Humility & Peace
Notes
Transcript
Humility & Peace
Humility & Peace
Introduction to Series
Introduction to Series
Humility and Peace is the title
of this mornings message
And this morning we will start our journey to the cross
as we start a 5 part series titled
“The Road to the Cross”
Now, there are 4 weeks, counting today
untill Easter
with Easter being that 4th week
And what we plan to do is walk
with Jesus through the major events that occured on his
way to the cross
We are essentially going to take each Sunday
coming up
as a day of the week leading up to
that Easter Sunday
we can almost think of it as
a day by day journey through
Holy Week
So, this morning we will
cover the Triumphal Entry
which is the Sunday before His crucifixion
Next week we will fast forward
to what is referred to as Maudy Thursday
Or when Jesus shares his last supper with
the disciples
and when he prays in the Garden of Gethsemenie
The following Sunday we will
cover Fridays events
which are his trial, and death
On easter Sunday we will cover
his resurrection
then finally, the week after easter
we will answer the question
of what is “Jesus doing now”
that he has been resurrected
Our main text during this journey will be out of
Lukes gospel
unless of course the Lord leads me somewhere else
So if you will, please open your bibles to
the Gospel of Luke
and as we read
and as we reflect on this passage
I would like you to think
where do you find your peace?
is it in a garden
in a field?
or in other things
Just think about that
Chapter 19 verses 28-44
and let us stand for the reading of
Gods word
Luke 19:28-48
Luke 19:28-48
Luke 19:28–48 “When he had said these things, he went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem. As he approached Bethphage and Bethany, at the place called the Mount of Olives, he sent two of the disciples and said, “Go into the village ahead of you. As you enter it, you will find a colt tied there, on which no one has ever sat. Untie it and bring it. If anyone asks you, ‘Why are you untying it?’ say this: ‘The Lord needs it.’ ” So those who were sent left and found it just as he had told them. As they were untying the colt, its owners said to them, “Why are you untying the colt?” “The Lord needs it,” they said. Then they brought it to Jesus, and after throwing their clothes on the colt, they helped Jesus get on it. As he was going along, they were spreading their clothes on the road. Now he came near the path down the Mount of Olives, and the whole crowd of the disciples began to praise God joyfully with a loud voice for all the miracles they had seen: Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord. P…”
Illustration
Illustration
Imagine with me if you will
Its 1977, we are in Bagui Africa
awaiting the coronation of a king
we hear a blow of trumpets
and drums announcing the coming of the King
then first we see all of the incoming Kings
children walking down the royal carpet
followed by the heir to the king
wearing an admirals uniform
with pure gold brass
he then sits on a red pillow,
next to the throne
next enters
the kings favorite 9 wives
followed by his most favorite
she is dressed in a $73,000 dress
strewn with pearls
finally, we see in the distance an
imperial coach arriving
as it gets closer we see
the coach is decked with
golden eagles
and drawn by 6 white horses
then to more trumpets and band play
the king himself began his glorious stride
to the throne
wearing a cloak that was laced with so
many pearls and gold
that it weighed 32 pounds
each hand was gloved in pure white
he walked on pearl slippers
he bore a crown of wreaths
like we would see the roman emperors wear
he then came to rest on his throne
which was built to look as though
he was seated in the breast of an eagle
with its golden wings spread wide
it is estimated that the throne itself cost 2.5 million
then his roman wreath was replaced
with a crown
this crown was estimated to have cost 2.5 million
as well as sported a huge 80 carat diamond on the top
and with that the new king was coronated
now, rewind more
some 2000 years
to another king
but this king
oh his coronation was different
see this king was not proceeded by
any wives
he had no children
he wasn’t escorted by
horse drawn carriage
but instead he rode in on the
foul of a donkey
a colt of a donkey if you will
and this king he wasn’t wearing
a fancy robe
but a worn out
dust laden tunic
there were no bands playing
and no trumpets
instead there was cheering
from the crowds
no crown was placed upon his head
not yet at least
and that would come just one week from then
and it wouldn't be a crown of gold or pearls
but a crown of thorns
see the coronanation of the king
we described first
he was ushered in with pride
and extravagance
displaying a military might
and his reign only lasted 2 years
but this second king that I described
his coronation was ushered in
with humility and peace
and His reign is everlasting!
and that is what we are going to cover this morning
Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem
as he is bringing salvation and peace for those that believe in him
in fact as we have been talking about so much in John
Jesus will some day come to judge
but this time, this time he came
to bring peace
peace to our broken hearts
peace to our busy hurried lives
peace to our souls
but yet so many of us don’t live in that peace
we don’t fully understand that submission
to the prince of peace
can bring us a peace unlike
anything we can ever know
and that is how our outline this morning
progresses
in verses 28-40 (the bulk of our text)
we see that peace is in fact a person
in verses 41-44 we will see that
peace can be elusive
then in verses 45-48
because peace can be elusive
it therefore must require preservation
we see that peace requires preservation
so let us begin, with our first point this morning
Peace is a Person
Peace is a Person
Verse 28 starts with
“when he had said these things”
what things is he speaking about here.
well we have 3 thoughts here
the first could be when he started this physical journey
back in Luke 9:51.
