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[0:00] It is well. Okay, good. If you got your Bibles with me please and turn to the Gospel of Luke chapter 19.

[0:22] And so we read a text this morning that speaks of the King going and coming back and then proceeding very definitively into Jerusalem.

[0:57] So let us read the text. Our text is Luke 19. We're going to read from verse 11 through 44. Just a couple of verses there. Big section but I hope to show you how it all overlaps and parallels together as Luke has presented it.

[1:17] So if you're able please stand as I read from Luke 19 beginning at verse 11. Remember they have just been or they are still in Zacchaeus' house.

[1:31] Remember Jesus came into Jericho. So he's staying overnight before the long trip up to Jerusalem.

[1:46] Okay, verse 11. As they heard these things he proceeded to tell them a parable. Because he was near to Jerusalem and because they supposed that the kingdom of God was to appear immediately.

[2:04] He said therefore, We do not want this man to reign over us.

[2:38] When he returned, having received the kingdom, he ordered these servants to whom he had given the money to be called to him.

[2:50] That he might know what they had gained by doing business. The first came before him saying, Lord, your mina has made ten minas more.

[3:03] And he said to him, Well done, good servant. Because you have been faithful in very little, you shall have authority over ten cities.

[3:14] The second came saying, Lord, your mina has made five minas. He said to him, And you are to be over five cities. Then another came saying, Lord, here's your mina, which I kept hid away in a handkerchief.

[3:35] For I was afraid of you. Because you are a severe man. You take what you did not deposit. And reap what you did not sow.

[3:48] He said to him, I will condemn you with your own words, you wicked servant. You knew that I was a severe man, taking what I did not deposit and reaping what I did not sow.

[4:02] Why then did you not put my money in the bank? And at my coming, I might have collected it with interest. He said to those who stood by, Take the mina from him and give it to the one who has ten minas.

[4:21] And they said to him, Lord, he has ten minas. I tell you that to everyone who has, more will be given. But from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away.

[4:39] But as for these enemies of mine, who did not want me to reign over them, bring them here and slaughter them before me. And when he had said these things, he went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem.

[4:56] When he drew near to Bethphage and Bethany, at the mount that is called Olivet, he sent two of his disciples saying, Go into the village in front of you, where on entering you will find a colt tied, on which no one has ever sat.

[5:16] Untie it and bring it here. If anyone asks you, Why are you untying it? You shall say, The Lord has need of it. So, those who were sent went away, and found it just as he had told them.

[5:31] And as they were untying the colt, its owner said to them, Why are you untying the colt? And they said, The Lord has need of it. And they brought it to Jesus. And throwing their cloaks on the colt, they set Jesus on it.

[5:48] And as they rode along, they spread their cloaks on the road. As he was drawing near, already on the way down the Mount of Olives, the whole multitude of his disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works that they had seen, saying, Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord.

[6:18] Peace in heaven and glory in the highest. And some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to him, Teacher, rebuke your disciples.

[6:31] He answered, I tell you, if these were silent, the very stones would cry out. And when he drew near and saw the city, he wept over it, saying, Would that you, even you, had known on this day the things that make for peace.

[6:57] But now they are hidden from your eyes. For the days will come upon you when your enemies will set up a barricade around you and surround you and hem you in on every side and tear you down to the ground, you and your children within you, and they will not leave one stone upon another in you because you did not know the time of your visitation.

[7:30] So it reads, let us pray. Father, cause your name to be set apart. Cause your kingdom to come.

[7:43] Cause your will to be done. Give to us this day the bread that we need. We ask in Christ's name.

[7:55] Amen. Please be seated. Amen. Do you remember why Israel had kings?

[8:15] Now, since the beginning, they had mediators. They had Moses. They had Joshua. They had Samuel.

[8:26] Mediators. Judges. Priests. Prophets. But not kings. Why did they have kings? Well, we're told in 1 Samuel 8 that the people asked Samuel for a king and Samuel came to the Lord and the Lord said, give them what they want.

[8:54] They have not rejected you. They have rejected me as king. You see, God was their king. But Israel wanted to be like all the other nations and have their own king.

[9:11] And so God gave them a king. He gave them a man by the name of Saul. Tall Saul. Head and shoulders over everyone else.

[9:21] He looked manly. He looked kingly. But he was a failure. But he was a failure. And so God rose up another man who did not look so kingly.

