The Mission of Jesus
March 19, 2008 8:48 am LukePalm Sunday 2008. This sermon is an exegetical treatment of Luke 19:28-44 addressing the theme of Jesus’ mission exemplified in his triumphal entry into Jerusalem. This sermon was originally preached March 16th, 2008 at The Resolved Church in San Diego, CA.
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March 15th, 2008
Pastor Duane M. Smets
The Mission of Jesus
Luke 19:28-44
Introduction
Good morning. Let’s read our text for today and pray.
Today is Palm Sunday, the Sunday before Good Friday, where we remember Jesus’ death. Today, Good Friday, and next Sunday, Easter all go together like three acts of a play. Palm Sunday is the first act, where things are set in motion, Good Friday is the climax of the story, and Easter is the grand conclusion.
“Palm Sunday” has been called such in Christian history and tradition because the version of this story in the Gospel of John tells us the people not only laid down their coats but palm branches as well. In ancient times palm branches were used to honor kings and were symbols of peace and victory.
For example, often times during a festival of some sort the king would walk through the crowd of people on a path made of palm branches and then he would go sit on his throne and have servants wave palm branches before him.
So let me kind of get the picture of this story in your heads for you. It says the whole multitude of his disciples or followers were there and that there was a crowd. Now I take the words “multitude” and “crowd” to mean it was a lot of people. Other stories in Luke where these words are used it was thousands of people. When was the last time you were in a multitude or a crowd of people. Maybe at a big music concert, maybe a political rally, you know a crowd…hot sweaty bodies all crammed in together.
You’ve got a crowd here. And then we have the essential rolling out of the red carpet here in Luke…like at the Kodak theatre in Hollywood at the Academy Awards, where the stars are dropped off out of their limos to walk down this nice red carpet into the theatre only here instead of a fancy red carpet you got palm branches and coats laid out to make a path for the celebrity…the miracle worker, the hopeful revolutionary, the spiritual sage, the person of royalty, King Jesus. We’ll talk about Jesus’ kingship and some of the stuff here about the donkey and the people’s reactions, but first I want to talk about the significance of Jesus coming into Jerusalem.
Missional Intent
Jesus is going into Jerusalem when this happens. It says he “drew near to Bethphage and Bethany” and then when the crowd gathers and he is riding on the donkey, he’s cruising down the Mount of Olives. That’s probably about a mile outside of Jerusalem, about maybe twenty to thirty minutes walking. This is the outskirts of town, sort of like coming into San Diego from the east but you and you first come through El Cajon. That’s where we’re at.
But Jesus’ journey here, going down into Jerusalem really began much earlier. The gospel of Luke from the very beginning has Jesus moving steadily closer and closer to Jerusalem. Jerusalem is Jesus goal. He starts his ministry after being baptized in the Jordon river and then starts traveling around and talking about going to Jerusalem. What is the deal about Jerusalem? Jerusalem is the big city, the central focal point of the whole region, a cultural mecca…But even more than that is it’s the place where Jesus was going to die and Jesus was determined to go there and do that.
Look back a few chapters with me to Luke 9:51. In Luke 9:51 It says, “When the days drew near for him to be taken up (that’s a nice way of saying “be killed”) he set his face to go to Jerusalem.” That phrase “set his face” is so picturesque…it is a determination…he “set his face.” The whole of Jesus ministry is caught up in this massive missional intent, the mission of Jesus to live and to go to Jerusalem and to die for the sins of his people.
But Jesus intent to go to Jerusalem and to die did not just begin at this point in his ministry where he set his face, and it did not just begin at the Jordon river where Jesus was baptized and began his ministry which would end in Jerusalem, it began long before that. It began in heaven when Jesus determined to come into the world. In Mark 10:45 Jesus said he came, “…not to be served but to serve and give his life as a ransom for many.”
So the entire purpose of Jesus’ life and existence is wrapped up in the culminating events that are initiated by his entry into Jerusalem. This is huge! Like an actor following a script he wrote about himself, Jesus came into the world at the right time and took his cue and moved toward Jerusalem in sequence to set up the great climax of the story of humanity!
