Jesus was our glorious leader

JESUS WAS OUR GLORIOUS LEADER
EDITED BY GLENN PEASE
“And when he had thus spoken, he went before, ascending up to Jerusalem.”
Luke 19:28
OUR GLORIOUS LEADER NO. 3545
A SERMON PUBLISHED ON THURSDAY, JANUARY 4, 1917
DELIVERED BY C. H. SPURGEON AT THE METROPOLITAN
TABERNACLE, NEWINGTONON LORD’S-DAY EVENING, JANUARY 4,
1872
“And when he had thus spoken, he went before, ascending up to Jerusalem.”
Luke 19:28
A VERY beautiful spectacle itis to see the Lord Jesus marching in front and
His followers eagerlyfollowing on behind. They were going up to Jerusalem,
where it is true He would receive some honor, but where also He would be
betrayed into the hands of cruel men, and put to a shameful death, but He
went before them. As the shepherd goes before the sheep, not driving, but
leading, as the captain goes before his soldiers as taking the post of danger, so
our Lord went before them. It was far better that He should go first than that
they should, for the disciple is never more out of place than when he outruns
his Master. If he will follow his Master’s commands, he shall do well, but if he

shall follow his own devices and invent his own way, he shall do ill. The
pilgrimage behind the cloud is a safe one, but a rush before the cloud will end
in a disaster. The Mastermust go first, not the disciple. But then, when the
Masteradvances, it is right to see the disciple follow, ready of foot, quick at
his Master’s heel, delighted with his Master’s company. One likes to think of
that journey up to Jerusalem, with Jesus Christjust a little ahead in the front,
and His disciples closelyfollowing with Him. I thought it was a picture that
might serve us as a model throughout the whole year. I am not going to talk to
you long at this time, but wish just to sketchthat picture before your mind’s
eye and say, “So be it unto eachone of us.” May Jesus be with us, may Jesus
lead the way, and may His own divine Spirit give us grace to follow Him, not
like Peter, afaroff, but as loving disciples who keepcloselyunder their
Master’s guidance!From the beginning of the year to the end of the year may
we rejoice to feel that He goes before, but may we also with cheerful alacrity
follow close behind. I present it to you, I say, as the picture for this new year
of grace, and may it be verified in your experience. Very simply, then, I shall
try to callattention to the blessedfact that Jesus goesbefore us, and having
done so, I shall ask you, in the secondplace, to seek aftera sweetrealizationof
this truth. And the first truth, then, to consideris— I. THE BLESSED
FACT—He went before them. We have alreadysaid that He was going the
way of suffering. He was going up to Jerusalemto suffer. When you are in the
way of suffering, He will go before you. He was always in the way of service.
There was more to be done at Jerusalembefore He had finished His course.
May we, in the way of service, always find Him going before us. And He was
also, in the third place, on the way to death, and if we have any fears about
our passagethrough the river, may this console us—He wentbefore us. To
begin, then, at the beginning, here is the blessedfact that Christ has gone
before in the way of suffering. He has done so by His own actualexperience
while He was here in the flesh. “He was a man of sorrows andacquainted with
grief.” “In all our afflictions he was afflicted.” “He himself took our sicknesses
and carried our sorrows.”Restassuredthat in whateverway of suffering you
have to go in consequenceofyour being a child of man, and especiallyin
consequence ofyour being a child of God, you will find that Christ has gone
that way before you. Are you full of bodily pain, stretchedupon the bed? Are

you apt to think that none ever suffered as you do? He suffered more than
you, He went before you along that flinty pathway. The pangs of His
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death must have been extreme. And remember His passionin the garden, His
agonyin Gethsemane. Youhave not in this matter yet come to having drops of
blood oozing in sweatfrom your countenance. No, He has gone before you
there. In all the pangs of your bodily frame Jesus has precededyou. Readthe
twenty-secondpsalm, with all its wonderful expressions—“Iampoured out
like water, and all my bones are out of joint.” “Thou hast brought me into the
dust of death.” He knew the fever and its thirst upon the cross whenHe was
dying there. He said, “Thou hast brought me to the dust of death.” You have
not one suffering that may be imagined to be more exquisite than what He
had endured. Your griefs are molehills comparedwith the Alps of His
sufferings. But you will say that it is not exactly the pathway of personal
bodily pain you are traversing, but you have endured much in the sufferings
of others you have lost. You have had half your heart, perhaps, takenawayat
one time, friend after friend has been carried to the tomb, but He went before
in this pathway also. Did you never read where it is written, “Jesus wept”?
“Beholdhow he loved him,” said the Jews, as they beheld Him at the
sepulcherof the well-belovedLazarus. He knows whatbereavements means as
well as you—He has gone before. “Ah!” say you, “but in consequence ofthe
bereavementI have suffered, I am left a widow. How shall I be provided for?
In addition to the woe of the loss, I have to look forward to the future. Will
these hands be able to find me daily bread? My garments may become by
degrees more and more thin and time-worn. I fear cold, nakedness, and
hunger.” And suppose it should come to that, as it will not, I trust, yet He
went before. You are not so poor as He. Hear you His voice tonight, “Foxes
have holes, and the birds of the air have nests, but I, the son of man, have not
where to lay my head.” To pay the common tax, He must borrow money from
the fish of the sea. His garment was the common seamlessrobe of peasants, He
was but poorly clad, He was in all respects the child of poverty. First cradled
in a manger, and then laid for His last sleepin a borrowed grave, for still He

had not even where to lay His head. In the sleepof death, Jesus wentbefore
you. O sonof poverty, O daughter of need, you may see the print of His
footsteps all along that thorny way. “Ay,” says one, “but still there is added to
poverty in my case the fact that I have been forsakenby friends, and I am
very fearful that even those who stood somewhatfaithful to me will soongrow
weary, and I shall be left alone.” And did you never hear Him say, “And I
shall be left alone, and yet I am not alone, because the Fatheris with me”?
And have you never read how they all forsook Him and fled, and Peterdenied
Him with oaths and curses, and worstof all, Judas, who had been trusted with
His little stock, soldHim for the price of a slave? “He that eatethbread with
me has lifted up his heel againstme.” Ingratitude most cruel, treachery most
base!Your Lord has suffered it. You may see the prints of His pierced feet
along that pathway if you will but look for them. Jesus wentbefore you in
actualsuffering. And what if you have been serving your Lord with zeal and
fervor, and you have been reproached, evenby those who love Him. You have
met with the cold shoulder where you expected to find encouragement. If your
motives have been misrepresentedby the very persons who ought to have
supported you in your ardor, ah! what then? Was not He also a reproach
among His mother’s brethren? When His zeal had eatenHim up, they said
that He was mad, and even His mother and His brethren stood without
desiring that they might see Him, because they thought Him bereavedof His
wits, and if the wickedworld has reproachedand reviled you, did they not call
the Masterofthe house “Beelzebub”? Shallthey have soft names and
honorable titles for the men of His household? If they saidof Him, “He hath a
devil, and is mad; why hear ye him?” do you think they will say greatand
flattering things of you? O you that are made ashamed for His sake, and
made a spectacle unto men, and unto angels, be not afraid, no strange thing
has happened to you, thousands of saints have passedalong this road, and
chief of all, your Master, Christ, has gone before you. In the path of suffering,
then, Jesus has gone before us, from the factof having actually and literally
experiencedwhat we suffer. He has gone before in another sense, namely,
that now, though He reigns exalted high in the highestheavens, He goes before
us still in the intense sympathy of His sacredheart. Jesus is not separated
from

Sermon #3545 OurGlorious Leader 3
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His people by the mere fact of distance. “Lo,” He has said, “I am with you
always, evento the end of the world,” and you know what mysterious, yet real
union exists betweenChrist the Head and all His members. It came out clearly
in the case ofPaul, when He said to him, “Why persecutestthou me?” He was
persecuting only a few poor people in Jerusalem, or in Damascus, whomhe
despised, but Christ said, “Why persecutestthou me?” because persecuting
the saints was persecuting Christ—Christ suffering in His members. Christ
suffering on the cross was the head suffering, but when His people were rent
to pieces in the amphitheater, when they were burned at Smithfield, and when
today they are hootedand made a jest of, it is Christ suffering, still suffering
in His members, and when any child of God suffers in any righteous cause,
wheneveraffliction comes upon a saint in any form, Christ sympathizes with
him. Restassured—
“In every pang that rends the heart, The Man of Sorrows bears His part.”
In all their affliction He was afflicted. A finger never suffers without the
brain participating, and no humble member of the true church of Christ ever
suffers without Christ, the glorious Head, suffering in sympathy therewith.
Now this is very cheering to those who have faith to receive it, because very
much of the heart breaking that comes into the world is from a sense of
loneliness. When men feel that somebodysympathizes with them, when those
who are being beatenfeel that others smart as they do, then they take
courage. Oh!there is one who loves you more than you can love yourself, who
sympathizes with you, you suffering saint, from the throne of His glory. Be
you, therefore, glad, be of goodcourage, andlet this comfort your heart.
There is a third wayin which Christ goes aheadofus in the path of suffering,
that is, in the matter of providence. While He has Himself suffered, and
Himself sympathizes, in a third respectHe goes before us ever in our
sufferings, in preparing them for us, and preparing us for them. Our Lord has
gone to heaven to prepare a place for us, and I believe He has prepared all the

road as well as a place at the end of it. You shall find, O child of God, when
you come into the deep waters, that Christ is there—there by His grace and
Spirit, and there also by His providence, to take care of you. It was appointed
that Jacoband his tribes should all go down to Egypt. To Egypt they must go,
but Josephwentdown there before them, and became lord overall Egypt, not
for his own sake, but for the sake ofhis brethren, for all the wealth of Egypt
shall be used, if necessary, in order that Jacoband all his householdshall be
preservedduring the time of famine. Now if there is an Egypt to which you
are to go, Jesus, your Joseph, has gone before you to make it ready for you, to
find you a Goshenthere, and to nourish you there till such day as you shall
come from it. God, even your SaviorJesus, leads the van. As the cloud, like a
mighty fire-banner, went through all the mazes of the winding wayof Israel
over the desert, so Jesus marches before us, the Leader, the standard-bearer
among ten thousand, always in the van, and with His eternal power and
Godheadmaking straight the pathway for His people’s feet. Let us be of good
courage, then, in this respect. In the matter of suffering, He went before you.
But now realize here the retrospect. If He goes before, then follow Him. You
love not suffering. It were not suffering if you did love it, but still if Jesus
leads, look not to the way. It were better that that way should be full of thorns
and briars which should tear your flesh, and Christ be with you, than that it
should be a long greenpathway, and your Shepherd lead you not. Go on. He
went to His sufferings without a murmur. Moreover, evenHis flesh shrank,
and at last He said, “Notmy will, but thine be done.” Sayyou, the same. Do
you fear as you enter into the cloud? Within that cloud shall be the secret
tabernacle of the Most High, wherein He will revealHimself to you as He
never did before. Some of us owe much to the anvil, and the hammer, and the
fire, much to suffering, much to trials, and we thank
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God we had them, and you will yet have to do the same, but oh! stay not back.
Remember, after all, a want of resignationwill not assistyou in your
suffering, but on the contrary, nothing makes suffering so light as resignation
to it, and a perfectacquiescencein the divine will does much to take awaythe

