Introduction
As Jesus makes His way from Jericho to Jerusalem, He is about to receive an incredible gift from the Father — a king’s welcome into the Holy City. It is a day of celebration and great emotion. What will happen as Jesus enters Jerusalem? Take a close look!
Reading [You can read as much as you can, depending on your availability]
Luke 19:28-48
(and)
Matthew 21:1-17
(or)
Mark 11:1-26
(and / or)
John 12:12-19
Meditating [Use these questions to start your thinking]
- As you study these passages, how do you visualize the energy of this moment?
- How did Jesus respond to these crowds?
- What is the feeling as Jesus enters Jerusalem?
- What are the different groups saying about Jesus?
- What other questions do you still have?
Sharing: Text ONE of your answers to the questions above to your team. Each team should post a sharing from a team member in the comments below.
A prophecy given hundreds of years earlier is being fulfilled before these young leaders’ eyes: “Rejoice greatly, O Daughter of Zion! Shout, Daughter of Jerusalem! See, your king is coming to you, righteous and having salvation, gentle and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey” (Zech. 9:9). The King has arrived and shouts fill the air, “‘Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!’ ‘Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!’” (Luke 19:38). Others shouted, “‘Hosanna!’ ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!’ ‘Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David!’ ‘Hosanna in the highest!’” (Mark 11:9-10). And still others, “‘Blessed is the King of Israel!’” (John 12:13). All of these praises were filling the air! There was a line of people stretching from the entrance of Jerusalem to the descent of the Mount of Olives. There were so many thousands of people in this line that Pharisees were saying to each other, “‘Look how the whole world has gone after him!’” (John 12:19). Of course, you know how the story ends. So how does a crowd of hundreds or thousands of people shout, “Hosanna to the King of Israel!” one day and change to “Crucify Him!” (John 19:15) only six days later? It’s just amazing.
Don’t miss what John adds to his description of the ride into the city. John says that he remembers as they approached the city, Jesus began to weep as he looked upon it. Then Jesus, just as He did three years ago, gives a prophecy. Last time the prophecy was about the temple of His body, this time the prophecy is about the physical temple and city of Jerusalem. Jesus says, “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” (Luke 19:44). Jesus pronounces judgment on the city for their unbelief. This prophecy of Jesus came true in 70 AD when Titus destroyed the city of Jerusalem and tore down the temple and city walls.
Jesus parades into Jerusalem on a donkey. What an entrance for the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords! The people shout back, throwing their coats and cutting branches from the trees along the way and spreading them on the road. The Bible said that “[w}hen Jesus entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred and asked, ‘Who is this?’ The crowds answered, ‘This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth in Galilee’” (Matt. 21:10-11). Jesus enters the temple and what does He see but the same scene from three years earlier. The people are again selling doves and exchanging money. Jesus responds in a similar fashion by driving them out of the temple and turning over the tables of the money changers. But this time He adds, “‘My house will be called a house of prayer,’ but you are making it a ‘den of robbers’” (Matthew 21:13), quoting from two Old Testament passages, Isaiah 56:7 and Jeremiah 7:11. It is obvious from Jesus’ response that they were taking advantage once again of the poor and the foreigners. The poor people were the ones buying doves because they can’t afford to use lambs as sacrifices (Leviticus 5:7). The foreigners were the ones changing money because they charged a poll tax to enter the temple and they would only take Jewish money. They did not want money with Caesar’s picture on it, thus forcing those coming from great distances to exchange their money most likely at a poor exchange rate.
The people had come seeking to pray and to worship the one true God, and others had chosen to seize the opportunity to take advantage of them. To make it worse, the two groups that they had chosen to take advantage of were the poor and the foreigners and, throughout the Old Testament, God had warned the people of taking advantage of these two groups.
Jesus responds passionately and deliberately by shutting down these businesses. Remember the last time He had done this, years earlier at the beginning of His ministry? Jesus had said, “‘Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days’” (John 2:19). Had they been listening? Jesus’ own words are about to come true at this Passover because Jesus is our Passover Lamb (1 Cor. 5:7). Lead with passion, but make sure our passion is in the right place. We need a passion for His name and His fame — not for ourselves or some organization, no matter how great they may be. Spend some time talking to others about having a passion as Jesus had.
How did Jesus respond to these crowds?
– We see when he entered the temple area that he began driving out those who were selling. “It is written,” he said to them, “ ‘My house will be a house of prayer’; but you have made it ‘a den of robbers.’” 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. Yet they could not find any way to do it, because, well.. he was just loved by the people too much.
In today’s reading, we see different high emotions. We see the disciples’ excitement when Jesus was riding into town on a colt. We see Jesus weeping over the city and their unbelief and the dire consequences they would be facing. We see Jesus getting angry at the people defiling the temple courts. He is justified in His emotions. We see His deep compassion for the city of Jerusalem and the people, enough to cry for them. We see His anger when people are do not revere God and the place of worship.