Think about this. Jerusalem was not an accident. Jesus knew what would happen there. That is the most amazing thing to me about this story is the intent of Jesus and his mission to save people through his death and resurrection. Mission does not happen without intent. So if we are going to be followers of Jesus and his mission it is going to take some intent on our part. We will not grow as a church, the people of San Diego will not be reached with the gospel, if we don’t have some sort of set our face intent about it!
I’ve been thinking about this all week. First, what a privilege it is to be a follower of Jesus and to be with him on mission. His mission is still the same, to save people through his death and resurrection. Second, that such a mission takes a lot of intent. So let me probe us a little on our intent, I’ve been convicted by this during the last week. My intent.
As yourself this question, how many people can you think of right now that you are actively and regularly praying for by name, are in relationship with them in the city taking time getting to know them and talking to them about Jesus, solely for the purpose and intent that they might come to know him as savior of their lives? How many? How is your intent? When was the last time you had someone over to your house for dinner who was not a Christian? Let me ask it maybe another way. We have some friends over to watch Lost with us on Thursday and that’s good, I wish some of you would do that. But how about this, how many of you here have had your neighbors over for dinner recently?
I was sickened this week when I thought of it. I’m friendly with my neighbors, but we’ve lived in the same house for almost a year and we’ve never had a single one of them over for dinner. My intent sucks with them. We’ve talked with them about it but it’s never happened. You might say, oh well you had good intentions…no good intentions do nothing! Sometimes “busyness” can be one of the biggest barriers to the gospel. If you are so busy in your life that you don’t have time for mission, then something is out of place.
Today in our age and culture and this city we live in mission has to be almost synonymous with hospitality, listening, dialogue and openness. George Hunter says in his book “The Celtic Way of Evangelisms” that we are in a secular culture, “…people with no Christian memory, who don’t know what we Christians are talking about.” Christianity is weird in a lot of ways and almost has it’s whole set of particular language and things.
Some of you are new Christians and I was reminded of how easy it is to just assume things when one you said to me just a few weeks ago, “Duane, you say ministry or minister to a lot, what do you mean?” It brought me joy, just to know that even something so seemingly common to me such as ministry was new to some of you! I love that.
That’s the majority of San Diego. Only 6% claim to be Christians. So out of the million and a quarter people living here, only 6% probably know what the word “ministry” even means. Hunter continues about post-Christian cultures, he says “…these populations are increasingly post-modern; they have graduated from Enlightenment ideology and are more peer-driven, feeling driven, and “right-brained” than their forebears. (And they) are increasingly receptive–exploring worldview options from Astrology to Zen–and are often looking ‘in all the wrong places’ to make sense of their lives and find their soul’s true home.” This is our city.
My friend Ed Stetzer who is on the North American Missions Board, who wrote a 100 page document on our city for this Missionary Board called “San Diego City Exegesis.” It used to be that missions meant people from the US sending missionaries to other countries. Now people from those countries are sending missionaries to us because we’ve become so lost and broken and the only thing Christians are doing here is sending flyers out to come to our Easter service. I mean seriously, just that there is now a whole North American Missions Board ought to tell you something. We have to start thinking of ourselves as missionaries. I’m a missionary here and so are you.
Okay, sorry about the digression. Ed Stetzer, “San Diego City Exegesis,” he says this about our spiritually open and broken city: “When interacting with people who hold less clearly to defined beliefs or those who have a worldview that avoids any all-encompassing summary of truth and meaning, missionary practitioners must remember the ministries of listening and hospitality. When Christians (do this), the people whom they are hoping to reach might say or think something like this: ‘Here is a Christian who is willing to talk to me. He is not lecturing me. He is giving me space to say what I think and feel.” When engaging pre-Christian persons who are deeply spiritual, we run the risk of making the gospel irrelevant, not because of the message of the gospel but because of the messenger’s inability to treat the person with dignity and respect.”
I’ll put that up this week in the journal entry if you want to download it and read it. www.theresovled.com/downloads/SanDiegoExegesis.pdf But the point is this, have your neighbors over for dinner or go get dinner somewhere with them. Make friends with people. Get to know them and what they love and what they think. Listen and then talk to them about Jesus.
I have one Christian friend the other day who was telling me that he joined a pagan Wicca book club just to get to know some of those people and try and reach them for Jesus. So now he’s reading Harry Potter and making friends with them. That sounded like a great idea to me.
