gathered there to hear Him.  There is a particular purpose in this story.  It is the story of the Prince who goes away to receive a kingdom for Himself.  While the Prince is away, he entrusts some of His money to ten of His servants.  They are to be good stewards and are commanded by the Prince to “engage in business” until He returns.  Later, He returns as their King and they will have to give an account for how they have handled His money.

There are several peculiarities about this parable.  Most of us think the main point of this story is the importance of good stewardship.  But it is important to remember why He told the story in the first place.  Listen to Luke 19:11.

11 Now as they heard these things, He spoke another parable, because He was near Jerusalem and because they thought the kingdom of God would appear immediately. (Luke 19:11, NKJV).

He tells them the parable because they think the kingdom of God is going to appear immediately.  But the parable is told in order to illustrate that that is not the case.  Jesus is the Prince who is going away to receive His Kingdom from His Father.  His return will be the time of the restoration of the kingdom.  But now is not the time.

There is another very interesting statement Jesus makes in this story.  As the Prince is leaving His country in order to go and be pronounced King, we read in verse 14, "But his citizens hated him, and sent a delegation after him, saying, `We will not have this man to reign over us.'”

Those two points Jesus makes very clearly: Contrary to their expectations, the Kingdom will not appear immediately, and He will be rejected as their King.  The leaders of the Jews will not have Him reign over them now.  Jesus understands this, and He even tells this parable to the Jews to instruct them in their faulty thinking about Him.  But is is very obvious that the majority don’t believe Him.  The proof of that is just a few days later.

Jesus then travels on to the twin cities of Bethphage and Bethany, within a few miles of Jerusalem.  It was there that Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead.  It was at the tomb of Lazarus that Jesus wept.  I have heard many different explanations for why He wept.  It may have been because He was sympathetic with the sorrow of His friends over the death of their brother.  It may have been because of the pain that death brings.  But it may have been because in Lazarus’ tomb, He saw His own tomb.  He may have wept in anticipation of His own death in just a few days.  But even in the midst of tears, He spoke to His friend and commanded the dead man to walk out of his grave. 

It was because of Lazarus that many people came out to see Jesus on what we refer to as that first Palm Sunday.  Consistent with who the masses think He is, they greet Him as He rides into Jerusalem on a donkey like a triumphant king entering His capital city.  They call Him their king, in keeping with the prophecy of Zechariah 400 years earlier.  They celebrate His coming to them by waving palms in the air.  But in a few days, those palms will be replaced by the palms of those who strike Him in the face, those people who will not have Him to rule over them.  Jesus understands fully that this display of affection toward Him by the people will be short-lived.  They have no idea who He really is.

During that Passover week, when Jesus left the city to spend an evening in the little town of Bethany, He had dinner one evening in the home of a man referred to as Simon the Leper, according to Mark 14.  The more accurate term would be Simon, the former leper.  Undoubtedly, this was someone whom Jesus had healed.  Commenting on this, John Gill said, “and it may be observed, that Christ goes in and dwells with such whom he heals, and with such he is always welcome.”

During the course of that meal at Simon’s house, a woman comes to Jesus and breaks open an alabaster container filled with expensive perfume, and pours it over Jesus’ head.  Some of the disciples, Judas Escariot in particular, complain about the wastefulness of the woman, saying the perfume could have been sold and the money given to the poor.  But Jesus rebukes them and says, 

"Let her alone. Why do you trouble her? She has done a good work for Me. 7 "For you have the poor with you always, and whenever you wish you may do them good; but Me you do not have always. 8 "She has done what she could. She has come beforehand to anoint My body for burial.” (Mark 14:6-8, NKJV).

- Jesus tells a parable stating clearly that His time to be King is not now, and in fact, He will be rejected by the Jews.  

- He weeps at the tomb of Lazarus, possibly because of the anticipation of His own death and separation from the Father.  

- He announces unmistakably that he anticipates His own burial soon because this woman is anointing Him for that reason.