gall from the cup. You must go where Jesus leads, go you, therefore, willingly,
cheerfully, trustingly, and even joyfully, for it is a triumph to a Christian to
bear the cross afterJesus, andto be crucified and buried with Him were a
high honor to any child of God. Go on, then, for Christ leads the way. But now
I must not tarry so long on that part, but I observe it is said Christ leads the
way in service as well as in suffering. He was going up to Jerusalemto
accomplishthe rest of His life-work before He surrendered His Spirit to His
Father. Now you and I, and eachof us, have a service to perform. We were
redeemedand with a price that we might serve the Lord. We are a royal
priesthood, a peculiar people. We have a priesthood to fulfill. All God’s
children, all God’s servants are priest and kings, and they have a rule to
discharge, and a priesthood to fulfill. Now we are beginning a new year of
service. It will be a very sweetthing to us if we can know that Jesus Christhas
gone before us in the path of service. Beloved, Imight take the same truth,
and saythat He has gone before us actually, in having fulfilled the same
service. If there is any good thing for you to do, Christ has done it before you.
Are we called to preachthe Gospel? You know how He was anointed to
preach glad tidings to the poor. Are you called to teachthe little ones? Did not
He say, “Suffer the little children to come unto me, and forbid them not, for of
such is the kingdom of heaven”? Have you to feed the hungry? On what a
large scale did He do it! Have you to visit the sick, and to minister to their
needs? Oh! how many thousands owedtheir opened eyes or restoredlimbs to
Him! Christ’s life anticipates all the service of the church. One might very
easily, in taking the life of Christ, find all the operations of a truly active
church prefigured there—all of them. There is nothing new under the sun,
and when a man has found something, and thought, “Here is something that is
fresh,” you shall find Christ has lookedafter the halt, and the blind, and the
lame before you, and if you seek to raise the fallen woman, you will be made
to remember Him who said, “Neitherdo I condemn thee; go and sin no
more.” I should be afraid to undertake any service in which I could not see
that He has gone before. But what Christ has done, it is right for us to do, save
only in that work of expiation where we cannothelp Him. There He treads the
winepress alone, and of the people there is none with Him, but in all in which
He is our exemplar, it is always a safe thing for us to follow very closely, and
we shall find that He has gone before us. And truly He goes before us in all

our works by His Holy Spirit, actively proving His divine sympathy with us
still. I do not look upon the church of God as so many pious men and women
at work by themselves, but I see Godworking by them, working in them,
working through them. They are the workers to the eye, but no further. It is
God that works in them to will and to do of His own goodpleasure. If Satan
saw in the work only the man, he would laugh at him, but he perceives “the
hand of Joab” is there—a mightier hand than the hand of man, and therefore,
it is that he is often put to the rout. O you that speak for Jesus, that pray for
Jesus, that give to His cause and work for His name, let this be your joy and
your comfort—that Jesus Christ is with you and goes before you in all this
service. And so He does in His providence. If we had but eyes to see it, and
could know all things, we should perceive that when we come to preach the
GospelGod has been preparing men’s hearts to receive it. Many a time a man
will come up to the house of prayer, and it has been a trouble that has been
ploughing up and down, and the minister has gota handful of seedto sow,
which the birds would have devoured if they had fallen on hard soil, only God
has ploughed the man, and made him like soil, ready to receive it. He has gone
before us. If ever I see these benches full, I feel a little distressed, and yet
elated, because I always reckonthat I have got a pickedcongregation, and
eachman is sent with a design. Though there may not be salvationin every
case, yetthere are some to whom Godwill bless the Word, to which the Word
will be fitted to the very letter, for God will guide the preacher, and oftentimes
as much reveals Himself from the pulpit
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as ever a Nebuchadnezzar’s dream was revealedagainby Daniel when it was
gone altogetherfrom his mind. You shall be sure that God is in the Word if it
comes home to you in that way, and if you are a Christian worker, you may
expectthat the providence of God will prepare men’s hearts for that work
which you are trying to do. I would that the church of God would now
recollectthat assuredlyGod is going before her in all her service at this
moment. The world is prepared for the Gospelif we were but willing to
present the Gospelto the world. When our Lord Christ came into this world

there was a universal peace, and the peace ofthe public mind and the state of
the public pulse was just suitable for the preaching of the Gospelby the Lord
and by His apostles, andthere is some such suitability as that now. Chains
that long have galledunhappy nations have been filed through. The people
that satin darkness have seena greatlight, they have demanded liberty, and
won it with a goodright hand, and mean to hold it, and now is the time when
the darkness flies and light comes for those who have the still brighter light of
the everlasting Gospelofthe ever blessedGodto spring into the gap and
proclaim salvation by a crucified Redeemerto all the sons of men. Up,
churches of London, and to your work! E’en now the very demand for
educationamong you, and the stir that there is among the people, the
breaking up of hoary systems of abomination, the motion and commotion—all
this means goodto you. You have been embedded in the ice and frozen up
these long wintry days, but lo, the sun has risen and the long summer days
shall sooncome, and your barque shall be freighted and put out to sea, and
bring a blessedcargo ofsouls home to God their Father. Let us be up and
doing, for Jesus goes before us in the matter of providence. MayHe help us to
keepever near Him. What He would have us do, oh! may we do it, word for
word what He would have us speak, thought for thought what He would have
us think, act for act what He would have us do. Let us never have a glorious
leaderand be a laggardpeople. Oh! for the grace that is in Him to bedew
plenteously ourselves, that as He goes before us we may follow Him in the
path of service. Now very briefly upon one other point, which was the path of
death. Our Lord was going to Golgotha, and there was to be, as far as this
world was concerned, the end of His journey. To the cross He must be nailed,
and in the tomb of Josephof Arimathea the Lord Jesus must sleep. Deathis
not a pleasantthing. It matters not how you gild the pill, it is a pill. If the Lord
come not, however, before that time we shall have to pass through death, and
we shall find it, if we are His people, to be infinitely less painful than the fear
of death. We feela thousand deaths in fearing one, and if our faith were
greater, we should have no fear of death. “Ah!” says one, “what I dread is
parting, leaving my friends.” He went before them, He parted from them all,
and from His mother, and He said to John, “Behold, thy mother,” and to His
mother, “Woman, behold thy son,” as the light faded from His eyes. He went
before in the path of death. “Ah! but I cannot bear to think of the pain of

dying,” says one. You will never have such pain as His in death. He went
before you, He had a sense of sin in dying, He was made a curse for us, as it is
written, “Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree,” but no curse canever
light on you, believer. The blessing is yours because the curse was His. Oh!
He has gone ahead of you, He has gone where you shall never go, for He
suffered the wrath of God, which you never shall suffer, for that wrath is gone
and passedawayforever. There are none of the surroundings of a dying bed
which can suggestsuchhorror as that which surrounded the death of our
Lord, so that He has gone before you in everything that might alarm you in
the prospectof your departure. He has gone before you. Be contentto follow
Him to the grave. It is no more—
“A charnel house of sense, Relicsoflost innocence, The place of ruin and
decay; The imprisoning stone is rolled away.”
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It is now a nest of sweetnesssince Jesuslaid in it. The grave is no longer
unfurnished, there are His grave clothes left for you, and moreover, the stone
being rolled away, you have the promise that you shall come out of it again.
When the trump of the archangelsounds, those poor bones shall arise, and the
body that was sownin weaknessshallbe raisedin power. What joy it is then
to think that He went before you, and how obediently, nay, triumphantly, may
we follow Him, even to death itself. Here, then, is the blessedfact, in suffering,
or service, or departure, Christ goes before us. Now the point we close with is
this— II. MAY WE, ALL OF US, HAVE A SWEET REALIZATION OF
THIS TRUTH DURING THIS YEAR. We believe a gooddeal of doctrine
which we have never yet realized. We know much to be food which we have
never fed upon. Many Christians are like these who have sacks offlour in the
house, but no bread. They have nothing available for present food. Some are
like rich men that may happen to be abroadwith thousands in gold, but no
small silver, no spending money. May you be able to coin the bullion of
precious promise so as to use it in the journey of life. May you make practical

application of precious truths, tasting the honey, drinking the wine, and being
satisfiedwith them. Now, then, to realize that Christ goes before us is to
realize that we are never alone. If I am in my study, and a problem staggers
me, I am not alone—my Lord will teachme. You are in your little chamber
with the needle, working hard for very scanty pay. You have to suffer—you
have not gotto suffer that alone. “I am with thee when thou passestthrough
the fire; thou shalt not be burned, neither shall the flame kindle upon thee.”
But you have got to go into the workroom, and there are those that point at
you, and they have a jest for you, whom they know to be a followerof Christ.
You have not to bear that alone. He has the heaviestend of that cross, andHe
is persecutedin His persecutedmembers. But you are busy in business, and
your cares afflictyou. Blessedbe God you have not got to bear those cares
alone, no, nor yet at all, for concerning them He has said, “Castallyour care
upon him, for he careth for you.” I have gotto come here and preach. Who is
sufficient for these things? But I am not to preachalone—“Mygrace is
sufficient for thee.” His strength shall be made perfect in your weakness.You
have to go to that Sunday schoolclass. Oh! how incorrigible those boys are,
and how carelessthose girls, but you have not got to win those souls alone.
Jesus will go and His Spirit will be there, and you shall be helped in your
work. Do try and realize all through this year that you are never alone. Not
only is it, “ThouGod seestme,” but it is this, “Fearnot, I am with thee; be not
dismayed, I am thy God.” And Christ is not with you behind, or pushing you
into the danger, but He is with you before you, He goes before you, He is the
shield catching the fiery darts upon Himself. You shall come behind the
screen, and be sheltered by His precious promise. I do not know where you
may be this year, but let this thought abide with you—He will be with you.
Perhaps you will cross the sea. Your lot may be to help to colonize some
distant land. Over the sea, and on the billows, and on the shore, so strange to
you, He will be your near companion. Perhaps this year there is a trial
awaiting you, very heavy, or perhaps a temptation arising out of some new joy
or fresh prosperity. Do not fear it, you shall be safe on the hilltops of joy and
in the Valley of Humiliation. Anywhere, He is with you. A child is told,
perhaps at nightfall, that he has to go a considerable distance, it is to a lonely
farmhouse, and the little one trembles to go across the moor in the dark.
“Oh!” the mother says. “but Father is going with you.” Oh! then that changes