The second could be when he came to earth in the flesh
born humbly in a manger in Bethlehem
and the last
is specifically in reference to the parable he
told right before this
the parable of the 10 minas
where Jesus spoke of a king
that must go away
in order to fully receive His authority
see the people were excited about Him
the crowds were growing in anticipation
they heard he had raised a man from the dead
Lazarus
that he had healed the blind
they knew he had all the attributes of the messiah
and that he was heading to Jerusalem
so they were ready for this political
overthrow of the Roman’s
they were pumped up
and had a huge sense of national pride
but in this parable
that they dont understand
Jesus speaks to the fact that he must go away
before he comes back to rule His kingdom
so after saying those things
and being on this journey
it all culminates with his final
week on earth in this form
this Holy Week
we continue with
he went up to Jerusalem
now, before we move on I want to introduce us to our
first hint of peace
see many cities have nicknames
we can think of Philadelphia as the
city of brotherly love right
well Jerusalem
literally means
“Foundation of Peace”
so we have our prince of peace,
and where do I get that
well thanks for asking
how about
Isaiah 9:6 “For a child will be born for us, a son will be given to us, and the government will be on his shoulders. He will be named Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.”
then lets look at
Luke 2:14 “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and peace on earth to people he favors!”
so scripture has already established
and there are many other passages eluding to this
but scripture has established that Jesus
is the prince of peace
that is able to bring peace to those that believe in Him
and I know one thing
if there is anything this world needs
its some peace
now, lets get back to the text
and remember some of our geography
see across from Jerusalem
across from the temple
mount is the mount of olives
it is essentially one mountain
a valley
the Kindred Valley which may ring a bell
then another mountain which is the mount of Olives
over the other side of this mountain is where he is approaching from
so on his way up that side
he comes across 2 towns
Bethpage and Bethany
Bethany is where Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead
it is also where the home of Mary and Martha is
the same ones that anointed Jesus with perfume
and wiped his feet with her hair
yea, that place
This is where Jesus would most likely stay on his travels to
Jerusalem
which we know would be several times a year due to
the major festivals
now another small village on this path is Bethpage
it is here that he sends 2 of his disciples
and he says to them
Luke 19:30–31 “Go into the village ahead of you. (Bethpage) As you enter it, you will find a colt tied there, on which no one has ever sat. Untie it and bring it. If anyone asks you, ‘Why are you untying it?’ say this: ‘The Lord needs it.’ ””
so what is the deal with the donkey
as we read of in Matthew?
but here is says colt?
is this a contradiction?
we often think of a colt
as a young horse
well... a colt is defined as the
young male to a horse, donkey or mule
so this colt that they are to find
is actually the young male offspring of a donkey
less than 4 years old to be exact
and on top of that it had never been ridden
has anyone ever been able to fide a young
pony or mule
that is a colt
on the first try
without getting bucked off?
I haven’t heard of it
yet, we will see how that plays out in a little bit
Now I find it interesting that this
is the animal
that Jesus will ride in on
but I dont find it surprising
see this has been prophesied and predicted for a long time
500 years to be specific
Zechariah 9:9–10 “Rejoice greatly, Daughter Zion! Shout in triumph, Daughter Jerusalem! Look, your King is coming to you; he is righteous and victorious, humble and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.
Zechariah predicted that the true king of Israel
would come into Jerusalem on
a young
unbroken colt
Just as King David did
See there were 2 ways that a king would
travel and enter into a city
either by war horse if he was taking it
under force
or by donkey
if he were entering it in peace
So Jesus here pronounces his messiahship
by riding in on a donkey
lets also take note that
this is the one and only time
that Jesus allows the public
celebration of his kingship and
messiahship
all of the other times they are ready
to crown him and pronounce him
king
he simply would back away
or fade into the crowds
but this time was different
as it would spark an even
deeper hatred within
those opposing them
those whom would soon have the
crowd yelling
crucify him
crucify him
and of course all things occur
under His will
and he does this knowing that this would lead to his death
but along with the use of the donkey
to fulfill the coming of the messiah as king
let us not overlook the fact
that humility is
found in that as well
the donkey is seen as a beast of burden
a beast that is used to pack the load
to pull the plow
an animal known to not get any glory
yet put in a lot of the work
and that is exactly how Jesus
approaches us
remember
Christ did all the work for our salvation
He is the son of man that deserves all glory
all honor
He deserves a celebration that would
put our king of of Africa's to shame
yet, he didn’t ask for any of that
instead
as Philippians 2:7–8 “Instead he emptied himself by assuming the form of a servant, taking on the likeness of humanity. And when he had come as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death— even to death on a cross.”
