The Kingdom of God

June 7, 2015-Luke 17:20-37

Today we have a portion of Scripture that deals with the Kingdom of God.  In the book of Daniel it was prophesied that God would establish a kingdom that would smash all the empires of this world into bits and fill the whole earth.  This promise and many others like it seemed to be a pipe dream to many in the first century.  The big question would be, “When is it really going to come?”  Even today, we have that same sense with the second coming of Jesus.  It is easy to let the question of “when” turn into cynicism that it is never going to happen.  In this passage Jesus gives us a key understanding to aid the believer’s faith and hope.  In essence he reveals that we are already participating in the Kingdom of God.

The Kingdom of God is Already Here

Jesus is approached by the Pharisees regarding the question of when the Kingdom of God would come.  They knew that the prophets promised an anointed leader from God who would judge the nations of the world and lead Israel into a Kingdom of God.  This raising up of Israel under the banner of the Messiah was what a believer at that time was looking towards. Here is a man whom many are saying is the Messiah, and who has amazed them with his understanding of Scripture.  Thus they want to know what he thinks about the Kingdom.  The answer Jesus gives to the Pharisees is to basically tell them that the Kingdom of God is not a visible kingdom. 

They had defined God’s kingdom within a very narrow sense:  the messiah coming, judgment of the nations, and Israel raised to rule over the earth.  This had kept them from recognizing the very, real, but invisible, rule of God that existed already.  They were looking for signs that such things were about to happen.  The truth is, no matter how amazing Jesus was, there was no sign that he was going to judge the nations and rule over the world from Jerusalem.  Jesus tells them that the coming of the kingdom is not something that can be observed with the eyes.  Sure if you know what you are looking for you can recognize the Kingdom of God.  But this is precisely what their problem was.  The Kingdom of God is not like the kingdoms of this world.  It does not have a capital city with well defined borders, palaces and armies that can be seen in this world.  This is not the same as saying that God doesn’t have a real kingdom.  No, His kingdom is very real, but you won’t observe it with your eyes.

He then explains that the Kingdom of God is within the hearts of faithful believers.  The kingdom was already present in the lives of those who trusted God and followed Him.  Now it would be easy to see this as only referring to those who believed on Jesus.  However, I think his point is broader than that.  Even those prophets, who never saw Jesus, still believed on the promises of God and lived lives surrendered to the rule and authority of God.  They had experienced His kingdom within their hearts and had expressed it into the world they lived.  We see this same dynamic in the Lord’s Prayer.  Notice that it begins with recognition of God’s rule in heaven and praying for it to be the same on earth.  Such a prayer is surrendering one’s self to be a vehicle of it.  “Lord, rule in me first; so that your rule may be seen in this earth.”  The faithful have always prayed for and lived out the rule of God.  In that way they have always experienced the Kingdom of God.  Now this is not a denial that there will never be a day when there is an observable kingdom that rules over the nations of the earth.  Rather, it is the correcting of an error that sets us up for disappointment and unbelief.  If we always live as if God’s promised kingdom is way out there somewhere, we will grow weary.  But if we live every day knowing that God’s Kingdom is ruling within me and being expressed into my life, then I am only awaiting the next phase of that Kingdom.  If we see now as lacking, we will miss the experience of the very, real Kingdom of God in the now.  In fact we may miss out on the future Kingdom experience because our faith and hope gives out.  Recognizing God’s kingdom now readies us and strengthens us for his coming.  I am experiencing more than a down payment now.  I am experiencing the heart of what is to come, even though it isn’t obvious to the untrained eye.

Jesus Will Leave and then Come Back

In verse 22 Jesus turns towards his disciples and gives further understanding.  The Pharisees needed to quit looking ahead and enter into the Kingdom of God as it was then.  But the disciples were the ones who were entering into and experiencing the Kingdom of God through Jesus.  They could rightly look ahead, but needed understanding.  Part of that understanding was that Jesus was going to go away for a while and then later come back.  He says to them that the day will come when they will long for just one of the days of the son of man.  This future longing will not be satisfied, “you will not see it.”  This passage is an important balance to those who say that Jesus and his disciples expected him to come back in their lifetimes.  Here, Jesus points out a future longing that will not be satisfied.