the aspectofeverything. The boy is pleasedto go, even the dangers that
seemedso great, only attracthim now, he will be glad to be with his father.
Through the moor land of another year, you have to go, and it may be dark
and cold, but your heavenly Father and your blessedElder Brother will be
with you. Therefore, be not afraid. You will have to contend this year for “the
faith delivered once for all to the saints,” and to do much service too. If you
are to render a goodaccountat the year’s end, you are to try and live this
year, not at a slow rate, like the cold-blooded frog, but to have hot blood in
you. Regulatedby prudence, and yet boiling over
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with a burning zeal, you are to serve the Lord. And it may be you think you
cannot do it. Is anything impossible when He helps you? Is any sacrifice
impossible when it is for Him? Is any difficulty insurmountable when He
Himself gives the all-sufficient strength? Oh! this is a very choice thought,
though a very simple one—that Jesus will be with you all the year through.
The only other thought is, take care that you abide with Him. He is a quick
walker. Idle souls will be left behind. He is a holy liver. Unclean spirits will
find Him part company with them. Be you watchful, vigilant, sober, careful,
zealous, and seek to have perpetual fellowshipwith Jesus Christ. I am sure
those are the happiest that live nearestto God. I am certain of it. I do know it
is not the wealthiestthat are the happiest. It is not those that have the most
health that are always happiest, and those that are most esteemedamongst
their fellow men. There is one rule without any exception—he that lives
nearestto God has the most of that profound peace ofGod which passes all
understanding. He says to you, “Abide in me.” May His words abide in you.
May you abide in Him, and may this be to eachone of you, and to this church,
the very happiest year we have ever had. Oh! that some poor sinner would
seek the Savior! May the Lord’s lovely attractions entice Him! And I shall
close by saying this—that if any soul longs for Christ, Christ is already
longing for Him, and if you have a half of a desire towards Him, He has a
heart full of desire towards you. There never was a soul that had the start of
Christ in the matter of desire for salvation. God grant you grace to touch

Jesus, and then to follow after Him, and to make His blessing abide with you,
both now and forever. Amen and amen.
New InternationalVersion
After Jesus had said this, he went on ahead, going up to
Jerusalem.
New Living Translation
After telling this story, Jesus went on toward Jerusalem,
walking ahead of his disciples.
BIBLEHUB RESOURCES
Pulpit Commentary Homiletics
Christ's Royalty
Luke 19:28-38
W. Clarkson Something like a royal procession is here described. On the foal of an ass, on which
it comported as well with Oriental ideas of honour as with Christian ideas of peace that he should
ride, the "King came, meek," but not without attention and acclaim, into Jerusalem. A large
company of the curious, the devout, and even the enthusiastic, welcomed him as "the King that
came in the Name of the Lord." At last, thought his disciples, his hour is come; at last their
Master was entering on his heritage, was assuming his kingdom; at last their long-delayed hopes
were to be fulfilled. Gladly they accepted and sustained the greetings of the multitude, and
fondly, we may be sure, they hoped that a triumphant issue was at hand. But it had no such
ending as they looked for. Jesus went into the temple, healed the sick, received the adoration of
the children, whose voices (as we can well believe) were the last to sink into silence, and went
quietly back to Bethany. What, then, did it mean? What was the service and significance of the
scene?
I. A VALUABLE REMINDER OF HIS POWER OF SELF-RESTRAINT. He had been moving
among men as "one that serveth," as one that "ministered." He had moved as a very humble
traveller along the path of human life. But how easy it would have been for him to call forth the

honour of the people, and to live amid the excitements of popularity, and to reach the high places
of power! But this he resolutely declined to do, choosing deliberately the lowlier but the nobler
path of humble, holy service.
II. A STRIKING INDICATION OF HIS ACCEPTANCE WITH THE PEOPLE, NO one can say
that Christ's teaching was not profound; it was deep as the very fountains of truth. No philosophy
went further; he went down into the deep places of the human soul. Yet, while the philosophers
made their appeal to the cultured, Christ addressed himself to the multitude, to the common
human heart. And "all the people were very attentive to hear him." So here, while the men who
prided themselves on their knowledge looked on with angry disdain (ver. 29), the people and the
children were enthusiastic in his favour - they recognized in the Prophet of Nazareth the true
Teacher that had come from God. Better be numbered among the simple-hearted who can
appreciate the Divine than among the wise and learned who misread the providence of God, and
stand sullen and silent while everything is inviting to joy and praise. Better be the ignorant
cottager whose heart is full of reverence, or the little child who has the songs of Zion on his lips
and the love of Jesus in his heart, than the learned critic who never bends the knee or bows the
heart in homage to the true and the eternal.
III. A HINT OF CHRIST'S TRUE ROYALTY. The Messiah of the Jews was to be a King. To
that conclusion prophecy pointed with unfailing finger, and on that event Jewish faith rested with
gathering hope. The Son of David was to occupy his father's throne; the daughters of Jerusalem
were to rejoice because "her King was coming." Claiming the Messiahship, Jesus was bound to
claim this sovereignty, but how do this without encouraging the current fallacy as to his temporal
and visible royalty? Is not this simple scene the answer? Christ then and thus said, "I am the
King you are awaiting." But its extreme simplicity and its transiency showed that he did not
intend to wear the trappings and be surrounded with the common grandeurs of earthly royalty; it
showed that he came not for pomps and pageantries and outward triumphs, but to seek a
sovereignty of another kind in another realm altogether. That very simple and passing regal state
was only an emblem of the spiritual sovereignty which was immeasurably, higher and more to be
desired. Sweet to his ear may have been the acclaim of the populace and the hosannas of the
children; but how much sweeter is the voice of man or woman or of little child who goes in glad
submission to his feet to offer loyal service to the Divine Redeemer, to place heart and life
beneath his gracious and benignant sway!
IV. A PROPHECY OF FAR FUTURE GLORY. Never on this earth will that scene be re-
enacted; but there is an hour coming when, in another realm, it will be amplified and
perpetuated. Christ will be acknowledged King by all the hosts celestial and terrestrial. The
transient gladness of the sacred city will be nothing to the everlasting joy of the new Jerusalem;
the passing enthusiasm of that happy demonstration to the abiding blessedness of the life in the
heavenly land. Yet may we take that one hour of Jerusalem's acceptance of her King as a prelude
and a prophecy of the adoration which the redeemed of every kindred and tribe shall pay him
when they cast their crowns at his feet.
"Oh that with yonder sacred throng
We at his feet may fall," etc.!
PRACTICAL LESSONS. We gather:

1. That Jesus Christ is now claiming the real, spiritual sovereignty of ourselves. He is calling
upon us not to strew his path with palm branches, but to offer him the first place in our heart; to
yield him our perfect trust, our unfailing and unfading love, our cheerful and constant obedience.
2. That the rest of soul which follows such surrender of ourselves is incomparably better than the
passing exultation of a triumphal entry.
3. That by loyal and devoted service in his cause we shall gain a place in the acclaiming
company that will praise the King in his celestial glory. - C.
Biblical Illustrator
Ascending up to Jerusalem.
Luke 19:28-40
Christ journeying to Jerusalem
Expository Outlines.I. THE MANNER IN WHICH HE WENT. The only occasion on which we
find Him riding. Fulfilment of a prophecy.
II. THE RECEPTION HE MET WITH.
III. THE SORROW OF WHICH HE WAS THE SUBJECT, NOTWITHSTANDING THE
ACCLAMATIONS HE RECEIVED.
1. A benevolent wish.
2. An alarming sentence.
3. A melancholy prediction.Conclusion: Let us remember for our warning, that gospel
opportunities when slighted will not be long continued.
(Expository Outlines.)
"He went before
P. B. Power, M. A.These are some of the thoughts which are suggested to our minds, as we see
Jesus in the Scripture before us, taking the first place in the progress to Jerusalem and death. The
position was emblematical as well as actual; and it suggests some teachings for us which are very
calculated to bring comfort to our souls. Let us glance, first of all, for a moment, at the motion
and position in itself. See the alacrity and willingness of Jesus to enter all suffering for us. And
what do we learn here, but that His heart was in the sad work which He had undertaken to do.
The thoroughness of Christ's love is brought before us here. He was thorough in love. Mark, too,
Christ's assumption of the position of a leader. He knew the place that had been assigned to Him
by the Father; it was headship in suffering, as well as in glory; He took up at once, in that last
journey, His rightful place. See, too, how our blessed Lord takes up a double position. He is at

