Luke 19: 29-44

“And when he had said these things, he went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem.” Luke 19:28.

There is an account of Palm Sunday in each of the gospels. The setting is the approach of the greatest festival in Jerusalem, Passover. It remembers the time when God delivered His people from slavery in Egypt, when a lamb was slain, when firstborn were sheltered and the blood and were spared. It prefigures the great Paschal Lamb, Jesus. Before the foundation of the world God had a plan. We see here the working out in the fallen world, ravaged with sin, where God is about to establish His greatest masterpiece from eternity past – a mighty awesome event.

Our Lord is coming to His hour, His time. Our Lord here is coming to Jerusalem. It is a moving scene. The crowds, having witnessed Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead, are euphoric. They extol Jesus as the king. It is out of keeping with the Lord’s ministry. Our Lord always suppressed any hint of euphoria. Alongside Psalm 24 there is an intimation of a coming glory, like on the mount of transfiguration. It is an awesome event.

1. The fulfilment of scripture.

Earlier, in chapter 18 verse 31, going up to Jerusalem is all the outworking of what was recorded in holy scripture centuries before. There are predictions concerning His birth, His manner of life, the nature of His ministry, His suffering, death, Resurrection, and His ascension into glory. It is a book of marvels, come down from heaven. Think of the various typography, of Joseph and others, looking forward to Christ to come. It sets forth the wonder of the coming Jesus. God’s covenant love and mercy.

Jesus, when He refers to prophecies, say they testify to Him. For Jesus is the central figure of holy scripture, of the Trinity, the cross, the gospel message. They are all wrapped up in Jesus. 

Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion!
    Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem!
Behold, your king is coming to you;
    righteous and having salvation is he,
humble and mounted on a donkey,
    on a colt, the foal of a donkey.
            (Zechariah 9:9).

See all the incredible details, detail fulfilled in this event. God verifies His word.

Scripture has always been under attack. In Genesis we have the word of God under attack by Satan. When we come to holy scripture, we ought to revere it. All the truths and glories of the visible Christ need to be fleshed out, in and through us, as it was with Jesus. We cannot appreciate Him, we cannot love Him unless we are steeped in God’s word. We need to be enraptured in Christ. We need to see afresh Jesus. We need to absorb God’s word. The Bereans searched the scriptures daily, to see for themselves the wonder of these things.

• The excitement of the crowd.

Our Lord arrived at Bethany and the crowds converged and extol our Lord, His kingship. There is great excitement yet they cannot realise fully that He is the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Christ has come as King. That is what is celebrated in Revelation, above all else. He came to vanquish Satan, to abolish death and bring life. He has come to establish the basis of a royal pardon. It is a finished work, a glorious work. The cross is God’s masterpiece. Christ cried on the cross, “It is finished!” Our pardon, our forgiveness. We can never bring anything of ourselves. Jesus came to vanquish the devil, but more than that, to set up a realm of grace. The Kingdom is within you; it is eternal and spiritual. It banishes all guilt, all shame. It is all of God’s grace.

We see here His majesty. He knows where the colt is tethered and what the objections will be. He knows all. He Has rebuked the forces of darkness. Here, He is calm and composed. We see some of His humanity, riding on a donkey, in peace. How many, many, many lives of subjects have been laid down for a monarch? But here, the King lays down His life for His subjects.

There is euphoria, a celebration as Jesus enters Jerusalem. There was euphoria with the angels at His birth. The first carol service was celebrated by angels. In Psalm 24 we see our Lord ascended and sits at the Father’s right hand. As He is received into our hearts we are welcomed as children of God. There is joy in heaven over one sinner who repents.

• The Pharisees and their resentment.

The Pharisees could not stand so much being made of Christ. They had a cold, formal religion. There will always be opposition to the gospel. We see moves to make the gospel more palatable. But the gospel begins with the reality of who we are – sinners. It is uncomfortable. That is the bad news. But the good news is that forgiveness and pardon can be found through Jesus Christ. He is precious, Lord of all. Everything should be laid at His feet, joyfully – our talent, our time and gifts.