He goes on to point out that in the midst of this longing for him to be physically with them, people would speculate about his coming.  “He is here, or He is there!”  In other passages this speculation is connected with false prophets, false teachers, and even false christs.  Matthew 24:23-24 says, “Then if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or ‘There!’ do not believe it.  For false christs and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect.”  People are never more vulnerable to shams and cons than when they want something badly.  This longing that should be in the heart of true believers will be plied upon by deceivers.  Jesus warns us not to trust any who claims to be the Christ, know when he is coming, or where he is.  There are many such examples today.  Those who point to some Christ figure who is already here but hasn’t shown himself yet, are charlatans.  Jesus points this out by telling us that his coming will be as obvious as lightning in the sky.  The coming of Christ will be no secret or invisible coming.  There is no time where he is on earth waiting for mankind to be ready for his revelation.  No. He will be revealed at his coming in an obvious and glorious way.

Yet, before he leaves, he must suffer rejection.  This is a small line in the context of the future coming kingdom.  But he speaks of the work of salvation on the cross and his victory over death in the resurrection.  The messiah must be rejected by this world and leave.  Thus the believers hope is place in the return of the rejected King.

The World Will Not Be Ready For His Coming

Starting in verse 26, Jesus gives two examples from the Old Testament to inform us.  The first has to do with Noah and the global judgment that came at that time.  Noah lived in a society that had been warned of God’s coming judgment, but had rejected it.  They had plunged headlong into a path of rebellion against God and His Word.  By Noah’s day, most people scoffed at the idea of a judgment.  Yet, God had given Noah specific instructions on how to avoid the coming judgment.  This is a picture of how God is dealing with this generation.  He will give the world plenty of warning and He will faithfully give instruction on how to avoid the coming judgment.  But only a few will take advantage and be saved.  The world will not be ready as a whole for the coming of Christ.  Instead it will be focused on enjoying life rather than escaping judgment.  The things Jesus mentions are not necessarily wrong.  The emphasis is not on the moral nature of the actions.  The emphasis is on the lack of wisdom.  They continue on with life in the midst of judgment being poured out on the earth.  A wise man looks ahead and prepares for the future.  The ancient world perished, not for lack of knowledge, but for lack of faith in God’s warning.  The cares of this world had pulled their hearts away from Him and choked out any faith.  They lived for the kingdom of man rather than the kingdom of God.  The believed only in the kingdom of man and held out no hope for the kingdom of God.

Next we are reminded of Lot.  The people of Sodom and Gomorrah had done the same thing.  Lot had continually warned them against the wicked things they were doing.  They pretty much had told him to shut his mouth.  Yet, on the day that Lot left Sodom, the judgment of God rained down upon them and they were caught off guard.  Again, this happens, not for lack of knowledge.  They just didn’t believe.

This is how it will be when Jesus returns.  God will pull out the righteous and rain down judgment upon a world that would rather serve its own kingdom rather than His.  Jesus refers to it as a day of the son of man being revealed.  His true glory and righteous judgment will be unveiled and made known to the world.  This is the same word that is the title of the book of Revelation.  A world that scoffs at a quaint idea of Jesus will get a rude awakening on that day, only too late. 

Starting in verse 31, Jesus gives several warnings to us as disciples, so that we will not experience the judgment of God.  He warns against attachment to the things of this world.  Our desire to save and hold on to the things of this world will jeopardize our salvation.  He then tells us to remember Lot’s wife.  She had done exactly this.  Even though she had the information on how to be saved, and even though she was in the middle of being physically saved from the judgment, her heart was still connected to Sodom.  Salvation is not about geography or biology, it is a matter of the heart.

Thus the day of Christ’s coming will be a day of separation.  It will separate the righteous from the wicked so that judgment will only fall upon the wicked.  Jesus gives several scenarios in which he reiterates that one person will be taken but another left.  Two people will be in bed, or two women grinding their grain, or two men in the field.  The point in these issues is not the ratio, but rather it is about the separation.  Many who are close in every respect will find that they are left while others are taken.

At this point the disciples as the question, “Where, Lord?”  In all likelihood they are wondering where the ones will be taken to.  However the answer of Jesus is clearly in reference to the judgment of the wicked.  So that poses the question to us, “Are the wicked those who are taken or are they the ones left?”  I believe that the two illustrations of Noah and Lot, which are the context of this statement, give us the answer.  In each case the righteous are taken out of the way so that the judgment coming will be upon the wicked.  It is also clear in Revelation that the judgments of God are poured out on the whole earth.  Thus the wicked would still be on the earth.  Jesus seems to disregard the concern for where the righteous are going to be taken and focuses upon where the judgment will fall.  Like a decaying body laying out in a field will be surrounded by the eagles that seek its flesh, so the wicked all across the world will find themselves unable to escape the circling judgment of God.