[9:33] The runt of the litter. His name was David. A shepherd in the field. A man who proved to be very kingly. Very royal.

[9:45] Very powerful. Very powerful. But in the end, he too failed. So God rose up his son, Solomon.

[9:59] Now, Solomon had the kingdom handed to him on a platter. David had done all the battles. He had taken down all the enemies.

[10:12] He had made it safe on every side. And he handed the kingdom to Solomon who built it up in glorious ways and had a wonderful beginning asking the Lord for wisdom. But in the end, he too failed badly.

[10:28] In fact, it could be argued that he was an apostate in the end. So after that, after Solomon had left the Lord, the kingdom divided between north and south.

[10:46] And so the history reads through the Old Testament of these a few kings of the south being faithful. None of the kings of the north were faithful. They had rebelled and left Israel.

[11:00] All the way down to a time when God's wrath finally burned hot. And he said enough and exiled his people to Babylon.

[11:17] From which he brought them back. They returned to a land that was no longer theirs. A land that belonged to foreign nations. Babylon, Persia, Greece.

[11:30] And at the time of Jesus, Rome. To this day, the temple mount does not belong to the Jews.

[11:42] To this day, the temple has not been rebuilt. And at the end of the passage that I just read, Jesus foretold of the time that their city and that temple would be torn down because they missed Jesus.

[12:02] They did not recognize the king who came. So Jesus comes and offers himself as king.

[12:13] We're getting that in this passage. He came offering himself, declaring quite boldly by sitting on a colt and letting his disciples recite Psalm 118, a messianic text proclaiming the coming of Messiah to save them.

[12:33] He comes to save them. The question is, how? How? How? So Jesus declares himself king here in our text.

[12:47] Our application question, hopefully our question that we think through as we listen to this is how is he our king? Personally, how is he your king?

[13:02] We're not used to kings. We're used to elected officials that we hopefully can get rid of after a while. A king is much different.

[13:15] How is he our king? Well, I want you to notice, first of all, Luke is bringing a conclusion to the journey. The journey began way back in chapter 9. Remember, Jesus went up on the Mount of Transfiguration.

[13:27] He told them, he told his disciples, we're going to Jerusalem. I will be rejected. I will suffer. I will die. And I will raise on the third day. By the end of chapter 9, Luke says that he set his face toward Jerusalem and he was going to journey toward them, toward Jerusalem.

[13:48] So for the next 10 chapters, we followed the journey. Now we come to the end of the journey. Chapter 19, verse 11. He's telling, he tells them a parable because he was near to Jerusalem.

[14:03] At the end of that parable, down in verse 28, when he said these things, he went on going up to Jerusalem. Remember, he was still in Jericho at Zacchaeus' house.

[14:15] He's going from Jericho to Jerusalem. That's up. And it's an 18-mile, winding, deserted, desert, very narrow path that I watched on video and it took this American guy two days.

[14:35] I read one scholar that said it's six-hour walk. I'm thinking, no, I don't, I really don't think so. At least not for Americans. Long journey.

[14:49] So he comes near Jerusalem, verse 28. Verse 29, he comes over the first mountain from Jericho up over the first mountain, the Mount of Olives, which then descends and then through a valley and then up to Jerusalem.

[15:07] Okay, so it comes, so the triumphal entry is going to be going down Mount Olives and then back up to Jerusalem. Okay, so the picturing. Once they come to Bethphage and Bethany, they're a mile and a half away.

[15:20] He stays the night, I believe, he stays the night in Bethany after that long day trip. He stays the night there at Mary and Martha, Lazarus' home.

[15:32] He had raised Lazarus from the dead before that. So there's quite a following of Jesus. So by the time at the end of our chapter by verse 40, 41, as he draws near to the city, he weeps, right?

[15:51] And then by 45, he enters the temple, so he's in. So I just want you to see this, chapter 19 is this final part of the journey. Luke has been bringing us all along.

[16:04] Okay, so now here he is, the coming king. And as he approaches Jerusalem, our question is, what does Jesus, our king, want us to know?

[16:18] What does he want us to understand? And I think there's two pictures here. One in the parable that he's going to tell in verses 11 to 28, a picture, a parable of a king.

[16:31] One who goes away, receives a kingdom, and comes back and looks at his servants. And then the second picture is his presentation of himself as the king as he descends that final slope and then climbs into Jerusalem.

