Luke 19:28 When He had said this, He went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem. 29 And it came to pass, when He came near to Bethphage and Bethany, at the mountain called Olivet, that He sent two of His disciples, 30 saying, "Go into the village opposite you, where as you enter you will find a colt tied, on which no one has ever sat. Loose it and bring it here. 31 "And if anyone asks you, 'Why are you loosing it?' thus you shall say to him, 'Because the Lord has need of it.' " 32 So those who were sent went their way and found it just as He had said to them. 33 But as they were loosing the colt, the owners of it said to them, "Why are you loosing the colt?" 34 And they said, "The Lord has need of him." 35 Then they brought him to Jesus. And they threw their own clothes on the colt, and they set Jesus on him. 36 And as He went, many spread their clothes on the road. 37 Then, as He was now drawing near the descent of the Mount of Olives, the whole multitude of the disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works they had seen, 38 saying: " '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 called to Him from the crowd, "Teacher, rebuke Your disciples." 40 But He answered and said to them, "I tell you that if these should keep silent, the stones would immediately cry out." 41 Now as He drew near, He saw the city and wept over it, 42 saying, "If you had known, even you, especially in this your day, the things that make for your peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes. 43 "For days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment around you, surround you and close you in on every side,  44 "and level you, and your children within you, to the ground; and they will not leave in you one stone upon another, because you did not know the time of your visitation."

Introduction: For centuries the Jewish people had looked for the prophesied Messiah, a deliverer who would usher in a kingdom of peace and prosperity in fulfillment of God's promises to Abraham. A week before Jesus Christ's death, He was entering Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread. These festivals commemorated the great act of God's deliverance of the nation. Such feasts were often celebrated at this time with the hope that God's decisive deliverance would come (NIBC). The people of Israel were about to be offered the kingdom that they had longed for, in what we call today the Triumphal Entry of Christ. But because of the people's failure to recognize Jesus for who He was, they would miss the opportunity that God wanted to give them. Let's look together at the Triumph, Tragedy, and the Tears of Palm Sunday

I. The Triumph (vv.28-38).

1. The preparation (vv.28-35).

A. It was now the Sunday before Christ's crucifixion, and Jesus had drawn near to the eastern slope of the Mt. of Olives en route to Jerusalem (BBC).

B. When He drew near to Bethphage [BETH fuh jee or BETH fayj] and Bethany, He sent two of His disciples into a village to get a colt for His entrance into Jerusalem (BBC).

1) He told them exactly where they would find the animal and what the owners would say.

2) Some see this act as a miracle, others think that the Lord had at some point ministered to the owner of the donkey – we will probably never know.

A) J. Vernon McGee says that the important issue here is that Jesus asserts His authority (v.31: McGee).

B) Another important point is that everything occurred just as Jesus predicted (NIBC).

(1) To control the major events of history, one must control all the events.

(2) Only God can do that.

3) The borrowing of an animal was not as strange as it may appear, there was an ancient custom by which a political or religious leader could commandeer property for short-term use (NIBC).

Application: When the Lord calls upon you to do something, how do you respond? We are reminded of the importance of obedience here, and also in 1 Samuel 15:22, "Then Samuel said: "Has the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, As in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, And to heed than the fat of rams." If you want to used of God, then you need to obey Him when He calls upon you.

Transition: Now let's look at. . .

2. The entry and celebration (vv.36-38).

A. This is the only time that Jesus permitted a public demonstration on His behalf (BEC).

1) This was fulfilling prophecy and presenting Christ as Israel's king.

A) Zechariah 9:9, "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."

B) How much the crowd really understood we cannot tell, but the crowds seemed to understand the symbolism of this act.

C) No doubt many of the Passover pilgrims thought that Jesus would now get rid of the Roman invaders and establish the glorious kingdom.

D) The fact that the colt had never been ridden and yet submitted to Jesus also demonstrates our Lord's sovereignty over His creation.

