Jesus Rides into Jerusalem on a Donkey

Luke 19:28–40
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One time back in the early 1800s, Napoleon and his army were moving through Switzerland. Everywhere they went, Napoleon was greeted with thunderous applause: “Long live the King! Hail to the Emperor Napoleon!” But Napoleon didn’t seem too excited about what was go … More

Triumphant Entry

Christ’s entry into Jerusalem in today’s passage (vv. 28-44) is a fulfillment of the prophecies found in Zechariah 9:9 and Psalm 118:25-26. By this time Jesus was extremely well known. When he sent two of His disciples to find a colt all they had to say was “The Lord has need of him” and the owners gladly turned the animal over to them (vv. 28-35). On Palm Sunday, the crowd was behind Him all the way: They were singing “Hosanna! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord! Hail to the King of Kings! Hosanna in the highest” (vv. 36-38). But five days later, the same people who were praising him up and down are now saying, “Crucify him! Crucify him!” How could these people praise the Lord so joyfully on Palm Sunday and then turn around and demand His death 5 days later? Maybe it was because a lot of the people cheering for Jesus on Palm Sunday simply got caught up in the excitement of the event. They weren’t ready to commit their lives to Jesus.

The Pharisees thought the crowd’s words were sacrilegious and blasphemous. They asked Jesus to keep His people quiet (v. 39). But Jesus said that if the people were quiet, the stones would immediately cry out (v. 40). The account of our Lord lamenting over Jerusalem (vv. 41-44) is recorded only in Luke . Every year Jews would come to Jerusalem and buy animals to offer as a sacrifice. It was reasonable to buy from these Jews so the sacrifice would be “without blemish.” However, they were taking advantage of this situation and charged a high price. Also, foreign currency was being used as an accepted exchange, which cost them extra.

Application

It is so easy for my attitude to change from one day to the next as it did in Jesus’ day. Lord, help me to be the same-yesterday, today, and in the days to come, when I think about who Jesus is.

Luke 19:28-40 (English Standard Version)

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