The Triumphal Entry
TRANSLATION
(29) And when he approached Bethphage and Bethany near the hill called the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two of his disciples, (30) telling them, “Go into the village ahead of you, and, as you enter it, you will find a colt on which no one has ever ridden tied there. Untie it and bring it to me. (31) And if anyone asks you, ‘Why are you untying it,’ answer, ‘The Lord needs it.’” (32) So those who were sent left and found it just as he had told them. (33) And, as they were untying the colt, its owners asked them, “Why are you untying the colt?” (34) And they answered, “The Lord needs it.”
(35) And they brought it to Jesus and, throwing their cloaks on the colt, they placed Jesus on it. (36) As he rode along, people spread their cloaks on the road. (37) When he approached the descent from the Mount of Olives, the whole crowd of disciples began to rejoice and praise God with loud voices for all the miracles which they had seen. (38) They exclaimed, “Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven, and glory in the highest!” (39) And some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples!” (40) And he responded, “I tell you, if these were to remain silent, the very stones would cry out.”
OBSERVATIONS
Repetitions in this segment of the narrative included “tied…untie…untying” (vss. 30 & 31), “colt” (vss. 30, 33, & 35), the phrase, “the Lord needs it” (vss. 31 & 34), and “cloaks” (vss. 35 & 36). We should note three stages in the unfolding of this narrative. The “before” segment involved the disciples finding and preparing the colt according to Jesus’ specific instructions. The “during” segment focused on Jesus’ actual procession from the Mount of Olives into Jerusalem, riding the colt and receiving the acclamations of the rejoicing crowd shouting phrases from Psalm 118. In the “after” segment Luke related the brief but pointed exchange Jesus had with the critical Pharisees. In response to their demand that Jesus rebuke his disciples for acclaiming him king, he refused, using the powerful statement, “If these were to remain silent, the very stones would cry out.”
OUTLINE
I. The disciples found and prepared a colt for Jesus’ use. (29-34)
II. Jesus entered Jerusalem amid the multitude shouting praises to God. (35-38)
III. The Pharisees’ demand that Jesus silence the crowds was met by his strong refusal. (39 & 40)
IDEA STATEMENT
Jesus demonstrated his sovereign control over all that took place during his entry into Jerusalem.
APPLICATION
Consider Jesus’ response to the Pharisees, “I tell you, if these were to remain silent, the very stones would cry out” (Lk. 19:40). What did Jesus mean to convey to his critics by this comment? What he certainly did not mean was, “I cannot...it is beyond my control...I am helpless to stop them at this point.” The one who had sovereignly directed his disciples to find the colt and bring it to him so that he could ride it into Jerusalem could certainly have silenced the crowds if he had so desired.
Two important truths regarding Jesus’ life and ministry come to mind as we meditate on this verse. First, Jesus wanted the Pharisees to know that these biblical phrases shouted by the crowd as he made his triumphal entry were fulfilled prophecies. When they called him, “the King who comes in the name of the Lord,” that was neither an exaggeration nor a misunderstanding. He had come for this very purpose as a ruler fulfilling the purposes of God. More than that, his coming signaled “peace in heaven and glory in the highest.” It was no coincidence that this phrase echoed the song which the angels, announcing his birth to the shepherds of Bethlehem, had used: “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased” (Lk. 2:14).
Jesus was hardly subtle about warning the Pharisees regarding the dangerous position in which they had placed themselves because of their unbelief. By telling them that the very stones would cry out, he was saying, “The rocks at the roadside are more alive to the reality of who I am than you are.” Twice in Ezekiel, the prophet had used the phrase, “heart of stone,” to describe the nation of Israel. In the first passage we read, “And I will give them one heart, and a new spirit I will put within them. I will remove the heart of stone from their flesh and give them a heart of flesh that they may walk in my statutes and keep my rules and obey them. And they shall be my people, and I will be their God” (Ez. 11:19 & 20). In the second passage Ezekiel prophesied, “I will take you from the nations and gather you from all the countries and bring you into your own land. I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleanness, and from all your idols I will cleanse you. And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh” (Ez. 36:24-26). In essence, Jesus was challenging the Pharisees with their hearts of stone to recognize his claims and accept him as their Messiah so that they might be given hearts of flesh and pass from death unto life.