Second Presbyterian Church

"Jerusalem: The Journey's End
Preaching From the Gospel of Luke"
August 28, 2005

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Sermons Homepage » Sermons for 2005 » Sermons for August 2005 » Sermons from the Series on Luke

#60 in the Series on Luke
The Rev. Daniel E. Hale, D. Min.

• Zechariah 9: 9-13
• Luke 19: 28-48

The journey is over. Jesus, in Luke's theology, has been setting his eyes toward Jerusalem. The journey has taken us from Chapter 9: 51 through this passage. It is not a journey quite like we understand a journey. The journey is more theological than it was geographical. The period was a time to prepare Jesus' disciples for the time when he would be arrested, killed, resurrected, and finally ascended into heaven.

Jesus was trying to prepare the disciples for a new kingdom, the Kingdom of God. It is as kingdom that is different from all other kingdoms. It is a kingdom where the poor, the lame, the leprous, women, and children were not oppressed. It is a kingdom in which love is the law rather than greed and self-aggrandizement. It is a kingdom in which love your neighbor is defined by how much you love yourself, which in turn, is defined by the fact that God loves you in the first place.

We have seen that the Good News of God's coming to earth and becoming a man was not experienced as good news for those who were deluded into believing that their lives of material wealth and ease were just the beginning of the blessings from God; that wealth and ease would continue well into the next life. But Jesus has been quite clear. Those whose wealth has become too important will be judged. With sadness we watched the rich young man leave Jesus, because he could not let go of all the wealth he had; it had become a barrier to his discipleship. It had become something that had gotten in the way of his relationship with God.

We have just seen how embedded the notion was that the Messiah was to be someone who would come, rally the Jews, raise army and throw out the Roman conquerors. Jesus tried to warn his disciples, at least three times, that he was not going to be doing that. He was, instead, going to Jerusalem to die, to give his life as a ransom for the sins of those who believe in him as the Messiah. The disciples and followers believed that Jesus was the Messiah; they have believed it since - at least - the point in which Peter confessed that Jesus was the Messiah. But whenever Jesus warned them about what lay ahead, they could not bear it and could not comprehend it. They were too afraid to even ask Jesus about it.

Even in our passage today we see indications that Jesus' disciples expected the Kingdom to come to immediate fruition. They put Jesus on a donkey's colt, the sign of a humble king who comes in peace. They put their cloaks out in front of him. They call out to Jesus, "Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!" These are statements that honor Jesus as the approaching victor and ruler.

It made some of the Pharisees nervous. "Rebuke your disciples!" They shouldn't be saying such things. It will get us into trouble with the authorities and we might lose our positions of prestige (my interpretation).

Jesus' response was simple. "I tell you, if these were silent, the very stones would cry out." IT HAD TO BE PROCLAIMED. Jesus was the Messiah. Jesus IS the Messiah.

Perhaps they disciples did not yet understand what Jesus was going to go through. But they were right. Jesus is the Messiah. He is the King who comes in the name of the Lord. Indeed his is God incarnate: God in the flesh!

You will recall that a few verses ago Jesus told the parable about the nobleman who went away to receive his credentials for a kingdom. Jesus was then responding to his disciples about that fact that the Kingdom of God would NOT be ushered in by his arrival into Jerusalem. It would be a while. Yet, the crowd's proclamation still has that sense of Jesus was going into Jerusalem to establish his throne.

And in a profound way the disciples were correct! It was in Jerusalem where Jesus established his credentials and his kingdom. It was in Jerusalem where Jesus was arrested, executed on the cross, and rose again from the dead. And by that act of love and mercy, Jesus defeated the power of sin and established the redemption of humankind!

So, Jesus did establish his throne in Jerusalem. It was just not in the manner expected by people. Jesus received his crown in heaven after his resurrection and ascension. He did not overthrow Rome and reestablish the Kingdom of Israel as hoped by the Judeans.

Yet in all that rejoicing by Jesus' disciples there was a deep sadness in Jesus' heart. He knew that his people, God's chosen people, Israel, would reject him. He knew that, once again, a man from God, such as the prophets of old, would be rejected and killed. Jerusalem and Samaria had been very tough on prophets, such as Elijah, Elisha, Jeremiah, Amos, Isaiah, and John the Baptist. It would be no different with Jesus. Jesus wept for Jerusalem, the city established by King David as Israel's capital. It is the city in which the temple was built three times, beginning with Solomon's temple. Jerusalem whose name means the "Peace of God" would once more know not its visitation from God and kill the visitor. Only this time the visitor was not just a prophet; it was the Son of God himself. Jesus loved the city of David and it broke his heart to see city reject God one more time. It broke his heart because he knew the city would be destroyed by Rome in less than 40 years.

Jesus moved on to the temple itself where he chased out the moneychangers. The implication here was that the moneychangers where overcharging the worshipers in their exchange of Roman currency for temple currency and for the subsequent purchasing of animals that were to be sacrificed. This is not the kind of practice that should be taking place in the house of God, where disciples are expected to come in order to pray and worship the Lord.

So Jesus was now in Jerusalem. The journey to Jerusalem was over. The last week of Jesus' life was now before him. In Luke's last chapters he will cover the issue of the authority of Jesus, some discussion about the resurrection and the coming of the last days. Then the actual last supper, arrest, execution and resurrection are recorded. The journey to Jerusalem is over. Amen.

The Rev. Daniel E. Hale, D. Min.