The opening part of our passage this week takes place at the Mount of Olives. The Mount of Olives is a mountain to the east of Jerusalem. It rises to about 2500 feet above sea level. Bethany and Bethphage lie near the foot of the mountain, and the garden of Gethsemane is on its western slope. In the Old Testament, The Mount of Olives is mentioned directly or clearly alluded to in II Samuel 15, in Ezekiel 11, Zechariah 14, I Kings 11, II Kings 23, and Nehemiah 8. In the New Testament, it is mentioned here (and in the parallel passages in the other gospels) and in Acts 1 – the latter because the Mount of Olives is the location in which Jesus, after His resurrection, ascended to heaven. In 70 AD, Roman soldiers from the 10th legion camped on the Mount during the Siege of Jerusalem, which ultimately led to the destruction of the city.Because it is near Jerusalem, and because of prophecies concerning it, Jews have always sought to be buried on the mountain. From Biblical times to today, the mountain has been used by Jews as a cemetery. There are estimated to be 150,000 graves on the Mount, and tradition holds that Zechariah himself is buried there.
Between 1948 and 1967, the Mount was controlled by Jordan. The Jordanians did not treat the cemetery with respect, to say the least. They used gravestones for construction of roads and even, purposefully, latrines. The king of Jordan at that time, King Hussein, had a hotel built at the summit of the Mount of Olives along with a road that cut through the heart of the cemetery, destroying many graves including some that dated all the way back to the First Temple period, the time of Solomon. Since 1967, Israel has tried to restore the cemetery as much as possible, although many graves were damaged beyond repair.
Zechariah 14 perhaps has the most dramatic description of events at the Mount of Olives. The first part of the chapter describes how all the nations will gather against Israel, oppressing her. But then, starting from verse 3,
Then the Lord will go out and fight against those nations, as He fights in the day of battle. On that day His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, east of Jerusalem, and the Mount of Olives will be split in two from east to west, forming a great valley, with half of the mountain moving north and half moving south. You will flee by my mountain valley, for it will extend to Azel. You will flee as you fled from the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah. Then the Lord my God will come, and all the holy ones with him. – Zech. 14:3-5
I encourage you to read the rest of the chapter – it is an awesome picture of the end times, and the Mount of Olives, the site of Jesus’ ascension, the site of His return, is the center of all the action. And there is plenty of action in our passage today, so let’s get into it!
Now this passage picks up where last week’s left off. If you were not here last week, Fred shared about the events of Zacchaeus the tax collector and of the parable Jesus told about the ten minas. The parable ended rather abruptly and shockingly with Jesus saying that all of the people who grumbled against the man who become king were brought to the king and killed. I have no doubt that this did not go over so well with the Pharisees and others who were opposed to Jesus.
Now the other thing we should note from last week is that Jesus was traveling with a crowd to Jerusalem, and the reason Jesus told the parable, Luke says, is that the people were expecting the kingdom to come right now. The parable, which involved the king being gone and people waiting for a long time with sums of money (minas) to invest and grow, was focused on letting the people learn that it wasn’t going to happen the way they thought it was about to happen. We pick up the passage at Luke 19:28.
After Jesus had said this, He went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem. As He approached Bethphage and Bethany at the hill called the Mount of Olives, He sent two of His disciples, saying to them, "Go to the village ahead of you, and as you enter it, you will find a colt tied there, which no one has ever ridden. Untie it and bring it here. If anyone asks you, 'Why are you untying it?' tell him, 'The Lord needs it.'" Those who were sent ahead went and found it just as He had told them. As they were untying the colt, its owners asked them, "Why are you untying the colt?" They replied, "The Lord needs it." They brought it to Jesus, threw their cloaks on the colt and put Jesus on it. As He went along, people spread their cloaks on the road. When He came near the place where the road goes down the Mount of Olives, the whole crowd of disciples began joyfully to praise God in loud voices for all the miracles they had seen: "Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!" – Luke 19:28-38
Now, this passage invites a lot of questions. What is going on with this never-ridden colt (a young donkey)? Why would the owners agree to this request? Why did people spread their cloaks on the ground? Why did they praise Jesus as a King? Why didn’t Jesus stop them?
