A few years ago I ran my first Marathon. Marathon is named after the Battle of Marathon which took place in 490 B.C. The name Marathon comes from the legend of Pheidippides, a Greek messenger. The legend states that he was sent from the battlefield of Marathon to Athens to announce that the Persians had been defeated in the Battle of Marathon (in which he had just fought), which took place in August or September, 490 BC. It is said that he ran the entire distance without stopping and burst into the assembly, exclaiming νενικήκαμεν (nenikekamen, “we have wοn”), before collapsing and dying.

Do you ever think about victory? Victory is exciting, isn’t it?

Look at this passage with me:

Hebrews 10:11-12:

Every priest stands daily ministering and offering time after time the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins; ¹² but He, having offered one sacrifice for sins for all time, sat down at the right hand of God…

Today, we are going to look at a passage where Jesus humbly enters the city of Jerusalem. He is hailed as King. He accomplishes His ultimate victory by doing something counter intuitive; He dies for the people He came to save.  He brings victory through death. He offers the one sacrifice for all time.

Luke 19:28-44:

²⁸ After He had said these things, He was going on ahead, going up to Jerusalem.

²⁹ When He approached Bethphage and Bethany, near the mount that is called Olivet, He sent two of the disciples, ³⁰ saying, “Go into the village ahead of you; there, as you enter, you will find a colt tied on which no one yet has ever sat; untie it and bring it here. ³¹ If anyone asks you, ‘Why are you untying it?’ you shall say, ‘The Lord has need of it.’” ³² So those who were sent went away and found it just as He had told them. ³³ As they were untying the colt, its owners said to them, “Why are you untying the colt?” ³⁴ They said, “The Lord has need of it.” ³⁵ They brought it to Jesus, and they threw their coats on the colt and put Jesus on it.³⁶ As He was going, they were spreading their coats on the road. ³⁷ As soon as He was approaching, near the descent of the Mount of Olives, the whole crowd of the disciples began to praise God joyfully with a loud voice for all the miracles which they had seen, ³⁸ shouting:

“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 Him, “Teacher, rebuke Your disciples.” ⁴⁰ But Jesus answered, “I tell you, if these become silent, the stones will cry out!”

⁴¹ When He approached Jerusalem, He saw the city and wept over it, ⁴² saying, “If you had known in this day, even you, the things which make for peace! But now they have been hidden from your eyes. ⁴³ For the days will come upon you when your enemies will throw up a barricade against you, and surround you and hem you in on every side, ⁴⁴ and they will level you to the ground and your children within you, and they will not leave in you one stone upon another, because you did not recognize the time of your visitation.”

1. In verses 28-35 we see the Preparation.
   1. Notice that the Bible says, after He said these things, or after He said this. Jesus had just given the parable of the money usage. Recall that Jesus had been in Samaria for a long time. While there Jesus told many parables and we have talked about some of these.
   2. Another source tells me this: “The elevation at this point is about 2,600 feet, and from it you have a breathtaking view of the Holy City. The Lord was about to do something He had never done before, something He had repeatedly cautioned others not to do for Him: He was going to permit His followers to give a public demonstration in His honor.”^[1] You know what it is like to travel and then you come to this gorgeous view. That’s where they are at, they are about to enter into Jerusalem.
   3. Now, Jesus sends two of His disciples on a mission. They are to go into this other village and find a colt and just take it. When asked they are to say that their Lord or Master has need of it.
   4. They do this, it happens just like Jesus says. They go to the village and someone does ask and they take the colt, like it’s no big deal.
2. In verses 36-38 we have the adoration, this is the parade actually.
   1. As Jesus went along people were spreading their cloaks on the ground. Look again at verses 37-38:

As soon as He was approaching, near the descent of the Mount of Olives, the whole crowd of the disciples began to praise God joyfully with a loud voice for all the miracles which they had seen, ³⁸ shouting:

“Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord;
Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!”