Friend, have you made sure that you will escape this judgment?  The only way of escape is to put your trust in Jesus and turn towards him as you leave your sins behind.  Make sure that your salvation is sure today.

Kingdom of God Audio

The Identity of Jesus

As we have studied through the Gospel According to Luke, we have seen that Jesus had been with his disciples for a while and they have seen many amazing things: healings, exorcisms, miraculous supply of bread and meat, and a storm commanded to stop.  All of these beg the question, “Who is this guy?”

In Luke 9:18-27 we have a section where Jesus tests his disciples to see what conclusions they have made about him.  They obviously think he is worth following, but Jesus wants them to answer the question of his identity.

Jesus Wants Us To Know Him

It is easy to think of God as a being that keeps hidden and doesn’t want us to know Him.  He is invisible, which questions if He is really there, and He is seemingly silent.  Of course, the Bible contends that God has often “shown” Himself to man and often “spoken” to man.  However, He doesn’t do so all the time and especially not at the command of a person.  Yet, here we see the actions of Jesus letting us know that God really does want us to know Him.  As Francis Schaeffer has stated, He is here and He is not silent.  Like any good teacher, Jesus has let their experiences and his teachings stew within his students.  Now it is time to stir up the pot with the question we find in verse 18, “Who do the crowds say that I am?”

The word on the street was that Jesus might be John the Baptist come back to life.  Of course for those who were familiar with John’s ministry, this is ludicrous.  John actually baptized Jesus and told his followers that Jesus was the One that he was preparing them for.  He clearly proclaimed Jesus as Messiah to his followers.  Another idea was that Jesus was Elijah.  This guess comes from the book of Malachi where there is a prophecy that states Elijah will come before the Day of the Lord.  The last guess is more of a catch-all.  Jesus may be one of the other prophets come back to life.  All of these are merely speculations of those who are clearly not intimately connected to these circumstances as the disciples were.  Thus they take on the look of a conspiracy theory.  The problem with conspiracy theories is that there is no end to the speculations that can occur.  Even when there is no conspiracy, you can still make up several like a person imaginatively writing a novel.  Who can know the difference?  If a person stands up and says, that is not true because I was there.  The person with the conspiracy theory only needs to accuse them of being part of the conspiracy.  Thus we are left either paralyzed, not knowing what to believe, or grasping at ideas that have nothing to do with the truth.

Jesus next presses the point home.  “But who do you say that I am?”  This is the more important question that Jesus is leading up to.  Peter is the bold one of the group and so he speaks what is most likely the belief of all of them, except perhaps Judas. “You are the Christ of God.”  We will touch on this more in a moment.  But for now let us recognize that those who were closest to Jesus believed that he was the Messiah that they had been waiting for.  They knew the speculations of the crowd fell far short of who Jesus was.

It is interesting that Jesus forbids them to proclaim this publically.  Why wouldn’t Jesus want to be publically proclaimed as Messiah?  Doesn’t he want people to know who he is?  Yes he does.  But he is not running for the office of Messiah.  He is not trying to get elected to a position.  The Messiah or Christ was not chosen by people, but chosen by God.  So the people needed to come to this conclusion on their own, rather than pressured by Jesus or by his disciples.  Also, Jesus knew that if he proclaimed himself Messiah, the religious leaders would quickly arrest him and have him killed.  So this delay gives him more time to minister throughout Israel and let people see for themselves who he was.  Jesus relied more upon the Spirit of God speaking to people’s heart about who he was then him telling them.  This would be more authentic and not manipulated.  We must notice that after his death and resurrection, Jesus commands his disciples to now proclaim publically who he was.  Of course He would be absent having ascended into heaven.  Yet, the Holy Spirit would be working in the hearts of people to help them receive it.  Why some receive the witness of the Holy Spirit and others reject it is a mystery that we may never completely understand.

Who Is He?

So who is Jesus?  Peter declared him to be the Christ (Greek) or Messiah (Hebrew) of God.  These terms literally mean “Anointed One.”  They point to the prophecies in the Bible of a man who would be chosen by God and anointed with power by Him in order to restore righteousness within the government, society, and individuals.  This Anointed One would also put down those in rebellion against the God of heaven.  This wasn’t just within Israel.  God’s Anointed One would bring salvation and Judgment to the Gentiles as well and thus would become King over all the earth.  Now the other gospels record this as well.  However, they also reveal that Peter’s answer was longer than Luke records.

