THE KING ENTERS HIS ROYAL CITY IN TRIUMPH
(Suggested Reading: Chapter 18:35-43 and Chapter 19)
The third section of Luke's Gospel opens with the thirty-fifth verse of the eighteenth chapter and continues on to the end. This section gives us the King going to Jerusalem to claim His Kingdom and, instead, being crucified by His subjects. Of course, the Lord knew all this, for in the second section of this gospel, we were given clear indications of the new and heavenly character of the Kingdom of God which should follow His rejection.
In introducing his third section, Luke takes us back to the basic principle he enunciated in the first section— that is, that he was writing "with method." Now Luke's "method" is to emphasize the moral rather than the historical side of things, so that you cannot find the correct order of events in this gospel. Here we have an excellent illustration of this in the story of the blind man receiving his sight. From the other gospels, we know that this happened historically when the Lord left Jericho. Here, except for a misleading translation in the King James' version, we are told that it happened in the general area of Jericho, without saying when. In this, Luke's "method" shines out. He makes the blind man act as the herald of the King, announcing that He is David's son. Then, unbroken by the story of the blind man, he gives us an uninterrupted outline of the two comings of the King. In His first coming it is in grace the— story of Zacchaeus; in His second coming— not for the Church, which is not in question here— but to take His earthly Kingdom, the King rewards His faithful servants and punishes His enemies.
The rest of the chapter is His triumphant approach to Jerusalem and His weeping over the city for the woes soon to come upon it for rejecting its King.
The Blind Man Heralds the Coming of Israel's King—18:35-43
The blind man is a figure of Israel, blind to the glory of Christ— seeing in Him not their Messiah, but just another teacher or prophet. Not until the coming day, when they cry to Him for mercy and acknowledge Him as the Son of David, will they receive their sight. The cry "Son of David" is needful for Israel for their great sin is rejecting Him as the lawful King— the only one entitled to sit on David's throne.
But in the actual story, the blind man is more a herald paving the way for the King by crying out "Thou Son of David." The Lord gives him back his sight, showing that his faith in Him was not misplaced, for "the Lord openeth the eyes of the blind" Psa. 146:88The Lord openeth the eyes of the blind: the Lord raiseth them that are bowed down: the Lord loveth the righteous: (Psalm 146:8). "And all the people, when they saw it, gave praise unto God.”
The First Coming of Israel's King Characterized by Grace in the Story of Zacchaeus—19:1-10
If Luke's Gospel records the story of a rich man in hell, it also records the story of a rich man assured of being in heaven from the Lord's own lips. Zacchaeus is an example of a child of God in a false position. He was a tax-gatherer for the Roman occupying power. These men thought nothing of putting money into their own pockets which they squeezed from their fellow citizens on top of the Roman tax levies. In the eyes of the Jews, Zacchaeus was an extortionist because they saw him as a member of a class. But we are told "judge not according to the appearance but judge righteous judgment" John 7:2424Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment. (John 7:24). The Lord saw the good deeds Zacchaeus did too, although He neither praised him for them nor condemned him as occupying a false position.
The beautiful thing about Zacchaeus was that He loved Christ. This is what God values. Jesus has come to His own town, Jericho. This is variously known in Scripture as the city of palm trees 2 Chron. 28:1515And the men which were expressed by name rose up, and took the captives, and with the spoil clothed all that were naked among them, and arrayed them, and shod them, and gave them to eat and to drink, and anointed them, and carried all the feeble of them upon asses, and brought them to Jericho, the city of palm trees, to their brethren: then they returned to Samaria. (2 Chronicles 28:15) that is, a picture of the world in its attractiveness— and the city of the curse Josh. 6:2626And Joshua adjured them at that time, saying, Cursed be the man before the Lord, that riseth up and buildeth this city Jericho: he shall lay the foundation thereof in his firstborn, and in his youngest son shall he set up the gates of it. (Joshua 6:26) the world as a place subject to God's judgment for crucifying His Son. Jesus stood still at Jericho 18:40 a fact more amazing than the sun standing still. Here He had once blessed Rahab the harlot— here Zacchaeus the publican and the blind man. Zacchaeus and the blind man had this much in common— they wanted to see Jesus. Zacchaeus had eyes, of course, but was a short man and could not see because the people in the crowd were taller than he. Never let the crowd keep you away from Christ. The crowd tried to keep the blind man from seeing Christ as he sat by the road asking for mercy. It would keep Zacchaeus from seeing Christ just by its presence. But Zacchaeus found out the route the Lord was traveling, ran ahead, climbed up a tree and waited for Him to walk by. The Lord knew about this. When He came to the tree where Zacchaeus was, He told him to hurry up and come down, for today He MUST stay at his house. Normally we do not invite ourselves to another man's house, but this is the Lord of glory, Who not only made Zacchaeus but was to die to redeem him. He is as much entitled to Zacchaeus' house as to the man's donkey on which He sat 19:29-38.
