Bible Study series: Luke 19:28-40. He had just predicted his death. Tension is building, as he enters Jerusalem.
Friendly greetings and a warm welcome to this Bible study! I write to learn, so let’s learn together.
I also translate to learn. The translations are mine, unless otherwise noted. If you would like to see many others, please click here:
In the next link to the original chapter, I comment more and offer the Greek text. At the bottom you will find a “Summary and Conclusion” section geared toward discipleship. Check it out!
In this post, links are provided for further study.
Let’s begin.
Scripture: Luke 19:28-40
28 After he said these things, he went in front, going up to Jerusalem. 29 And as it happened that as he was nearing Bethphage and Bethany towards the Mount called Olives, he sent two of the disciples, 30 saying, “Go to the village ahead, and as you enter, you will find a colt tied up, on which no person has ever sat; untie and lead it here. 31 If anyone asks you, ‘Why are you untying it?’ reply in this way, ‘The Lord needs it.’”
32 After the ones who were sent departed, they found it just as he told them. 33 While they were untying the colt, its owners said to them, “Why are you untying it?” 34 They said, “The Lord needs it.” 35 And so they led it to Jesus and threw their garments on the colt and helped Jesus up. 36 While he was going along, they spread their garments on the road. 37 He was already approaching the descent of the Mount of Olives, and the entire crowd of disciples celebrated and began to praise God with a loud voice about all the miracles they saw, 38 saying,
“Blessed is the one, the King, coming,
in the name of the Lord, [Ps. 118:26]
Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!”
39 And some of the Pharisees from the crowd told him, “Teacher, scold your disciples!” 40 He replied, saying, “I tell you, if these people kept quiet, the stones would cry out!” (Luke 19:28-40)
Comments:
The whole episode refers to Zechariah’s prophecy:
Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your king is coming to you; righteous and having salvation is he, humble and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey. (Zech. 9:9, ESV)
At that link, there is a table of quoted prophecies, yet Jesus fulfills more than such verses. He also fulfills the larger themes of the OT, like the sacrificial system or the temple itself and all the old covenants.
28:
I like how Jesus led the way into Jerusalem. If you believe you are a leader and you go ahead of everyone else, turn around once in a while to see if anyone is following. If no one is, then God did not call you to be a leader, or he did call you to be a leader, but you are going in the wrong direction. You did not seek him to find out the right direction. In any case, Jesus gathered a large crowd.
29:
Now for a little historical context; you can look up these places in a biblical map somewhere online.
Bethphage: its precise location is unknown, but most locate it on the southeast side of the Mount of Olives.
Bethany: about 1.5 miles (3 km) east of Jerusalem. Mary, Martha, and Lazarus lived there (Luke 10:38-42; John 11:1).
Mount of Olives: a ridge that goes north to south about 1.8 miles long (3 km), east of Jerusalem, above the valley of Kidron, about 100 feet (30 m) high. A large number of olive trees grew on it.
“two of his disciples”: we don’t know who they were. Neither Matt. 21:1 nor Mark 11:1 name them. Could one of them be Judas who kept the money sack (John 12:6)? Maybe he did other practical business things, but we don’t know whether he was one of the two. Luke 22:8 says that Jesus commissioned Peter and John to prepare the Passover meal, so maybe Jesus asked them to carry out this mission.
Who are disciples generally speaking? BDAG says of the noun that it means (1) “one who engages in learning through instruction from another, pupil, apprentice”; (2) “one who is rather constantly associated with someone who has a pedagogical reputation or a particular set of views, disciple, adherent.”
30-34:
Now Jesus gives them instructions: Go to the village opposite to or ahead of us; enter the village; a colt will be tied up there, and no one sat on it; untie it and lead it here; if the owners ask why you are untying it, tell them the Lord needs it.