In Matthew 16:16 Peter also says that Jesus is the “Son of the Living God.”  Now there is no conspiracy here.  Maybe Luke’s source only remembered the first part.  These testimonies of what Peter said do not conflict.  One is just longer than the other, or more detailed.  So Peter also saw that Jesus was not just a man.  He saw him as divine.  He is called son because his body was the miraculous creation of the Spirit of God within Mary.  She conceived without ever being with a man.  This is just as impossible as it is for dirt to come together and form Adam.  Both are direct creations of God.  So Jesus as a man is the direct creation of God or the Son of God.  Of course, in His divinity he is not created.  John makes this clear in his Gospel- John 1:1, “In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”  He goes on to declare that the Word became flesh in the person of Jesus.  So he is more than a man chosen by God and anointed by him.  But even more, he is a man inhabited by the Word, and second person of the Triune God.

Jesus clearly commends Peter for this answer.  He was correct.  However, he was missing a critical component to the identity of Jesus.  Yes, he is all those amazing things.  The type of person that we would all want on our team and yet look at the response of Jesus in Luke 9:22.  Jesus was also the one destined to be rejected.  In the way of the “Suffering Servant” of Isaiah, Jesus was also supposed to be rejected (You may want to read Isaiah 52-53 for further background on this.)  He would suffer many things at the hands of the elders and then he would be put to death.  Like a cornerstone that had been perfectly shaped and sent to the builders, Jesus presented himself to Israel and the leaders rejected him.  “We will not build with this stone,” they say back to God.  Yet, God would vindicate Jesus by raising him up on the 3^rd day.

Will You Follow This Man?

This third part of his identity is important.  Everyone wants to embrace Jesus on the first two points.  But who wants a hero who not only is killed, but asks you to pick up a cross and follow him?  It seems foolish to many.  Jesus knew that if he didn’t bring this up now they would have trouble receiving it later.  So he spends some time walking them through the issues of what it means to believe in him and to follow him as a disciple in verses 23-27.

In verse 23 he points out that to follow him will require denying your own desires.  The cross is an implement of death.  Thus dying would be a critical part of following Jesus.  I don’t have time to flesh this out completely.  Let’s just say, we may not always be put to death physically for following Jesus.  However, at every point that my flesh and this world tempt me to leave Jesus, I must die to that desire to leave him in order to stay with Jesus.  Whom will you choose?  When you madly lust after someone to whom you are not married and it pulls you to commit sexual sin, whom do you choose, Jesus or sin?  When Jesus says, “Forgive,” but your heart says, “No way,” whom will you follow?  When you are told that you need to follow a 21^st century Jesus, i.e. the new and improved Jesus who is not so offensive, whom will you follow, Jesus or Jesus+? 

Jesus then adds in verse 24 the issue of self-preservation.  Sometimes we refuse to die to sin because we lust so strongly for it.  However, other times we refuse to die because we are afraid to die.  Though Jesus doesn’t use the word courage here, I am going to apply it.  It will take courage to follow Jesus.  Self preservation may save your body, but it can get you spiritually killed.  Matthew 10:28 “Do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul.  But, rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.”  If I save my body, I have only done so for a few years.  Even if my actions of walking away from Jesus gains me 40, 50, or 60 more years, then I will stand before God and give account for having walked away from Jesus.  Such small amount of years in this body will seem so trivial in light of eternity.  It takes courage to face both physical death and emotionally dying to those sins that seek to pull us away from Jesus.  Jesus knew his disciples would need such courage.  We must give up the goal and direction of our life for Christ.  Notice in verse 24 the words, “for me.”  We are not called to just whimsically give up things or even totally deny ourselves any pleasures.  But, precisely where following Jesus clashes with my desires or society’s desires that is where I need to die.  You cannot hold on to two conflicting desires.  You will either follow Jesus or, like Judas, pretend you are following him, or you will merely walk away from him.

In verse 25 Jesus moves it up another notch.  Before, he dealt with self preservation, which only gains one’s physical life.  But here he posits being able to gain the whole world.  Being on top of the heap financially, musically, religiously, politically, in business, or among your friends, can all be temptations that pull us away from Christ.  All of these things can take your soul to hell if you let them pull you away from the directives of Jesus.  Jesus is not against accomplishments.  In fact there are great people who have chosen to follow Jesus.  But how many sell out Christ because they think it will help them get what they want?  Countless millions.  Whatever you do, do it as unto the Lord because without him our accomplishments are hollow and will not be worth it in the end.  We have to hold accomplishments in this world very lightly.   We have to be ready to let them go in order to follow Christ.  We have to guard our hearts so that they are not riddled with lusts that will keep up from Jesus.