Well, the first thing I want to point out is that the disciples didn’t understand any of it either. Here is what it says in the Book of John right after these events are recorded:
At first his disciples did not understand all this. Only after Jesus was glorified did they realize that these things had been written about Him and that they had done these things to Him. – John 12:16
Let’s first talk about the colt. Did Jesus at some previous time talk to the owners of this colt, perhaps helping them through healing or some other way, so that the owners said that at any future time, if you need something, just let us know? I suppose it is possible, but I doubt it. I also doubt the gospel writers would make a big deal about it if this was all that was going on. I believe this was a miraculous event. It was miraculous that Jesus knew about the colt, it was miraculous that the owners would give it up so readily, and it was miraculous that Jesus could ride it. I am sure most of you understand that if you have an animal that has never been ridden, you don’t just hop on up and ride it! It will strongly resist. But this colt shows no sign of resistance.
Now the disciples didn’t understand this. They probably didn’t understand why Jesus wanted a colt, or why the owners would agree, or why the colt allowed itself to be ridden. But later, it says, in John, they realized it had something to do with things that had been written about Him. Here is a passage from the Old Testament that some of the other gospel writers mention with regards to this event:
Rejoice greatly, O Daughter of Zion! Shout, Daughter of Jerusalem! See, your king comes to you, righteous and having salvation, gentle and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey. – Zech. 9:9
Jesus was fulfilling this passage. The people were rejoicing, and their king came to them completely righteous, without having ever sinned. He came to them carrying salvation, but not as they expected. Salvation to them meant overthrow of the government, Jesus declared King, reigning in a new age like the grand age of David. But if He was coming to do this, why come in gently, riding on a donkey? Why not on a grand horse, like in Revelation?
It was because He was not coming to take over by force, but to bring salvation with His very blood and His very body. He was indeed gentle, and riding on a gentle colt was fitting for such a purpose as He had.
What about the cloaks? Now, I should mention that the parallel passages all mention boughs, palm branches, in addition to the cloaks set down before the donkey and Christ on it. It turns out that both the boughs and the phrase the people are shouting is found in Psalm 118.
The entire psalm is messianic – that is, it talks about the Messiah. In verse 22 we find the familiar “The stone the builders rejected has become the capstone.” This so clearly refers to Christ – and the New Testament confirms it – Jesus is the stone, and His people, especially the Pharisees and the priests and teachers of the Law, rejected Him. And here, in this procession, He was about to become the capstone, the most important stone of all. Let us go to verse 26 of Psalm 118:
Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord. From the house of the Lord we bless You. The Lord is God, and He has made His light shine upon us. With boughs in hand, join in the festal procession up to the horns of the altar. You are my God, and I will give You thanks; You are my God, and I will exalt You. – Psalm 118:26-27
So we see almost the exact same phrase! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord. But not only this, we see boughs in hand. The horns of the altar were where the blood of the animal sacrifices offered in atonement for sin was poured. You can find explanations of this in Leviticus 4 and Leviticus 16. And of course we know that Jesus was going to the horns of the altar, so to speak, to offer Himself.
What about the spreading of cloaks on the ground?