[16:47] He presents himself very deliberately as king. And interestingly enough, this is the first time that he publicly proclaims himself Messiah.

[17:02] Okay, people have wondered that. People have asked. He revealed it to the 12, but remember, he told the 12, don't tell anyone.

[17:14] So now as he enters Jerusalem, now he declares himself. So we want to think about why he does that at that point. Okay, so let's look at this.

[17:26] Two pictures. First picture is about a parable. A parable about a king and one who goes away and gets a kingdom, comes back. Here's the first picture. I believe what he's saying in the parable is that until our king returns, until our king who has gone away, received his kingdom, until he comes back, he's calling us to faithful stewardship.

[17:52] He's calling us to faithful stewardship until he returns. Why do I say that? Look at verse 11. As they heard these things, he proceeded to tell them a parable. Why?

[18:02] Two reasons. One, because he's near to Jerusalem. Okay, things are amping up. He's already talked to them about going to Jerusalem.

[18:13] He's going to be rejected. He's going to be crucified. He's going to raise on the third day. He's telling them because they're drawn to him and because, watch this, because they supposed, they're assuming that the kingdom of God was to appear immediately.

[18:32] Okay? They're expecting him to go into Jerusalem and claim, not only claim kingship, but sit on his throne and oust the Romans.

[18:45] That's what they're expecting, for the kingdom of God to appear immediately. And by kingdom, they mean a physical kingdom. They mean a David's son on the throne vanquishing enemies, saving them from the Romans.

[19:00] That's what they expect. Okay? Remember, when Jesus told them he's going to go die and raise, remember Luke told us? They understood none of it.

[19:12] Right? They didn't connect any dots. They're not looking for a humble, suffering servant. They're looking for a David. Okay? That's what they expect.

[19:23] So, to correct that notion, he tells them this parable. So, we need to look at this parable as a correction to the idea that the kingdom's coming immediately.

[19:36] Right? To correct those wrong expectations. To prepare his disciples during the interim between his resurrection and his return that they're to be faithfully doing the mission.

[19:47] That's what it's about. This parable is about a king, about one going away to receive his kingdom, and then when he returns, he'll call them to account.

[19:59] But while he's gone, what are they supposed to do? Here's what you're to do. Until I return. Okay? So, look at the parable.

[20:10] Verse 12. There's three parts. Verses 12 to 14, the king calls his servants. Together, he calls ten servants. What does he tell them? He tells them to engage in business until I return.

[20:25] Okay? Engage in business, verse 13, until I come. What is this engage in business? Well, keep doing the business of the master. Do what he was doing.

[20:39] Carry on the work while I'm gone. Carry on the work. So, do the work while I'm away. Verse 15, he returns. When he returns, having received his kingdom, so, if he's received his kingdom, what is he now?

[20:56] He's a king. He's a king. The king comes. The king returns. And the king calls his servants. He's no longer just a master.

[21:07] Now he's king. He's an unwanted king. Verse 14. The citizens, they hate him and they don't want, they even send a delegation.

[21:18] To say, hey, don't let this guy, we don't want him to be king. Well, they didn't win and he becomes king. Citizens are different than his servants, by the way. Different group.

[21:28] They don't want the realm that he'll be over. So, when he returned for 15, he calls, having received his kingdom, he orders the servants to whom he had given the money to be called to him that he might know what they had gained by doing business.

[21:42] How'd it go? So, the first one comes in, verse 16. Lord, your one mina has made 10 more. Well done, good servant.

[21:53] You will now be rewarded. So, here's a master who commends his servant, well done, good servant, and rewards him. Does not take away anything from him, but gives him more.

[22:07] Okay? Number 2, verse 18. Same thing. Your mina has made 5. He didn't do as well, but he did well enough that he is rewarded as well. He's rewarded with more authority.

[22:20] Come to number 3, verse 20. Another one. Notice it doesn't say the third one. It says another one. And the word in the Greek means another of a different kind. A different kind of fellow came back.

[22:34] And he doesn't go through all 10. Jesus is just summarizing he's kind of making it simple. It's his parable to tell. So, another one came. And he says, Lord, here's your mina.

[22:47] I kept it in a handkerchief, nice and safe. And then his reason, verse 21, is revealing. For I was afraid of you.

[22:59] I was afraid of you. He's paralyzed by fear. He does nothing because he's paralyzed by his fear of the master.

