Who is this Jesus (Luke 19:28-44)
Gary McManus, 04/02/2023Part of the God's Love; Beyond Belief series, preached at a Sunday Morning service
April 2, 2023 Luke 19:28-44 Who is this Jesus?
God’s Word, the Bible, is old. That is no reason to
not read it. God’s Word, the Bible, can help modern
people—God intends that. Still, reading the Bible
is not simple. Finding gold or diamonds takes work.
So does finding real valuables in God’s Word takes work.
Christianity in America today is not unlike
Judaism in Jesus’ day: fractured and splintered.
You can list several groups: Pharisees, Sadducees,
Samaritans, converts, God-fearers. There were also
the Essenes at the Dead Sea. There are also Herodians mentioned.
The traditional Bible reading for today, Palm Sunday, is Jesus’ entrance on a Sunday into Jerusalem.
Which visit to Jerusalem was it? Doesn’t matter.
This day we commemorate a very PUBLIC and celebrated coming to Jerusalem for Jesus. Look at the Bible’s descriptions.
Lots of Jews were coming to Jerusalem.
Look at the list for Pentecost ( Acts 2:9-11).
This event was a Passover!
There were so many groups of Jews under the Jewish faith umbrella and they can’t agree on basics. (John 4:20)
Oh,. . .and the Zealots.
One of Jesus’ disciples was Simon (the) Zealot.
So who is this Jesus? Even if Jesus is the Jewish Messiah, what kind of Messiah was he?
Romans and Jews never “got along.” How could they? The Romans were conquerors and tax collectors. The Romans could see Jesus enter Jerusalem that day. The Romans want to know, “Who is this Jesus?”
See Acts 5:36-37. This scene of Jesus appeared dangerous to the Romans. And this scene appeared dangerous to some of the Pharisees and Sadducees.
Would Jesus’ followers start a riot or rebellion?
What the Bible doesn’t say is what the crowd was thinking. Jesus appeared on a donkey—like King David (Matthew 21:2-7).
How would the crowd answer the question,
“Who is this Jesus?” Jesus, King of the Jews?
Jesus, deliverer?
Jesus saw the whole scene differently. (See Jesus’ words.)
Jesus had not come as a conqueror.
Jesus was a servant—a servant of God, to redeem the people from their own sins.
(He had not come to redeem the people from the sinful pagan Romans.)
The Apostle Paul wrote that Jesus had done everything right: Philippians 2:6-8.
Jesus had come to Jerusalem to be obedient. . .
obedient to death.
Jesus CHOSE to submit to death. . .
This is how much our God loves us.
Jesus’ crucifixion was going to bring peace—peace
between God and humanity. Jesus had told them
all: Mark 10: 45.
Jesus would die cursed by the law of Moses (Deuter-
onomy 21:23). The Apostle Paul explained in
Galatians 3:13: Christ redeemed us from the curse of
the law by becoming a curse for us.
The Gentiles too have been added to those who believe (Romans 10:4).
We can be at peace with a holy God.
Jesus will help fulfill Isaiah’s words (Isaiah 56:7)
So, how do you answer the question today:
“Who is this Jesus?” Amen.
Earlier: | Same day: | Later: |
---|---|---|
« Religion in America Pt 2 | None | What Happened » |