Lastly, it requires refusing to be ashamed of Jesus before this world.  If we refuse to stand with Jesus before men, then He will refuse to stand for us before His Father.  When Jesus is crucified the disciples figuratively throw down their crosses and run.  They are scared.  Peter even denies Jesus to a young servant girl, he is so afraid.  Yet, this verse is not about a onetime thing.  After the resurrection the Spirit of God filled these men and enabled them to give the good witness and stand with Jesus even to the point of physical death.  They stood with Christ in the end and that is what matters. 

Today there are many, in the Church, who are ashamed of Christ and the Words in the Bible.  They may not say so, but they demonstrate it when they try to redefine Jesus and reinterpret the Bible.  They thus build a different Jesus, an idol.  What say you?  Are you going to follow the modern golden calves being created across this world?  Or, will you follow this man who is Chosen by God, Anointed with power to save and Judge, and is rejected by the majority of this world?

The Lord Our Provider

We have many needs in life.  However, if we are not careful, our life can become a version of seeing how many plates we can keep spinning.  In such cases we are driven to keep an innumerable amount of desires satisfied.  Of course, it is never enough.  If I only had more skill at this then I could be like so and so.  Have you ever stopped to think that this most likely is not God’s plan for us?  Scripture clearly states that God does not want man to worry about how his needs will be supplied.  As long as God is with us, we can trust in Him.

Another problem is that we can focus only on material needs and neglect the even more important spiritual needs.  We need spiritual sustenance and healing as well as physical.  As we look at Luke 9:10-17, we find Jesus ministering to both the physical and spiritual needs of the people.  In this passage the feeding of the 5,000 teaches us that we need not grumble about what we lack because God will always provide.

Jesus Has Compassion For Us

Luke’s account is brief compared to the other gospels.  In both Matthew and Mark we are told that Jesus was “moved with compassion.”  This is a hallmark of Christ.  He is deeply touched with what it means to be human and have need.  Though it may seem strange, the teaching that God took on a human nature makes sense in the light of compassion.  He can identify with our situation and cares for us.

In fact the reason Jesus had gone out into this uninhabited area was in order to be alone with his disciples.  They had been going throughout Israel ministering with Jesus and had just returned to him.  Jesus knew that they needed some time alone with him in order to be the receiving ones.  Humans were not designed to only be givers.  We are to also be receiving from God and from that supply giving to others.  So it is not just the crowds that need Jesus, but also his faithful workers.

Even Jesus himself later sends his disciples across the lake while he prays on the mountain alone.  This sets up a powerful understanding.  We all need to receive from God as individuals in a quiet secret place of our own.  From that place we can be an encouragement to our close friends and family.  This part is a two way street.  I am giving to them, but they are also giving to me.  The third layer is the one of the crowd.  These are people who have no relationship with us at all.  However, Jesus had compassion for them as well.  Notice how we often want to choose one over the other.  Jesus kept them all in balance because he truly did care for each one.  Sometimes we can let the sheer numbers of the crowd and the never ending need drown out our care for them.  The opposite is true as well.  Some people care more for the crowds than they do for those closest to them.  May God help us to love Him, our friends and family, and the unknown people around us.

These people were imposing on Jesus and his disciples.  But he had compassion on them.  Many of them would only follow him if he was doing miracles.  They would never enter his Church after his resurrection.  Some of them would stand in Jerusalem shouting, “Crucify Him!”  Yet, he had compassion.  As he ministered to Judas, knowing that he would betray him, so we must listen to the heart beat of how Jesus operated.  Jesus began teaching the people and healing those who needed healed.

Jesus Wants His Disciples To Have Compassion

As it approaches evening, the disciples come to Jesus with a practical concern.  He needs to tell the people to leave if they are going to find lodging and food for the night.  The area they were in was uninhabited.  But, Jesus turns this problem back on them.  “You give them something to eat.”  Jesus is not a dummy.  He understands that there is not enough food around.  He is testing them.  Another word for testing is “training.”  These disciples need to learn to operate from the same compassion and trust in God that Jesus had.