I’m sure if you check out meetup.com you can find all kinds of groups to get involved in. It doesn’t matter what it is, just get some intent. Get on mission with Jesus. Jesus went into a city, we must follow him and go into our city as well. Crowds of people gathered to coronate his entrance. Why? Because Jesus had been going into cities all over Israel and eating with people and talked with them and respectfully answering their questions and telling them that he was the answer they were looking for and he healed them and gave them hope.
The Glory and the Peace of the King
Well let’s get back to the story and look at what kind of person this Jesus is, why he is worthy of our praise, and glory and how he went into Jerusalem as a king on a mission for peace. Before he cruises down the road on this donkey walking over palm branches and coats, he tells two of his disciples, verse 30, “Go into the village in front of you, where on entering you will find a colt tied, one which no one has ever sat. Untie it and bring it here. If anyone asks you, ‘Why are you untying it?’ you shall say this: ‘The Lord has need of it.’ So those who were sent went away and found it as he had told them. And as they were untying the colt, its owners said to them, ‘Why are you untying the colt?’ And they said, ‘The Lord has need of it.’ And they brought it to Jesus.”
Now this story is crazy to me. Jesus tells them to go get this colt and when the owners are like, “Dude, why are you stealing my donkey…just say, the Lord needs it.” I can’t imagine this working anywhere in San Diego. I mean seriously, don’t get any ideas. If you walk up to someone’s car and break in with a slim jim and start hotwiring it and the owner comes by and says, “Hey man, what are you doing?” He’s not going to go away and be cool with it if you’re like…”Uh, Jesus needs it.”
That part is just crazy to me. I can only imagine that somehow these people must have known the two disciples who came to take their donkey and that they were people who loved Jesus too and would give him anything and probably came back with two disciples and joined the crowd. But that isn’t even the craziest part of this story to me. The craziest part is that Jesus knew. He knew about this colt, he knew what the owners would say, he knew what they needed to hear.
Jesus is always doing this. He meets a woman at a well and tells her she needs living water. She’s like how do you know what I need? And Jesus is all, we’ll you’ve had seven husbands and you’re sleeping with another dude now who’s not you’re husband…and none of that is making you happy. The woman is shocked that Jesus knows everything about her life, so she is like okay, give me the water, I want it. And Jesus tells her that he is the water. She was probably there among the crowd waving a palm branch at Jesus. (Jn 4:1-42)
Another occasion…it’s election time, taxes are due, so the disciples come to Jesus and are like what are we supposed to do Jesus? Jesus says give to the government what they want and give to God what is God’s. He tries to teach them a spiritual lesson about living for God in every part of your life…but they don’t get it, they’re like Jesus, we still got to pay taxes bro. So on another occasion Jesus just says okay, go fishing and you’re going to catch a fish and when you open it’s mouth there will be a coin in it. Go give that coin to the government and our taxes will be taken care of. (Mt 22:15-22; 24:24-27)
Jesus is always doing this. He exhibits a divine knowledge…not just in his great spiritual understanding but in his knowledge of things he could not possibly know if he were just a man! He knows about a coin in the fish’s mouth, he knows the life history of the woman at the well, and he knows there is a donkey in a village he has never been too and that the owners will let him use it. Jesus knows everything, because he’s not just a man, he’s God in the flesh.
And he is not only God of God himself, he’s fully man, come to save his people, he is the messiah king. Have any of you wondered, what the heck is up with the donkey? I love all the old commentaries on this because the old King James Version of the Bible says “ass” instead of donkey and so do all the old commentaries. So I just chuckled to myself this week in my office…when I’m reading about why Jesus rode on a ass into Jerusalem and you’re not supposed to say ass in church. So I get to today. What’s up with the ass in this story?
The ass is a big deal. First notice they call Jesus a King. He’s riding on the donkey over the palm branches and cloaks and they are shouting out, “Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest.” On other occasions Jesus had shied away from being called King because it wasn’t time yet and he knew what would happen once he allowed and accepted that title.
But from this point on and with this event Jesus announces his kingship…to the point when Pilate, the ruling governor asks Jesus if he is a king, and Jesus say yes and that Pilate would have no power over him unless Jesus wasn’t currently allowing it. Jesus is tough man. He is a King! Right before he is arrested, the disciples think Jesus is going to bring peace by overthrowing the Roman government in a physical battle with swords.