once leader and companion; His little company were one with Him; He with them; but yet a little
before them. He talks with us, while He goes on before; He does not separate the leader and the
companion; His lordship over us is so sweet, that He heads us as friends; having a common
interest in all He does. And now, there is great teaching and comforting for us in all this. In the
first place, we who follow Christ have to explore no untried, untrodden way. It is thus our
comfort that we have always one to look to. Ours is no interminable road, no lonely, solitary
path. Jesus, if only we can see aright, is never very far ahead. The mowers who mow in line,
have much more heart during the burden and heat of the day, when their scythes sweep through
the grass, keeping time to the stroke of a fellow-workman in front. The steadfastness of Christ's
purpose is also forcibly suggested to us here. Firmly and intelligently, with a full knowledge of
the indignity and death before Him, our Lord started forth, and took the headship of His little
band on His way to Jerusalem. That steadfastness is of immense importance to us. Were there the
least wavering in Christ's character, we were undone. And we hold on to this steadfastness now.
We believe Him to be the same yesterday, and to-day, and for ever; we see Him now acting from
the cross, in the same spirit wherewith He journeyed to it. And now, let us in our trial-times see
how Jesus has "gone before" in all. Is the path of weariness the one marked out for us; behold
upon it the One who sat wearied upon Jacob's well; no longer weary, it is true, but remembering
well all earth's wearinesses of body and spirit; and offering us His company on the trying path.
Or, is it that of rejection? No thornier road is there on earth than that of biting poverty —
poverty, with all its temptations and stings; well! Jesus was poor, and hungered and athirst, and
had not where to lay His head. Before the poor; right on upon this path, is the figure of the Lord;
let them but feel that He is their Lord, and they shall no longer be distressed at being the world's
casts-off; our being a cast-off of the world will not much matter, if we be companions of the Son
of God. Then comes death itself — the last journey; the way from which human nature shrinks;
the one which, despite rank or wealth, it must surely tread. Here, if we be inclined to faint, Jesus
can be seen by His people, if only they believe.
(P. B. Power, M. A.)
The Lord hath need of him
The Lord's need
J. B. Meharry, B. A.This trifling incident contains big principles.
I. It gives us AN IDEA OF PROVIDENCE. Tendency of the age is to the seen. But mind kicks
against it. Mind is like a bird, which pines in a cage. Here is hope for religion — the mind kicks
against artificial conditionings. If you like you may say the mind likes, like a bird, to make its
nest. True! but it wants above it not a ceiling but a sky. You can't cramp mind in your nutshell
organizations. Shut it behind walls — and then it will ask, Who is on the other side of the wall?
Providence involves two things. First — idea of God preserving, guarding our being and well-
being. He preserves, though we don't see the way. How did Christ know that the colt was to be
found at this stated moment? and that the owner would part with his property? Similarly, we
must allow for the knowledge of God. The second thing involved in Providence is the idea of
government.
II. IN PROVIDENCE ATTENTION IS GIVEN TO LITTLE THINGS AS WELL AS GREAT.
"A colt tied." It is demeaning God's economy — some will say. That all depends on your
conception of God's economy. He numbers the hairs of our head. He sees when the sparrow falls.

III. GOD HOLDS EVERY CREATURE RESPONSIBLE TO SHOW ITSELF WHEN
WANTED. Everything, in God's order, has its time, and is not itself till that time reveals it. Sea-
wrack on the sea-beach is ugly, slimy, hideous. But the same sea-wrack in a pool? How it
spreads itself and makes every tiny filament beautiful! So prophecy in human history needs to be
corroborated by the event, before it can fairly be understood. Apparently little events — what
worlds of good or evil may turn on them!
IV. SOLUTION OF THE MYSTERIES OF LIFE. They go to the man for the colt. Would not
common sense ask, What have you to do with the colt? Simply, "The Master hath need of him."
You have a favourite daughter. One day she is not well — only a cold, you think. But she grows
feverish, and you call in the doctor. Doctor prescribes, but still the sweet one sickens; and one
day in his solemn look the mother reads the hard sentence — her child must die. Why is it? "The
Lord hath need of it."
(J. B. Meharry, B. A.)
One Lord"The Lord our God is one Lord," so there may be no debate about the direction of our
worship, about the Owner of our powers, about the Redeemer of our souls. See how this operates
in practical life. The disciples might naturally feel some little difficulty about going to take
another's man's property; so the Lord said unto them, "If any man say ought unto you, ye shall
say the Lord hath need of them, and straightway he will send them." But suppose there had been
a thousand lords, the question would have arisen, which of them? But there is one Lord, and His
name is the key which opens every lock; His name is the mighty power which beats down every
mountain and every wall, and makes the rough places plain. What poetry there is here! Why, this
is the very poetry of faith. It is not mere faith; it is faith in flower, faith in blossom, faith in
victory!
Thefulfilment of minute prophecies
J. Parker, D. D.Not the fulfilment of sublime predictions, so called; but the fulfilment of little,
specific, minute, detailed prophecies. God does nothing unnecessarily, speaks nothing that seems
exaggeration or superabundance. There is a meaning in the most delicate tint with which He hath
varied any leaf; there is a significance in the tiniest drop of dew which ever sphered itself in
beauty on the eyelids of the morning. And that Christ should go into Jerusalem upon an ass, and
a colt the foal of an ass! That is not decorative talk; that is not mere flowery prophecy, or
incidental or tributary foretelling. In all that we should account little and of inconsequential
moment is fulfilled to the letter. What then? If God be careful of such crumbs of prophecy, such
little detailed lines of prediction, what of the life of His children, the redeemed life of His
Church? If not one tittle could fall to the ground respecting things of this kind — matters of
order, arrangement, sequence — is He unrighteous to forget the greater when He remembers the
less? Will He count the hairs upon your head, and let the head itself be bruised? Will He paint
the grass, and let the man fall to decay? Is He careful about birds floating in the air, and careless
about lives redeemed by the sacrificial blood of His Son?
(J. Parker, D. D.)
Ownership
J. Bolton, B. A.A nobleman who had a magnificent garden was ill in bed, and ordered his butler
to go into the hot-house and bring him the finest bunch of grapes he could find. He came to the
hot-house, he opened the door, he examined all the clusters — he fixed on the best — he brought
out his knife and cut it. Just as he did so, a cry was raised, "There's a man in the hot-house I

there's a man in the hot-house!" The gardeners, young and old, dropped their spades and water-
pots, and ran to the hot-house. As they glanced through the glass, sure enough, there stood the
man, and in his hand the Queen Cluster — the very one which they had been watching for
months — the one which was to take the prize at the Horticultural Show I They were furious —
they were ready to kill .him — they rushed in and seized him by the collar, "What are you
about!" they said, "How dare you! — you thief! — you rascal! — you vagabond!" Why does not
he turn pale? — why does he keep so cool? — why does he smile? He says something — the
gardeners are silent in a moment — they hang their beads — they look ashamed — they ask his
pardon — they go back to their work. What did he say to make such a sudden change? Simply
this — "Men! my lord bade me come here and cut him the very finest bunch of grapes I could
find." That was it! The gardeners felt that the hot-house, the vine, and every cluster on it was his.
They might call it theirs, and propose to do this and that with it — but really and truly it was his
who built the house, and bought the vine, and paid them for attending to it. Just so, dear children,
the Lord has a claim on all we possess; our souls, our bodies, our tongues, our time, our talents,
our memories, our money, our influence, our beloved relatives. "Ye are not your own"; and
whenever He has need of anything we must let it go" — we must learn to yield it up to Him as
cheerfully as the owner yielded up his colt.
(J. Bolton, B. A.)
Why we are needful to God
Christian Age."Why was it?" asked Mrs. N—— of her own heart as she was walking homewards
from the communion-table. "Why was it?" she almost unconsciously exclaimed aloud. "Oh, I
wish somebody could tell me!" "Could tell you what?" said a pleasant voice behind her, and
looking around, she saw her pastor and his wife approaching. "Could you tell me," said she,
"why the Saviour died for us? I have never heard it answered to my satisfaction. You will say it
was because He loved us; but why was that love? He certainly did not need us, and in our sinful
state there was nothing in us to attract His love." "I may suppose, Mrs. N——," said her pastor,
"that it would be no loss for you to lose your deformed little babe. You have a large circle of
friends, you have other children, and a kind husband. You do not need the deformed child; and
what use is it?" "Oh, sir," said Mrs. N—, "I could not part with my poor child. I do need him. I
need his love. I would rather die than fail of receiving it." "Well," said her pastor, "does God
love His children less than earthly, sinful parents do?" "I never looked upon it in that way
before," said Mrs. N.
(Christian Age.)
Every good man is needful to complete God's design
Austin Phelps.An expert mechanician constructs a certain axle, tempered and burnished, to fit the
hub of a certain wheel, which again he fashions as elaborately to fit the axle, so that a
microscope detects no flaw; and now nothing can take the place of either but itself; and each is
labour lost without the other. True, they are only an axle and a wheel, each a single one, a minute
one, a fragile one; not costly in material, nor remarkable in structure; but in the absence of either,
the chronometer which should decide the arrival of England's fleet at Trafalgar must hang
motionless. Every good man is such a fragmentary and related instrument in the hands of God.
He is never for an hour an isolated thing. He belongs to a system of things in which everything is
dovetailed to another thing. Yet no two are duplicates. Nothing can ever be spared from it. The

system has no holidays. Through man's most dreamless slumbers it moves on, without waiting
for delinquents.
(Austin Phelps.)
Blessed be the King that cometh
Jesus our meek and humble King
Stauss.I. OUR KING IN HUMILITY.
1. Jesus is our King.
(1)The prophecies announce Him as such. (Isaiah 9:6; Zechariah 9:9.)
(2)He avowed Himself a King. (Matthew 11:27; John 18:37.)
(3)He proved by the power of His will that He was a King. (Matthew 21:3.)
2. Jesus is our humble King.
(1)He refused royal honours. (John 6:15.)
(2)In opposition to the presumption of the Jews, He would never act nor appear as King. (John
18:36.)
(3)He debased Himself in all humility.
3. Follow Him in His humility.
(1)By contrition and a sincere confession of your sins.
(2)By resignation in adversities.
(3)By humility in earthly happiness.
II. OUR MEEK KING. This may be seen —
1. From the purpose of His coming — of His Incarnation. He comes as a Friend and Saviour; and
wants to be loved, not feared.
2. From His earthly life.
(1)He was full of love and mercy towards the suffering, whom He invited to come to Him.
(2)He was full of mercy and tenderness towards sinners and His own enemies.
3. From the experience of your own life. Jesus came to you as a meek King —
(1)In your afflictions, to console you.
(2)In your sins, which He bore in patience.
(3)In your conversion, the work of His mercy. Strip yourself of the old man with his deeds, as
the Jews stripped themselves of their garments, and let Jesus walk over your former self.
4. Learn of your King to be meek of heart also. (Matthew 11:29.)
(1)As a superior towards your subjects.
(2)Towards sinners and your enemies.
(3)In tribulations and afflictions.
(Stauss.)

