#1420 Luke 19 Part 3 The Colt Of Christ

 

28 And when he had said these things, he went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem. 29 When he drew near to Bethphage and Bethany, at the mount that is called Olivet, he sent two of the disciples, 30 saying, “Go into the village in front of you, where on entering you will find a colt tied, on which no one has ever yet sat. Untie it and bring it here. 31 If anyone asks you, ‘Why are you untying it?’ you shall say this: ‘The Lord has need of it.’” 32 So those who were sent went away and found it just as he had told them. 33 And as they were untying the colt, its owners said to them, “Why are you untying the colt?” 34 And they said, “The Lord has need of it.” 35 And they brought it to Jesus, and throwing their cloaks on the colt, they set Jesus on it. 36 And as he rode along, they spread their cloaks on the road. 37 As he was drawing near—already on the way down the Mount of Olives—the whole multitude of his disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works that they had seen, 38 saying, “Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!” 39 And some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples.” 40 He answered, “I tell you, if these were silent, the very stones would cry out.” Luke 19: 28-40 ESV

Luke 19: 28-40 On A Donkey

24 “Seventy weeks are decreed about your people and your holy city, to finish the transgression, to put an end to sin, and to atone for iniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal both vision and prophet, and to anoint a most holy place. 25 Know therefore and understand that from the going out of the word to restore and build Jerusalem to the coming of an anointed one, a prince, there shall be seven weeks. Then for sixty-two weeks it shall be built again with squares and moat, but in a troubled time. 26 And after the sixty-two weeks, an anointed one shall be cut off and shall have nothing. And the people of the prince who is to come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary. Its end shall come with a flood, and to the end there shall be war. Desolations are decreed. 27 And he shall make a strong covenant with many for one week, and for half of the week he shall put an end to sacrifice and offering. And on the wing of abominations shall come one who makes desolate, until the decreed end is poured out on the desolator.” Daniel 9: 24-27

Now let’s take the whole figure of 483. From 445 B.C., we want to go 483 years. You have sixty-nine times seven years, which equals 483 years; and then you have 483 years times 360 days. And that’s the figure I want you to get. The total of days is 173,880 day. That is 483 years times 360 days. Remember I told you we’re dealing with a 360-day year; so in order to convert that to a 365-day calendar like we have, we have to reduce it to days, and then divide it back again. So we’re dealing with 173,880 days from the decree of Artaxerxes in 445 B.C. to the coming of Messiah the Prince. The Messiah will come in 173,880 days.

Now there are only two events in His life, the life of Christ, where He is officially set apart. One is the baptism, and two is the triumphal entry into Jerusalem. Now some believe it’s the baptism. But as I said, it can’t be, because He was not being presented to men there but to God. And the men didn’t even know what was going on. There is utterly no reference to Israel. There is no statement about messiahship; only, “This is My beloved Son.” And so if it isn’t the baptism, it has to be the triumphal entry; it has to be. There’s really no other alternative. - J Mac

More on the 70 Weeks of Daniel, a prophecy given hundreds of years before Christ came.

When we look at verse 26 of Daniel 9 we are seeing the middle of a prophecy that spans from the time of the people returning from Babylon to rebuild Jerusalem, and then all the way to Christ's coming into Jerusalem as foretold by Zechariah. In Daniel 9:26 we are also given the knowledge that this Anointed One will be cut off, which is terminology used for removed from the living, in other words, killed. Jesus is on His way to fulfill Isaiah's prophecies about Him being our atonement. He is going to be the scapegoat, the sacrificial Lamb without blemish. The 70 weeks of Daniel are equivalent to 70, 7's, and based upon the text they are equal to years. I encourage you to read the link above for more on this. But these 490 years are the time of God's dealing with His people, Israel, and God is Sovereign so it is a set time, down to the minute. Jesus is getting ready to present Himself to the people, riding in on a donkey, and the image is going to be so staggering because this is during the Passover week. He is coming to atone for sin, but by this time all are aware of the miracles He has been performing.