Zacchaeus received Christ joyfully. Doesn't this remind us of the incident in the fifteenth chapter, "this Man receives sinners, and eats with them." And all because, like Zacchaeus, they received Christ joyfully. This joy on earth was echoed in heaven, for "joy shall be in heaven over one sinner who repents" 15:7. Well, Zacchaeus was one sinner who repented, even though he told the Lord about his good deeds. In the fifteenth chapter, it was the Pharisees and scribes who murmured about the Lord dining with the publicans and sinners— here, it is the crowd. In this third section of Luke, both are to unite against Christ.
Does the Lord care about the murmuring of the crowd when He goes to Zacchaeus' house? No, because He is God's King, not man's King. A President is sensitive to public opinion. He knows that his time in office depends on what the voters think of his administration. Not so with Christ. He extends the royal scepter to whom He will— in this case, a publican. Zacchaeus, the rich man of the nineteenth chapter, is the last man called a sinner in Luke's Gospel, and salvation comes to his house. The "woman in the city" of the seventh chapter, is the first one called a sinner in Luke's Gospel, and she hears the Lord say, "your sins are forgiven... your faith has saved you." Never let us forget that faith and salvation go together. So do obedience and happiness in Christian life.
The Second Coming of Israel's King (to Receive His Earthly Kingdom, Reward His Servants, and Punish His Enemies)—19:11-27
Whenever Christians think of the second coming of Christ, they think of His coming to rapture the Church to eternal glory. It is well that they do, for it is our blessed hope. But when the Church is in glory with Christ, God commences His judgments on the earth— which are given to us in the Book of Revelation. These will subdue Christ's enemies and the kingdoms of this world will become the world kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ. Then He will reward His people for faithful service while He was the rejected King, and punish His enemies. Now see how Luke has tied the whole narrative together— on Christ's first advent as King— grace, as shown to Zacchaeus— on Christ's second advent righteous judgment on adversaries. Now we will examine the details.
The Lord had begun His entry by Jericho to visit His royal city Jerusalem, accompanied by the crowd. He was the True Son of David, and the crowd thought that He was about to display His royal glory in the world, establish the promised kingdom and expel their enemies. This is the meaning of the eleventh verse. Instead, the kingdom was to be deferred because Jerusalem was about to disown its King. For this reason, the Lord compared Himself to "a certain nobleman" in a parable.
The certain nobleman went into "a far country [heaven] to receive for Himself a kingdom, and to return." This indicates clearly that the earthly kingdom was to be deferred until He returned. He entrusted His money— ten minas to ten servants— a mina apiece— and instructed them to "trade until I come." The money speaks of Christ's goods— divine things in general— which each one of us is responsible to use for Him until He comes back. Ten always speaks of responsibility, e.g., the Ten Commandments. Then a new class is introduced: not His servants (us), but His citizens (the Jews). His citizens hated Him and sent an embassy after Him. "After him" means after He has returned to heaven— "the far country— "by way of the Cross where they showed their hatred. The message was "we will not have this Man to reign over us." They delivered this message by stoning Stephen, who saw the heaven opened and testified to them that their King was in glory. So they sealed their sin by rejecting their King in heaven as well as on earth. Now let us see what happens to the two classes the servants with their money, and the citizens who rejected their King— when the King returns from heaven to claim His kingdom on earth.
