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- The King was weeping because of his perfect knowledge.
- The King was weeping because of the blindness and deafness of the people.
- The King was weeping because the city was passing up its opportunity forever.
- The King was weeping because the city was on a collision course with disaster.
- The tears of a weeping King give us insight into his character.
- The tears of the King reveal the heartbreak of God.
Luke 19:28-44 NIV [28] After Jesus had said this, he went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem. [29] As he approached Bethphage and Bethany at the hill called the Mount of Olives, he sent two of his disciples, saying to them, [30] “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. [31] If anyone asks you, ‘Why are you untying it?’ say, ‘The Lord needs it.’ ” [32] Those who were sent ahead went and found it just as he had told them. [33] As they were untying the colt, its owners asked them, “Why are you untying the colt?” [34] They replied, “The Lord needs it.” [35] They brought it to Jesus, threw their cloaks on the colt and put Jesus on it. [36] As he went along, people spread their cloaks on the road. [37] 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: [38] “Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!” “Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!” [39] Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Jesus, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples!” [40] “I tell you,” he replied, “if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out.” [41] As he approached Jerusalem and saw the city, he wept over it [42] 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. [43] 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. [44] 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.”
Introduction
Today is Palm Sunday, the day that Christians celebrate as the beginning of the Holy Week leading to Easter Sunday. It commemorates Jesus' triumphant entrance into Jerusalem when people laid down palms and branches before him as a sign of honor.
Palm Sunday is the day we remember and celebrate the day Jesus entered Jerusalem as Savior and King. As Jesus rode a donkey into Jerusalem, a large crowd gathered and laid palm branches and their cloaks across the road, giving Jesus royal treatment. The hundreds of people shouted, "Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest heaven!"
But while this is a triumphal entry, it is Jesus’ first step toward His death, because before the week was over some of the same people, along with the religious establishment and the secular Roman government were shouting for his execution.
Another reason we celebrate Palm Sunday is to prepare our hearts for Easter. It is incredibly easy to allow Easter Sunday to come and go without choosing to ponder the gift of salvation and the events leading up to the crucifixion and resurrection.
Palm Sunday reminds the church to honor Jesus as King over all and to meditate on the week of His great sacrifice. We could not have the empty tomb if we did not have the cross, and we could not have the cross if Jesus did not willingly go to it in obedience to the Father. Palm Sunday in essence is Jesus’ act of obedience of going to the place where He would be our Sacrificial Lamb. He went in honor on his way to die.
One of the first references to Jesus Christ was the magi, the wisemen’s question, “Where is he that is born king of the Jews?”
Matthew 2:1-2 NIV [1] After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem [2] and asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.”
The last reference to Jesus was written on a crude sign over his head on the cross:
John 19:19 NLT [19] And Pilate posted a sign on the cross that read, “Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews.”
In between these references are many more that speak of Jesus’ role as a king. In his temptation experience, Jesus was offered the kingdoms of this world on the Devil’s terms, but he rejected kingship on that basis.
Matthew 4:8-10 NIV [8] Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. [9] “All this I will give you,” he said, “if you will bow down and worship me.” [10] Jesus said to him, “Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.’”
In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus described the nature of his kingdom and the characteristics of the citizens of his kingdom.
Matthew 5:3-10 NIV [3] “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. [4] Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. [5] Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. [6] Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. [7] Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy. [8] Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. [9] Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God. [10] Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Matthew 5:20 NIV For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven.
Throughout his ministry, Jesus demonstrated kingly authority over the demonic, over disease, and over death. There were times when his disciples wanted to make him a king. They were thinking of him as a nationalistic and political king who would reestablish the sovereignty of the nation of Israel as a political force in the world.
Jesus also rejected that kind of kingship.
John 6:12-15 NIV [12] When they had all had enough to eat, he said to his disciples, “Gather the pieces that are left over. Let nothing be wasted.” [13] So they gathered them and filled twelve baskets with the pieces of the five barley loaves left over by those who had eaten. [14] After the people saw the sign Jesus performed, they began to say, “Surely this is the Prophet who is to come into the world.” [15] Jesus, knowing that they intended to come and make him king by force, withdrew again to a mountain by himself.
Jesus did not demand to rule in a palace (although He could have easily), but instead, He came as a servant in humility.
In his triumphal entry into Jerusalem at the beginning of Passion Week, our Lord boldly and compassionately offered himself as the King of love and grace. The triumphal entry, which is recorded in all four of the Gospels (Matt. 21:1–11; Mark 11:1–11; Luke 19:29–44; John 12:12–19), was Jesus’ bold declaration of his messiahship and his claim to be the Christ of God.
Just a few verses from Luke’s account which we read earlier;
Luke 19:37-40 NIV [37] 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: [38] “Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!” “Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!” [39] Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Jesus, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples!” [40] “I tell you,” he replied, “if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out.”
Jesus came into Jerusalem not to assert his sovereign rights to the throne of David’s political kingdom, but to declare his kingship in the hearts of those who would trust and follow him.
Zechariah 9:9 NIV [9] 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.