9Rejoice greatly, O Daughter of Zion! Shout in triumph, O Daughter of Jerusalem! See, your King comes to you, righteous and victorious, humble and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey. 10And I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim and the horse from Jerusalem, and the bow of war will be broken. Then He will proclaim peace to the nations. His dominion will extend from sea to sea, and from the Euphrates to the ends of the earth.… Zechariah 9: 9-10

…4Surely He took on our infirmities and carried our sorrows; yet we considered Him stricken by God, struck down and afflicted. 5But He was pierced for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed. 6We all like sheep have gone astray, each one has turned to his own way; and the LORD has laid upon Him the iniquity of us all.… Isaiah 53: 4-6

Where on entering you will find a colt tied - This is a great example of Christ's omniscience, even preparing them in case someone ask, "why are you doing that?" He even knows that no one else has sat on this colt. 

v. 31 The Lord has need of it - We already know that the disciples struggle with Christ's role as the Passover Lamb, yet He has made that known to them on a number of occasions, that He must be rejected and give His life. No one does the things He does, heal the sick, raise the dead, calm the sea, without word spreading really quickly, and now He is asking for a donkey. We find out later in John that this doesn't even register with His disciples, so when people refer to them as twelve ordinary men, this is no exaggeration, it may even be a compliment. The Scribes and the Pharisees, anyone who spent time studying the prophets, would be familiar with Zechariah, and the image of Jesus coming on a donkey, not on a war horse, would be eerily familiar. "Your King comes to you, righteous and victorious," He was doing that very thing, fulfilling all righteousness, "humble and riding on a donkey." Who comes? Your King. Remember though, the Pharisees don't want Him to be their King, but here is this image from the prophecies of Scripture, an image that anywhere from 200,000 to 2 million people are going to witness because Jerusalem is packed out for Passover week. Jesus has His face set like a flint, moving toward the cross, and many watching are hoping that this is the Messiah and that He will vanquish Rome. Others are looking for a reason to kill Him, and this entry will bring it to a fever pitch, "how dare He conjure up an image like this. Who does He think He is?"

…15“Do not be afraid, O Daughter of Zion. See, your King is coming, seated on the colt of a donkey.” 16 At first His disciples did not understand these things, but after Jesus was glorified they remembered what had been done to Him, and they realized that these very things had also been written about Him. 17Meanwhile, many people continued to testify that they had been with Jesus when He called Lazarus from the tomb and raised him from the dead.… John 12: 15-17

V. 36 They spread their cloaks on the road - The Pharisees have to be having an aneurysm at this point. Remember, they reject Jesus, and will say, "we have no king but Caesar." The worlds always looking for someone other than Christ, which is antichrist, "the prince to come", in the second part of verse 26 of Daniel 9 above. He comes from the people who destroy the city, and this will be the Roman empire which history tells us of in 70 A.D. The final antichrist will come from the area of the Roman empire. He will come in the 70th week, and it's a lot so again, I encourage you to go to the link above and read. 

Hendriksen - At this point it is important to take note of the fact that the crowd that accompanied Jesus as he started out from Bethany does not remain the only one that participates in the activities pertaining to the triumphal entry. A caravan of pilgrims had arrived at Jerusalem previously. Having heard that Jesus had raised Lazarus from the dead and was now on his way toward the city, these people came pouring out of the eastern gate to meet him. With fronds cut from palm trees they go forth to welcome Jesus (John 12:1, 12, 13a, 18). Having done so they turn around and, as it were, lead Jesus down the western slope of the mount of Olives and so into the city. The crowd from Bethany continues to follow. (Borrow Exposition of the Gospel of Luke)

As He was going, they were spreading their coats on the road - This was an honor bestowed on a king and expressed their submission to Jesus as their King. The idea is that they were "in effect" placing themselves under His feet. So instead of doing it physically people would throw their coats beneath His path. - Precept Austin

In 2 Kings 9:13 we see a similar act of casting cloaks in the path of one acclaimed as king....

"Then they hurried and each man took his garment and placed it under him on the bare steps, and blew the trumpet, saying, “Jehu is king!” Then they hurried and each man took his garment and placed it under him on the bare steps, and blew the trumpet, saying, "Jehu is king!" 2 Kings 9: 13

V. 38 Blessed is the King Who comes in the name of the Lord - They are calling Him, King, Messiah, and this is going to come up at His trial as well. It is also causing the pace to quicken.