Praise thy God, O Zion
C. H. Spurgeon.I. First, we shall observe here DELIGHTFUL PRAISE. In the thirty-seventh
verse every word is significant, and deserves the careful notice of all who would learn aright the
lesson of how to magnify the Saviour.
1. To begin with, the praise rendered to Christ was speedy praise. The happy choristers did not
wait till He had entered the city, but "when He was come nigh, even now, at the descent of the
Mount of Olives, they began to rejoice." It is well to have a quick eye to perceive occasions for
gratitude.
2. It strikes us at once, also, that this was unanimous praise. Observe, not only the multitude, but
the whole multitude of the disciples rejoiced, and praised Him; not one silent tongue among the
disciples — not one who withheld his song. And yet, I suppose, those disciples had their trials as
we have ours.
3. Next, it was multitudinous. "The whole multitude." There is something most inspiriting and
exhilarating in the noise of a multitude singing God's praises.
4. Still it is worthy of observation that, while the praise was multitudinous, it was quite select. It
was the whole multitude "of the disciples." The Pharisees did not praise Him — they were
murmuring. All true praise must come from true hearts. If thou dost not. learn of Christ, thou
canst not render to Him acceptable song.
5. Then, in the next place, you will observe that the praise they rendered was joyful praise. "The
whole multitude of the disciples began to rejoice." I hope the doctrine that Christians ought to be
gloomy will soon be driven out of the universe.
6. The next point we must mention is, that it was demonstrative praise. They praised Him with
their voices, and with a loud voice. If not with loud voices actually in sound, yet we would make
the praise of God loud by our actions, which speak louder than any words; we would extol Him
by great deeds of kindness, and love, and self-denial, and zeal, that so our actions may assist our
words.
7. The praise rendered, however, though very demonstrative, was very reasonable; the reason is
given — "for all the mighty works that they had seen." We have seen many mighty works which
Christ has done.
8. With another remark, I shall close this first head — the reason for their joy was a personal one.
There is no praise to God so sweat as that which flows from the man who has tasted that the Lord
is gracious.
II. I shall now lead you on to the second point — their praise found vent for itself in AN
APPROPRIATE SONG. "Blessed be the King that cometh in the name of the Lord. Peace in
heaven, and glory in the highest."
1. It was an appropriate song, if you will remember that it had Christ for its subject.
2. This was an appropriate song, in the next place, because it had God for its object; they extolled
God, God in Christ, when they thus lifted up their voices.
3. An appropriate song, because it had the universe for its scope. The multitude sung of peace in
heaven, as though the angels were established in their peaceful seats by the Saviour, as though
the war which God had waged with sin was over now, because the conquering King was come.
Oh, let us seek after music which shall be fitted for other spheres! I would begin the music here,

and so my soul should rise. Oh, for some heavenly notes to bear my passions to the skies! It was
appropriate to the occasion, because the universe was its sphere.
4. And it seems also to have been most appropriate, because it had gratitude for its spirit.
III. Thirdly, and very briefly — for I am not going to give much time to these men — we have
INTRUSIVE OBJECTIONS. "Master, rebuke Thy disciples." But why did these Pharisees
object?
1. I suppose it was, first of all, because they thought there would be no praise for them.
2. They were jealous of the people.
3. They were jealous of Jesus.
IV. We come now to the last point, which is this — AN UNANSWERABLE ARGUMENT. He
said, "If these should hold their peace, the very stones would cry out." Brethren, I think that is
very much our case; if we were not to praise God, the very stones might cry out against us. We
must praise the Lord. Woe is unto us if we do not! It is impossible for us to hold our tongues.
Saved from hell and be silent! Secure of heaven and be ungrateful! Bought with precious blood,
and hold our tongues! Filled with the Spirit and not speak!
(C. H. Spurgeon.)
The triumphal entry
David Gregg.Christ's triumphal entrance into Jerusalem is one of the most noted scenes in gospel
story. It is a sun-burst in the life of the Son of Man. It is a typal coronation. It is a fore-gleam of
that coming day when Jesus shall be enthroned by the voice of the universe.
I. THE SCENE.
II. THE CHIEF LESSON INCULCATED BY THE SCENE: ENTHUSIASM SHOULD BE
CONSECRATED TO THE SERVICE OF CHRIST. There was feeling and thrill and deep life
and outbursting emotion in the triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem, and He approved it all. I
argue for the equipment of enthusiasm in the service of Christ. There should be a fervency of
spirit that will radiate both light and heat. The faculties should be on fire. There are higher
moods and lower moods in the Christian life, just as there are higher moods and lower moods in
the intellectual life. Every scholar knows that there are such things as inspirational moods, when
all the faculties awaken and kindle and glow; when the heart burns within; when the mind is
automatic, and works without a spur; when the mental life is intense; when all things seem
possible; when the very best in the man puts itself into the product of his pen; when the judgment
is quick and active, the reason clear and far-seeing, and the conscience keen and sensitive. These
are the moods in which we glory. These are the moods which give the world its long-lived
masterpieces. These are the moods which we wish to enthrone in the memories of our friends.
You remember Charles Dickens's charming story, "David Copperfield." In it there is pictured the
parting that took place between the two young men, Steerforth and Copperfield. Young
Steerforth, putting both hands upon Copperfield's shoulders, says: "Let us make this bargain! If
circumstances should separate us, and you should see me no more, remember me at my best."
Steerforth is only a type of us all. Every one of us wishes to be remembered at his best. I argue
for man's best in the religious life. Man is at his best only when he is enthusiastic. Enthusiasm is
power. It is the locomotive so full of steam that it hisses at every crack and crevice and joint.
Such a locomotive carries the train with the speed of wind through hill and over valley. It has

been enthusiasm that has carried the Christian Church through the attainments of ages. By
enthusiasm, when it is in an eminent degree, men propagate themselves upon others in matters of
taste, of affection, and of religion. Iron cannot be wielded at a low temperature. There must be
heat, and then you can weld iron to iron. So you cannot weld natures to each other when they are
at a low temperature. Mind cannot take hold of mind nor faculty of faculty, when they are not in
a glow. But when they are in a glow they can. We see this exemplified in society. Hundreds and
hundreds of men, who are rich in learning, ponderous in mental equipment, ample in
philosophical power, who are low in degree of temperature, and who labour all their life, achieve
but little. You see right by the side of these men, men who have no comparison with them in
native power or in culture, but who have simplicity, straightforwardness, and, above all,
intensity, and what of them? Why, this: they are eminent in accomplishing results. There are
people, I know, who have an antipathy to enthusiasm and emotion in religion. They object that
we cannot rely upon enthusiasm. They forgot that if it spring from the grace of God it has an
inexhaustible fountain. One hour enthusiastic people cry "Hosanna"; but the next hour they cry
"Crucify." I deny that the hosanna people of Jerusalem ever cried "crucify." The charge that they
did is without a single line of Scripture as a basis. Peter and James and John, and men of that
class, did they cry "crucify"? Yet the hosanna people were made up of such. In a city in which
there were gathered from all parts of the nation not less than two millions, there were certainly
enough people of diverse minds to create two parties diametrically opposed, without requiring us
to slander the grace of enthusiasm, and circulate false reports about the hosanna people. I stand
by the hosanna people, and fearlessly assert that there is no proof against their integrity.
Enthusiasm I That is what the Church needs. It is only the enthusiast who succeeds. Enter the
history of the cause of Christ, and there also will you find the statement borne out. What was
Paul, the chief of Christian workers, but an enthusiast? Rob Paul of his enthusiasm, and you blot
out of existence the churches of Corinth and Ephesus and Galatia and Thessalonica and Troas.
Rob him of his enthusiasm and you annihilate the Epistles to the Romans, Corinthians,
Ephesians, and the Pastoral Epistles. This day of palm branches has been duplicated and
reduplicated ever since the triumphal entrance of Jesus into Jerusalem, and this reduplication will
continue until Jesus is ultimately and for ever crowned on the great day of final consummation.
The world is full of hosannas to the Son of David. The humble Christian school of the
missionary in foreign lands is a hosanna sounding through the darkness of heathendom. The
philanthropic institution that rises into sight all over Christendom is a hosanna to the Son of
David echoing through civilization. The gorgeous cathedral, standing like a mountain of beauty,
is a hosanna to the Son of David worked into stone and echoing itself in the realm of art. The
holy life of every disciple, which is seen on every continent of the earth, is a hosanna to the Son
of David ringing throughout all humanity. These hosannas shall be kept until the end come, and
then all the universe of God's redeemed will peal forth the grand Hallel in the hearing of eternity.
(David Gregg.)
Enthusiasm in religion
David Gregg.What is your religion if it have no enthusiasm in it? Who wants a wooden
Christianity or a logical Christianity only? Christianity loses its power when it loses its pathos.
Every religion goes downward when it loses the power of exciting the highest, most intelligent,
and most courageous enthusiasm. Some of us have need to be cautioned against decorum. Alas!
there are some Christian professors who do not know what it is to have a moment of transport
and ecstasy, unutterable emotion — who never, never go away upon the wings of light and hope,

but are always standing, almost shivering — eating up their dry logic, and never knowing where
the blossom, the poetry, and the ecstasy may be found. Christianity should excite our emotion
and make us sometimes talk rapturously, and give us, sometimes at least, moments of inspiration,
self-deliverance, and victory. It was so in the case before us. The whole city was moved. There
was passion, there was excitement on every hand. But, then, am I advocating nothing but
emotion, sensibility, enthusiasm? Far from it. First of all, let there be intelligent apprehension,
and profound conviction respecting truth. Let us see that our foundations, theological and ethical,
are deep, broad, immovable. Then let us carry up the building until it breaks out into glittering
points, farflashing pinnacles, and becomes broken into beauty.
(David Gregg.)
The coming King
J. Treanor, B. A.I. THE ESTIMATE FORMED OF OUR LORD BY THE CROWD. "King."
II. HIS CREDENTIALS. "In the name of the Lord." Divine commission attested.
1. By His words.
2. By His works.
III. THE BLESSINGS WHICH COME WITH THE KING. "Peace" and "glory."
IV. THESE BLESSINGS ACCOMPANY EVERY ADVENT OF "THE KING THAT
COMETH IN THE NAME OF THE LORD."
1. It was so at His first coming.
2. It shall be so at His second coming. It is so when the King comes to reign in the sinner's heart.
(J. Treanor, B. A.)
Hosannas to Jesus
N. H. Van Arsdale.I. THAT WHICH MAKES MEN ILLUSTRIOUS, AND WORTHY OF
DISTINCTION — lofty genius, heroism, expansive benevolence, mighty achievements — all
that intensified and sublimely illustrated to a degree infinitely beyond what is possible to
attainment by ordinary mortals, DISTINGUISHES THE LORD JESUS, AND ENTITLES HIM
TO OUR HOMAGE AND PRAISE, Take —
1. Genius. What is genius? Genius originates, invents, creates. Talent reproduces that which has
been, and still is. The spindles in our mills, the locomotives in our shops represent genius. The
swift play of the one, and the majestic tread of the other across the continents on paths of steel, is
genius in motion. Now turn the light of these definitions upon the Lord Jesus Christ, and see if
He has not genius worthy of our best praise. It were folly to deny creative genius to Him, by
whose word the worlds sprang into being, and by whose power they continue to exist. It were
folly to deny originality to the Alpha and Omega of all mind and matter, life and spirit. Folly
again to deny superior intellectual acumen to Him, who is the light of all intellect, the inspirer of
all right thought, the incentive to all noble action. The blind saw, and the deaf heard, and the
dumb spake, and the dead awoke. As to the modifying influence which Coleridge says is implied
in the highest type of genius, it has been truly affirmed: The genius of Christ, exerted through
His gospel in which His Spirit presides, has made itself felt in all the different relations and
modifications of life. Take the next element of distinction that men applaud.

