Triumph in the Air with Care and Cleansing

Luke 19:28-48

The Triumphal Entry

28 When He had said this, He went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem. 29 And it came to pass, when He drew 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."

Jesus Weeps over Jerusalem

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."

Jesus Cleanses the Temple

45 Then He went into the temple and began to drive out those who bought and sold in it, 46 saying to them, "It is written, 'My house is a house of prayer,' but you have made it a 'den of thieves.'"

47 And He was teaching daily in the temple. But the chief priests, the scribes, and the leaders of the people sought to destroy Him, 48 and were unable to do anything; for all the people were very attentive to hear Him.

There is triumph in the air as Jesus Christ enters Jerusalem and the expectant crowds pour out their praise while quoting from God’s word in Psalm 118:26-29 with joy and awe at seeing all His wonderful works He has been doing!  Before entering the city of the great king (Psalm 48:2, Matthew 5:35), Jesus instructed tw disciples to go fetch a never been ridden colt and bring it to Him for the grand entrance as a humble ruler (Zechariah 9:9) and not a conquering sovereign ready to free His people from Roman occupation as many expected or demanded even.  He came to rescue His own from the tyrant of sin’s bondage instead.  As He entered coming down from the Mount of Olives, the shouts of the yet unseen triumph filled the air as they spread their clothes on the road as their forefathers did for royalties (2 Kings 9:13) before Him in acknowledgement that He was the King of kings (1 Timothy 6:15, Revelation 17:14) come to reign.  When they cried out that He was fulfilling the scriptures by their declaration of the King who comes in the name of the LORD and raised praises heavenward to glorify Him, the Pharisees demanded that the disciples rebuke such blasphemy as they imagined it to be, ignorant of the truth from the mouths of babes proclaiming His sovereign identity in fulfilling the scriptures (Luke 24:26-27) which foretold His coming for their deliverance from sin’s penalty.  Jesus told them that even if they could stifle the crowd, the very rocks of His creation would cry out their praise for Him!  Because of this hardness of heart among many, Jesus looked over the city meant to be the center of worship with sadness for their denial and sins of immorality and idolatry that had ruled them for so long in place of their LORD who had met them in the sanctuary and heard their prayers (1 Kings 8:30, 35-36) with repentance from there.  He was calling them to repent and believe Him and His work according to His Word.  He was saddened that it would come to Jerusalem being overrun and the temple leveled just seventy years later.  All this was because they failed to recognize that God had walked among them as Immanuel who visited the sheep of His fold and would soon turn against Him.  Jesus then entered that temple and cleansed it from the sin of greed and desecration as thieves who took it over (Jeremiah 7:8-11) while pointing out that it was the place to pray for forgiveness in contrition of heart for forgiveness and salvation as originally intended.  He kept teaching the kingdom of God against the distortions of the religious leaders who tried to destroy Him but were unable to stop Jesus because the people were listening closely as their hearts drew nearer to the kingdom of God.  The Lord’s triumph would soon fill the air as He suffered, died a cruel death on the cross, was buried, and rose from death to life to prove who He was as the divine One worthy of praise.  He came with the Father’s loving care as well as the intent to cleanse His house to make the way to deliverance for all sinners called and chosen as His sheep of the heavenly pasture.  Praise Him for calling us out of this present darkness into His marvelous light!