It starts with choosing to be a giver.  It is easy to always send people on their way and never ask the question, “Does God want me to give to them?”  Being a giver has nothing to do with how much you have to give, but with how much you care for the other person.  Even when we have much to give, we can operate from a “mentality of lack.”  People need Truth and Love even more than they need food and clothing.  We always have something to give.  Like Peter at the temple we can say, “Silver and gold have I none, but such as I have give I thee.”  Quit looking at what you don’t have as an excuse for your lack of compassion.  Rather, give what you can material or spiritual out of compassion.  Our heavenly Father is a great giver.  Look at all that He has provided on earth and throughout the universe.  To become like Him is to become a giver.  So make that choice.  You will find that when you become a giver, your out-of-control consumption is restrained.  Your mentality will not be about how little you have, but how much you can give.

Which points out, we shouldn’t worry about what we have to give.  Whatever it is, it is enough.  It is enough to help the other person.  You are not God and He doesn’t expect you to meet all of their needs.  We spend too much time bemoaning what we don’t have.  In truth we can actually rejoice in the little that we have.  Why?  We can rejoice because God’s supply will be easier to see.  Paul saw this when he said, “when I am weak then I am strong.”  He knew that his weakness would make God’s strength all the more obvious, which would then strengthen his faith and the faith of others.  When we are strong we delude ourselves into thinking it is all us.  When in truth God is even then helping us.

We need to also give in both material and spiritual things.  Different people tend to go one way or the other.  We either give $5.00 to someone and go on our way, or we hand them a Bible tract and go on our way.  I am not saying that either of these is wrong.  The real question is about our motivation.  God, how can I help this person?  Sometimes we need to stop giving people money and help them in other ways.  This takes true care and the wisdom of God.  Jesus was able to do both.  He fed the people food, but also taught them about the Kingdom of God.  Sometimes people do not realize that they have great spiritual need.  They may despise your attempts to minister to them spiritually.  Compassion should not be given because the recipient is so thankful.  It should be given because it is the right thing to do.

This Event Parallels Israel In The Wilderness

When you step back from this story, you realize that is practically a reenactment of Israel and Moses in the wilderness.  First, we have a people who go out to meet with God in the wilderness.  In the Exodus it was Israel leaving Egypt to follow Moses.  Here it is people who are hungry for God leaving the society of Israel behind to follow the Messiah.  In both cases it is a remnant of all the people in the land who follow God.  Today, the Church is the remnant of the tribes, tongues, and nations of the earth that have been called out of the world system in order to meet with God.

The second point is that God provides bread and meat for them.  In the exodus, they began to complain and God miraculously provided manna and quail as well as water.  Jesus of course takes 5 loaves of bread and 2 fish and feeds over 5,000 with it.  In fact in this case it is the Messiah who does the miracle.  Whereas Moses only told the people what God would do.  Even today, the material needs of God’s people are met by Him.  He promised that if we would put His Kingdom first, then He would provide our material needs.

The third point is that God provided Truth and Instruction for them.  Moses is known as the lawgiver because God gave his laws to Israel through him.  Here, Jesus instructs the people in the new society they are to become a part of, the kingdom of God.  It is easy to settle for bread and meat and to not care about the spiritual.  God is not content to just meet our material needs.  As Christians we can be guilty of being part of the religious crowd, but not really letting the teaching of Christ change our life.  Here is a question for you.  Do you interpret the Bible in the lens of what you want and feel?  Or, do you interpret your feelings and wants in the lens of Scripture?  Don’t be foolish and twist God’s Truth to fit what you want.  We are the ones who need to repent, not God.

In some of the other gospels we are told that the people continued to follow Jesus in the days after this great miracle, hoping for more bread and fish.  Yet, he rebuked them and said they needed to work as hard for spiritual food as they did for food for their stomach.  Thus commendation is for those who trust the Lord, not those who saw a miracle.  In days of the Exodus, all the people saw great miracles, but they perished in the desert because they did not have faith in God.  Faith turns away from grumbling and towards thanksgiving.  Faith turns away from complaining and towards rejoicing.  Faith turns away from disobedience and towards obedience.  Faith does not focus on our lack, but rejoices in His faithful supply.  The Lord is our provider and He has not failed us yet!

Lord our Provider Audio

The Triumphal Entry

Today we are going to pause in our study of the Gospel of Luke and look at what is called the Triumphal Entry of Jesus in Luke 19:28-44.  It is called the Triumphal Entry because Jesus is celebrated and declared to be the Messiah as He comes to Jerusalem in the week before He is killed.  In some ways it is oddly named because in 3-4 days the crowds will be crying out, “Crucify him!”  I guess it all comes down to what you call a “triumph.”  This day is not a triumph from the perspective of Jesus and heaven.  It is actually a tragic failure because the people are only fair weather friends who will largely reject Him when He embraces going to the cross.  This is not the kind of savior they were seeking.  Thus from heaven’s perspective the Triumphal entry would be either His resurrection day or we could fast-forward to the Second Coming in Revelation 19 and point to it as His true triumphal entry.  Let’s look at the story.

