Luke 19:28-40 "Drawing Near"
It’s hard to do something once someone tells you to do it. We like to believe things are our idea. Like, we were driving back from Kansas last week and I thought about texting Angel. “Hey, it’d be cool if you straightened up the house and did the dishes before we get home today.”
I thought about it but then, you know, if he was already going to, that would ruin it. So, I didn’t mention it—just said we’d be home around four.
When we got there, he had cleaned up the house, sink was empty, he even mowed the lawn! I told him the place looked great and said I had thought about texting him earlier—told him the whole thing. He said, “I’m really glad you didn’t, that would have made it sooo hard to do it!”
It’s hard to do something once someone tells you to do it.
Make your bed.
Take out the garbage.
Be a better person—and stop having emotions!
It’s hard—don’t you think?
Today Jesus is going to tell a couple of His disciples to do something they probably didn’t want to do, and the Pharisees are going to tell Him to do something that He will refuse to do.
Jesus has been traveling on foot from the far northern region of Galilee, going town by town, teaching, eating and drinking with people, working miracles—picking up a massive following. His parade of followers had joined up with all the pilgrims on their way to Jerusalem for Passover. They had a brief stop in Jericho where Zaccheaus invited them to stay at his house. Jesus used the occasion to tell the parable of the minas and talk about how He was going to Jerusalem to receive a kingdom—a kingdom whose citizens were opposed to Him reigning over them. He was warning them that they were heading into hostile territory and it was about to get real.
We pick up Luke chapter 19 at…
VERSE 28:
And when he had said these things, he went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem. Luke 19:28
It was always considered going “up” when they went to Jerusalem. Geographically, Jerusalem was considered to be on a mountain, Mt Zion is really a hill—not really a mountain by any stretch but the road to Jerusalem from Jericho was all uphill. There probably wouldn’t be a lot of talking as they huffed and puffed more than 3,700 feet of elevation in fifteen miles—it’s low gear all the way. Also, theologically, Jerusalem was considered “up.” It’s where the temple was located, the special presence of God on earth. Mt Zion was God’s throne, the seat of worship. We do the same thing, we tend to think of heaven as being “up,” even though we know the earth is floating in space and there is as much heaven below us as above—which is true even if you’re a flat earther.
VERSE 29:
When he drew near to Bethphage and Bethany, at the mount that is called Olivet, he sent two of the disciples, saying, “Go into the village in front of you, where on entering you will find a colt tied, on which no one has ever yet sat. Untie it and bring it here. If anyone asks you, ‘Why are you untying it?’ you shall say this: ‘The Lord has need of it.’ ” Luke 19:29-31
We know from the Gospel of John that Jesus also stopped in Bethany to spend the Sabbath with His friends Mary, Martha, and Lazarus—this is the weekend He raised him from the dead. Luke keeps the story focused on Jesus getting to Jerusalem but a lot of people heard about Lazarus coming back from the dead and wanted to see him as much as they wanted to see Jesus.
He pulls two of his disciples aside and tells them to go swipe a donkey.
Luke spends a lot of time telling us about getting this animal. Kinda strange. Leaves out the story about raising a man from the dead but goes into all kinds of detail about this. Why?
I mean, it’s true, He’s already told us about Jesus raising a couple of people from the dead—what’s the big deal about one more? I’m sure there were plenty of other miracles he also didn’t mention. John said, “If all the things Jesus did were written down, the world itself wouldn’t have enough room to hold all the books.”
Hasn’t been any donkey heists yet, though. It seems like a small detail but this donkey thing is important, it fulfills some very old prophecies about the Messiah.
It’s a clear echo of the promise Jacob made to the house of Judah in Genesis 49:11: “Binding his foal to the vine and his donkey’s colt to the choice vine, he washes his garments in wine and his vesture in the blood of grapes.” The “wine” and “blood of grapes” are a graphic foreshadowing of the imminent outpouring of Jesus’ own blood on the cross as well as the wine of Communion which is the Christian replacement for the Passover meal. It also represents both the royalty of the rider and, at the same time, his humility. Zechariah 9:9 refers to Jacob’s promise in a prophecy that says,
“Rejoice greatly, Daughter Zion! Shout, Daughter Jerusalem! See, your king comes to you, righteous and victorious, lowly and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.”