The prophet Elisha summoned a man from the company of the prophets and said to him, "Tuck your cloak into your belt, take this flask of oil with you and go to Ramoth Gilead. When you get there, look for Jehu son of Jehoshaphat, the son of Nimshi. Go to him, get him away from his companions and take him into an inner room. Then take the flask and pour the oil on his head and declare, 'This is what the LORD says: I anoint you king over Israel.' Then open the door and run; don't delay!" – 2 Kings 9:1-3
I don’t have time to get into this curious running away part, but suffice it to say that this prophet did as he was told. Here is what happened afterwards:
When Jehu went out to his fellow officers, one of them asked him, "Is everything all right? Why did this madman come to you?" "You know the man and the sort of things he says," Jehu replied. "That's not true!" they said. "Tell us." Jehu said, "Here is what he told me: 'This is what the Lord says: I anoint you king over Israel.'" They hurried and took their cloaks and spread them under him on the bare steps. Then they blew the trumpet and shouted, "Jehu is king!" – 2 Kings 9:11-13
And so we see that the laying down of cloaks was a way to show honor to a new king. This completely fits in with everything else going on here.
Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Jesus, "Teacher, rebuke your disciples!" "I tell you," He replied, "If they keep quiet, the stones will cry out." – Luke 19:39-40
Now the Pharisees didn’t understand everything going on either, but they understood enough to see that the people were declaring Jesus king, or even something more, and they didn’t like it at all. What do you think of Jesus’ response? I see it as absolutely shocking! In the past Jesus has said things like “My time has not yet come,” or He told people not to tell anyone except the priests after they were healed, or He escaped from a crowd when they wanted to declare Him king. But now, He does not hold them back at all. What are the implications? The implications are that the world has suddenly changed. The time has now come. Jesus is going to be King! And not only are the people right for recognizing Him as king, it seems that all of creation recognizes that it time! Even the stones would cry out! This is such a dramatic and sudden change – Jesus’ comments and affirmation of what is going on is just breathtaking!
As He approached Jerusalem and saw the city, He wept over it and said, "If you, even you, had only known on this day what would bring you peace—but now it is hidden from your eyes. The days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment against you and encircle you and hem you in on every side. They will dash you to the ground, you and the children within your walls. They will not leave one stone on another, because you did not recognize the time of God's coming to you." – Luke 19:41-45
Jesus was not the first person in the Bible who, on the Mount of Olives, wept over Jerusalem – He was the second. Who was the first? David. II Samuel 15 tells of the rebellion of Absalom against David. As Absalom gained power, David and his people quickly left Jerusalem. Verse 30 describes David: But David continued up the Mount of Olives, weeping as he went; his head was covered and he was barefoot. Why did David weep? I believe because he saw the people of Jerusalem did not stay loyal to God’s choice for king but instead were sweet-talked into following Absalom. In a similar way, Jesus wept over the people of Jerusalem, because they were just as blinded, just as lost, just as much in error for rejecting their king, as were the people who rejected David.
Do you really understand the scene? The procession is still going on. People are still shouting praises to Jesus as their King. The cloaks and palm fronds are still being thrown down in front of Him. And Jesus is weeping – the Greek word implies sobbing, wailing! He weeps because sin cannot be ignored. It can be forgiven, if the sinner turns to Him, or it can be judged. There is no other option. Jesus then prophecies the destruction of Jerusalem. Many believe this refers to siege and fall of Jerusalem in 70 AD, although it may simultaneously refer to future events.
Here is what Josephus, the ancient Jewish historian and eyewitness to the fall of Jerusalem, writes about this event:
[General Titus] also at the same time gave his soldiers leave to set the suburbs on fire, and ordered that they should bring timber together, and raise banks against the city; and when he had parted his army into three parts, in order to set about those works, he placed those that shot darts and the archers in the midst of the banks that were then raising; before whom he placed those engines that threw javelins, and darts, and stones, that he might prevent the enemy from sallying out upon their works, and might hinder those that were upon the wall from being able to obstruct them. So the trees were now cut down immediately, and the suburbs left naked. … So all hope of escaping was now cut off from the Jews, together with their liberty of going out of the city. Then did the famine widen its progress, and devoured the people by whole houses and families; the upper rooms were full of women and children that were dying by famine, and the lanes of the city were full of the dead bodies of the aged.... Now the [Jews] at first gave orders that the dead should be buried out of the public treasury, as not enduring the stench of their dead bodies. But afterwards, when they could not do that, they had them cast down from the walls into the valleys beneath.