[23:11] What is his view of the master? Well, he tells him, I'm afraid because you're a severe man. You take what you did not deposit and you reap what you did not sow. You exploit people.

[23:21] You rob people. You're a harsh man. You're a severe man. I'm afraid of you. And so, I'm so afraid. I'm paralyzed. I won't do anything. So, are there people who are paralyzed by their fear of God?

[23:38] Because they view God as a harsh God? Severe God? Who takes away things that they had?

[23:52] Yeah. There's people paralyzed by a fear of God. people who are even called servants of God who are paralyzed because they have a certain view of God who is harsh and unfair.

[24:11] Well, look what I'm experiencing. Look what I'm suffering. Look what I've lost. Interesting that today we read the text from Philippians 3, Paul's view of God.

[24:23] I've suffered the loss of all things. And how does he view that? Oh, I've lost so much.

[24:34] God is so unfair. Paul's view is I've got so much more than what I used to have.

[24:46] The comparison of the value of knowing Jesus Christ as my Lord way surpasses all the prestige and career building and reputation that I had.

[25:02] It's all about perspective, isn't it? So Jesus then talks about the judgment as he, verse 22, he condemns the man on his own words, you wicked servant, you knew.

[25:17] If you knew that I was a severe man, take what I did not reap, and reaping what I did not sow, why didn't you at least put it in the bank? I didn't do that.

[25:29] So takes away, verse 24, he takes away the mina that he had been given and gave it to the one who has 10 and everybody reacts, verse 25, Lord, he has 10.

[25:42] He already has 10. Why does he get more? Point of the whole thing, verse 26, I tell you that to everyone who has, more will be given.

[25:54] To the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. What in the world does that mean? That doesn't sound right, does it?

[26:07] Doesn't that sound like the rich get richer and the poor get poorer? Well, it's not. That's not what he's saying. The one who has, who's the one who has? The one that has 10.

[26:19] What did the man, what did the one who has do? He worked those 10. That was the fruit of his labor. So he's blessed by having done fruitful things.

[26:32] What is the one who has not? Who is the one that's taken away from? Well, the one that hid it in the handkerchief, right? The one who has will be taken away from him.

[26:42] Even what he does have will be taken away. Well, what did he have? It wasn't anything of himself. It was something that was given to him and that he did nothing with. So what does it mean the one who does not have even what he has will be taken away?

[26:59] The one who does not know the king. The one who has a false view of the king. The one who does not serve the king from him.

[27:12] Even the opportunity he was given to serve the king will be taken away. What does that mean? See, it's easy to read this text and say, here's what this one guy said.

[27:31] He's afraid because his master is severe and unfair and exploits people. Well, let's consider this, that the view of this servant was inaccurate.

[27:44] Let's consider that. Let's consider that let's not take this servant's view of the master as the correct evaluation. Let's not assume that he's right because this servant is a wicked servant.

[28:00] This servant is a lazy servant. This servant is a disobedient servant. Should we take his view of the master? How did the master treat the other two?

[28:12] Well, the one that made one into ten, what did he say of him? Well done! Good servant! Faithful! Reward! Treated him graciously, commendably.

[28:25] Same with the second one. They did not view their master, their king, as unfair or harsh or exploitive. He didn't take away from them what they had done.

[28:40] He gave them more. So let's consider because a lot of people take the view of this one servant and say, oh, that's, see, he's a bad master. Do you take the view of people who view God as unfair that way?

[28:57] You think they're right? Is God unfair? Is God harsh? Does God take away? Yes. Does he take away unfairly?

[29:10] No. Okay. What's the point of the whole thing? You have three groups. You have the faithful servants in verses 16 and 17.

[29:21] You have the unfaithful servant, the faithful servants who act, who do what they're told. You have the unfaithful servants in verse 20, the unfaithful servant who is idle, does nothing.

[29:32] And then you have the third group, the enemies in verse 14, who hate the king and reject him and seek to not be under his rule.

[29:45] So the point, which group are you in, right? Which group is Christ talking to us about? He's talking about being the faithful stewards, the first two guys, right?

[29:56] To take what Christ has given to us and be faithful stewards of it. Well, what has Christ given to us? And by the way, what is the mission of, the mission of the king was doing, of that king in the parable is doing business.

[30:12] What's the mission of our king? What's his work? What's the business of our king? Yeah. Yeah. Make disciples. Love one another.