During the Passover week, Jesus tells several parables.  One of them is directed at the Pharisees where He likens them to the workers in a vineyard who kill the owner of the vineyard, a reference to Himself.  Late in the week on Thursday, at the last supper, the disciples are incredulous when Jesus states that one of them will betray Him to the Jews.  Peter is even more astounded when Jesus says he will deny Him three times before daybreak!

Jesus knows perfectly well, before He ever takes the first step toward Jerusalem, that He is walking to His death and it will not be an easy death.  Rather, it will be the indescribably horrible death of crucifixion.  In a sense, His triumphal entry on Palm Sunday is the epitome of irony: “Ignorance feigned for the purpose of confounding or provoking an antagonist.” (Webster).  Does Jesus enter the city like a King because He wants to provoke His antagonists, the Pharisees?  Maybe.  Is He ignorant of what will happen in the next fews days?  Absolutely not.

One thing He undoubtedly is doing: He is putting on display His unshakable faith in His Heavenly Father in the face of an unparalleled terror.  Knowing what He knows about His own impending death, understanding fully what is about to take place in every detail, being completely aware of the intensity of the suffering He is about to experience, He walks right into the city, confronts the Pharisees, and even provokes them by His zeal when He cleanses the Temple, to plot His murder.

This is, without doubt, the greatest display of courage the world has ever seen.  I do not know if Jesus was fearful.  Certainly, during the night as He prayed to His Father that the cup might pass from Him, fear and anguish provoked blood from His sweat.  So troubled was He that God sent angels to minister to Him in His grief.

It has often been the case with me that the anticipation of a bad experience was worse than the experience itself.  In this case, it is hard to imagine that the anticipation of the cross was worse than the event.  But even the anticipation must have been excruciating.  Jesus’ final descent from Bethany down the Mt. of Olives and up Mt. Zion into Jerusalem must have been one of the longest days of Jesus’ life.  He was riding into the city like a King, but in reality He was walking to His death.  He had already been anointed by the woman in Bethany for His burial.  All that remained now was for all the ordained players to perform their roles in carrying out the most heinous crime in the history of the world: the murder of the Son of God.

Why did Jesus enter Jerusalem on that Sunday like He did, on a young donkey?  What was the point of that?  He knew the time for Him to become the King of Israel was not now.  He had already said that in the parable about the three servants.  He had already taught His disciples that He had not come to be served like a King, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many.  He knew the triumphal entry, the shouts of “hosanna,” and their references to Him as their King were not accurate.  He knew that in five days, His hands and feet would have spikes driven through them and He would be left hanging on a cross to die a slow and humiliating death.  

So why the show?  Why ride into Jerusalem as though He were the King of Israel?  I’m sure there could be a number of answers to that question.  I’ll give two reasons:

1.  To fulfill the Scriptures.  Zechariah 9:9 is the prophecy: "Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your King is coming to you; He is just and having salvation, Lowly and riding on a donkey, A colt, the foal of a donkey.” (NKJV).  Does God ever do things without our knowledge of it?  I’m not sure how we would know it if He did, but it is very clear that these people who were shouting praises to God on that day had no clue what was really taking place.  Their Messiah was riding into town!  He was indeed their King.  And He would die for their sins on a Roman cross in five days.  Whether people recognized it at the time or not, God was fulfilling His purposes right before their eyes.

2. To truly be their King.  Zechariah’s prophecy was indeed literally fulfilled that day.  Israel’s King really did ride into the city.  It was only later that people understood what had actually happened.  But the victorious King rode into the city that day.  

What might Jesus have been thinking during these strange events?  How does He feel as He rides into the city, hearing His praises ringing in His ears, listening to the people refer to him as their King, their Messiah?  What is running through His mind?  How can He accept this great praise from his people when He knows it is only a matter of hours before He will be betrayed by a close friend and crucified by his enemies?