Notice that they really were dashed to the ground, as Jesus predicted. And Josephus goes on to describe how they finally breached the wall of Jerusalem and set fire to the temple.
While the holy house was on fire, every thing was plundered that came to hand, and ten thousand of those that were caught were slain; nor was there a commiseration of any age, or any reverence of gravity, but children, and old men, and profane persons, and priests were all slain in the same manner; so that this war went round all sorts of men, and brought them to destruction, and as well those that made supplication for their lives, as those that defended themselves by fighting.
Josephus describes much more, but it is really too terrible to repeat here. And Jesus saw all this, and looking on pristine, unsuspecting Jerusalem, He saw the future and wept.
Then He entered the temple area and began driving out those who were selling. "It is written," He said to them," 'My house will be a house of prayer'; but you have made it 'a den of robbers.'"- Luke 19:46
Jesus then enters the temple area and does not do something one would expect. He must have left behind the donkey, and did something that must have shocked the crowds. It is as if He goes beserk! He drives out the sellers in the temple area, overturning tables (according to the parallel passages). The Greek word for “driving out” is the same used to describe Him driving out demons.
Why did He do this? Because, the passage says, the sellers had made it a den of robbers. Now there were two main kinds of financial transactions going on here: the exchange of Roman money for Jewish shekels, and the purchase of animals for sacrifice. It was certainly more convenient to buy your “officially certified without blemish” animal at the temple than to bring it on perhaps a multiple-day journey, depending on where you were coming from, but there is evidence even outside of the Bible that there was outrageous overcharging. Later (but before the destruction of the Temple in 70 AD), Rabbi Simeon (son of Rabbi Gamaliel, the teacher of the Apostle Paul before he became a Christian) led a movement to lower the price of a pair of doves from two gold dinars to one silver dinar. This was a reduction in price of 99%! By the way, the high priest’s family received a commission on every transaction, on every sale.
Every day He was teaching at the temple. But the chief priests, the teachers of the law and the leaders among the people were trying to kill Him. Yet they could not find any way to do it, because all the people hung on His words. – Luke 19:47-48
Jesus had slowly been making enemies for years, but with His procession, and with throwing out the sellers and money changers at the temple, the world had suddenly changed. No longer was it true that “His time had not yet come.” It had come, and He had come, to Jerusalem to finish what He had always set out to do, what His Father had set out for Him to do when He sent Him to earth as a baby some 30 years before. Tensions and stresses that had been stewing in the background for years had suddenly broken out into the open. The world had seemingly gone crazy, and His time had come.
There is something overwhelming to me, to picture the three scenes of this passage simultaneously: (1) Jesus gentle, riding on a donkey, receiving praise from the multitudes, (2) Jesus weeping, sobbing over Jerusalem, and (3) Jesus, violent, consumed with passion, throwing over tables and throwing out sellers from around the temple. I think most of us like to imagine Jesus #1 (the gentle one), become pretty uncomfortable with Jesus #2 (the weeping one), and just can’t handle Jesus #3 (the violent one). But there is only one Jesus. He is all of these things. He is a king, but He is not distant, detached from things around Him, like you might think a typical king might be – He weeps over the effects of sin. He grieves over the self-inflicted pain people cause themselves. And He is zealous for righteousness. He is a fierce enemy of anything that tarnishes His name and reputation.
How does this apply to us this week? How does this apply to us today?
Well, as you know, if you have watched or listened to any news at all, this has been a tumultuous week. In some ways, the world has seemingly gone crazy. In no time at all, the financial institutions of the world have gone from solid, invisible, something you don’t even think about, to panicked, on the brink of failure, not trusting each other. And the repercussions look to be dire – there is tons of uncertainty about the future of the US economy, the future of our jobs, and the future of the stock market.
