The Tears of a Crown Luke 19:28-44

Edmund Muskie will long be remembered as a highly respected American statesman. He served in the House of Representatives, the Senate and was the Governor of . Muskie also served as the Secretary of State under President .

In 1972, announced his candidacy for the office of the President of the . He had a very good chance of becoming the nominee of the Democratic Party – but his Presidential bid was derailed by false allegations made up by those loyal to . Cronies of Nixon produced a false letter in which Muskie was said to have made racially insensitive remarks about French Canadian constituents living in the state of Maine. The letter also accused Muskie’s wife, Jane of heavy drinking and using obscene language on the campaign trail.

In , on the day of the presidential primary in the State of New Hampshire, Edmund Muskie gave a press conference during which he broke down and cried while defending his wife. In the days following, newspaper columnists and political pundits accused Muskie of being emotionally unstable. They declared he was unfit to become the President of the United States. Muskie suffered a precipitous drop in the polls. By then the handwriting was on the wall. He was forced to end his bid for the .

Palm Sunday is the day we commemorate when Jesus entered the city of Jerusalem and was hailed by thousands as Israel’s Messiah and King. For the Jews, it was a day of joy and triumph and hope. Expectation was in the air. But many people were taken aback when Jesus broke down and wept over the city of Jerusalem. What do we make of the tears of Jesus?

You may or may not know that the story of Palm Sunday is found in all four gospels. This is interesting given the fact that the story of the birth of Jesus is recorded in only two gospels. That’s also true of the Sermon on the Mount, Lord’s Prayer and the Beatitudes. The parable of the Good Samaritan and the parable of the Prodigal Son appear in just one gospel. But the story of Palm Sunday has the pride of place in all four gospels. 2

As we come to our text in Luke chapter 19, Jesus has been making the journey from the region of Galilee to the city of Jerusalem. Three times on this journey, He predicted He will be betrayed and will be crucified and die. Up to this point in his ministry, Jesus had been very calculated about His movements because the religious leaders of Israel were looking for a reason to have Him put to death. But now, Jesus is about to enter the city of Jerusalem for the final time - and instead of keeping a low profile - He reveals His identity as Israel’s Messiah and King.

One of the things that’s worth noting in this narrative is that Jesus orchestrates everything that happens on Palm Sunday. As Jesus and His disciples approach the villages of Bethphage and Bethany, Luke tells us that Jesus sent two disciples ahead and told them they would find a donkey. They were to tell the owner that the Lord needs it. At a first glance, this seems like a donkey jacking – but the fact that Jesus referred to Himself as Lord is hugely significant. Back in the day, every Jew knew that the title Lord was used exclusively for God. In this, Jesus was making a powerful statement of His identity. The owner of the donkey knew this – and I believe that’s why when the disciples told him that the Lord needed it – he asked no further questions.

In riding a donkey into the city of Jerusalem, Jesus fulfilled a prophecy found in Zechariah chapter 9. Those words - written 575 years earlier - predicted that when Messiah arrived in Jerusalem, He would be riding a donkey: “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....” This passage tells us two things about the Messiah: First, He will come as a humble king riding on a donkey. Second, He will come as a righteous king bringing salvation to His people.

Interestingly, historians tell us that it’s quite possible Jesus’ entry into the city of Jerusalem wasn’t the only procession that the people saw that day. The Roman historian Tacitus tells us that at the time of the Passover in 30 AD – the governor of Judea (Pontius Pilate) led a procession of Roman centurions into the city of Jerusalem. By all appearances, Pilate was throwing his weight around. Rome wanted to ensure there wouldn’t be a 3

Jewish uprising during the Passover. Did this happen on the same day Jesus entered the city? We don’t know. Be that as it may, the gospels paint a stark contrast between the peaceful nature of the kingdom of God and the manifestly violent imperial power of Rome.

To some, it might have been a strange sight to see the Messiah riding into the capital city on a donkey. You would think that if you wanted to announce your presence with authority, you would ride on a war horse or arrive on a chariot. But Jesus was making a powerful visual statement. The Jews expected their Messiah to be a conquering king – to claim the throne of David and vanquish the power of Rome. In the minds of some, Jesus didn’t appear to be very kingly – but He was sending a clear message to Israel: “I am your king - but I’m not the kind of king you were expecting!”