Jesus Heads For Jerusalem

Jesus often went to Jerusalem, but this time is unique.  Jesus heads to Jerusalem for the last time in order to offer himself up as the Lamb of God for the sins of Israel and for the whole world.  Up till now it was not His time.  But now it is.  Up till now He could not be touched by the authorities, but now they will succeed in taking Him and killing Him.  This passage says that Jesus “went on ahead” up to Jerusalem.  This is intended to mean that Jesus led His disciples, not that He left them.  Rather, He is not hiding among the herd of disciples to protect himself.  Instead, He is out front leading the way. It was He that would bear the blow in the days ahead not them.  He is the one who is our shield and strength.  If He lets anything touch us, it is because it cannot truly hurt us; that is if we keep our eyes upon Him.

Loosing Of The Colt

When they reach two small villages on the east side of the Mount of Olives, Jesus gives His disciples some instructions.  He wants a young donkey who has never been ridden to be His transportation to rest of the way.  This is not because He is tired.  Jesus is doing these things on purpose in order to teach us.  Let’s look deeper.

Many skeptics have read these verses and accused Jesus of trying to steal the donkey.  Is this theft or something else?  Why doesn’t Jesus just ask for the donkey first?  What you have to understand is that Jesus is acting out a prophecy in order to teach Israel something about His Messiahship.  Thus this is not theft, but symbolism.  In fact Jesus knew they would be asked why they were taking the colt.  He is going to act out a prophecy that would not only speak to all the people of Jerusalem, but would also declare truth to the rebellious, spiritual forces that were holding mankind captive.

In Zechariah 9:9 there is a specific prophecy that tells Israel that her King (the Messiah) would come to her having justice and salvation, humbly riding on a donkey.  In this sense Jesus was purposefully fulfilling this prophecy.  Now some accuse Jesus of doing this with all of the prophecies in the Old Testament.  However, many of the prophecies had to do with His birth and lineage.  Thus most of the prophecies about Jesus were not ones He could plot to fulfill.  So this accusation is unfounded.  By purposefully fulfilling this prophecy, Jesus was, without a doubt, declaring His kingship over Israel.  He was ready to go public.  Yet, this prophecy emphasizes that the mode of operation (MO) of the Messiah would be justice, salvation, and a humble king riding on a humble beast.  This can be contrasted with the 2^nd Coming of Christ in Revelation 19, where He comes back gloriously and riding on a white horse, with the armies of heaven at His back.

The symbolism in this section is critical.  The donkey represents not the strong leaders and kings of Israel.  But the simple people of Israel.  Jesus had come to set free the people who had been tied up (brought into bondage) by the leaders of Israel.  Thus Jesus does not need to ask permission to untie the people because they are His by right.  Notice however the objection.  The religious leaders objected to the person, teaching, and ministry of Jesus.  They did not want the people free.  They enjoyed the privileged place they had and the benefits they received from having the people in bondage.  Also, the dark forces of the spirit world also objected to any freeing of people.

The answer that is given is that “the Lord has need of him.”  Why did God come down to save simple people out from under the great elite of this world?  Why did God, over the top of natural and spiritual objections, set free the lowly of this world from the powerful?  It is because He has need of us….of you.  The next time you are tempted to put yourself down as nothing, remember that He has need of you.  God doesn’t need the pomp, pride, and power of man.  What He needs is man to humble himself.  Here is the King of Israel, but He offers himself in humility.  If I am to be your king it is going to be a humble administration.  Rejoice today that the Lord has need of you.  He wants your companionship.  He wants your love.  He wants your willing heart.  He wants you!  What a precious thing that we should remind ourselves during times of doubt.

Lastly notice that Jesus is carried by the colt.  In the New Testament we are told that clothing often symbolizes righteous works.  The disciples cover the colt with their outer garments as a picture of how Jesus would use them to teach the humble believers how to take the righteousness of Christ upon themselves, so that they could then become “bearers” of Jesus wherever they go.  Now Christ is the one directing the colt.  Thus we are to live clothed in the righteousness of Jesus (versus our own ideas of righteousness) directed by our Lord.  So Jesus “rides” upon us to the work that He wants to do through us and with us, as we submit to the teachings of Jesus and His apostles.