2. Heroism. Spontaneous is the homage paid to heroes. In some lands they are deified and
worshipped. Heroism! Produce another example, such as Jesus of Nazareth, from the long list of
the world's illustrious! Take the next quality in lofty manhood that men extol —
3. Benevolence. Of this Jesus was the perfect personification.
4. Wonderful achievement receives applause from men. The multitude praised God "for all the
mighty works that they had seen." Our works may be good, Christ's are mighty as well as good.
We visit the sick, Christ cures them.
II. HIS PRAISES HAVE BEEN SUNG IN ALL AGES, ON ACCOUNT OF HIS
WORTHINESS OF ALL HOMAGE IN HEAVEN AND IN EARTH. Abraham, the
representative of the patriarchal age, looked forward to His day with glad anticipations, and
praised the promised seed. Jacob, in his dying predictions, sang of the Shiloh, and waited for His
salvation. Moses chose for the subject of his eulogy the Prophet like unto himself, unto whom
the people should hearken. David in exalted strains sang of His character and works, His trials
and triumphs, His kingdom and glory, and died exulting, "Blessed be the Lord God of Israel
from everlasting and to everlasting. Let the whole earth be filled with His glory. Amen and
Amen." The prophets all rejoiced in Zion's delivery and Judah's King. At His birth, angels and
shepherds and sages sang His praises. As in some of the old monasteries one choir of monks
relieved another choir in order that the service of praise might not cease, so as one generation of
the children of God has retired to its rest, another has caught up the glad strains of hosannas to
Christ, and in this way they have been perpetuated down the centuries.
III. THERE ARE THOSE, HOWEVER, WHO WOULD INTERRUPT THE PRAISES OF
GOD'S PEOPLE: YEA, WORSE, SUPPRESS THEM ALTOGETHER. We learn from our text
that this was the desire of the Pharisees on this occasion. Thus, the wicked and unbelieving now
would stop all ascriptions of praise to Christ. They would quench the flames of devotion that the
Holy Ghost kindles in the hearts of believers. "Praise Nature! Sing odes to the landscape!
Worship the beautiful in what your eyes see, the tangible, that of which you have positive
knowledge through the certification of your senses! Don't be wasting your devotion on the
unseen, the unknowable, the mythical, the intangible!" — so says the Agnostic. "Do homage to
Reason! Let Reason be the object of your worship; its cultivation the effort of your life! What
wonders it has accomplished in science and philosophy!" — so says the Rationalist. "Sing of
wine, feasting, sensuality! Bacchus is our god. Praise him! Worship him!" says the Profligate.
"Sing of wars, and of victories, and of conquests! Apollo is the god whom we worship, and
whose praises we resound. Therefore, spread your palms with paeans of triumph at the feet of
victors!" — so say Conquerors. Standing erect, with his thumbs thrust in the arm-holes of his
vest, his chest thrown forward and his head backward, like an oily, overfed, bigoted Pharisee,
"Sing of me," says the Self-Righteous. "Praise the Saviour!" says the believer, and the call
receives a response.
(N. H. Van Arsdale.)
The stones would immediately cry out
Guilty silence in Christ's cause
W. Jay.I. Our Saviour means to intimate, that THIS SILENCE WOULD BE VILE. Let us, then,
proceed with this dismal business, and arraign this fearful silence.

1. We tax it, first, with the most culpable ignorance. If you found a man, who was entirely
insensible to Milton's "Paradise Lost," or Cowper's "Task," dead to the touches of Raffael's
pencil, to all the beautiful and sublime scenery of nature, to all that is illustrious and inspiring in
human disposition and action, you would be ready to say, "Why, this senselessness is enough to
make a stone speak." But where are we now? Men may be undeserving of the praise they obtain;
or if the praise be deserved in the reality, it may be excessive in the degree; but there can be no
excess here. It is impossible to ascribe titles too magnificent, attributes too exalted, adorations
too intense, to Him who is "fairer than the children of men," who is the "chief among ten
thousand, and the altogether lovely." Now to be insensible to such a Being as this, argues, not
merely a want of intellectual, but of moral taste, and evinces, not only ignorance, but depravity.
He who died, not for a country, but for the world, and for a world of enemies — He awakens no
emotion, no respect. Shame, shame!
2. We charge this silence, secondly, with the blackest ingratitude I need not enlarge on this
hateful vice. The proverb says, "Call a man ungrateful, and you call him everything that is bad."
The Lacedaemonians punished ingratitude. "The ungrateful," says Locke, "are like the sea;
continually receiving the refreshing showers of heaven, and turning them all into salt." "The
ungrateful," says South, "are like the grave; always receiving, and never returning." But nothing
can equal your ingratitude, if you are silent. For you will observe, that other beneficiaries may
have some claim upon their benefactors, from a community of nature or from the command of
God; but we have no claim, we are unworthy of the least of all His mercies.
3. We tax this silence with shameful cruelty. We arc bound to do all the good in our power. If we
have ourselves received the knowledge of Christ, we are bound to impart it. If the inhabitants of
a village were dying of a disease, and you had the remedy, and held your peace; if you saw a
fellow-creature going to drink a deadly poison, and instead of warning him you held your peace;
if you saw even a poor stranger going to pass over a deep and deadly river, upon a broken bridge,
and you knew that a little lower down there was a marble one, and you held your peace; is there
a person, that would ever pass you without standing still and looking round upon you and
exclaiming, "You detestable wretch, you infamous villain, you ought not to live!" "If these
should hold their peace, the stones would cry out." How is it, then, that we have so much less
moral feeling than the lepers had, when they said, "This is a good day," and reflecting upon their
starving babes said, "If we altogether hold our peace, some evil will befall us; let us therefore go
and tell the king's household"?
II. Secondly, our Saviour seems to intimate, that THIS SILENCE IS DIFFICULT. Now we often
express a difficulty by an obvious impossibility. The Jews said, "Let Him come down from the
cross, and we will believe on Him." Their meaning was, that they could not believe on Him; for
the condition seemed to them impossible. The Saviour here says, "You impose silence upon
these disciples, but this is impossible; yes, they will hold their peace when dumb nature shall
become vocal, and not before." "If these should hold their peace, the stones would cry out;" that
is, their principles will actuate them, their feelings must have operation and utterance. If you
could enter heaven, you would find that there He attracts every eye, and fills every heart, and
employs every tongue. And in the Church below there is a degree of the same inspiration.
1. The impressions that Christ makes upon His people by conviction are very powerful.
2. The impressions He produces by hope are very powerful.

3. The impressions He produces by love are very powerful. He so attaches His disciples to
Himself by esteem and gratitude, as to induce them to come out of the world, to deny
themselves, to take up their cross, and to be willing to follow the Lamb whithersoever He goeth.
III. Our Saviour here intimates further, that THIS SILENCE WOULD BE USELESS. "If," says
He, "those of whom you complain were to hold their peace, you would gain nothing by their
silence; there would not be a cessation of My praise, but only a change of instruments and
voices; rather than My praise should be suspended, what they decline others would be sure to
rise up to perform; if these should hold their peace, the stones would cry out."
1. First, we shall glance at the supposed silence.
2. And, secondly, observe the improbable instruments that are employed to perpetuate the
testimony. It is not said, "If these should hold their peace the angels would cry out, men would
cry out"; no; "the stones would cry out." Can stones live? can stones preach and write and
translate the Scriptures? Can they aid in carrying on such a cause as this? Why not? He can
employ, and often does employ, the most unlikely characters. The wrath of man praiseth Him.
We see this in the case of Henry the Eighth. It is of great importance to know whether we are
God's servants, or whether we are God's enemies; but as to Him, He can employ one as well as
another. This was the case with Saul of Tarsus. He was a persecutor once; but then he was called
by Divine grace, and preach the faith that once he endeavoured to destroy. All the Lord's people
once were enemies: but He found a way into their hearts, and He made them friends. They were
all once "stones"; but of these stones God has "raised up children unto Abraham." They were as
hard as stones, as insensible as stones, as cold as stones; but they are now flesh, and every
feeling of this flesh is alive to God.
3. Thirdly, notice the readiness of their appearance. "If these should hold their peace, the stones
would immediately cry out." "The King's business requires haste"; both because of its
importance, and the fleeting uncertainty of the period in which He will allow it to be performed.
4. Then, lastly, observe the certainty of their appearance, when they become necessary. The
certainty of the end infers the certainty of all that is intermediately necessary to it. Upon this
principle, our Saviour here speaks; it is, I am persuaded, the very spirit of the passage. "My
praise" — as if He should say — "must prevail; and therefore means must be forthcoming to
accomplish it, and to carry it on." Let us, first, apply this certainty as the prevention of despair.
Secondly; as a check to vanity and pride. My brethren in the ministry, we are not — no, we are
not essential to the Redeemer's cause. We are not the Atlases upon which the Church depends;
the government is upon His shoulders who filleth all in all. Thirdly; as a spur and diligence and
zeal.
(W. Jay.)
All ought to praise God
J. Parker, D. D.Have we not heard, or have I not tom you years ago, of some great conductor of a
musical festival suddenly throwing up his baton and stopping the proceedings, saying
"Flageolete!" The flageolete was not doing its part of the great musical utterance. The conductor
had an ear that heard every strain and tone. You and I probably would have heard only the great
volume of music, and would have been glad to listen with entranced attention to its invisible
charm, but the man who was all ear noted the absence of one instrument, and throwing up his
baton, he said, "Flageolet." Stop till we get all that is within us into this musical offering. So I
want our hymn of praise to be sung by every man, by every power in his soul.