During his journey to Jerusalem, Jesus picked up a procession of people who were also going to celebrate the Passover. Verse 37 says: As he was drawing near—already on the way down the Mount of Olives — the whole multitude of his disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works that they had seen. Earlier in this gospel, Luke records some of the mighty works the people saw: Jesus turned a corrupt tax collector into a love-filled philanthropist. He restored the sight of a blind man. He cast demons out of people. He fed 5,000 people with five loaves and two fish. He calmed a violent storm. He healed a paralytic. In John’s gospel, Jesus raised Lazarus back to life. Can you imagine the excitement this miracle alone must have caused? Everyone was talking about Jesus! So, when the news spread that He was just outside of Jerusalem, a huge crowd of people went out to greet Him and to give Him a fanfare welcome into the city.

As Jesus neared the city riding on the back of the donkey - the people began to spread their cloaks over the pathway as a sign of respect and servitude. John’s account of this episode tells us that the people waved palm branches as a sign of celebration and joy. The waving of palm fronds goes back to the Feast of Tabernacles when God told Moses to instruct the people to wave palm branches as a sign of celebration and rejoicing. The waving of palm fronds was also connected to the Maccabean revolt 150 years earlier - when Simon Maccabaeus delivered 4

Jerusalem from the Syrians. That victory celebration was marked by singing and the waving of palm branches.

The people shouted in verse 38: Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest! In some translations, the people shout, Hosanna - blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord! In Hebrew, the word hosanna means “save now!” These words were a direct quotation from Psalm 118 - one of the best- known Messianic psalms. In John’s gospel, the people cried out, Hail to the King of Israel! And so, by shouting these words, the people were recognizing Jesus as the promised Messiah and King of Israel!

Not surprisingly, verses 39-40 tell us that some of the Pharisees were in the crowd that day – and they weren’t happy about what they saw. They said: Teacher, rebuke your disciples. Jesus answered, I tell you, if these were silent, the very stones would cry out. Jesus was saying that creation is designed to bring glory to God. Creation itself recognizes its true king! And if people don’t praise Him – the rocks will!

All of this has a triumphant appearance to it - but as we come to verse 41, the celebration takes an unexpected turn. As Jesus winds down the pathway to the city - He looks out over the horizon and sees the city - and He begins to weep. The original language reveals that Jesus didn’t get a little misty. It was a loud, violent lamentation. He lost it. Jesus said in verses 42-44: 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.

Do you see the shadow of the cross over this narrative? Jesus knew exactly what was about to happen. On Sunday the people are shouting, Hosanna! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord! But five days later, they would be shouting, Crucify Him!

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This narrative begs us to ask: How did Jesus go from a national hero - to the ignominious death of a criminal in just five days? For one thing, this shows us how fickle people can be.

The story is told of when Napoleon, the emperor of France was traveling through Swiss Alps with his army. He was greeted with thunderous applause and enthusiasm by the people of Switzerland. One of his commanders said, “It must be wonderful to be so admired by people.” Napoleon cynically replied, “This crowd would follow me just as eagerly to the guillotine!” Crowds are fickle. You see it in politics. You see it in sports. You see it everywhere. Today’s heroes are tomorrow’s goats.

Why did the people turn on Jesus? We find a hint earlier in this 19th chapter. We find the story of how Jesus reached out to a man named Zacchaeus. Zacchaeus was a tax collector and was hated by the people because tax collectors were known to be notoriously corrupt. The people became angry that Jesus had the audacity to restore him as a son of Abraham. They thought He should pronounce judgment on Zacchaeus and everyone like him. But if there’s one thing we learn from the gospels - Jesus never seemed to live up to the expectations of people. The Jews believed that when the Messiah came - He would usher in a kingdom of power and destroy evil-doers. We find this imagery in chapters 3 and 4 of Malachi. And that’s why we see the great celebration as Jesus enters Jerusalem. The people are thinking, “The Messiah has finally come! He’s going to restore the kingdom to Israel! Rome will finally be trampled under our feet!” That’s why the people shouted, “Hosanna! Save us now!”

