Luke 19:28-38 - The Lord needs it

Note the original post had verses 28-31 omitted. These have now been added.

19:28-31

Jesus is getting ever closer to Jerusalem, we are now at what we call Palm Sunday. Bethphage was probably a village near the road from Jericho to Jerusalem, though its exact location is not known. Bethany was about two miles from Jerusalem, and was where Mary, Martha and Lazarus lived (John 11:18). Two unnamed disciples were sent on ahead to the next village, possibly Bethphage. There they would find a colt tied up and they were to bring it to Jesus. All the events were planned long ago. We need to understand that in the Bible there is no conflict between God’s sovereignty, human responsibility and the reality of life. Ie we are not just actors in a play, but at the same time there is a script.

19:32-36

The disciples went ahead and duly found the colt. Someone did ask why they were untying the colt, and they answered as Jesus had told them to, “the Lord needs it”. This answer was acceptable. How was this so? Possibly God had revealed to the owner of the colt what would happen. We may have seemingly inconsequential things in our possession. They all belong to God, and at some point He may have a most noble purpose for them.

The disciples put their cloaks on the colt and Jesus sat upon it, then He entered Jerusalem. Luke does not give any details about the entry itself.

19:37,38

This is a rather strange scene in some ways. The “crowd of disciples” began joyfully praising the Lord. Why did they do this? Presumable because their Messiah was going into Jerusalem, and they expected Him to claim His crown. But then there are Jesus’ words to His disciples about His suffering. Now it may only have been the twelve who heard these words (18:31-34), and even they didn’t understand them! Matthew relates the entry into Jerusalem to prophecies in Zechariah. A king entering on a donkey is a sign of peace, not one of overthrowing the powers that be. Jesus was going to claim a crown, but first He would have to suffer greatly, and the crown would be one given by His Father, not one taken from men. All four gospels contain reference to Psalm 118:26, but only Luke and John explicitly call Jesus king, though the thought is implicit in the others. Luke omits the word Hosanna and replaces it with glory, perhaps reflecting his audience as being largely Gentile.