(J. Parker, D. D.)
COMMENTARIES
EXPOSITORY (ENGLISH BIBLE)
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers(28) He went before, ascending up to Jerusalem.—
Better, going up, as elsewhere throughout the New Testament. The words indicate the same
mode of journeying as that which we have traced before—the Master going on in advance, and
the disciples following. (See Notes on Luke 8:1; Mark 10:32.)
The journey from Jericho to Jerusalem was literally an ascent all the way (see Note on Luke
10:30), and in this sense, as well as following the language common to most nations, in speaking
of their capitals, the verb might well be used. The English word “ascend,” however, is not used
elsewhere in the New Testament of any earthly journeys.
Benson CommentaryHYPERLINK "/context/luke/19-28.htm"Luke 19:28-40. When he had thus
spoken — When he had finished the preceding parable in Zaccheus’s house; he went before —
Continued his journey, and led the way as foremost of the company, thus showing his readiness
to suffer; ascending up to Jerusalem — Being determined to appear there at the approaching
passover, though he well knew that he was to encounter persecution and death there. And when
he was come nigh to Bethphage and Bethany — Both these villages being situated at the foot of
the mount of Olives, and Jesus being between them, on the road from Jericho to Jerusalem, he
might very properly be said to have been nigh to both, and nigh to Jerusalem, which was at the
distance of two miles only: he sent two of his disciples, &c. — See this paragraph explained,
Matthew 21:1-16; Mark 11:1-10. The whole multitude began to praise God — Speaking at once,
as it seems, from a divine impulse words which most of them did not understand. Peace in
heaven — God being reconciled to man. Rebuke thy disciples — Paying thee this immoderate
honour. If these should hold their peace, the stones which lie before you would immediately cry
out — That is, God would raise up some still more unlikely instruments to declare his praise. Or,
that he would, by a miracle, raise up others to glorify his name, rather than silence should be kept
on this occasion. But though Jesus did not refuse the honours that were now paid him, he was far
from assuming the dignity of an earthly prince, or any state pageantry whatsoever. On the
contrary, he humbled himself exceedingly; his riding on an ass being an instance of great
meekness, according to what was prophesied of him, Zechariah 9:9.
Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary19:28-40 Christ has dominion over all creatures, and may
use them as he pleases. He has all men's hearts both under his eye and in his hand. 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!
Barnes' Notes on the BibleSee the notes at Matthew 21:1-16.

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible CommentaryLu 19:28-44. Christ's Triumphant Entry into
Jerusalem and Tears over It.
(See on [1699]Mt 21:1-11.)
Matthew Poole's Commentary Jerusalem (as we before noted) stood upon a hill; those that went
to it therefore ascended. This going before the company was noted by Mark 10:32; here again
Luke taketh notice of it; to let us know certainly with what alacrity our Saviour managed the
business of man’s redemption. He knew that he was at this time to be the sufferer, and to die at
Jerusalem; to show that he was freely willing, he leadeth the way.
Gill's Exposition of the Entire BibleAnd when he had thus spoken,.... When he had delivered the
above parable, in order to remove the prejudices of his disciples, and the multitude, concerning a
temporal kingdom, and to give them true notions of his own kingdom, and the case of the Jewish
nation:
he went before; his disciples: he was the foremost of them in the journey; he proceeded at the
head of them, with great cheerfulness and eagerness:
ascending up to Jerusalem; through the lower lands of Judea, to the city of Jerusalem, which was
built on higher ground; where he was to eat his last passover, and suffer, and die, in the room,
and stead, of his people; and this shows how willing, and greatly desirous he was to finish the
work of redemption he came about.
Geneva Study BibleAnd when he had thus spoken, {f} he went before, ascending up to
Jerusalem.
(f) The disciples were staggered and stopped by what Christ said, but Christ goes on boldly even
though death was before his eyes.
EXEGETICAL (ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)
Meyer's NT CommentaryHYPERLINK "/luke/19-28.htm"Luke 19:28. The narrative is wanting
in precision, since, according to Luke 19:5 f., this ἐπορεύετο did not take place till the next
morning.
ἔμπροσθεν] He went before (“praecedebat,” Vulg.), i.e. according to the context (Luke 19:29), at
the head of His disciples. Comp. Mark 10:32. Erasmus, Kypke, Kuinoel, Ewald, and others have:
He went forwards, He pursued His journey. This would be the simple ἐπορεύετο (Luke 13:33
and elsewhere) or ἐπορ. εἰς τὸ ἔμπροσθεν.
Expositor's Greek TestamentHYPERLINK "/luke/19-28.htm"Luke 19:28. On the way to
Jerusalem The Jericho incidents disposed of, the next centre of interest is the Holy City. Lk.
connects the two parts of his narrative by a brief notice of the ascent from the smaller city at the
foot of the pass to the larger and more famous at the top.—εἰπὼν ταῦτα refers naturally to the
parable. As a note of time the expression is sufficiently vague, for we do not know when or
where the parable was spoken, nor how much time intervened between its utterance and the
commencement of the ascent. It is simply one of Lk.’s formulæ of transition.—ἔμπροσθεν = εἰς
τὸ ἔμπροσθεν, not before them, but forwards: iter suum continuabat, Kypke.—ἀναβαίνων, going
up. A constant ascent, steep and rugged.
Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges28. he went before] Literally, “he began to journey in
front of them;” as though, for the delivery of the parable, He had paused to let the crowd gather

round Him.
ascending] The road from Jericho to Jerusalem is a continual ascent. See Luke 10:30-31.
Bengel's GnomenHYPERLINK "/luke/19-28.htm"Luke 19:28. Ἀναβαίνων, ascending up) Going
to meet the fulfilment of the parable.
Pulpit CommentaryVerses 28-48. - Jesus enters Jerusalem as King Messiah (vers. 29-44). His
work in the temple (vers. 45-48). St. Luke here passes over in silence the events which happened
after the episode at the house of Zacchaeus at Jericho and the speaking the great parable of "the
pounds." This parable may have been spoken in the house of Zacchaeus before leaving Jericho,
but it seems better to place it somewhere in the course of the walk from Jericho to Bethany, a
distance of some twelve miles. St. John fills up the gap left in the narrative of St. Luke. The main
body of pilgrims to the feast, with whom Jesus and his company were travelling, left him on the
Jericho road at Bethany: they going on to their caravanserai in the holy city, he remaining for
two nights with his friends at Bethany - the next evening Jesus was entertained at Bethany in the
house of Simon the leper (Matthew 26:6-13; Mark 14:3-9) - the feast at which Lazarus the risen
sat a guest and Martha served, and to which Mary brought her precious ointment and her
contrition (John 11:1-9). Jesus must have arrived at Bethany before sunset on Friday, Nisan 7,
and therefore before the sabbath began. The sabbath was spent in quiet. The supper probably
took place directly after the end of the sabbath. The next morning (Palm Sunday)the Lord started
for Jerusalem, and entered the holy city in the triumphant way as King Messiah related by St.
Luke in our Gospel.
PRECEPTAUSTIN RESOURCES
BRUCE HURT MD
Luke 19:28 After He had said these things, He was going on ahead, going up to Jerusalem.
• He was going on ahead: Lu 9:51 12:50 18:31 Ps 40:6-8 Mk 10:32-34 Joh 18:11 Heb
12:2 1Pe 4:1
• Parallel accounts of Triumphal Entry - Mt 21:1-11; Mk 11:1-11; Lk 19:29-38, John
12:12-19
• Luke 19 Resources - Multiple Sermons and Commentaries
• Luke 19:28-44 Why You Should Follow Jesus - Steven Cole
• Luke 19:28-40 Jesus' Humble Coronation, Part 1 - John MacArthur
• Luke 19:28-44 Jesus' Humble Coronation, Part 2 - John MacArthur
• Jesus' Triumphal Entry - Cartoon for Children (adds some other Scriptures)
John Blanchard sums up this section entitling it "From Jericho to Jerusalem"...Luke’s narrative
focuses attention on three events that took place.

1. The Praise that was Offered - Lk 19:28-38
2. The Pain that was Felt - Lk 19:41-44
3. The Purging that was Needed - Lk 19:45-48
Martin has this note on the importance of the Triumphal Entry writing that “All history had
pointed toward this single, spectacular event when the Messiah publicly presented Himself to the
nation, and God desired that this fact be acknowledged."
Constable adds that "The Triumphal Entry is only the second incident in Jesus’ ministry that all
four evangelists recorded, the first being the feeding of the 5,000. This indicates its great
importance in God’s messianic program."
Blanchard writes "The annual Feast of the Passover was now approaching and for Jesus to enter
Jerusalem at a time when the authorities would be particularly alert showed great courage. There
was an undisguised determination to kill him and people doubted whether he would risk
attending the feast at all (see John 11:53–57). But Jesus knew that this was his God-ordained
pathway and he was determined to follow it (see Lk 9:51). Not only did he enter the city openly,
but his choice of transport was vividly significant. An Old Testament prophet had made it clear
the Messiah would enter Jerusalem riding on a young donkey (see Zechariah 9:9) and here was
Jesus fulfilling that prophecy to the letter. When they put all of this alongside the many miracles
they had seen him perform (v. 37), the crowds went wild with delight, even shouting words from
a messianic psalm to express their feelings (link Lk 19:38 with Psalm 118:26)."
Recall that Jesus has just finished a short but fruitful stop in Jericho (Lk 18:35-19:27) and in this
section we come to the beginning of "Passion Week" which goes from Luke 19:28-23:56,
followed by the story of the Resurrection and Ascension in Luke 24. Jesus' final journey to the
Cross ironically begins with a "Pseudo-Coronation" as the crowds first acclaim Him as King but
quickly turn on Him and deny Him as their King before the week is over! And so Jesus'
"Triumphal Entry" into Jerusalem is a critical act in this final drama so it is not surprising that it
is one of the few incidents in Jesus' life reported in all four gospels (Mt 21:1-11; Mk 11:1-11; Lk
19:29-38, John 12:12-19).
John's Gospel records some additional detail regarding the Triumphal Entry...
On the next day the large crowd who had come to the feast, when they heard that Jesus
was coming to Jerusalem, 13 took the branches of the palm trees and went out to meet
Him, and began to shout, “Hosanna! BLESSED IS HE WHO COMES IN THE NAME
OF THE LORD, even the King of Israel.” 14 Jesus, finding a young donkey, sat on it; as
it is written, 15 “FEAR NOT, DAUGHTER OF ZION (PREVIOUS QUOTED FROM J;
BEHOLD, YOUR KING IS COMING, SEATED ON A DONKEY’S COLT.” 16 These
things His disciples did not understand at the first; but when Jesus was glorified, then
they remembered that these things were written of Him, and that they had done these
things to Him. 17So the people, who were with Him when He called Lazarus out of the
tomb and raised him from the dead, continued to testify about Him. 18For this reason
also the people went and met Him, because they heard that He had performed this sign.
19So the Pharisees said to one another, “You see that you are not doing any good; look,
the world has gone after Him.” (John 12:12-19)
After - This is an expression of time and means "in the time following." It helps mark the
sequence of events.