[30:22] Speak of the gospel. Share. Et cetera. What he's been teaching all along. Christ has given us new life.

[30:34] He's given us the spirit. He's given us a mission. He's given us gifts. He's given us many resources to serve him with. What shall we do while we wait for Christ to return?

[30:47] What shall we do? Should we go hide somewhere? No. Shall we live our lives, eat, drink, and be merry for tomorrow we die?

[30:59] How shall we live our lives? How then shall we live? We carry on doing what he's called us to do. It's pretty simple. Nothing extravagant.

[31:13] There will be a day that the king returns and he will reveal our stewardship. Paul says in 1 Corinthians 4, this is how one should regard us. As servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God.

[31:29] Moreover, it is required of stewards that they be found faithful. But with me, it is a very small thing that I should be judged by you or by any human court.

[31:40] Do you think? Paul's revealing to us here that he's been under some judgment, under some condemnation. People, not everybody liked Paul for some reason. Even in the church, he had critics.

[31:56] So how does he respond to his critics? You're not doing what you should be doing, Paul. You're not doing what we want you to do. Well, he says, with me, it's a very small thing that I should be judged by you or by any human court.

[32:10] In fact, I do not even judge myself. For I am not aware of anything against myself, but I am not thereby acquitted.

[32:20] It is the Lord who judges me. Therefore, do not pronounce judgment before the time, before the Lord comes, who, when he comes, will bring to light the things now hidden in darkness and will disclose the purposes of the heart.

[32:37] Then each one will receive his commendation from God, his praise from God. He will hear, well done, good servant.

[32:52] You've been faithful in a little. Now I will give you more. So until our king returns, point of the parable, until our king returns, he calls us to faithful stewardship.

[33:10] Second picture, verse 29. Now, you know, I'm thinking I could have taken these two passages by themselves.

[33:21] Be plenty. But there's a, there's a theme here that carries over. Both of these passages, the parable and now the triumphal entry, picture a coming king.

[33:36] In the parable, it's a king, it's one that goes away and comes back as king. Now in, in the second part, as he, what's called the triumphal entry, he's now the coming king.

[33:51] He presents himself, he declares himself as king. And so here's the second picture, here's a summary of it. Jesus comes as a humble king of peace, yet who is rejected.

[34:06] He comes as a humble king of peace who's rejected. I want you to notice three things in here, okay? Verses 29 to 34, he's directing everything.

[34:19] Verses 35 to 40, he's demonstrating his kingship. And then in verses 41 to 44, where he's weeping, he makes a declaration there, even as he weeps.

[34:36] So first of all, notice his direction. Verse 29, when he drew near to Bethphage and Bethany, at the mount called Olivet, he sent two of his disciples, saying, go into the village in front of you where you are entering.

[34:50] You will find a colt tied there on which no one has ever sat. Untie it and bring it here. If anyone asks you what are you doing, tell them the Lord has need. Yeah, he gives them directions.

[35:01] I want you to notice that he's doing more than giving them directions. He's orchestrating. He's controlling things. He actually knows where this colt is, what state the colt is, that it's never been sat on.

[35:19] He knows that it's tied up. And he knows that someone will ask him what they're doing and exactly what to say. He is controlling everything going on there.

[35:30] He knows everything that will happen. As Jesus is entering Jerusalem, he is taking the reins. He is orchestrating what will happen.

[35:45] He is going to be very intentional and calculating about entering this city as a king. and not just any king but the king of the scriptures, the promised king, the Messiah king, the staff of Judah, the son of David, the king.

[36:09] He knows where, he knows how, he knows why. By the way, personal application, he knows you, he knows where you're at, he knows what you're dealing with, he knows what struggles you're encountering, he knows the tenderness of your heart, he knows the vulnerability of your soul, he knows what makes you anxious.

[36:41] He knows. That doesn't stop us from letting him know how we feel. And notice that he wants a colt, not a war horse.

[36:56] He wants a colt. What's the difference? Well, the Romans would come into town on a war horse proclaiming victory. Jesus is coming into town on a colt, a foal, not a full-grown animal.

[37:14] A colt could be either the foal of a donkey or a horse. In this case, it's the foal of a donkey. Now, we don't think that's very royal at all, do we?

[37:27] And yet, it's exactly what David sent Solomon into town to be anointed by the prophet.

[37:42] It's the way the son of David comes as king. In fact, it's more than that. Zechariah 9, Jesus knowing scripture will act to fulfill all that he came to do.

