Luke 19:28-40
New International Version
Jesus Comes to Jerusalem as King
28 After Jesus had said this, he went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem.
29 As he approached Bethphage and Bethany at the hill called the Mount of Olives, he sent two of his disciples, saying to them,
30 “Go to the village ahead of you, and as you enter it, you will find a colt tied there, which no one has ever ridden. Untie it and bring it here.
31 If anyone asks you, ‘Why are you untying it?’ say, ‘The Lord needs it.’”
32 Those who were sent ahead went and found it just as he had told them. 33 As they were untying the colt, its owners asked them, “Why are you untying the colt?”
34 They replied, “The Lord needs it.”
35 They brought it to Jesus, threw their cloaks on the colt and put Jesus on it. 36 As he went along, people spread their cloaks on the road.
37 When he came near the place where the road goes down the Mount of Olives, the whole crowd of disciples began joyfully to praise God in loud voices for all the miracles they had seen:
38 “Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!”[a]
“Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!”
39 Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Jesus, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples!”
40 “I tell you,” he replied, “if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out.”
From Fan to Followers
Luke 19:28-40
Generals and Kings rode horses to show strength, ability and conquest; however, when a king or ruler wanted to show a city that he came in peace, he would ride a donkey. Donkeys were ordinary pack animals that are not a threat like a war horse. A colt is an unbroken and pure animal.
Luke 19:37-38 ESV
[37] As he was drawing near—already on the way down the Mount of Olives—the whole multitude of his disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works that they had seen, [38] saying, “Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!”
It is exciting that the people were exalting Jesus with praise. Yet, some of these in the crowd were more like fans and not followers. People are fickle and fans are extremely fickle.
A fan will gush out praise when their idol does great things but when their idol does not produce miracles, or entertainment or falls into misfortune, those same fans will abandon their idol and find a new object of worship.
True followers will also praise their idol, but when things become hard for their idol, they will not abandon God. With Jesus, the true followers will carry their crosses and emulate Jesus.
True followers might not have special talents or extreme wealth, but all that is asked is that they are obedient. The disciples who were sent to get the colt acted in obedience and faith. This is how
God works. We need to be obedient so God can work.
Luke 19:32-34 ESV
[32] So those who were sent went away and found it just as he had told them. [33] And as they were untying the colt, its owners said to them, “Why are you untying the colt?” [34] And they said, “The Lord has need of it.”
Many of the people who shouted blessings to Jesus were the same people who called on Jesus to be crucified.
Luke 19:38 ESV
[38] saying, “Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!”
Luke 23:20-21 ESV
[20] Pilate addressed them once more, desiring to release Jesus, [21] but they kept shouting, “Crucify, crucify him!”
Don't be afraid. Don't hold back. Don't wait. Be obedient to Jesus today