He had said these things - These things should prompt the question "What things," which
forces you to examine the context. Clearly it is following the "Parable of the Minas" that
described God's timing of setting up the Messianic Kingdom on earth, explaining that it would
not occur until the Messiah had gone away and received His royal crown. While the King was
gone, the King's subjects were to redeem the time and give out the "Gospel mina" for which He
would reward them upon His return. Jesus knew that the Jews would not recognize the time of
their visitation and would reject the Messiah as their King. In John 19:15 "They therefore cried
out, "Away with Him, away with Him, crucify Him!" Pilate said to them, "Shall I crucify your
King?" The chief priests answered, "We have no king but Caesar." (They hated the Romans...talk
about hypocrisy...it's amazing what you are willing to compromise on when you are not willing
to submit to His rule in your life!)
He was going up to Jerusalem - He was ascending to Jerusalem (17 miles from Jericho with a
steady upward elevation). Jesus was taking the lead, for since Luke 9 He "was determined to go
to Jerusalem;" even "journeying with His face toward Jerusalem." (Lk 9:51, 53) Mark 10:32
describes Jesus "on the road going up to Jerusalem, and Jesus was walking on ahead of them."
Martin - Everything He did over the course of these days was designed to call attention to the
fact that He is the Messiah.
What the Bible Teaches - "Ascending up" to Jerusalem is the way the journey was described no
matter from which direction the traveller came. From Jericho it was a physical climb of 3,000
feet. Luke can be divided into five periods in the life of our Lord by similar expressions. He was
growing up (chs. 2, 3); raising up in the miracles of chs. 4 to 9; going up to Jerusalem in chs. 10
to 19; offered up in chs. 20 to 23, and raised up in ch. 24. (What the Bible teaches – Luke).
Kistemaker has an excellent summary of the significance of the "Triumphal Entry" recorded in
all four Gospels...
1. By means of it Jesus deliberately evokes a demonstration. He fully realizes that, as a
result, the enthusiasm of the masses will enrage the hostile leaders at Jerusalem, so that
they will desire more than ever to carry out their plot against him.
2. Jesus forces the members of the Sanhedrin to change their timetable, so that it will
harmonize with his (and the Father's) timetable. The enthusiasm of the crowds with
respect to Jesus will hasten the crisis.
3. By means of this triumphal entry Jesus fulfills the Messianic prophecy of Zechariah
9:9. (Mt. 21:4, 5 = This took place to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet:
“SAY TO THE DAUGHTER OF ZION, ‘BEHOLD YOUR KING IS COMING TO
YOU, GENTLE, AND MOUNTED ON A DONKEY, EVEN ON A COLT, THE FOAL
OF A BEAST OF BURDEN.’”) When the people hail Him as the Son of David, i.e., the
Messiah, He does not try to restrain them.
4. However, He also shows the crowds what kind of Messiah He is, namely, not the
earthly Messiah of Israel's dreams, the One who wages war against an earthly oppressor,
but the One Who came to promote and establish "the things that make for peace" (Luke
19:42), lasting peace: reconciliation between God and man (Ro 5:10-11-note), and
between a man and his fellow man. (Baker New Testament Commentary – Exposition of
the Gospel According to Luke)

In his book “And the Angels were Silent,” Max Lucado writes, “Forget any suggestion that Jesus
was trapped. Erase any theory that Jesus made a miscalculation. Ignore any speculation that the
cross was a last-ditch attempt to salvage a dying mission. For if these words tell us anything,
they tell us that Jesus died...on purpose. No surprise. No hesitation. No faltering. No, the journey
to Jerusalem didn’t begin in Jericho. It didn’t begin in Galilee. It didn’t even begin in Bethlehem.
The journey to the cross began long before. As the echo of the crunching of the fruit was still
sounding in the garden, Jesus was leaving for Calvary.”
Spurgeon - When he had said these things, he went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem.” What a
beautiful spectacle to see the Lord Jesus marching in front and his followers eagerly following
on behind. They were going up to Jerusalem, where he would receive some honor but also where
he would be betrayed into the hands of cruel men and put to a shameful death. But he went on
ahead of them. As the shepherd goes before the sheep, not driving but leading. As the captain
goes before his soldiers as taking the post of danger, so our Lord went on before them. It was far
better that he should go first than that they should, for the disciple is never more out of place than
when he outruns his Master. Rest assured that in whatever way of suffering we have to go in
consequence of our being a child of man, and especially in consequence of your being a child of
God, we will find that Christ has gone that way ahead of us.
STEVEN COLE
Why You Should Follow Jesus (Luke 19:28-
44)
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You are witnessing to a college student who asks, “Why should I follow Jesus?” You tell him,
“Because Jesus said, ‘I have come that you might have life, and have it more abundantly.’ Jesus
will give you an abundant life. Not only that, He will give you peace with God. He will give you
new purpose and meaning. He will help you overcome the temptations that would destroy your
life. Being a Christian is the greatest life in this world!”
You encourage him to come with you to a Christian concert. He enjoys the music, even if he
can’t catch all the words. He sees others who look similar to him and figures, “Maybe not all
Christians look weird.” When the invitation is given, he sees others going forward and he feels
good about the whole evening. When the speaker gives another emotional appeal to come
forward and know Jesus, the young man decides to try it. He goes down front and a counselor
goes over the basics of the gospel and leads him in the sinner’s prayer. He assures him that he is
now one of God’s children and encourages him to read the Bible and go to church.
In subsequent weeks, he’s out late on Saturday nights, so he struggles with getting out of bed
early enough to get to church on Sunday mornings. But he hears about the college group and
starts attending it. He likes the feeling of the worship time and meets a lot of nice people,
including some cute girls. Life seems to be going well for him. He likes being a Christian.
Then, bad news hits. He hears that his mom is dying of cancer. He asks everyone to pray, but she
doesn’t get better. He watches as she slowly, painfully sinks lower and lower until she dies. He
doesn’t understand why God didn’t answer his prayers. About this time, he runs into an old
friend who offers him a joint. He smokes it and feels mellow all over. Soon after, he meets a
beautiful girl and she willingly gives herself to him. Being with her is a lot of fun and she makes
him forget the pain of his mother’s death. His Christian experience fades into the background as
she moves into the center of his life. When you talk to him about his faith, he says, “I tried Jesus
and it helped me for a while. If it works for you, that’s great. But right now, it’s just not where
I’m at.”
Why did that young man fall away from the faith? What was behind his spiritual defection? At
least two faulty assumptions: First, he saw spiritual truth as personal and subjective, not as
absolute and objective. If it makes you feel better, if it works for you, then it must be true. But if
something else works better, then try it. The test for spiritual truth is how it makes you feel and
whether it works. If your thing is “trusting in Jesus,” that’s cool. That seems to work for many
people. But if it doesn’t work for me, and if smoking dope and having sex with my girlfriend
makes me feel good, then I’ll try that. Spiritual truth is defined in personal and subjective terms.
The second faulty assumption is that personal happiness is the most important thing in life. God,
if He is there, exists to make me happy. If Jesus can make me feel good, I’ll give Him a try. If
following Jesus doesn’t make me feel good or if it seems too hard, then I’ll try something else.
Man and his happiness, not God and His glory, are what matter the most.
Maybe you’re wondering, “What does this have to do with Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem
on Palm Sunday?” A lot! When Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a foal of a donkey that day, it
meant different things to different people. For Jesus, it signified His official presentation to the

nation as King and Messiah, although He knew that He would be rejected and crucified. The
twelve and other followers of Jesus saw Him as Messiah and King, but they mistakenly thought
that He would set up His rule on the throne of David immediately.
Others in the crowd saw the event in strictly political terms. They were enamored by Jesus’
miracles, especially the recent raising of Lazarus from the dead (John 12:17-18). They hoped that
Jesus would lead the revolt against Rome and restore independence to Israel. The Jewish leaders
were frustrated by the acclaim Jesus was receiving, because He threatened their power base
(John 11:48).
But less than a week later, one of the disciples had betrayed Jesus, another had denied knowing
Him, and His followers were scattered and confused. The fickle crowd had changed from shouts
of “Hosanna!” to “Crucify Him!” Why? What happened? Why the defection? Why the failure?
Why the change?
In part, I believe, it was because these various people had a wrong conception of who Jesus is
and they were following Him for what they thought He would do for them. Because they had a
faulty notion of spiritual truth regarding the person of Jesus Christ and a man-centered theology,
they fell away in a time of difficulty when things didn’t go as they had hoped. If we want a faith
that endures hardship and trials, we need to understand that …
We should follow Jesus because He is Lord, not just because of what He can do for us.
I am not denying that Jesus can and will do much for us when we follow Him. But I am
affirming that the main reason we must follow Jesus is because of who He is, not because of
what He can do for us. We may get tortured and killed for our faith, but we still must follow
Jesus if He is the Sovereign Lord of all. Luke’s narrative of the “Triumphal Entry” of Jesus into
Jerusalem shows us five aspects of the Lordship of Jesus Christ which give us solid reasons to
follow Him, even unto death.
1. BecauseJesusis the Lord of authority, we must follow Him.
This story that inaugurates the week leading to Jesus’ arrest, trial, and crucifixion, conveys the
picture that He was in absolute control of the circumstances. He was not deluded by the cheering
crowd. He was not intimidated by the threats of the Pharisees. He lived under the precise
timetable of the Heavenly Father, and now Jesus knew that His hour was approaching.
On Palm Sunday Jesus staged a public demonstration to show the people and the rulers that He is
the Messiah, but not the kind of Messiah they were expecting. The chief priests and the
Sanhedrin were looking for Jesus and had given the command that if anyone knew where He
was, they should inform them so that He could be arrested (John 11:57). Jesus’ bold action
infuriated them and led to His arrest and crucifixion at the very moment that the Passover lambs
were being slaughtered in Jerusalem, as a fulfillment of His offering Himself as the Lamb of God
for sinners. Even the day of the triumphal entry was in fulfillment of God’s prophetic timetable.
Jesus was in control of every event. Whether He had pre-arranged the details about securing the
colt or whether they reflect His supernatural knowledge, we do not know. But the clear point is,
Jesus was in command of the whole situation. He is the Lord who had need of the colt.
To have a faith that perseveres, you need to understand that Jesus Christ is the Sovereign Lord of
authority. He is sovereign even over all of the evil things happening in the world. He will work
all these things together for His glory and for the ultimate good of His saints. Jesus was not a
well-meaning reformer who was tragically murdered because He made a mistake in picking a

Jesus was our glorious leader

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