Jesus is saying a lot with His mode of transportation for this event. He’s saying that He’s the one Jacob was talking about, the Lion of the Tribe of Judah. He’s saying He’s the Messiah, the anointed and promised King. But He’s also saying that He’s not coming in military might and power—not this time. He’s coming in humility—”Lowly and riding on a donkey.”
There’s tension between Jesus coming as the King and also as a humble servant.
Solomon had ridden into Jerusalem on a donkey when he was declared king to show he came in peace—it was an ancient custom for a king to ride a donkey if they came in peace, and on a horse if they came for war. But most kings thought they looked cooler on a horse no matter what the occasion.
It’s very interesting that as Jesus was preparing to enter Jerusalem from the east, there was another royal procession marching into the city from the west. At that same moment, Pilate, along with a military escort, horses, and chariots—with all the Roman citizens watching—the governor that Jesus would stand before in a few days and say, “You would have no power over me if it were not given to you from above,” that guy was providing a nice distraction on the other side of town so Jesus could have His Palm Sunday parade in peace.
We call this the Triumphant Entry—that Jesus rides in righteous and victorious. Knowing where this is headed, is that even true? Yes. But not in the way that anyone would imagine. He has succeeded in living a sinless life. He is triumphant. But He doesn’t come in power. He comes in weakness. In powerlessness. Humble. Ready to be humiliated and murdered. No one could have seen that coming.
Which is probably why Luke gives us so many details about the donkey story. It was important to show Jesus had complete sovereign knowledge and power over everything that was happening. Tells them to go into the village, what they’ll find when they get there, and how it’s going to go down right to the last detail. That had to be faith-building. Such a simple and easy way to show them He’s the divine Lord.
VERSE 32:
So those who were sent went away and found it just as he had told them. And as they were untying the colt, its owners said to them, “Why are you untying the colt?” And they said, “The Lord has need of it.” Luke 19:32-34
This is like the Bible version of when a cop or FBI agent commandeers a vehicle. Something that happens on TV shows all the time but never in real life. Jesus didn’t even have to flash a badge or pull out a gun like Jack Bauer. “Step back sir, I’m commandeering this animal in the name of the Lord!”
Actually, He just had two of His boys do it for Him.
I’ll bet they didn’t really want to. Grand Theft Donkey. The two unnamed disciples were probably hoping no one would question them. “Hey, what do you think you’re doing with my donkey?!” “Um… The Lord has need of it?”
Someone shows up at my house like that and I’d probably get my shotgun and be like, “I think the Lord can get His own donkey.”
And it’s a colt. Never been ridden before. Apparently, another thing in Jesus’ skillset is breaking untrained animals. Cool.
Actually, that’s probably why Matthew tells us the colt was with its mother and they took both of them—that would have helped keep the young one more calm. Little farm donkey is about to be in the middle of the big city with a lot of noise—but why choose an inexperienced animal for such an important job?
It’s probably to show the holiness of Jesus. His uniqueness. Both the colt that had never been ridden and the tomb where no one had been laid are set apart for the holy purposes of a holy person.
VERSE 35:
And they brought it to Jesus, and throwing their cloaks on the colt, they set Jesus on it. And as he rode along, they spread their cloaks on the road. As he was drawing near—already on the way down the Mount of Olives—the whole multitude of his disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works that they had seen, saying, “Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!” Luke 19:35-38
They use their cloaks to make a saddle for Jesus to sit on. They create a red carpet for the donkey to walk on—laying their coats in front of him and then picking them up and throwing them on the ground ahead of him again in continual motion.
I can’t help but think of this from the donkey’s perspective. If I was the donkey, I’d be tempted to think all this was for me. The red carpet, the excitement, the singing! “Man! I must be a really special donkey to be getting all this attention.” That’d be my takeaway.
It’s hard to remember this is all about Jesus. Not us. When we’re successful sharing the Gospel and when we’re rejected—it’s not about us.
