THE KING WHO CRIED Luke 19:35-44

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1 THE KING WHO CRIED Luke 19:35-44 INTRODUCTION: Palm Sunday should have been one of the happiest days in Jesus life, but instead of rejoicing, by the end of the day we see him crying. Verse 41 again, As he approached Jerusalem and saw the city, he wept over it. What made Jesus cry? He began his day amidst the cheers of his disciples, but ends the day weeping over Jerusalem. Think about what a glorious occasion this was! It is called the Triumphal Entry. Jesus is praised as King of Israel! Jesus had spent the night in Bethany. He tells his disciples to go to a place where they would find a colt that had never been ridden. The colt wasn t a horse but a donkey. A king riding in a town on a donkey was a symbol of coming in peace, rather than coming as a conquering military general. He rode on a donkey in humility to offer himself as their Savior King. Now there is something odd here. Doesn t it seem odd that Jesus would walk 90 miles from Galilee to Bethany and then secure a donkey for the final two miles to Jerusalem? Jesus feet weren t tired, were they? No, Jesus knew what he was doing. He knew that this day had been appointed for him in eternity. We know that it was appointed from eternity because unless it was it couldn t have been prophesied. Jesus was fulfilling the prophecy of Zechariah 9:9 Behold, your King is coming to you; He is just and having salvation, Lowly and riding on a donkey, A colt, the foal of a donkey. Jesus was coming to Jerusalem as the one anointed to be King, who was coming to present Himself as the King who was offering them peace. He was coming as the One who would bring true peace with God through the salvation He was about to accomplish in Jerusalem. As Jesus starts the descent from the Mount of Olives the disciples begin calling out, Hosanna! The crowd gets caught up in the moment. There is a great groundswell of support as the crowd both leads and follows. At this point Jesus could have done most anything, but he refuses to use his power for personal glorification. Jesus knew who he was. Plus he knew what was in the hearts of the people. I love the story told of the air passenger whose flight had been canceled. His patience was gone, so he shoved his way to the head of April 16, 2017 Corntassel CP Church Page 1

2 the ticket line and angrily demanded a first class ticket on the next available flight. The ticket agent explained that he d be happy to help, but he just have to wait in line like everybody else. That was more than the man could stand so he said, Young man, do you have any idea who I am? Whereupon the ticket agent picked up his microphone and said, Attention please. There s a gentleman at the ticket counter who doesn t know who he is. If anyone can identify him, please come to the counter. Jesus knew who he was. He had no doubt that he was the Son of God. He was coming into the city as the King. He was coming to present Himself as the true Savior. He was coming as the Righteous One, He was coming as the One who could effect true peace. Some of the people were waving palm branches, a sign of respect for a conquering king. The people were rejoicing. Many were crying, Hosanna. "Hosanna" is a Hebrew or Aramaic word that is best translated as a prayer: "Save now," or "Save, we beseech Thee." But something is wrong. We see Jesus crying when He saw the city of Jerusalem spread out before Him. Instead of rejoicing, he wept. What s wrong? Why is he crying? JESUS CRIES OVER THOSE WHO ARE JUST FOLLOWING THE CROWD AND NOT TRULY FOLLOWING HIM Could it be that Jesus knew that many of the people that day were just following the crowd and that their commitment to Him was not based on faith? It was shallow, just based on the emotion of the moment. The crowds were shouting "Hosanna," but Jesus knew that for some their shouts of praise would be shortlived. Friday was coming when a different shout would be heard from the crowds. They would be crying Crucify him. The coronation of the King would become the crucifixion of a criminal. Jesus knew the fickleness of the hearts of many. Jesus knows our hearts. I am afraid that many today fall into this category of having a faith that is shallow and fickle. Some Christians are CEO Christians: they come to church at Christmas and Easter Only. One step above that is COO Christians: Come Only Occasionally. Others are SOC Christians: Sunday only Christians. Each group is April 16, 2017 Corntassel CP Church Page 2

3 not committed to follow Jesus every day. They want to put on a show of religion but their heart doesn t have a deep commitment to Christ. There were guests in the home of five-year-old Christy. All evening long she wore her best company manners. But the moment the door closed behind them she became disobedient. Her mother asked, "Why is it that you are being so naughty now? You were such a lovely little girl while our guests were here." "Well, Mother," answered Christy pertly, "you don't use your company silver all the time, do you?" We put on our best show of commitment only on special day. Jesus wants our faith, and our commitment, and our life to be as strong for him every day of the year. We are to be consistent in our claim that he is King of our lives, no matter what the crowd is saying or doing. Jesus cries over followers who are only occasional followers. HE CRIES OVER THOSE WHO ARE BLIND TO THE TRUE WAY OF PEACE Could it be that Jesus cried because the crowds were blind to the things that made for their peace? This is what he mentions in verse 42: "If you, even you, had only known on this day what would bring you peace--but now it is hidden from your eyes. Jesus knew what was ahead for the city of Jerusalem. There was anything but peace coming upon Jerusalem. He knew of the coming destruction would come upon them in 70 A.D. when the Roman armies would destroy the city. Didn't He tell his disciples that the temple would be destroyed and the city ravished by enemies in the Olivet discourse? (Matthew 24:2)? Jesus knew that they were blind to the way of peace, not only for their city, but for their own lives. This hurt him and caused him to weep. There is no joy in heaven when people are destroyed. Joy in heaven occurs when sinners repent and the prodigal son comes home. What is the way of peace? Do you know? The peace that Jesus came to give is peace with God and the peace of God. Peace with God is needed because April 16, 2017 Corntassel CP Church Page 3