All the servants appear before the King to give an account of their stewardship. Even so must we appear before Christ to receive reward or blame for our responsible pathway while He was absent. The first servant was a good investor— his Lord's mina had gained ten minas. The most blessed reward he gets is the Lord's commendation: "Well, thou good servant." Then he is given charge of ten cities, corresponding to the increase he brought to his master's wealth. Christian— note this carefully— all rewards for service to Christ are in connection with Christ's earthly kingdom. A city is a system of administration and the rewards for faithfulness here are administrative offices in the kingdom when Christ's glory is publicly displayed. Now it is true that these administrative positions will be exercised through the Church, as we see in Rev. 21, but that is not the point here. Luke is moral and the question of our individual faithfulness is considered here. The next servant receives five cities— excellent— but not the personal commendation of the first servant. The third servant receives the Lord's rebuke. Not only had he not traded with his mina, but he had been too lazy even to deposit it in the bank and get interest. So it is taken from him and given to the man who had given his Lord ten minas of profit.
Next, Christ's enemies are disposed of. Matthew gives us more details than Luke. "The Son of Man shall send forth His angels, and they shall gather out of His Kingdom all things that offend, and those who do iniquity, and shall cast them into a furnace of fire" Matt. 13:41,4241The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity; 42And shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth. (Matthew 13:41‑42). Luke presents their judgment from a moral viewpoint. The reason they are to be brought before the King and slain is exposed— their will was opposed to the grace of God.
They "would not that I should reign over them." "Bring them here and slay them before Me" are the words they must hear because they stopped their ears to the Father's words, "bring the fatted calf and kill it" 15:23. The killing of the fatted calf is the death of Christ. They must be put to death for refusing Christ's death for them.
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Before closing off this section, we need a word of cheer for the discouraging days in which we live. You hear Christians complain that this is a day of small things— cold, dead formalism has taken over, and so on. But the Lord hasn't changed and we must not lose our first love for Him. It is only two years from the time of writing since my old friend, C. B. Jewell, departed to be with Christ, which is far better. After retirement, when most men decide to take things easy, this man dedicated himself to the work of tract distribution in England. As one who supplied him with many tracts, I found his zeal a source of encouragement. Those who received his tracts came from all walks of life and some sent letters of thanks to me. A nurse would write in, "a little old man gave me a tract on the beach. I am a Christian and would like to serve the Lord this way, too." He visited hospitals and on one occasion a patient broke down and cried when he told him of the Lord's love, later accepting Him as Savior. In London he worked at subway stations. Once he boarded a train and handed a tract to a man from my hometown. This man read the tract sitting down, and was astonished to find he needed to be born again. He thought he was a Christian because he was born in "a Christian country," as he called Canada, not knowing there is no such thing. And so, from early morning to late at night, C. B. Jewell labored without pay at his own expense. It was through him giving out tracts to some Indians at a bus stop that my Indian tract ministry started. One of them mailed a tract to Dr. D. Gnanabaranam of Madurai, who wrote me for permission to translate it into Tamil. Later I received a few copies of the tract in Tamil and sent one to Mr. Jewell. One day, Mr. Jewell's young co-worker met an Indian student from Ceylon who wished to be directed to a Christian church or chapel. He was invited to Mr. Jewell's home for tea. On discovering that his own language was Tamil, he was given the gospel tract newly translated into that language. This man returned to Ceylon a Christian, even though he did not entirely shake off his Buddhist training. And so Mr. Jewell labored on and on until his strength failed. Then, in His own good time, the Lord took His old servant home. His son visited him and had a word of prayer. Shortly afterward he fell asleep in Jesus without a struggle. Such are the servants, unknown to man but known to God, who shall be over cities when Christ sets up His earthly kingdom.
The Triumphal Entry of Jerusalem—19:27-48
The Lord now ascends up to Jerusalem, where He will receive a Cross, not a kingdom, although His title to the kingdom will be acknowledged in writing over His Cross. Knowing this, the Lord does not ride a white horse— the symbol of imperial triumph to ancient eyes. When He comes in triumph at a later day as King of Kings and Lord of Lords, He will ride a white horse Rev. 19:11-1611And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war. 12His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns; and he had a name written, that no man knew, but he himself. 13And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God. 14And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean. 15And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. 16And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS. (Revelation 19:11‑16). But now He sits upon a donkey. The scene described by Luke exactly fulfills the prophecy "rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout O daughter of Jerusalem. Behold thy King cometh unto thee. He is just, and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt, the foal of an ass" Zech. 9:99Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold, thy King cometh unto thee: he is just, and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass. (Zechariah 9:9).