They started on the Mount of Olives, they could see Jerusalem in the distance and the golden walls and roof of the temple. It’s beautiful. The whole multitude of Jesus’ disciples are getting into it. Rejoicing. Praising God with loud voices! They had sung these songs on the way to Passover before but this time they were accompanied by the Messiah.
What were they praising God for? Not the teaching. Not the words of life. They were excited about the mighty works they had seen. Miracles. Like Lazarus coming back from the dead. Like the blind man getting his sight in Jericho. Feeding the five thousand, healing lepers, walking on water, calming the storm.
If He can do those things, He can certainly make quick work of the Romans and whip this kingdom back into shape. He’s the promised Messiah! “Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord!” Jesus accepts their worship. He affirms their praise. He is who they say He is.
But they’re going to be really disappointed. He’s riding a donkey, not a warhorse. He’s coming to make peace not war. This time.
This is the beginning of holy week, the week that will include the Last Supper, what we remember on Good Friday and celebrate on Easter. Notice the echo from the Christmas story when the angels said to the shepherds, “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.” Except now the crowd says, “Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!” This is the culmination of the Christmas story Luke started at the beginning of the book. Peace between heaven and earth.
This multitude of followers represents all of the lost sheep, lost coins, and lost sons of Israel that Jesus has been finding over His three-year ministry.
He’s drawing near. Closer and closer to the city and center of God’s holiness on earth, the temple. Holiness throughout the Bible is understood as physical proximity to God’s presence. Degrees of holiness radiated from the most holy place, the Holy of Holies in the center of the Temple. The closer you get, the fewer people had access. Jesus is drawing near and He’s taking all His people with Him.
This is Luke’s account of what we call Palm Sunday. People cheering, waving palm branches, everyone had high hopes.
This is a good day. A happy moment.
I wonder if He had a chance to take it in. Enjoy it. Did He smile and feel the joy while it lasted? Snap a few selfies with the Twelve? Knowing everything that was coming next.
Well. [Clear] The Pharisees make one last appearance. They push their way up to the front of the crowd and yell to be heard over the worship and praise of the multitude…
VERSE 39: And some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples.” He answered, “I tell you, if these were silent, the very stones would cry out.”
They knew perfectly well what He meant by riding the donkey. They knew what the crowd meant by singing Psalm 118,
“Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!”
They knew. But all they had to say about it was, “Will you shut these people up! This is blasphemy! Your disciples are going to ruin everything we’ve built in this city!” “Keep it down or the Pilate parade might hear us!”
They’d never seen anything like this before. It seemed like the whole world was running after Jesus. They couldn’t think of any other way to shut it down other than to tell Jesus to shut it down for them.
Jesus gives a curious answer. “I’m not going to stop them. If these people were silent, if they didn’t give thanks to God for me, recognizing who I am—the very stones would cry out.”
What on earth does that mean?
Well, John the Baptist had used “stones” as a metaphor for Gentiles—so, that’s probably one layer of what Jesus is saying, “If my people, the Jews, don’t praise God for me and receive me, then I will take for myself another people from the Gentiles, from the stones.” That’s part of what He’s saying.
Also, the Psalms talk about how creation worships God. Psalm 96 says,
“Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice; let the sea roar, and all that fills it; let the field exult, and everything in it! Then shall all the trees of the forest sing for joy before the LORD…”
Psalm 97 says,
“Let the earth rejoice; let the many coastlands be glad!”
And Psalm 98 says,
“Let the sea roar, and all that fills it; the world and those who dwell in it! Let the rivers clap their hands; let the hills sing for joy together before the LORD, for he comes to judge the earth.”
Which brings me to the darker meaning behind His words. This is also judgment. Jesus is going to go on talking about the stones of Jerusalem—we’ll get to that next week. Here’s a little sneak peek, He’s still talking to the Pharisees who are telling Him to shut His disciples up and He says, “The days are coming when your enemies will set up a barricade around you and surround you and tear this city down to the ground—you and your children with it. And they will not leave one stone upon another because you didn’t recognize me when I came.”