All of this is understood.  All of this is planned from before the foundation of the world.  A friend will sell out to the Chief Priests.  The chief priests will collaborate with the Romans.  The people will insist upon His death.  His crucifixion will be accompanied by thieves.  His head will be pierced, His side will be pierced, His hands and feet will be pierced, His heart will be pierced.  His burial will be in a borrowed tomb.  He will lie in the grave for three days.  This is the plan.  It always has been.

There is another passage of Scripture I want to remind you of.

28 "Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 "Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 "For My yoke is easy and My burden is light." (Matthew 11:28-30, NKJV).

My yoke is easy and my burden is light.  How is that possible?  How can He say His burden is easy?  Who would want to be yoked to this Man, a man of sorrows who is so well acquainted with grief?  How is it that the yoke He gives us is easy?  How can being yoked with Him be a light thing?

Because it is an unequal yoke.  When Jesus invites us to come to Him and bear His yoke, He’s the one who does all the work.  He is the one who bears our griefs and carries our sorrows.  He is the one who issues the invitation to us to cast our cares upon Him because He cares for us.  So when we are under the yoke with Him, He does all the work, we get all the benefit, and He invites us to do so.  He willingly takes our curse.  He gladly bears our sin.  He triumphantly dies our death.  And somehow, we are yoked together with Him in all of this.  He does the work, we get the credit.

This Jesus is the man who said, “Whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life.” (John 4:14, NJKV).

This is the Man who said, "I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst. (John 6:35, NKJV).

This is the Man who said, "I am the light of the world.  He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life." (John 8:12, NKJV).

This is the Man who said, "I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture. 10 "The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly. 11 "I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep." (John 10:9-11, NKJV).

This is the Man who rode triumphantly into Jerusalem in order to defeat sin and death and hell.  For us.   And He accomplished that purpose.  He was not the victim of evil men that week.  In fact, it was during that week that He confronted His enemies and ours, both human and satanic, and conquered them all.  Somehow, we were in that.  Somehow, in some mysterious, mystical way, we were crucified with Him, we died with Him, we rose from the grave with Him.

Paul explained it, sort of, when he wrote to the Galatians and said, "I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me." (Galatians 2:20, NKJV).

Christ’s yoke is easy for us because He does the work.  We get the benefit.  The week of Christ’s passion was His work for our sakes.  It is to this work that He says, in essence, “Get in the yoke with Me.  It is an easy yoke.  I am gentle, do not be afraid.  Your burden will be light.  I will do all the work for you.  You just follow Me.”  

Paul seems to go further by saying not only are we yoked together with Christ, but there is a union between Christ and the believer.  He says repeatedly that the Christian is “in Christ.”  

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, 4 just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, (Ephesians 1:3-4, NKJV).

He [God] has made us accepted in the Beloved. (6b)

In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins (7a)

In Him also we have obtained an inheritance  (11a)

Having believed the Gospel, we were sealed into Him by the Holy Spirit of promise (in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise; (13b)

You He [God] made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins,  (2:1)

God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (2:4-5)

and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus (2:6)

WHY??  Why would God do this for us?  What is it that would motivate God to send His own Son to Jerusalem to face sin and death and Hell for us?

SO that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. (2:7)

So that He might show off the magnitude of the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness, and compassion, and mercy, and patience, and long-suffering, and forgiveness, and love towards us, for eternity.  His rich grace extends toward us, through the Lord Jesus, forever.  It was for that, that Jesus rode into Jerusalem.  It was for the sake of that future joy in glory with US, that He endured the cross.

And apparently, we rode into Jerusalem with Him.  On that little donkey on Palm Sunday sat not only the Lord Jesus, but every one of His people, every person who would ever place their trust and confidence and hope in His life and death to secure their salvation.  All of God’s people rode that donkey into Jerusalem in order to be crucified with Him, die with Him, and be raised from the dead with Him.  I cannot explain it.  I just believe it.  I hope you do too.

Therefore, gird your minds for action, keep sober in spirit, 

fix your hope completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. (1 Peter 1:13, NASB).

Come quickly, Lord Jesus.