Incidentally, Matt. 21:23 says a donkey with her colt was tied up and the two disciples were to bring both of them. Again Matthew likes to speak in “twos” (4:18, 21; 8:28; 9:27; 20:30). Mark and Luke simply omit these details. Yes, the authors of the three synoptic Gospels (Matthew, Mark and Luke) were inspired by the Spirit and gave themselves permission to omit or keep whichever details suited their purposes.
In any case, it happened just as Jesus prophesied.
How did Jesus know these bits of information? One could answer the question in two ways: (1) The first is by natural methods. Maybe he sent a team ahead to scout around for such a colt. But then how did Jesus know that no one sat on the colt? (2) The truth is that Jesus received detailed knowledge through the Spirit that he could not receive it just in his humanity. God looked from heaven in his omniscience and revealed these pieces of information to his Son.
What’s my opinion? As it happens, the dominant image throughout the four Gospels is that Jesus worked these visible miracles and gifts of knowledge by the Spirit’s anointing. But I am surely open to the conclusion that his divine nature shone through his humanity, as well. Jesus stayed in close contact with his Father. “Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. I am in the Father, and the Father is in me” (14:9-10). Jesus “can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son does also” (John 5:19). “I and the Father are one” (John 10:30).
It is remarkable that we too, by the anointing of the Spirit, can receive such detailed information about our lives and even about the lives of others.
Yes, this is the gift of the word of knowledge. See my post about the word of knowledge:
2. Gifts of the Spirit: Word of Knowledge
However, let’s not push this interpretation too far. He may have known the man by an earlier connection that we don’t know about.
35-36:
Now Jesus is getting close to the triumphal entry, but Luke again does not yet say that Jesus entered the city, because in v. 41 he stops to weep over the city. The only time we see Jesus enter the city is in v. 45, and even in this case, he is already throwing out the money changers. So officially the triumphal entry is implied, not stated. Why does Luke omit such details? It just seems to be his writing style and purpose. He expects and assumes that the reader will fill in the gaps (see vv. 8 and 18-19). Nickname: Luke the Omitter.
In any case, the disciples toss their clothing or garments on to the colt and help Jesus up on it.
37-38:
The crowd of his followers, presumably following him also from Galilee in the north, celebrated his arrival. They shout with a loud voice a line from Ps. 118:26, a Messianic psalm. Originally, the people celebrated the psalmist entering the Lord’s temple. He is blessed when he comes in the name of the Lord. Now this verse is applied to and fulfilled in the Messiah. Luke also echoes what he wrote about the angels announced about the birth of Jesus (Luke 2:14). “Peace in heaven and glory in the highest” (v. 38). Luke 2:14: “Glory to God in the highest! And upon earth peace among people with whom he is well pleased.” So it looks like Jesus is bringing peace in heaven down to earth. Let’s always remember that Jesus was a heavenly being before his incarnation (coming to earth in the flesh). And now he is about to ascend back to heaven (Luke 24:51-53, the last verses in Luke’s Gospel).
1. Do I Really Know Jesus? His Entire Existence in One Image
Luke omits the Hebraism “Hosanna!” This is one more hint that his audience was Greek-speaking Theophilus and others in his household and sphere of influence. Hosanna may not have made sense to Luke’s readership, so he gives a (very) rough equivalent of praise.
But he adds the word “king.” This clearly refers to King Jesus. All praise goes to him.
“miracles”: It is often translated as “power,” but also “miracle” or “miraculous power.” It means power in action, not static, but kinetic. It moves. Yes, we get our word dynamite from it, but God is never out of control, like dynamite is. Its purpose is to usher in the kingdom of God and repair and restore broken humanity, both in body and soul.
For nearly all the references of that word and a developed theology, please click on:
What Are Signs and Wonders and Miracles?
“peace”: It speaks of more than just the absence of war. It can mean prosperity and well-being. It can mean peace in your heart and peace with your neighbor. Best of all, it means peace with God, because he reconciled us to him.
Let’s explore more deeply the peace that God brings.