[37:57] Zechariah 9 says, 9, 9 says, Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion. Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem. Behold, your king is coming to you.

[38:10] Righteous and having salvation is he, humble and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey. Jesus is fulfilling the word.

[38:23] Then his demonstration, see his demonstration. Verse 35, so the disciples go away, they bring the colt back, what do they do? Well, they throw their cloaks on the colt as a saddle for him to sit on and then they place Jesus on and I think that's interesting.

[38:41] They place Jesus on, they don't have Jesus climb on, they place him on. I don't know, that's just interesting to me. And then what do they do? Then as he rode along, they spread their cloaks on the ground, on the road as he's going down the Mount of Olives into Jerusalem.

[38:59] That's interesting. Luke doesn't tell us about the palm branches. That's one of the other Gospels. Luke's not concerned with that one. That's not part of what he wants to portray here. He just says they put their cloaks down, which is a sign of affirming the one riding as very royal and dignified and one who deserves to walk not on dirt.

[39:29] But again, my question is, so he's intentionally proclaiming himself as king. He knows Zechariah 9. Why does he wait till now to declare himself as king?

[39:45] He had hushed it up all through the first three and a half years with his disciples. Tell no one. Tell no one. Why not tell them back then?

[39:57] Well, it would have stirred up the wrong ideas. People already had the wrong concept of what a Messiah was. People were wondering if he was Messiah. They were asking the question. They saw his powerful works and wondered, can it not be?

[40:10] Who else can heal the blind man born blind? who else can bring a child back from the dead and give him back to his mother?

[40:25] Who else can do this? He can't be a false prophet. God would not listen to a false prophet. So, they're asking, but he has not proclaimed it.

[40:37] So now he's proclaiming it. Why? Well, one thing we can say is it's God's timing. That's what the father let him do. For another, I think he's proclaiming, he's letting them know exactly who they're rejecting.

[40:55] He wants to make it absolutely clear. The father and the son want to make it absolutely clear to those people who reject him who they're rejecting. They're rejecting the Messiah.

[41:08] They're rejecting the king. Now, we could debate about whether they knew he was Messiah or not. I think there's enough passages that imply they knew and still rejected.

[41:24] Maybe for the reasons like the disciples they didn't understand. But they could not deny who he was, what he did. So, here he comes.

[41:36] And look at verse 39. They know exactly what he's doing. Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to him, teacher, rebuke your disciples. They should not be saying this.

[41:47] What did they say? Verse 38. Well, let's go back to verse 37. Drawing near already on the way down the Mount of Olives, the whole multitude of his disciples. Now, note that it's not just a crowd.

[42:00] It's not a fickle crowd crying this. It is the multitude of his disciples who are doing this. Okay? It's the ones who followed him.

[42:11] It's the ones who've watched him. It's the ones who've seen his works of power. They're the ones praising, rejoicing, throwing down their cloaks. The whole multitude of his disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works that they had seen, saying, now they're going to quote a messianic text, Psalm 118.

[42:36] Now they're going to quote the Messiah has come. Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord, peace in heaven and glory in the highest.

[42:49] And to that some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to him, teacher, rebuke your disciples. In other words, they should not say that. That can't be true.

[43:00] They're saying he's Messiah. Blessed is the king who comes. In the name of the Lord, rebuke your disciples. How dare they say that?

[43:12] And Jesus' response is typically Jesus. If they don't shout, who will shout? The stones will cry out. Well, how do stones cry out? He's saying, how do I say this?

[43:29] He's saying, folks, even the inanimate creation recognizes who I am. If my disciples don't cry out, someone has to cry out, and the Father will make the stones cry out, and some of those stones might land on you.

[43:48] So, speaking of stones, Psalm 118, this is where they quote from, enjoy, the disciples recite a messianic prophecy of the coming king who is a savior.

[44:07] Psalm 118, this is just a portion of the verses right before the quote that they bring. Open to me the gates of righteousness that I may enter through them and give thanks to the Lord.

[44:17] It's a picture of coming to Jerusalem. It's a picture of coming into the city, into the temple. It's a picture of Jesus coming into the temple. Okay, that's where he's coming. And so, this is the gate of the Lord.

[44:30] The righteous shall enter through it. I thank you that you have answered me and have become my salvation. The stone, oh, look at this. The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone.

