This week's Scripture passage is Luke 19:28-48.

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Luke 19:28-40 - Jesus' Triumphal entry into Jerusalem, 'Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord!’ (See Psalm 118:26)

Jesus has finally come to the outskirts of Jerusalem and he instructs two of His disciples to go into the village and find a donkey colt (see Matthew 21:2) who has not been ridden, tied, and waiting. Just as He said, they find the colt and bring it to Him. They place cloaks upon it and He sits on it and rides into Jerusalem in fulfillment of Zechariah 9:9. The crowd of His followers line the road and worship Him as he arrives. The Pharisees, continuing their resistance, objections, and rejection of His ministry, tell Jesus to rebuke His disciples for their enthusiastic worship. Jesus declares that if they would stop worshiping Him, 'the very stones would cry out!', creation itself worshiping its Creator.

This is a very unusual occurrence in Jesus' ministry.  He accepts the peoples' worship and acknowledgment of Him as their Messiah, knowing within Himself that He is not coming to defeat Rome and establish His kingdom now (see Luke 19:11). Instead, He is going to the cross to defeat Satan, sin, and death. Nevertheless, He does accept their worship as their Messiah and permits this triumphal entry into the city.   

Luke 19:41-44 - Jesus Weeps and Prophesies Over Jerusalem

In one of the most heartfelt and sad passages in the New Testament, Jesus weeps and prophesies over the city of Jerusalem, knowing that His people will reject Him as their Messiah and that destruction of the city will come as a result of that rejection. This happened in A.D.70 when the Roman army under Titus destroyed Jerusalem.

Luke 19:45-48 - Jesus Cleanses the Temple

Jesus enters the Jewish temple, a place built exclusively for the worship of God.  Merchants had set up a type of market within the temple complex, tables of trade to sell animals and other items for temple sacrifice and for exchanging regional currencies for temple currency.  Jesus drives out all who bought and sold and the money changers declaring, 'My house shall be a house of prayer, but you have made it a den of robbers.’ (See Matthew 21:12-16, Mark 11:15-18)  

After this, He continues teaching daily in the temple as the Jewish religious leaders start planning to destroy Him. But they can not find anything they can do to Him because the people are hanging on His words (Matthew 19:47-48).

Questions for Reflection and Discussion:

1. Verses 28-40 - In this crowd of followers who sincerely and enthusiastically worship Jesus as He enters Jerusalem are some of the same people who later on in Luke's gospel become totally disillusioned and discouraged when Jesus is captured, tortured, and finally led to Golgotha (The Skull) to die on a cross. They deny Him (Luke 22:54-62) and following the leadership of the Jewish rulers, they call for Barabbas to be released instead of Jesus and they call out for Jesus to be crucified (Luke 23: 13-25).

• What can we learn from this account about our own hearts' sinful tendencies when God does not answer our prayers or when things in life don't work out as we have hoped and prayed for?  How can we prepare now for any unfulfilled expectations or very discouraging life situations we may experience in our lives?  What have you learned in your walk with God that you can share with others to help them in this area?

2. Verses 37-40 - The crowd joyfully praises Jesus as their Messiah as He comes into Jerusalem. Jesus accepts their worship and tells the Pharisees the rocks will cry out in worship if the people are silenced.

• This passage encourages us to joyfully and freely worship Jesus ourselves!  Worshiping and praising our God is essential to a healthy relationship with Him and it is pleasing to Him as well. Ask the Lord to take you to a new level of freedom in expressing your love for and to Him in your times of worship and praise.

3. Verses 41-44 -  Jesus' heart was broken over His people not receiving Him as their Messiah.  How can we have more tender and sensitive hearts over the lost in our circle of family, friends, neighbors, and co-workers? Meditate on these verses. If you are not already doing so, begin to regularly pray for your lost friends by name and ask the Lord to give you a deeper compassion for each of them. In addition to praying for them, ask the Lord to give you some practical ideas about reaching out and showing God's love to them.