Luke 19:28-48
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.”
45 When Jesus entered the temple courts, he began to drive out those who were selling. 46 “It is written,” he said to them, “‘My house will be a house of prayer’; but you have made it ‘a den of robbers.’”
47 Every day he was teaching at the temple. But the chief priests, the teachers of the law and the leaders among the people were trying to kill him. 48 Yet they could not find any way to do it, because all the people hung on his words.
Have you ever played the game “Guess Who?”
Using a series of questions and the process of elimination, the goal of the game is to discover the identity of the opposing player’s character. Sometimes, when I read a passage like this one in Luke 19, it seems that many people were looking at Jesus’s life and the Old Testament promises of the Messiah to see if they lined up.
For a people who were living under Roman occupation, and who had been living under the thumb of empires for hundreds of years, the idea of the Messiah offered hope. Many believed the Messiah would bring Israel self-governance, significance, and a chance to restore their geo-political fortunes. They looked for the Messiah to come and drive out the Romans. They looked for One who would rule the nations with an iron rod (Psalm 2:9). And for some in the crowd, though Jesus rode on a donkey into Jerusalem signifying peace, they were looking for him to be a military conqueror.
Others looked at the life of Jesus and the promise of the Messiah and they felt that he was a threat to the delicate equilibrium that existed between Israel and Rome. The religious leaders were concerned at what might happen if the Jesus movement promoted rebellion. They were afraid of the Roman response, so they asked Jesus to quiet his disciples and stop them from worshiping him as he rode into Jerusalem, as they did not want to draw the attention of Rome. Then as Jesus’ popularity continued to grow, the religious leaders began to look for ways to have Jesus killed. They did not want to recognize Jesus as the Messiah as they were afraid of what it might mean for their own power and authority.
But there were some in the crowds who turned their attention towards Jesus. They hung on his words, they surrounded him, and they pressed in to hear his teaching. While this crowd likely did not fully understand Jesus or his mission, they positioned themselves to be near him and learn from him. They identified him as One who was significant.
Today, we who place our faith and trust in Jesus recognize him as Messiah. Through the writings of the New Testament, we have come to understand the importance of his death and resurrection for our redemption. We know Jesus died so we could have our sins forgiven and he rose so that we could be born into new, eternal life. We know who Jesus is and we have placed our trust in his love.
But as I look at my own life and as I consider the person and promise of Jesus, I recognize that there are times when I miss or misunderstand what Jesus is doing because it does not fit my expectations. I know there are times when I miss what Jesus is doing because of fear. While I know the identity of Jesus, I also know I can be like the people in this story and miss what Jesus wants to do in my life and in our world.
But the remedy for this is to draw near to Jesus daily. In this story there was a group who hung on to Jesus’s words. As we look to abide with Jesus, as we look to grow in our awareness of Jesus and his mission, we need to build into our lives a time and place to quiet our hearts and connect with him. As we create space for Jesus to speak, those preconceived notions and fears can be identified and addressed by him, and we can grow in our awareness of his mission and purposes in our lives.
In Luke 19:28–48 many people encounter Jesus but miss who he is and misunderstand what he is doing because of their own ideas about the Messiah and their fears. But a small group hung on his every word. They stayed near him and gave him attention. If we do not want to miss or misunderstand what Jesus is doing in our lives, we too need to draw near to him and give him attention. We need to hang on his words and allow his words to shape and transform us.
Questions:
1) Have you ever missed or misunderstood what Jesus was doing in your life because of preconceived notions or fears?
2) What is your practice to connect with Jesus? What do you do to find a quiet time and place to quiet your heart to hear from him?
3) What might you do this week to hang on to the words of Jesus?
Author Bio
Luke and Acts taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®
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by Biblica, Inc. Used with permission.