[44:42] Did you know that's part of the same text? Psalm 118, that proclaims the coming of the king proclaims his rejection first. The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone.

[44:56] This is the Lord's doing. It is marvelous in our eyes. Like, we never would have thought of that. This is the day that the Lord has made. Let us rejoice and be glad in it.

[45:08] That's what they're doing. Save us, we pray, oh Lord. Oh Lord, we pray. Give us success. Bless, here comes the quote. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.

[45:19] We bless you from the house of the Lord. And notice now in Psalm 118, it says, blessed is he who comes in the Lord. Notice what Luke recorded in verse 20, where am I?

[45:36] 38. Luke says, they said, blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord.

[45:46] Isn't that interesting? They're putting things together. They're recognizing that what Psalm 118 is talking about is the coming king, the Messiah.

[46:00] And so they insert that in their praise. Blessed is the king, the Messiah, who comes. And notice what they bring with that, verse 38, peace in heaven and glory in the highest.

[46:16] Peace in heaven. How does peace in heaven happen? That's through what Jesus the king will accomplish. His death on a cross will bring peace in heaven. It will bring us peace with God through Christ.

[46:32] And then finally hear his declaration. In verse 41, it comes in the context of weeping. When he drew near, verse 41, now it gets very sobering.

[46:46] It's fascinating how Luke brings us from the joy and the rejoicing and the singing and the reciting of the multitude of disciples as Jesus comes down and now Jesus weeping.

[47:02] What a transition. Verse 41, and when he drew near and saw the city, he wept over it. This word for weeping is a strong word.

[47:18] It means to sob, to wail. In other words, it wasn't just that his eyes misted up and he, and he, it's that he broke down when he saw the city.

[47:34] He, because even though other people aren't connecting dots, Jesus has connected all the dots. He knows what's happening here. And though in the moment it's wonderful that his disciples are honoring him, it's wonderful the disciples are rejoicing and praising God, though their expectations are quite, not quite in line with his, they're still joyous of who he is.

[48:05] But he, in the middle of it, sees the city and it strikes him. They don't know. They don't know.

[48:17] And notice the words he uses. As he's weeping, he says, would I wish that you, even you, had known on this day the things that make for peace.

[48:35] But now they are hidden from your eyes. Would that you, even you, had known, had recognized. The word there known means to recognize.

[48:49] Would that you had recognized. In other words, same thing, connect the dots. That you would have recognized the kind of Messiah that was promised. The kind of Messiah that would come.

[49:00] A Messiah that would come for peace, not for war. I would come to save his people. Not from their enemies, but from their sin.

[49:17] From their ruin. From their despair. But they didn't, why didn't they recognize it?

[49:31] Well, for the most part, these people of Israel thought they were okay. Because they're quote unquote God's people. They have the promises.

[49:41] They have the covenants. They have the law. They have all these things. And they thought they were keeping the law. They thought they're okay. In fact, like the Pharisees, man, they're doing better than that.

[49:52] They're keeping all these extra rules. To make sure they don't commit the other rule. They think they're okay. And as believers, we can get like that. We can think we're okay. Oh, I'm doing this, I'm doing this, I'm doing this, I'm doing this.

[50:05] I feel good. Good for me. Oh, you know what? I gave up my Saturday and went and served some people. Oh, I'm not making fun of that. I mean, wonderful.

[50:17] Go serve people. Do that, but don't do it to pat yourself on the back. Do it for him. Do it so only he sees.

[50:30] How about that? Do something sacrificial that only he sees. No, that's, he would love that. Your reward in secret, right?

[50:41] Your father who sees you in secret. So he says, he makes a declaration.

[50:52] Now it's hidden from your eyes. Verse 43, why? Now, for the days will come upon you.

[51:04] And hear these words that he's saying with tears in his eyes, okay? With tears gushing down. He's not saying it mean-spirited.

[51:15] He's saying it in pain. For these people, for the days will come upon you when your enemies will set up a barricade around you and surround you.

[51:26] What's he picturing? He's picturing the Roman occupation in 70, well, it ended in 70 AD. It began about 67, 68 BC or AD after Christ's death.

[51:45] Because it takes a while to build a ramp around the city. They build up to the walls, right? Roman occupation takes months and months and months.

[51:56] People were dying inside because they couldn't get out and get food and supplies. So he's picturing when Titus came to Jerusalem and destroyed it and the temple and took his bear, his eagle, symbol flags, symbols and placed them in the Holy of Holies.