That’s probably why a lot of people were there crying out, “Blessed is the King…peace and glory!” They think Jesus is the promised messiah to come and lead revolt and topple over the government and free Israel into being a great and powerful nation once again. So right before Jesus is arrested, Peter pulls out a sword and cuts off one of the soldier’s ears. Peter isn’t getting it. So Jesus heals his ear and says, dude, don’t you know I could call down twelve legions of angels to fight for me if I wanted (Matt 26:53)? Twelve legions is about 72,000 angels. In the old testament one angel killed 185,000 soldiers in one night (2 K 19:35). Jesus is tough. He’s a king!
Usually, when King’s would enter a city they would ride in on a nice, great, big, strong, bright white and beautiful horse. An animal fit for a king. But in the book of Zechariah, it says that God’s King, the messiah, the savior, the deliverer, the Christ, would come on a humble donkey. This was a verse many people knew and had memorized, they were waiting for a king to come and they way they would know is he would ride on a donkey. Listen to Zechariah 9:9 “Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your king is coming to you; righteous and having salvation is he, humble and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.” That is what was in these people’s minds. So when they see Jesus riding in on a donkey, they go crazy, this is it…the king who comes.
Notice what this story says about Jesus character. He’s God. He knows everything. He just demonstrated it like he had time and time again…but he is not a King who rules like those of this world…he is a humble king, he rules with things like peace and love and joy…he rides on a brute donkey. If anyone deserves to revel in his power and might, it’s Jesus…but he is humble, the chief of humility. So this donkey serves two purposes, first to identify Jesus…he is the one, and second, to say what kind of Jesus he is, the humble savior who comes to bring true peace to the world.
Now, I’ve said some things before about it and I’m not going to take time to get all into it again today, but this word peace is here, so I’ll just mention it briefly. Peace is called out to Jesus, he’s coming to bring the peace of heaven to earth. Some of you are really into activism. Activism is cool and socially acceptable, and seen as a good thing, feeding the poor, working with abused kids, helping out Mexico. Those are good things and we should do them, we want to love the city of San Diego and it’s neighbors. I’m going to this conference in New York to learn more about how to do that better.
But we need to have a good theology behind it. Just doing those things will not bring peace. Jesus knew this. He could have started a war and he could have won. But that would not have brought peace. The lack of peace comes from the human heart…the divided, jealous, rebels against God, darkened by sin heart. Our humble King, Jesus, went to Jerusalem to die so that our sin might be forgiven and thus have peace with God…out of that we testify to others by doing deeds that reflect that peace. That’s why I say we need a theology behind our activism…because a sandwich, or some new socks, will not heal the strife of the heart, only the cross of Jesus.
Praise, Anger, and Tears
Well, in our text there are three responses of the events of this story. Each one of them provides an application for us what our response is to be. First is the response of praise. It is hard not to just move to praise directly, when you see and hear the glory of who Jesus is and the intent of his mission, what he came to do. Jesus is amazing. We ought to respond with praise and adoration and thanks toward Jesus today. Palm Sunday is a joyful day.
But we are very quickly reminded of what it is such a joyful day…it is joyful because it looks forward to Friday and then to Easter. The joy of today is crushed if Good Friday and Easter did not happen. So lastly, look at the other two responses which remind us of that in this passage.
First, is the Pharisees. The people are calling out, “Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord…” Then in the very next verse, verse 39, we read, “And some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to him, ‘Teacher rebuke your disciples.” He answered, ‘I tell you if these were silent, the very stones would cry out.’”
The Pharisees remind us of the darkness of our hearts that are so quick to judge and think we have all the answers and have it all together and then fail to recognize Jesus who is at work and is right in front of us. Pharisees are Bible teachers. Literally, they are teachers of the Law found in the Bible. They’re smart. They had at least the first five books of the Bible memorized. But they missed Jesus. They couldn’t see him. To them, he was just a man, and they did not see their need for him. Some of you are so opinionated, you think you know everything and have an answer for everything…that’s dangerous. The moment you start thinking you got it together and you don’t need Jesus your in danger.
The Pharisees here are basically telling Jesus that he should tell these people not to do what he is about to do by entering into Jerusalem…they know it will cause a ruckus and they got a sweet deal going on with the Romans. They don’t want Jesus to mess that up. But Jesus response just point back at his deity once again. Jesus says, if these people don’t praise and worship me, the very stones will cry out.
