March 19, 2023
Luke 19:28-48
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!”
“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.”
41 As he approached Jerusalem and saw the city, he wept over it 42 and said, “If you, even you, had only known on this day what would bring you peace—but now it is hidden from your eyes. 43 The days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment against you and encircle you and hem you in on every side. 44 They will dash you to the ground, you and the children within your walls. They will not leave one stone on another, because you did not recognize the time of God’s coming to you.”
45 When Jesus entered the temple courts, he began to drive out those who were selling. 46 “It is written,” he said to them, “‘My house will be a house of prayer’; but you have made it ‘a den of robbers.’” 47 Every day he was teaching at the temple. But the chief priests, the teachers of the law and the leaders among the people were trying to kill him. 48 Yet they could not find any way to do it, because all the people hung on his words.
Read Luke 19:28-31
- Based on what we have already read in Luke’s account, what is significant about the phrase ‘going up to Jerusalem.’ What should the disciples expect will happen there?
- Jesus gives some very specific instructions here. How do you think you would have responded to those instructions? What thoughts would have crossed your mind?
- Have you ever felt like God was asking you to do something that you were uncomfortable with, unsure about, or maybe you just knew it would be difficult? Tell about what happened and how you responded.
Read Luke 19:32-34
- Do you think it is significant that things unfold exactly as Jesus had expected?
- What does this suggest about the way Jesus will prepare you and me to do His work here on earth?
Read Luke 19:35-40
- How familiar are you with the imagery, symbolism and significance of this event we refer to as The Triumphal Entry? (This Article provides a some insight if you feel somewhat unfamiliar with these things.)
- What do you find most significant about what happens in these verses? What captures your thinking or your imagination?
Read Luke 19:41-44
- Compare what Jesus describes in these verses with this Historical Description of the fall of Jerusalem in 70 AD. What are the implications?
Read Luke 19:45-48
- What do you learn about Jesus in this passage?