4 by nature we are hostile towards God. Our sins have put us at odds with God s righteousness. The Bible even calls us enemies of God. But Jesus came to take our hostility and nail it to the cross. Now we can have peace with God through Jesus. We have these great promises of God found in the book of Romans. Romans 5:10 NIV For if, while we were God's enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life! Romans 5:1 NIV Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, The citizens of Jerusalem didn t know that Jesus was there to bring them peace, peace with God, and that made him weep. Oh, many were shouting "Hosanna, which means, Save now, but they didn t really want to be saved from what they needed saving from. They didn t want to be saved from their evil ways. They wanted some other kind of savior. They may have wanted a Mr. Fix-it type Savior. That is when you say, I have this problem. Now fix it. Later you say, I have another problem. Please fix-it. They didn t want a Savior who came to give them peace that passes understanding. Peace with God and the peace of God. They were blind to that and it made Jesus cry. Jesus weeps over people who do not know the true way of peace or who do not want to know the true way of peace. JESUS CRIES OVER THOSE WHO LET THEIR OPPORTUNITY FOR SALVATION PASS Could it be that Jesus was crying because the city was letting their day of visitation pass by them? They were letting their opportunity for God s deliverance pass by them. Jesus mentions this in verses 43-44: 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. 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." Or as the NKJV puts it, because you did not know the time of your visitation." April 16, 2017 Corntassel CP Church Page 4

5 God was visiting them in the person of Jesus when He entered into the city to show them that He is the Savior King, who was coming to offer them peace with God. They were given another chance to turn from their own ways and accept Jesus as their way of peace. God was visiting them, He was coming to them, but they were letting that opportunity slip away. This made Jesus cry. At different times in our lives God visits us and invites us to turn to him. It may be in a Sunday School class. It may be in a church service. It may be in your home when your thoughts turn to eternal things. It may be during a crisis you are going through. It can be through many situations, but the bottom line is that God will knock on your hearts door. Jesus gave this promise: Revelation 3:20 KJV Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me. The important thing is that when Jesus comes to visit your life, don t refuse to open your heart to Him. A picture of the Lord Jesus knocking at the door of a heart was taken one day by a church member to a house where a father and mother lived with their small son. Some impulse made the mother pin the picture up in their little kitchen, and when the small boy came in from school, he was very interested in it. His mother was too busy with the dinner to answer his questions, but presently the father came in from work. "Who is the Man, Daddy, and why is He knocking at the door?" the little fellow asked again and again. The father looked at the picture but for some reason made him feel uncomfortable. He tried to ignore the question, but the little boy persisted and at last the father replied that it was the Lord Jesus Christ knocking at a door. "Then why don't they let Him in?" asked the little boy, wonderingly. Later the little boy asked the dad again, Why don t they let him in? That night the question began ringing in the father's ears and finally he fell on his knees and cried: "Lord Jesus, it's the door of my heart at which You are knocking. Please forgive me for keeping You waiting so many years. The door is open -- oh, come right in and take possession!" April 16, 2017 Corntassel CP Church Page 5

6 So many, especially those who have heard the gospel many times, continue to put off making that life changing commitment and opening their hearts to the Lord. Jesus is crying over that one. Why don t you let him come in? Open your heart, open your life and let Him come in and He will. He will. This is His promise CONCLUSION: Palm Sunday should have been one of the happiest days in the life of Christ because He was appearing in Jerusalem as their Savior King who was offering them peace with God through what He was going to accomplish later that week. But we see Him weeping. We see him weeping over the shallowness of the crowd s commitment to follow Him. We see him weeping over the spiritual blindness of the crowd of not knowing the true way of peace. And we see him weeping over the fact that many were letting their opportunity for receiving Him as their Peace, Righteousness, and Savior pass them by. Do you see Jesus crying this morning? Is he crying over you for any of these reasons? Make this Easter season a time of receiving Christ as your Peace, and as your Lord, make it a time for re-committing yourself to follow Him consistently throughout the year.. Then Jesus will have a Triumphal entry into your heart. Amen? Amen! April 16, 2017 Corntassel CP Church Page 6