The Celebration of Jesus

Now it is the Passover week, which would have lots of travelers on the road to Jerusalem. So as Jesus and His disciples crest the Mount of Olives they begin to head down into the valley between it and the Temple Mount.  It is then that the people begin to notice that Jesus is coming into Jerusalem on a donkey.  They break out into celebration because many had come to believe that He must be the messiah.  They get the message that He is sending.  The King is coming!

They then throw their outer garments onto the road for Christ to ride over.  This honoring of Jesus is simultaneously a humbling of yourself (and your own righteousness).  They are rolling out the red carpet for Christ.  If you are going to receive Jesus as your king, then you are going to have to lay down your righteousness and seek to be clothed with His righteousness alone. 

They people also use the words of Psalm 118 as their celebratory cry, “Save us!  Save us!  Blessed is the One who comes in the Name of the Lord!”  It would be worth your while to meditate on that Psalm this week.  It was understood to be speaking of the Messiah.  By the way, you may notice that in Psalm 118, the next thing after this cry for salvation are these words:  “Bind the sacrifice to the altar with cords.”  What cords bound Jesus to the cross?  Was it not the ties of His love for us, for you?

The Rebuke

Now all of this is being seen by Satan’s spiritual powers and the leaders of Israel who had come under their influence.  They do not like what they are seeing.  Thus the Pharisees and lawyers begin to object to Jesus.  Remember that this is the very thing that the symbolism of the objection to untying the colt was pointing to.  Jesus has come to untie the people from their sins and the wicked do not like it.  Why?  They do so because they want to keep the people in bondage.  They have worked too hard to have it all lost.  Know this, that the elite men and the spiritual forces of this world have a vested interest in keeping mankind bound in sin and under their authority.  But, Christ has set us free from all that.  Thus we live in an age of great deception.  Many Christians are being deceived to the truth of Christ that would really set them free and give them different leaders.  Thus Jesus is told to rebuke His disciples and keep them from proclaiming Him as Messiah.

Jesus points out that if they didn’t cry out then the rocks would.  Know this:  God will be praised.  The question is will you be a part of it?  The rocks will praise me.  This is a common theme throughout the prophets.  In Isaiah 55 we see the trees clapping their hands and the mountains will break forth before Him.  This reveals that the natural world will glorify God by doing what it was made to do.  But man is different.  Man has an ability to choose something other than what he was made for.

Jesus Weeps

Like He wept over the death of Lazarus, so Jesus weeps over Jerusalem as He looks out over it and its people.  Jesus weeps because He knows what is coming, what didn’t have to be.  He was there and could stop it, if they would allow.  But sadly they would not.  Yes today they rejoice, but shortly they will change their mind when He chooses a path that is contrary to what their flesh and heart desire.

Jesus says that only if they knew where their peace comes from.  Even today Israel and most of the world do not know where their peace comes from.  Only God can give us peace.  No amount of ambassadors, great sounding words, powerful militaries, and amazing leaders can give us peace.  No amount of cool movies, seductive actors, amusements, or wealth can give us peace.  Everything we plunge after only takes us further away from what would give us peace—Jesus.  The world as a whole rejects the offer of peace from God because it thinks it can create its own peace.  This is why God weeps.  He knows that this is a pipe dream that leads to the slavery of mankind and ends up in the destruction of mankind.

Jesus says that the significance and understanding of these things would be hidden from the eyes of Israel. The apostle Paul picks this theme up in Romans 11:25.  He states that this blindness of Israel to the messiah would not last forever.  Also in 2 Corinthians 3, he states that the blindness of Israel was like a veil over the eyes.  Yet, the good news is that though God may blind us because of our unbelief and wickedness, He will have mercy.  He will bring us back around again to see once again what we refused to believe before.

Lastly Jesus refers to this as the time of Israel’s visitation.  Israel was in bondage to the “Beast” kingdom of Rome.  They had cried out for deliverance for years.  Now, in Jesus, God was visiting them, in order to deliver them.  Their cry had not failed to reach God.  Though God has a different time schedule than us, He does hear our cries.  He is hurting over our injustices, and wounding of each other.  He weeps over the bondage that we continue under and longs to come and offer Himself to us.  In Jesus that day has come.  For the last 2,000 years God has been carried around by lowly Christians who offer to them the peace of Christ.  But there is a day of visitation coming; a day when it will be critical that we have eyes to see the truth.  The antichrist will come forth offering a false peace that leads to destruction, but the true Christ will come forth offering a true peace that leads to life.  Choose Jesus today!

The Triumphal Entry mp3