Some think that crying out of a stone would be in praise or song, some think it means judgment, like they would start throwing themselves at the people. Why? Because the very stones know that their maker is in their midst. The creation knows, that Jesus is the one who maker of heaven and earth. They recognize it. We don’t because our hearts are darkened. But the stones do, they know who Jesus is. The Pharisees remind us of our constant ability to try and earn our own salvation…thinking that we can work things out ourselves and that we got things under control, when we don’t at all and need to see our need for Jesus in everything.
Lastly, we have the response of Jesus. Let’s read it, verse 41-44, “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! 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.”
What’s Jesus response, he cries. When Jesus hears the hardness and resistance of our hearts against him…he cries. In one minute we have the divine Jesus who knows everything, the next minute we have the mighty king Jesus who can wage war with his angels if he wants, the next minute we have the humble Jesus riding on a donkey, and then the next minute we have the broken Jesus, crying over our sin and failure to see him and embrace him…when he is the only thing that can meet our need.
Jesus says, would that you would know what makes for peace! Me! Me! I am here! But you don’t see, it’s hidden from your eyes and if you keep your eyes wide shut, there will be a judgment day. The judgment day Jesus refers to here could have very well been the destruction day of the temple in 70 AD. If it is it point to the future day of judgment that hangs over all our heads if we do not get right with God. God is not unmerciful…he has given us Jesus. He is a judge for sure and if we do not repent there is surely a hell to be had. But he is not unmerciful, he has visited us in Jesus.
That’s what Jesus says. So many want a sign or some proof that God exists and that he is who he said he was and can do what he said he could do. Jesus is right there, saying, “Here I am…it is the time of your visitation.”
Conclusion
So here is our conclusion for today. Know Jesus. Don’t dismiss the time of his visitation. Rejoice at it! Don’t be angry at him for it, thinking that he somehow messes with your plan and with your life. Yeah, if you become a Christian and start walking with Jesus, it’s going to mess with things and you’re going to have to change how you live and not do some things you’ve been doing. If you’re sleeping with your girlfriend or living with her you need to stop. If you’re getting high and drunk you need to stop. Jesus isn’t down with that. If you’re neglecting your family or Jesus’ church or becoming dependant on some other thing than Jesus, that needs to change. The stones cry out…don’t profane his name like that. Jesus is a king and he is worthy of your life and you represent him.
We are on mission with Jesus, the mission to bring glory to his name, to tell and to show the city of San Diego that Jesus is the savior. So we weep over the city like Jesus wept over Jerusalem. We got to start caring about your neighbor and getting intentional about Jesus mission to save them. Get to know them, after you’ve got to know them and talked to them about Jesus, invite them to the community group you go to, then maybe invite them to church…then maybe by that time they won’t be so wierded out by all the strange things we do here, like sing, listen to me, and take communion.
In this story you’re either the Pharisee or the people in the crowd. You’re either praise and thank and worship Jesus or you tell him to leave you alone. In this story you’re either going into the city with Jesus or you’re telling him to stay out. In this story your either give up your coat and your colt for Jesus or you tell him that he can’t have it. In this story you either recognize that you are a sinner in need of Jesus or you think you’re fine and don’t need him or already got him.
I’m everyone in the story. Sometimes I’m the Pharisee trying to control things and make them happen the way I want and I try to keep Jesus out of it. Sometimes I’m in the crowd and I’m singing at the top of my lungs that Jesus is the king! Sometimes I’m not willing to give up my money because I’m afraid I won’t have enough. Sometimes I’m will to give not just my coat and my colt but everything I own, I just give up and it’s so freeing. Sometimes I think I’m just too busy for mission or that it’s just too hard and people make me to mad and frustrated. And sometimes I’m so pierced by the gospel that I want nothing more than to help others know the peace and the glory of Jesus I have come to love and I weep in the dark hours of the night.
Where are you and where do you most need Jesus to work in you today and in this season of your life? As we go to the table today, let’s repent and ask Jesus for help and to work in us, let’s worship him and praise him, King Jesus who came in the name of the Lord to save us. If you’ve become a Christian today by recognizing your need and desire for Jesus, please, you are welcome to go to the table with us.
Let’s pray.