1. Notice that Jesus receives worship.
2. I once had a Jewish Rabbi ask if Jesus ever said He was God. Well Jesus did say that He was the Messiah (see John 4:26), but Jesus also received worship. Angels told the people not to worship them (Rev. 22:9). Jesus received worship.
3. By the way, still notice the commonality of the Gospel. The people worshipping Jesus were the common people. This was a grassroots event. After all Jesus had been going to the common people and He had healed many of them. Jesus is now worshipped.
4. There is a parade going on. Jerusalem’s population would swell for Passover and it is now during this time that these people are all worshipping Jesus.
5. One thing I liked about the marathon is it was like a big parade. As I ran along there would be people on the side of the road cheering you on. In this case everyone is cheering Jesus because He is the King, the True King, the eternal King. In fact, throwing their coats on the road was something that meant, “I surrender to you.” It was symbolic of letting the person on the donkey walk over you, but instead of yourself, they walked over your coat. This was submission.
6. Jesus is now worshipped. This was the adoration of Jesus.

• In verses 39-44 we have the condemnation by Jesus.
  1. The Pharisees missed Jesus once again. They asked Jesus to make the disciples stay quiet and Jesus said if they were quiet the rocks would cry out.
  2. Now, Jesus approaches Jerusalem and weeps over the city. Then He pronounces judgment.

⁴² saying, “If you had known in this day, even you, the things which make for peace! But now they have been hidden from your eyes. ⁴³ For the days will come upon you when your enemies will throw up a barricade against you, and surround you and hem you in on every side, ⁴⁴ and they will level you to the ground and your children within you, and they will not leave in you one stone upon another, because you did not recognize the time of your visitation.”

1. This was Jesus’ condemnation.
2. Following this Jesus will go and cleanse the temple.
3. Then Holy Week will continue until, as our King, He dies in our place and then He rises again. He was our sacrifice and that is why we meet today. He is Our Mighty Savior, worshipped by common, ordinary men and dying for us.

Close:

Hebrews 10:11-12:

Every priest stands daily ministering and offering time after time the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins; ¹² but He, having offered one sacrifice for sins for all time, sat down at the right hand of God…

The question is do you know Him? I talked about Marathons and the battle of Marathon. The messenger died. Jesus died for us and, in a metaphorical way, Jesus calls us to die to Him as well.

Luke 9:23-24:

 And He was saying to them all, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me. ²⁴ For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake, he is the one who will save it.

Jesus is the King, surrender to the Mighty Savior today.

As we go through this week, take a few moments and pray about surrender. If Jesus came back right now, what is something that He would ask about, some thought or action? Repent and surrender. Or, what is something you haven’t done that you know He wants you to do? This week take some time and reflect on your spiritual life. Grab your Bible, a pen and paper and take some time and ask God to show you some things to work on. Read Psalm 42 and pray that you desire God like the Psalmist.

“During World War I, a British commander was preparing to lead his soldiers back to battle. They’d been on furlough, and it was a cold, rainy, muddy day. Their shoulders sagged because they knew what lay ahead of them: mud, blood, possible death. Nobody talked, nobody sang. It was a heavy time. “As they marched along, the commander looked into a bombed-out church. Back in the church he saw the figure of Christ on the cross. At that moment, something happened to the commander. He remembered the One who suffered, died, and rose again. There was victory, and there was triumph. “As the troops marched along, he shouted out, ‘Eyes right, march!’ Every eye turned to the right, and as the soldiers marched by, they saw Christ on the cross. Something happened to that company of men. Suddenly they saw triumph after suffering, and they took courage. With shoulders straightened, they began to smile as they went. You see, anything worthwhile in life will be a risk that demands courage.” [–Gordon Johnson, “Finding Significance in Obscurity,” Preaching Today, Tape 82.]

Keep your eyes on Jesus!

 

Do you know Jesus?

God created us to be with him. (Genesis 1-2)

Our sin separated us from God. (Genesis 3)

Sins cannot be removed by good deeds (Gen 4-Mal 4)

Paying the price for sin, Jesus died and rose again. (Matthew – Luke)

Everyone who trusts in him alone has eternal life. (John – Jude)

Life that’s eternal means we will be with Jesus forever. (Revelation 22:5)

Pray

 

^[1] Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible exposition commentary (Mk 11:1). Wheaton, Ill.: Victor Books.