This week, we continue our study of Luke’s Gospel with Luke 19:38-20:47. These readings begin with Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem. You can join us any time on our journey. This email is available online and on Facebook.
The Road into Jerusalem: (vv.28-48)
The last town Jesus was in was Jericho with Zacchaeus. Jericho is located near the Dead Sea, approximately 800 feet below sea level, while Jerusalem is situated about 15 miles away, at an elevation of about 2,500 feet above sea level. The Mount of Olives is located approximately a half-mile outside Jerusalem on the Jericho Road and is slightly higher in elevation than the city. East of the Mount of Olives is desert, and west of the Mount is a Mediterranean climate.
Every Gospel provides an account of Jesus’ entry, with different aspects of the entry being emphasized. Mark 11:1-10, Matt. 21:1-9, John 12:12-19. Luke’s account omits the palm branches and the reason why Jesus rides in on a colt (to fulfill Zechariah 9:9). Regardless of the differences, all of the accounts clearly show Jesus riding into Jerusalem as a triumphant king. Luke even has the crowd misquoting Psalm 118:26 (“Blessed is the King (sic) who comes in the name of the Lord.”) Luke also places the Parable of the Pounds, where a king is rejected by his subjects, immediately before Jesus’s entry.
This entry, of course, takes place during the Passover when all of Jerusalem (except for the Romans) would be celebrating God’s liberation of his people from oppression in Egypt. Passover was a time of time of revolution. The Pharisees are rightfully alarmed by the crowd’s proclamation and ask Jesus to defuse the situation and quit the people. v.40. The Pharisees understand the implications of what is occurring. Jesus refuses to do so. This is the last time any Pharisee appears in Luke’s Gospel.
Jesus does not necessarily disagree with the Pharisees’s concerns. In the next verses, Jesus himself weeps over Jerusalem because he foresees what will come. As we discussed earlier in Luke 13, Jesus knows that these same people will carry an armed rebellion against Rome thirty years later which will end with Jerusalem’s destruction. Jesus’s kingdom and glory are not concerned with the politics of this world, and Jesus laments that the reaction of the crowd is somewhat misplaced. vv.41-44.
Immediately upon his entry into Jerusalem, Luke tells us that Jesus cleansed the Temple and began teaching there daily. Mark and Matthew give us more details on these activities. Mark 11:15-19, Matt. 21:12-17. The Gospels agree that those in charge of the Temple – the chief priests and the scribes – now sought to destroy Jesus.
Dinner is at 6. The menu is tomato soup and grilled cheese. Discussion about 6:45. Hope to see you here.
Open for me the gates of righteousness; *
I will enter them; I will offer thanks to the Lord.
“This is the gate of the Lord; *
he who is righteous may enter.”
I will give thanks to you, for you answered me *
and have become my salvation.
The same stone which the builders rejected *
has become the chief cornerstone.
This is the Lord’s doing, *
and it is marvelous in our eyes.
On this day the Lord has acted; *
we will rejoice and be glad in it.
Hosannah, Lord, hosannah! *
Lord, send us now success.
Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord; *
we bless you from the house of the Lord.
Psalm 118:19-26
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