[52:19] Talk about the, what's it called? Abomination of desolation. That was it. And we'll find out in a couple chapters, 21, we'll get more into that.

[52:32] Jesus will predict more, even more specifically what that looks like. But even here, he's weeping, saying this is going to happen and your destruction is coming. Remember the previous parable?

[52:45] It talked about these enemies of mine, they'll be slaughtered. Here's the parallel. His very own people become his enemies who did not want him to rule over him.

[52:58] And what will happen to them? Well, in their rejection of him, there comes devastation. He offers them peace. He offers them peace.

[53:10] He offers them salvation. He offers them hope. He offers them everything that they don't deserve. And what do they want? They want what they deserve.

[53:22] They'd rather have what they deserve. The days will come when the enemies will come set up a barricade around you and surround you and hem you in on every side and tear you down to the ground and your children within, you and your children with you.

[53:35] And they will not leave one stone upon another in you. Why? Because you did not know.

[53:47] You did not recognize. You did not connect the dots. You did not pay attention. It's not because they were ignorant.

[54:01] It's because they did not pay attention. It's because they did not recognize what they had in plain view in the word of God.

[54:13] What they would not see, in other words. He's not saying this is a judgment because, you know, I made you blind and you didn't have a choice and I just wanted to wipe you out. He's not saying that.

[54:24] He's saying that because you did not recognize. It's the same thing he'll say to his disciples after his resurrection. Remember what he said to them? Oh, you foolish ones and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have written.

[54:41] Why didn't you see it? It was right in front of you. Why didn't they see? Did God blind their eyes? They didn't see because they were looking at scripture like this.

[54:57] Well, let me get smaller. I see one way, one interpretation that goes through. They saw King of David.

[55:08] Every time they read Messiah, King of David, King David, King David. They didn't see King Jesus. Why? Tunnel vision.

[55:22] Why don't we see scripture always? Because we've been brought up a certain way. We learned a certain way. We adopted it all. We didn't question.

[55:33] We weren't Bereans. We didn't study it for ourselves and see is that true? Now, I'm giving you the right interpretation. I'm giving you the right right.

[55:45] You can trust everything I have to say, right? Generally so. But obviously, I'm being sarcastic here.

[56:00] Of course, hey, did that doesn't, I don't know. Let me go check that. Check it. Make sure these things are so. I grew up under my own system and I had to break with it.

[56:18] And the reason I broke with it is because it didn't square with this. I was told to read scripture a certain way and I'm reading through and it's going, well, there's no line there.

[56:33] My professor said, there's a line. There's no line there. Jesus just kept talking. Okay. Anyway, how'd I get on that? Jesus is weeping because he's rejected by his nation.

[56:52] They do not know. They do not recognize their need. They do not want a humble king. They want a warrior king. But to reject him is to suffer devastation. Jesus came as a humble king of peace.

[57:10] He does not demand himself upon you. He comes as a humble king of peace. He does honestly warn you if you reject him.

[57:26] He does let you know the consequences because that's a loving savior who would let you know that it's no trivial thing. But he does not demand it.

[57:37] He comes as a humble king of peace who was rejected, who's still rejected, who was not recognized, who's still not recognized, who is a savior that few want.

[58:02] Bottom line, do you recognize him? Do you see him not only as your savior but as your king? You thought of him that way?

[58:15] I tell you I often say, you know, my king is on his throne. And that gives me comfort and that gives me perspective. But do I think of him as my king?

[58:30] Now, my king. Do you see him as your king? The one who saves you, the one who rescues you from your sinfulness, the one who provides you and gives you peace when you come to him.

[58:54] Here we go. Let's pray. Let's pray. Father, we pray that you forgive us for the times, Lord, that we don't recognize you, for the times, Lord, that we are not faithful to the tasks that you give us to do.

[59:21] Forgive us the times when we're idle. Forgive us, Father, the times we're not just idle but we're wasteful.

[59:37] And Father, we thank you that you give us a Holy Spirit who does not guilt us but one who convicts us. Thank you that your Spirit, Lord, doesn't tear us down, doesn't condemn us, doesn't push us away from you but draws us back to you.

[59:58] Lord, Father, help us to see the value like Paul did. Help us to see the value of knowing you and serving you. As our king, we pray in Christ's name, amen.

[60:14]  Amen.