Hello veryone.
We will cointunue to the look the Jesus and his triumphal entry in Jerusalem today. Here is my translation of the remainder of the passage.
35 So they brought the animal to Jesus and placed their garments on it. Then they put Jesus on it. 36 Then as Jesus went along, people spread their garments out in the road.
37 As he came near the spot where the road goes down the Mount of Olives, the whole crowd of disciples began to joyfully praise God in loud voices because of all of the miracles they had seen.
38 They were saying,
“Blessed is the one who is coming,
The King coming in the name of the Lord.
Heaven’s peace
And glory in the highest.
39 Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Jesus, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples.”
40 Answering them, he said, “I am telling you, if they remain silent, the stones would cry out.”
41 As he was about to enter the city, he saw it and wept over it, 42 saying “If only you knew today, what would bring you peace, but now it is hidden from you. 43 A time will come when your enemy will build an entrenchment to surround you and close you in on all sides. 44 They will beat you and your chidren into the ground, and will not leave a stone on top of another stone, because you did not recognize the time when God visited you.”
Now that they have the necessary donkey, Jesus' disciples place their own garments on the colt and then place him on it, and he begins his ride into Jerusalem. As Jesus rides this donkey colt into Jerusalem, the people come out to praise him. Their words are filled with hope for the Messiah,
Luke records the people like this:
“Blessed is the one who is coming,
The King comes in the name of the Lord.
Heaven’s peace
And glory in the highest.
Mark records it like this:
“Hosanna!”
“Blessed is the one coming in the name of the Lord.”
“Blessed is the coming of the kingdom of our father David.”
“Hosanna in the highest heaven.”
It is clear from what the people are saying in both accounts that the people see Jesus as the Messiah. That he is the king that comes in the name of the Lord. However, the city that turns out to embrace him on this day, rejects him a week later and demands that he be crucified.
The praise for Jesus was not unanimous. (Just like later, the cries for his death will not be unanimous either.) There are Pharisees there that do not like all of this carrying on, and demand that Jesus rebuke his disciples for this display.
Do the Pharisees respond this way out of fear that the Romans might react to such support for a Jewish ‘king,’ or do they just find the whole thing offensive? I don’t know. Either way, Jesus refuses their demand. He does not and will not rebuke his disciples here. In fact, Jesus supports them, saying that this occasion was so momentous, so worthy of an outpouring of emotion and praise, that if the people had remained silent, that the rocks would have taken their place and cried out in praise of Jesus.
Darrell Bock says, “Creation is aware of Jesus, but the leadership of the nation is not. That which is lifeless knows life when it sees it, even though that which is living does not." (Bock, 1560.)
As Jesus enters the city, he weeps for it. He knows that this city has rejected him. The nation has missed the signs that they were supposed to be looking for. The Messiah came and they not only were missing it, they were going to kill him. Now, what could have saved them was going to be hidden from them. Jerusalem would face judgment because of its refusal to acknowledge God. The thing that would bring them peace was right in front of them and they refused to see it. Now, not only would they not be able to see, their city would face destruction.
A generation later, Jerusalem was indeed destroyed by the Romans. Their defeat would be complete, without one stone being left on top of another. God’s judgment on them would be severe, because God appeared to them and they refused to see Him.
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