2) Another reason that Jesus allowed the public worship was to force the Jewish religious leaders to act.

A) They had hoped to arrest Him after the Passover according to Matthew 26:3-5, "Then the chief priests, the scribes, and the elders of the people assembled at the palace of the high priest, who was called Caiaphas, and plotted to take Jesus by trickery and kill Him. But they said, "Not during the feast, lest there be an uproar among the people."

B) Every previous attempt to arrest Jesus had failed because "His hour had not yet come" (John 7:30; 8:20; 13:1; 17:1).

C) God had ordained that His Son be slain on Passover as the "The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world" (John 1:29; 1 Cor. 5:7).

B. As Jesus came down the west side of the Mount of Olives toward the city and He was praised by the crowd as their Messiah (BKC).

1) The act of spreading their cloaks on the road in front of Jesus was a sign of respect.

A) It was a common act of homage to a king or royal personage (PC).

B) This was the case in 2 Kings 9:13, "Then each man hastened to take his garment and put it under him on the top of the steps; and they blew trumpets, saying, "Jehu is king!"

C) The ride on the colt or mule also resembles the events of 1 Kings 1:33, in which David made the new king, Solomon, ride to Gihon [gi'hon] on a mule (NIBC).

2) The whole crowd of disciples (mathÄ“tÅn) began joyfully to praise God for all the miracles ("mighty works" dynameÅn, "evidences of spiritual power") they had seen (v.37: BKC).

A) "rejoice," ("chairo" {khah'-ee-ro:v, part, pres, act, nom, m, pl}); to rejoice exceedingly.

B) "praise," ("aineo" {ahee-neh'-o: v, inf, pres, act}); to praise, to sing praises in honor to God.

C) These believers quoted from Psalm 118, a messianic psalm of praise.

- Psalm 118:25-26, "Save now, I pray, O LORD; O LORD, I pray, send now prosperity. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the LORD! We have blessed you from the house of the LORD."

3) The reference to praising God for Jesus' miracles is unique to Luke (EBCNT).

A) Luke omits the word "Hosanna"in v.38 which might have been strange to his Gentile readers, but instead stresses the messianic theme with the word "king."

B) The word "Hosanna," found in Matthew 21:9 means "save, now, we beseech thee."

Application: Christ's entry into Jerusalem was in direct fulfillment of clear messianic prophecies (LBC). The disciples recognized that Jesus was the promised King sent from God. He is the One who brings peace to the relationship between people and God (NIBC). In man's eyes, Jesus entry into Jerusalem was anything but triumphal, but in God's eyes He was triumphal in that He was accomplishing everything according to His heavenly Father's plans – down to the smallest prophecy.

Transition: We now go from triumph to. . .

II. The Tragedy (vv.39-40).

1. The reaction of man (v.39).

A. The Pharisees understood the meaning of what was going on, for they told Jesus to rebuke His followers, so they would stop calling him Messiah or King (BKC).

1) They were indignant that Jesus should be publicly honored in this way (Matt.21:15: BBC).

2) And of course they denied that Jesus was the Messiah, and even referred to Christ as a "deceiver" to Pontius Pilate in Matthew 27:62-63.

B. Another reason why the Pharisees were concerned was because of the attention it would attract from the Roman rulers (McGee).

1) In full view of Jesus and the crowds were, there was the citadel of Antonia, where the Roman garrison in Jerusalem was located (PC).

2) The Pharisees would be worried because the Romans were on the watch for any signs of disaffection on the part of the hated and suspected Jews (PC).

Transition: But the king of the universe didn't respond in a way that the Pharisees didn't expect. . .

2. The rebuke of creation (v.40).

A. Jesus responded that there must be some proclamation that He is the Messiah (BKC).

1) If not, even inanimate objects such as stones would be called on to testify for Him.

2) Creation is more sensitive than those who are making the complaint (NIBC).

3) All history had pointed toward this single, spectacular event when the Messiah publicly presented Himself to the nation, and God desired that this fact be acknowledged (BKC).