I believe there was a change in the world last week that was at least as profound and sudden as what happened on September 11, 2001. 2001 was a shock, but it was limited in geographical area, and it was quickly seen to be something we could overcome. There was still confidence in America, in our government, in our people, that we could get through this. But the signs I have seen this week are that people don’t know if we can overcome this. People are fearful for the future. They don’t trust our government; they see it as part of the problem. They don’t know how we get through “this” because they don’t even really understand what “this” is. Here are some thoughts I have about our situation, and how I see we can apply today’s passage to our situation.
1. God still punishes. We should intercede.
We may well be entering a period of time when the tables, so to speak, are going to be overturned. Our God is a jealous God, and He will tear down false idols as well as things that bring dishonor to His name. I believe that American Christianity has dishonored His name for a long time by trying to combine worldly views on wealth and money with the truths of the Bible. Perhaps we will see this at last come to an end.
I have no idea what the immediate future will bring, but I do have concerns. Hard times can bring out the best in people, but it can also bring out the worst. We need to pray that everyday Americans would turn to the Lord at this time and not turn the opposite way, to believe that tough times justify anything-goes behavior. And we need to pray that our leaders turn to the Lord for guidance and wisdom in the coming days. It was pointed out to me yesterday that although our leaders talked continually about turning to God and about faith in 2001, there has been no sign of this in the current crisis. This is not something you want to try to fix without God’s wisdom and guidance.
2. It is appropriate to weep.
Our financial mess in the US and globally is a result of sin. Greed is what drives anyone to take excessive risks to make an additional dollar, and over the past decades, the global financial system has taken successively greater and greater risks. Greed and the lust for power drove bad legislative decisions, it drove banks to take greater and greater gambles, and it drove individuals to buy what they couldn’t afford and go deeper and deeper into debt. None of it was sustainable.
Do not be surprised if you feel strong emotions over the financial turmoil going on. It is a shock, and it is a big deal. You may find yourself going through the emotions associated with grief, starting with disbelief, to anger, to remorse and sadness. Do not be surprised if you feel these things – much of the world will feel them with you.
Do I think Jesus weeps over the state of our world financial system? Yes. He would say of those who made all the little decisions over the years and decades that got us to this point, “If you had only known what would bring you peace.” And for all of us, these times force us to confront the question of how much we trust the Lord versus how much we trust our finances. If you realize that your faith was much more in your finances than in the Lord, the only appropriate response is repentance, telling the Lord that you are sorry you have trusted something, anything, more than Him. Lack of faith, misplaced trust – these are all sin. It is appropriate to weep – for your own sins, and for the collective sins of a world that rejected the Person that would bring them peace.
3. Let us not forget how to rejoice.
Do not let Satan steal your joy. Picture again Jesus’ entry to Jerusalem. We serve the King of Kings! Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest! This world is but a temporary blip in our existence – we will have an eternity with the Lord! He loves us! And if we love Him, He will work out all things for our ultimate good.
And if I am correct about the way in which the world changed last week, more than ever we have an opportunity to reach the lost with the gospel. It is easier for someone living in fear to really hear the good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ than it is for someone who thinks they are in control of their future and their future looks great. God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.
In scary times, when someone sees a person at peace, with joy, they are more likely to ask them the reason for the hope that is within them. Be at peace in the Lord, and be ready to tell them the reason!
Are these contradictory statements? No. Can we rejoice while we weep? Absolutely! To quote John Newton: There are two things I know, that I am a great sinner, and Christ is a great Savior! And I would even argue that weeping brings depth to our rejoicing – it makes our joy more the real thing. Our joy should not come from our present, temporary circumstances – it comes from eternal realities. The storm in the world should drive us more and more to the One who brings us peace. And the more we turn to Christ, the more we will experience the peace that surpasses understanding.
Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. – Phil. 4:4-7
No comments:
Post a Comment