That’s also what He means when He says, “If these people were silent, the very stones would cry out”—in judgment.
We’re either singing “Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord,” following Jesus, not being silent about who He is—or we’re trying to stand in His way. You don’t want to stand in His way.
So, all of us here, we’re the ones who are with Jesus. We’re the Gentile stones who are crying out, telling the world who He is—what He came to do. Warning people about what He’s going to do when He comes back riding on a white war horse.
Let’s make sure we understand two very important lessons from this story today:
First, we need to understand the mission. The thing Jesus has sent us into the world to do. We are to announce that the King is here. There’s a lot to this. There’s a lot to do. Most of the citizens of His kingdom don’t recognize Him. They don’t really know who He is. Churches on every corner but most people don’t have a clue what the Gospel actually is—what’s at stake.
Kind of drives me crazy to tell you the truth.
We need to be doing what Jesus called us out of the world to do. To be His activity on earth as it is in heaven. Your friends and neighbors need to understand the Gospel—what Jesus came here to do for them that they can’t do for themselves. You’re the one who needs to tell them but you have to understand—they’re not really interested. Most of the time, they’re going to spit in your face and reject you just like they did Him.
Which brings me to the second big lesson we need to understand from this passage…
We need to follow Jesus in His humility.
He could have come riding in on a war horse, in a chariot, driving a tank—guns blazing and mowing down anyone who tried to stop Him with flame throwers. Could have had an army of angels clear the path.
But He came in humility to bring peace.
Yes, it’s very frustrating that people don’t recognize who Jesus really is. They don’t understand their need for Him. They can’t hear us when we tell them. They don’t believe they need forgiveness for their sins. They don’t even believe sin exists. They don’t think they need a King or a God or a Savior. They’re like, “No thanks, you close-minded judgmental Christian freak!”
This doesn’t bring out the best in most of us. Instead of seeing all those confused and misguided people as victims of the devil, needing our help, we see them as the enemy. They have bad ideas, they do bad things, they’re destroying everything we’ve tried to build. They want to shut us up. Censor us. Cancel us. Silence us—and that just doesn’t sit right with us.
So, we get mad. Our emotions go through the roof. We’re like the old cartoons with steam coming out of our ears. Our middle fingers are just itching to be leashed upon them in glorious flippitude! Who do they think they are?
We like to think that it’s righteous anger. Holy indignation. It’s not. We need to remember James 1:20, “The anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God.”
You want to know what does?
Humility is a good start. Slow to speak, quick to listen. Gentleness. Kindness.
Don’t let yourself be driven by your emotions. Self-control is a fruit of the Spirit.
Yes, the world will hate you if you follow Jesus—they hate Him, too. But they need to hate you because of how much you’re like Jesus, not how much you’re not like Him.
I wonder, what’s louder coming out of your mouth? Your “hosanna” or your “how dare you!” Jesus didn’t go around busting on the sinners, He was too busy busting on the self-righteous, angry, judgmental religious people who thought they were holier than them.
We’re not always going to understand the mission Jesus sends us on in the moment while we’re doing it. Like the two disciples that went to get the donkey. Our job is to trust that Jesus knows what He’s talking about and just do what He says. All the awesome things in our lives are going to flow from those simple little acts of obedience. We can trust Jesus when He tells us to do something—that things will be better for us if we do.
Keeping our cool. Not getting sucked into stupid arguments about the things that divide people. Not saying little off-the-cuff remarks that you know are going to push people away. Instead, humbly waiting for moments to share our hope, to offer peace—words of grace, seasoned with the wisdom of Jesus.
But I understand. It’s hard. You don’t want to. We don’t like being told what to do. Makes us feel dumb, as if we didn’t already know to do it—and we’re already in the wrong because we haven’t done it yet. Which we know is all true and that makes it worse.
But here’s the good news…
Entering Jerusalem the way He did is going to set things in motion that will have Him killed a week later. He’s not going to deviate from the path of humility. He’s going through with it, He’s going to lay down His life. This is what will actually accomplish the righteousness of God. For you. For me. This is what actually creates peace between heaven and you. AMEN.