Warren Wiersbe comments - This is the only time that Jesus permitted a public demonstration on His behalf, and He did so for at least two reasons. First, He was fulfilling prophecy and presenting Himself as Israel’s king (Zech. 9:9). How much of this the crowd really understood we cannot tell, even though they responded by quoting from a messianic psalm (Ps. 118:25–26). No doubt many of the Passover pilgrims thought that Jesus would now get rid of the Roman invaders and establish the glorious kingdom. The second reason for this demonstration was to force the Jewish religious leaders to act. They had hoped to arrest Him after the Passover (Matt. 26:3–5), but God had ordained that His Son be slain on Passover as the “Lamb of God, who taketh away the sin of the world” (John 1:29; and see 1 Cor. 5:7). Every previous attempt to arrest Jesus had failed because “His hour had not yet come” (John 7:30; 8:20; also see John 13:1; 17:1). When they saw this great public celebration, the leaders knew that they had to act, and the willing cooperation of Judas solved their problem for them (Matt. 26:14–16). (Be courageous Luke 14-24) - Precept Austin

22 The stone which the builders rejected

Has become the chief corner stone.

23 This is the Lord’s doing;

It is marvelous in our eyes.

24 This is the day which the Lord has made;

Let us rejoice and be glad in it.

25 O Lord, do save, we beseech You;

O Lord, we beseech You, do send prosperity!

26 Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord;

We have blessed you from the house of the Lord. Psalm 118: 22-26

…19For God was pleased to have all His fullness dwell in Him, 20and through Him to reconcile to Himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through the blood of His cross. 21Once you were alienated from God and were hostile in your minds because of your evil deeds.…

…22But now He has reconciled you by Christ’s physical body through death to present you holy, unblemished, and blameless in His presence— 23if indeed you continue in your faith, established and firm, not moved from the hope of the gospel you heard, which has been proclaimed to every creature under heaven, and of which I, Paul, have become a servant. Colossians 1: 19-23

v. 39 Teacher, rebuke Your disciples - Make them stop, they are promoting the idea that You are the Messiah, the King, the heir to the throne of David. This goes on to this day, people rejecting the Son of God, the Creator of the Universe, as if it is up to them how He should be presented. This attitude follows after His disciples as well, all but one end up martyred for the gospel. It always amazes me how much men are willing to speak against the truth, but how few are willing to stand for it or speak against apostasy. 

1While Peter and John were speaking to the people, the priests and the captain of the temple guard and the Sadducees came up to them, 2greatly disturbed that they were teaching the people and proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection of the dead. 3They seized Peter and John, and because it was evening, they put them in custody until the next day.… Acts 4: 1-3

…16“What shall we do with these men?” they asked. “It is clear to everyone living in Jerusalem that a remarkable miracle has occurred through them, and we cannot deny it. 17But to keep this message from spreading any further among the people, we must warn them not to speak to anyone in this name.” 18Then they called them in again and commanded them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus.… Acts 4: 16-18

If these were silent, the very stones would cry out - The whole of Creation groans, waiting for God to make all things right. It's quite a picture, many 12 year old boys there for for their right of passage into manhood, some probably participating, laying down palm branches, the anticipation would be high, but without the gift of faith, the mind will seek to destroy this Man on the donkey and replace Him with it's own image of messiah. These children are going to be told by their elders that this is not so significant, this is not Him. 

…7Let the sea resound, and all that fills it, the world, and all who dwell in it. 8Let the rivers clap their hands, let the mountains sing together for joy 9before the LORD, for He comes to judge the earth. He will judge the world with righteousness and the peoples with equity.… Psalm 98: 7-9

…8Produce fruit, then, in keeping with repentance. 9And do not presume to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham. 10The axe lies ready at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.… Matthew 3: 8-10

Henry Morris - Even the inanimate creation is under God's control for He made it, and the opposition of mere men to the fulfillment of prophecy is no impediment to the Creator and Sustainer of all things. When God created Adam, He breathed life into the dust of the ground; He could do the same for stones if need be. (Borrow The Defender's Study Bible)

W A Criswell - If men will not recognize the significance of this day, the rocks will find a voice to praise Jesus (Hab. 2:11). (Believer's Study Bible)

Matthew Henry - Christ's triumphs, and his disciples' joyful praises, vex proud Pharisees, who are enemies to him and to his kingdom. But Christ, as he despises the contempt of the proud, so he accepts the praises of the humble. Pharisees would silence the praises of Christ, but they cannot; for as God can out of stones raise up children unto Abraham, and turn the stony heart to himself, so he can bring praise out of the mouths of children. And what will be the feelings of men when the Lord returns in glory to judge the world! - Precept Austin