- Habakkuk 2:11, "For the stone will cry out from the wall, And the beam from the timbers will answer it."

B. He thus rebuked the Pharisees for being more hard and unresponsive than the inanimate stones (BBC).

Application: The Lord Jesus Christ recognized that eternal issues were at stake and that to rebuke His followers would force the silent stones to cry out. His first entry into Jerusalem took Him to the cross to die for our sins. By His death and resurrection, salvation is offered unto us. The next time the Lord will come to this earth, His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives and the world will see His true Triumphal entry (McGee); Zechariah 14:4, "And in that day His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, Which faces Jerusalem on the east. And the Mount of Olives shall be split in two, From east to west, Making a very large valley; Half of the mountain shall move toward the north And half of it toward the south."

Transition: Finally, let's look at. . .

III. The Tears (vv.41-44).

1. The tears of rejection (vv.41-42).

A. While the crowd was rejoicing, Jesus was weeping (BEC)!

1) "wept," ("klaio" {klah'-yo: v, ind, aor, act, 3per, sg}): to mourn, weep, or lament, as expressing strong inner emotion.

2) These were not merely silent tears of mute sorrow, but He wept aloud (PC).

B. Here Christ uttered a loud lamentation like one mourning over the dead (BEC).

1) When Christ looked back, He saw how the nation had wasted its opportunities and been ignorant of their "time of visitation."

2) When Christ looked within the nation's heart, He saw spiritual ignorance and blindness in the hearts of the people.

3) When Christ looked around, He saw religious activity that accomplished very little.

A) The temple had become a den of thieves, and the religious leaders were out to kill Him.

B) The city was filled with pilgrims celebrating a festival, but the hearts of the people were heavy with sin and life's burdens.

C) They should have known who He was, for God had given them His Word and sent His messengers to prepare the way.

Transition: Not only did Jesus shed tears of rejection, but He also shed. . .

2. The tears of sorrow (vv.43-44).

A. As Jesus looked ahead, He wept as He saw the terrible judgment that was coming to the nation, the city, and the temple (BEC).

- In A.D. 70, the Romans would come and, after a siege of 143 days, kill 600,000 Jews, take thousands more captive, and then destroy the temple and the city.

B. Why did all of this happen?

1) Because the people did not know that God had visited them!

2) The Apostle John tells us this in John 1:11, "He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him."

3) Jesus spoke of this in the Parable of the Ten Minas (pounds) in Luke 19:13-14, "So he called ten of his servants, delivered to them ten minas, and said to them, 'Do business till I come.' But his citizens hated him, and sent a delegation after him, saying, 'We will not have this man to reign over us."

Application: This passage tells us something about the heart of the Lord Jesus Christ; His compassion, and love for lost mankind. The Lord had visited the city with the offer of salvation. But the people did not want Him. They had no room for Him in their scheme of things (BBC). As we come to this time of year when people reflect upon what Easter or Resurrection Sunday means, this passage should cause us to reflect upon our attitude towards Christ. He is still offering salvation today to those who will accept it and to those who will make no room for Him, He only offers judgment. The Lord Jesus Christ reminds us of this truth in John 3:16-21, "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed. But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God." What was true of this city will also be true of each individual who rejects Christ. Jesus cared for them and He cares for men today (LBC).

Invitation:

1. Palm Sunday serves to be a reminder of God's sovereignty over all of time and creation.

A. Regardless of man's denials, God's will was done.

B. Regardless of man's obedience, God's will will be done.

A. There was the opportunity for obedience to God's Word.

B. There was the opportunity to receive God's blessings as His promises could have been fulfilled.

A. It is a sacrificial love that would go to the cross for those who didn't offer any love in return.

B. It is a love beyond human comprehension.

A. The offer of salvation to all those who will accept Christ's sacrifice of Himself for your sins.

B. The judgement for those who reject God's offer.