ZPCBlog

About the author: Our family, Doug, myself, Cora, Damon, and Bennett have been regularly attending ZPC since around 2008. We love volunteering on meal trains, and helping out with youth ministries. We previously served with the Indianapolis Interfaith hospitality network. Our family enjoys long walks outside, traveling to Amelia Island, any sporting event, board games, and good books!

Luke 19:28-40

Jesus Comes to Jerusalem as King

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, “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. If anyone asks you, ‘Why are you untying it?’ say, ‘The Lord needs it.’”

Those who were sent ahead went and found it just as he had told them. As they were untying the colt, its owners asked them, “Why are you untying the colt?” They replied, “The Lord needs it.” They brought it to Jesus, threw their cloaks on the colt and put Jesus on it. As he went along, people spread their cloaks on the road.

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:

“Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!” 

“Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!”

Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Jesus, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples!”

“I tell you,” he replied, “if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out.”

Devotional:

This week’s familiar passage begins with Jesus ascending into Jerusalem. He sends two of his disciples to untie a colt, a young donkey, for this last part of his journey. Understandably so, the owner of the colt questions the actions of the two who were sent, and interestingly, rather than speaking large volumes of poetic stories or examples of Jesus’ ministries and miracles, they simply reply, “The Lord needs it.” That’s it! Even more intriguing is that the owner of the colt seems to take the authority of this statement without question or pause, without payment or need for justification, with silent obedience to the authority of the Lord.

The people celebrate and spread their cloaks on the road for Jesus—what a stark contrast to what we know comes next in this story, as Frederick Buechner wrote, “Despair and hope, they travel the road to Jerusalem together, as together they travel every road that we take.” The same crowds in this passage that celebrate Jesus on Sunday, will call for his crucifixion on Friday. We see the Pharisees almost immediately recognize that Jesus’ ascent into Jerusalem has disturbed the peace, imploring Jesus to silence the praises of those celebrating him.

As we read this passage, where do we see ourselves in this story? Set aside for a moment the wisdom of hindsight—if someone asked us to give up our brand new car to help Jesus’ truths unfolding in our modern world, we would likely offer our beat up old Hondas instead. Better yet, point him to the other house on the cul-de-sac. Let them be put out! After all, they have a Tesla! Faith that is convenient and fits within our control, but is never inconveniencing or uncomfortable, is much easier for all of us. Not knowing how the story ends, I question whether I would have been as obedient as the disciples and followers in this passage.

Praise and paradox, maybe not what Luke intended, but what I’ve always found in this passage. The praise part is obvious, and while Jesus never asks for the adoration of his followers, he also does not turn it away. He recognizes that such joyous praise is well placed and intentioned, and rather than silencing it, he humbly accepts it.

Let them be loud and proud for their Lord, and may we be in our broken world as well. I think we can accept the paradoxes in this story (a King on a donkey, power as humility—and later to come—God’s will seeming to break our hearts) for a reason. It is the kind of passage that helps us navigate our lives, even today; where great love often causes great heartbreaks, where prosperity often lives down the street from poverty, where loneliness often strikes us in an increasingly connected world, where tragedy strikes us when we thought we finally were in a peaceful season. I think the stones do cry out about all of those things, and Jesus, the Messiah, a humble King, is the only true response that can bring us any sort of lasting joy and peace.

Prayer:

Dear Heavenly Father, our source of joy and peace,
Thank you for the wisdom of scripture and the guidance it provides to our lives even today. For sending us a humble and mighty Jesus more than worthy of our praise and possessions, we forever give you our grateful hearts in worship. Strengthen our conviction to sacrifice for your Kingdom, to give you the praise you deserve, and to declare Jesus as Messiah over all.
In Christ’s name, Amen!

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