As the King approached His royal city, those who accept and reject His claims are brought into focus. First we see His claims over His creation acknowledged. The cattle in the thousand hills are His and it is enough to say "the Lord needs him" and the owners release the colt. The colt has never been broken in it was tied (v. 30) but, contrary to nature, it carries the Lord gently. Then the disciples burst forth into praise, fulfilling Psa. 118:26,26Blessed be he that cometh in the name of the Lord: we have blessed you out of the house of the Lord. (Psalm 118:26) "blessed is He that cometh in the Name of the Lord." They cry out "peace in heaven, and glory in the highest." This cry, "peace in heaven" at the end is in marked contrast to the angels' cry at the beginning, "glory to God in the Highest, and on earth peace, goodwill toward men" 2:14. As soon as the disciples cry "peace in heaven," the Pharisees turn to Christ and ask Him to rebuke them. This is the last mention of the Pharisees in Luke. From now on, they will merge into the general opposition of the religious classes to the King. So there will be peace in heaven now rather than on earth. Man does not want the Prince of Peace on earth, but will send Him to heaven by crucifying Him. The result will be war, not peace, on earth.
The Lord prophesies the destruction of Jerusalem, then, in the coming war with the Romans. This destruction was literally fulfilled forty years later when the Roman armies besieged the city and enacted the most frightful carnage in the long annals of warfare until modern times. The Lord had said that if His disciples did not cry out and praise Him, the stones would. Not one stone in Jerusalem should be left upon another, because the city would not acknowledge Him. The Lord weeps at the prospect. He goes into the Temple already doomed by His sentence, and casts out those who defiled it by their avariciousness. Then He teaches daily in the Temple. The people hear Him gladly, but the religious leaders plot His death. They cannot touch Him until the Passover, when He will fulfill the type of the Passover Lamb sheltering all God's people from the judgment of their sins. God is the Judge of sinners but He is also the One Who said, "when I see the blood I will pass over you.”
The Lord's entry into Jerusalem and His death there fulfilled a striking prophecy in the Book of Daniel: "seventy weeks are apportioned out upon the people and upon thy holy city, to close the transgression and to make an end of sins, and to make expiation for iniquity and to bring in the righteousness of the ages and to seal the vision and prophet and to anoint the holy of holies. Know therefore and understand. From the going forth of the word to restore and to build Jerusalem unto Messiah the Prince are seven weeks and sixty-two weeks. The street and the moat shall be built again, even in troublous times. And after the sixty-two weeks shall Messiah be cut off and shall have nothing and the people of the Prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary and the end thereof shall be with an overflow and unto the end war the desolations determined" Dan. 9:24-2624Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy. 25Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks: the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times. 26And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined. (Daniel 9:24‑26). This prophecy relates solely to the Jewish people, their Messiah and Jerusalem "thy people," "Messiah the Prince," "thy holy city" and a measurement of time connecting these things together. The entire period of time is seventy weeks, but one week is unfulfilled and need not concern us here.
The sixty-nine weeks are broken down into two periods seven weeks to rebuild Jerusalem and sixty-two weeks until Christ entered Jerusalem and was crucified. Each week represents seven years, so that Christ is clearly shown to be Messiah the Prince. In B.C. 455, Artaxerxes Longimanus, a Persian monarch, issued an order to restore and build Jerusalem. Nehemiah undertook this work which occupied seven weeks— that is, forty-nine years. Then sixty-two weeks elapsed after this event, i.e., 62 x 7, or 434 years until Messiah was cut off. This gives us a total of 483 years. The difference between B.C. 455, when the command to rebuild the city was given, and these 483 subsequent years, gives us the exact year in which Christ entered His royal city to be rejected and crucified. As punishment for this crime, "the people of the Prince that shall come"— that is, the Roman people -would destroy both Jerusalem and its Temple. That is why the Lord wept over Jerusalem, for He knew that He was about to be cut off as Messiah and have nothing. If they would not have their King, they, too, must have nothing and become a heap of ruins.