This word in Hebrew is shalom and means well being, both in the soul and in circumstances, and it means, yes, prosperity, because the farm in an agricultural society would experience well being and harmony and growth. The crops would not fail and the livestock would reproduce. Society and the individual would live in peace and contentment and harmony. Deut. 28:1-14 describes the blessings for obedience, a man and his family and business enjoying divine goodness and benefits and material benefits.
Do I Really Know God? He Is the God of Peace
39-40:
I love these verses because we have a study in contrasts between three sets of characters: Jesus (a single character), the Pharisees (a smaller group of characters), and the crowds (the largest group of characters). The largest group were thrilled because of the miracles they saw, and now the miracle worker is about to enter Jerusalem. This is the culmination of his ministry. Now just watch how he would work miracles to banish all the Gentiles (Romans) and purge all unrighteousness from the holy Capital among the Jews! Yes, he works miracles in Jerusalem (Matt. 21:14), but not the kind the people demanded: a military miracle, much like the Israelites defeated Syria and its allies, backed up by a prophet (1 Kings 20). Better still, maybe Jesus would show signs from heaven like Moses did, and the plagues distinguished between the Egyptians (Gentiles) and the Chosen People (Israelites) (Exod. 7:14-12:32). Now signs like that would rid Israel of the Romans and other ungodly people!
But Jesus was ushering in the secret kingdom.
5 The Kingdom of God: Already Here, But Not Yet Fully
The kingdom was destined to go around the globe, not rescue tiny Israel from its temporary trouble. The kingdom of God is seen by the eyes of faith. We enter it by being born again (John 3:3). And then we invite other people to come in.
“Pharisees”: You can learn more about them at this post:
Quick Reference to Jewish Groups in Gospels and Acts
They were the Watchdogs of Theology and Behavior (cf. Garland, p. 243). The problem which Jesus had with them can be summed up in Eccl. 7:16: “Be not overly righteous.” He did not quote that verse, but to him they were much too enamored with the finer points of the law, while neglecting its spirit (Luke 11:37-52; Matt. 23:1-36). Instead, he quoted this verse from Hos. 6:6: “Go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice.’ For I came not to call the righteous, but sinners” (Matt. 9:13; 12:7, ESV). Overdoing righteousness damages one’s relationship with God and others.
Finally, Jesus (the single character) dominates the scene. He promises the restrictive Pharisees that praise is right. If not, then the stones would be given a voice of praise. Is this literal or prophetic and figurative? In my experience, many Renewalists take this literally. Far be it from me to deny the possibility that God would and could make stones burst out in praise. After all, the morning stars sang together (Job 38:7). And Jesus cursed an unproductive fig tree, which soon withered from the roots (Mark 11:12-14, 20-21); However, I believe v. 40 here is poetic and prophetic language, to indicate how sure the promises of God are—the people would fulfill prophecy by celebrating the king entering Jerusalem (Zech. 9:9 and Ps. 118:25-26). This is like Jesus saying the mountain would be removed and thrown into the sea (Matt. 21:21; cf. 17:20) or the mulberry tree would be uprooted and planted in the sea (Luke 17:6). But if anyone out there with great faith interprets v. 40 literally, go for it! (I just hope this is real faith and not presumption.)
See my posts on praise:
Bible Basics about Praise and Worship
Word Study on Praise and Worship
GrowApp for Luke 19:28-40
1. Jesus gave two disciples specific instructions. What specific instruction has he given you in the Scripture, applicable to your life? Did you follow his instructions?
2. Have you ever received acclaim even on a small scale? How did you receive it?
RELATED
11. Eyewitness Testimony in Luke’s Gospel
3. Church Fathers and Luke’s Gospel
14. Similarities among John’s Gospel and the Synoptic Gospels
1. The Historical Reliability of the Gospels: Introduction to Series
BIBLIOGRAPHY AND MORE
To see the bibliography, please click on this link and scroll down to the bottom. You will also find a “Summary and Conclusion” for discipleship.
Dr. Jim's Essential Bible Teaching 