But Jesus said, “My kingdom is not of this world....” The people said, “What?! We don’t know who this guy is - but He’s not our king!” The people didn’t understand. Jesus didn’t come to destroy evil-doers - He came to save evil-doers by dying on the cross for their sins! The people turned on Jesus because He didn’t do what they expected Him to do.

2,000 years after the fact, we sometimes scratch our heads in astonishment at how spiritual blind these people were. We wonder, “How could they miss it? How could Israel fail to recognize their king? The 6 answer is simple. The people were absolutely sure Jesus had come to restore the Davidic kingdom – to restore the glory of Israel. But Jesus didn’t follow their script. He wasn’t the kind of king they expected!

This still happens today – albeit in a different way. People get all excited about Jesus when they first meet Him - but then things happen in their lives they don’t understand or expect - and they get disillusioned and turn away. Sadly, it happens all of the time! When things are going well in our lives - everything is terrific. But when trials come along and test our faith - as trials always do - people sometimes say: “Wait a minute! I didn’t sign up for this! If God loves me, why did I lose my job? If God loves me - why am I sick? If God loves me - why do I have so many problems?” People become disillusioned with Jesus because He doesn’t live up to their expectations.

What do you expect of Jesus? Some only want Jesus to be the Provider of everything they want. Some only want Jesus to be a Healer. Some only want Jesus to be a Problem Solver. Some want Jesus to give them a happy life. But Jesus, first and foremost, came to be our Savior!

Why did Jesus weep? Jesus wept because He knew that Judas would be so disappointed in Him that he would betray Him. Jesus wept because Peter would deny Him. Jesus wept because the crowd that celebrated His arrival would soon cry out for His death. Jesus wasn’t weeping for Himself - He wept for us! He wept over the hardness of man’s heart. He wept over their spiritual blindness. He wept because He knew the inevitable consequences of those who reject Him. He wept because judgment was coming soon.

In my view, this narrative is found in the gospels not only to tell us about Jerusalem’s doom. This story is found in the gospels to show us that Jesus is still very eager and willing to make peace with anyone who will open his or her heart to Him in faith. These are the days of God’s visitation and peace. Notice again the urgency in the words of Jesus: Would that you….had known on this day the things that make for peace! 7

Rico Tice is a British evangelist. He tells the story of visiting a friend in Australia. One day, Rico and his friend went to Botany Bay in Sydney to hang out on the beach and swim. It was a beautiful day. Rico took off his t-shirt and decided to go for a swim. When Tice was peeling off his t- shirt, his friend saw this sign. He said, “What are you doing?” Tice said, “What does it look like I’m doing? I'm going for a swim!” His friend said, “Didn’t you see that sign?” Tice said, He said: “Don't be ridiculous— I'll be fine.” Tice’s friend said: “Over 200 Australians have died in shark attacks. You need to decide whether that sign is there to spoil your fun or to save your life.” Rico Tice decided not to go for a swim that day.

It’s sometimes hard to take on board – but loving people sometimes means warning people. Did you know that many of the words about God’s judgment found in the Bible come straight from the lips of Jesus? Bertrand Russell, the famous atheistic philosopher once said that the only moral defect that he could find in Jesus is that He believed in hell. Why did Jesus warn us about hell? It’s because He doesn’t want people to go there! The reason why Jesus died on the cross was so that people wouldn't have to go there. The cross of Jesus Christ is the place where broken people have come for two thousand years to receive mercy, forgiveness and grace.

There’s someone here this morning and you’re undecided about spiritual things. Jesus is saying to you in this quiet moment, “How I wish you would know the peace that I want to give to you. How I wish you would know that I have a plan and purpose for your life. How I wish you would know that you don’t have to live in fear. How I wish you would know how much I love you.”

Jesus graciously offers you the gift of salvation. By faith, welcome Him into your heart. The Bible doesn’t say tomorrow – it says, “Today if you hear his voice, don’t harden your heart. Now is the time of God’s favor. Today is the day of salvation.”