William Barclay in the book “The Gospel of Matthew, vol. 2” described the significance of His riding into Jerusalem on a donkey.
“In western lands the donkey is a despised beast; but in eastern lands, the donkey could be a noble animal. Often a king came riding upon a donkey; but when he came upon a donkey, it was the sign that he came in peace. The horse was the mount of war! The donkey was the mount of peace. So when Jesus claimed to be king, He claimed to be the king of peace. He showed that He came, not to destroy, but to love; not to condemn, but to help; not in the might of arms, but in the strength of love.”
Luke, in his account of the triumphal entry includes something that is not included in Matthew, Mark John, and it is my text for today.
Luke 19:41-42 NIV[41] As he approached Jerusalem and saw the city, he wept over it [42] 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.
Here we see the King weeping over the city. Matthew, Mark, and John all said Jesus rode into Jerusalem, but only Luke said that he wept.
However the King was not weeping for himself. These were not tears of self-pity, remorse, or personal failure. They were the tears of a King suffering for his people.
I. The King was weeping because of his perfect knowledge.
Jesus’ heart was filled with compassion for his people. He was experiencing the pain of a shallow acceptance. He knew that the people were not willing to accept a King of love, grace, mercy, and righteousness. He had a perfect knowledge of the situation in the past, present, and future; and this knowledge caused his heart to break with compassionate concern.
II. The King was weeping because of the blindness and deafness of the people.
They were spiritually and morally blind and deaf and would not permit themselves to see and hear.
Ezekiel 12:1-2 NIV [1] The word of the Lord came to me: [2] “Son of man, you are living among a rebellious people. They have eyes to see but do not see and ears to hear but do not hear, for they are a rebellious people.
Jesus sought to minister to a group of people whose minds were filled with conceit and complacency. They had a feeling of spiritual superiority when they considered those around them. They were preoccupied with their own ways and goals and were unwilling to open up their minds to truth about God as Jesus was trying to communicate it.
This caused the King to weep on their behalf.
III. The King was weeping because the city was passing up its opportunity forever.
Luke 19:41-42 NIV [41] As he approached Jerusalem and saw the city, he wept over it [42] 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.
Once opportunity comes to us, if it is not recognized and seized, we miss it and it is gone forever. Jesus knew that his people would never know what they were missing because of their unwillingness to believe and respond to him as the Messiah of love. He wept because they were passing up their unique opportunity.
IV. The King was weeping because the city was on a collision course with disaster.
Jesus could foresee that the nation was veering toward political disaster. He describes this in Matthew 24, in which he foretells the destruction of the temple and the calamity that would befall the city.
Matthew 24:1-2 NIV [1] Jesus left the temple and was walking away when his disciples came up to him to call his attention to its buildings. [2] “Do you see all these things?” he asked. “Truly I tell you, not one stone here will be left on another; every one will be thrown down.”
His words became reality by AD 70, when the Roman general Titus captured and destroyed the city.
V. The tears of a weeping King give us insight into his character.
Jesus came to reveal God’s nature and character to people. He came to reveal that God is not cold, distant, removed, and unconcerned. He came to reveal that God loves people and wants to save them from their self-destructiveness.
A. Paul describes the compassion of this King who, though he existed in the form of God, did not hold on to the prerogatives of that position, but instead poured himself out into the form of a man so that he might come and rescue humans from sin.
Philippians 2:5-8 NIV [5] In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: [6] Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; [7] rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. [8] And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death— even death on a cross!
B. This God-appointed King submitted to the humiliation and pain of crucifixion so that he might reveal God’s concern for his people.
Isaiah 53:3-5 NIV [3] He was despised and rejected by mankind, a man of suffering, and familiar with pain. Like one from whom people hide their faces he was despised, and we held him in low esteem. [4] Surely he took up our pain and bore our suffering, yet we considered him punished by God, stricken by him, and afflicted. [5] But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed.
The tears of the King reveal the heartbreak of God.
A. The King was omnipotent in creation. The King has unlimited power; He is able to do anything.
John 1:1-5 NIV [1] In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. [2] He was with God in the beginning. [3] Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. [4] In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. [5] The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
B. The King is omnipotent in keeping the machinery of the universe in perfect coordination.
Colossians 1:15-17 NIV [15] The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. [16] For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him. [17] He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.
Conclusion
It's easy for us to be critical of those who rejected the claims of the King during his earthly ministry. Before we condemn them, however, we need to ask ourselves if we have rejected or ignored the claims of him who conquered death and the grave and who will someday come back as the King of Glory.
When we look at what is going on around us in the world today we must admit that we have either rejected or ignored the King’s command to carry the good news to the ends of the earth.
As Jesus’ disciples, we need to recognize that we have robbed ourselves of the promise of his companionship when we have neglected to recognize his authoritative command to evangelize the world.
Matthew 28:19-20 NIV [19] Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, [20] and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
Jesus was born to be our King. We need to make him the Lord of our lives. We need to let him be the Lord of love in our homes. We need to let him be Lord in our vocations. We need to let him be Lord in our decision-making processes.
Let us crown him King in our hearts today.
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