Jesus Christ, took off all his glory
he took of all of supreme nature
in order to come down
to humanity
they very humanity he aided in creating
to come down and offer us peace through
humility and salvation
but the Jews of this time and so many today
dont understand this
They didn’t and many dont understand that
the truest sacrifice is that of life
and that he gave his life as a ransom for us
instead they had Jesus pegged
as the warrior king that he will one day be when
he returns riding that white horse
and weilding a sword
but this time
he approached humbly and peaceful
riding a donkey
as our text confirms
the 2 discipled had no trouble
obtaining that donkey
and in fact the owner
freely let them borrow it
knowing it was for the
king
the king that they had heard was approaching
the disciples put Jesus on this donkey
this donkey this colt that
had never been ridden
did not buck
did not run
but fully submitted to the king
whom it must have known was
mounted on its back
huh, even Jesus brought peace to this
young animal
and using their coats or tunics as a makeshift
saddle
Jesus begins to ride
and our text says in
Luke 19:36–38 “As he was going along, they were spreading their clothes on the road. Now he came near the path down the Mount of Olives, and the whole crowd of the disciples began to praise God joyfully with a loud voice for all the miracles they had seen: Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord. Peace in heaven and glory in the highest heaven!”
The people were praising
Christ
their king was coming
they put their coats under his path
to show that they were submitting to Him
as king
and they knew he was coming to establish
peace
they had seen the miracles
they had seen the wonders
they had seen the healings
and they knew that he could provide
the peace to their
occupied nation
however, not as they imagined
see Christ was coming to establish a
much deeper peace than they could ever imagine
a peace that can get us through any trial
a peace that can get us through any fire
a peace that can get us through eternity
but we cannot have that peace
until we fully submit to Him
and while their minds and emotions were ready to do that
their hearts were not
as we see with how the religious leaders still
questioned him
Luke 19:39–40 “Some of the Pharisees from the crowd told him, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples.”
they did not like the fact that Jesus was now getting this
type of honor and glory
they didn't like the fact that the people
were beginning to follow him
and not them
and he tells them one of my favorite lines from
the bible
he says
He answered, “I tell you, if they were to keep silent, the stones would cry out.””
we have talked about it time and time again
how creation testifies to his glory!
and here this moment
is so glorious
that not even creation would be
able to be kept quite
if the praises of those around him
ceased
even the stones would cry out
in witness that Jesus was the messiah
and… they would cry out
against the evil of the Jews
and the fact that they would
in turn reject Him
see this is the last time Jesus would hear praise from his people
the next time the crowd interacts with Jesus
it will be on the steps in front of Pilate
So here we have it
Peace is a person
and that person is
Jesus Christ
and He is the prince of peace
riding into the city of peace
on a beast of peace
in order to bring us peace
yet for so many this peace
seems so far out of reach
it seems so far away
when in fact
it is right there
if only they would open
their eyes and hearts
see much of this interaction with the crowds
and with these pharisees
have the undertones of the rejection he will soon
get
which brings us to our second point of the morning
and that is the fact that to many
Peace is Elusive
Peace is Elusive
Elusive means , difficult to find
or catch
or difficult to achieve and attain
so by saying that peace is elusive
it simply means that to many
peace is extremely difficult to
acquire
and that is mostly because people
simply don’t know or want to know
or are unwilling to know
what makes peace or
where that peace comes from
that real peace comes from the person of Jesus Christ
and that is elusive to those that reject Him
Lets see how that plays out in our next few verses
Luke 19:41“As he approached and saw the city, he wept for it,
Remember as Jesus is riding in in his donkey
he crests over the mount of olives
with all of these praises
and worship
and just as he crests over this mountain
just as he comes over the summit
to begin his decent
he sets his eyes on Jerusalem
and it says he wept for it
and the word wept here
should not be over looked
the word wept here
as translated from the
greek is the strongest sense of the word we
can get
when it says Jesus wept
it wasn’t a form of mildly crying
or sniffling
it was a profound sobbing
an agonizing bawling
would be more like it
See as Jesus made the crest
as he saw the people before
him and beside him
and behind him
all praising him and glorifying
him
his emotions over came him
in this current moment
he saw the city he loved
the city where his father was to be
rightfully worshipped
the city of peace
surrounded by people
he loved
he saw all of things
knowing
that they soon would reject him
he wept because he knew that while
they worshipped him now
with they mouths and with their
outward actions
inside they were far from him
now surely there were some genuine converts there
that were drawn to him for true salvation
yet to the majority
the salvation and peace he provides
was elusive
as in they were wanting him to do things out of
who they wanted Him to be
not who the scriptures and the father
testified to him to be
so he weeps not for their apostate actions
and for their rejection of Him which would lead
to their ultimate demise
which is why he said
Luke 19:42 “saying, “If you knew this day what would bring peace—but now it is hidden from your eyes.”
see salvation and peace was hidden from their
eyes because they refused to believe in
Him for who he truly was
peace and eternal life was hidden from
them because they hardened thier hearts
and blinded themselves to the truth
He laid it out before them for 3 years of public
ministry yet they didn’t get it
because they hardened their hearts
and searched for peace in other places
and we see that all the time
how often do we seek peace and salvation
in other things
how often do we harden our own hearts
thinking we can achieve peace ourselves
people try all kinds of things to bring themselves
peace
drugs, alcohol
food
stuff
relationships
power
money
all of these things are avenues people look to
“oh if I just get that promotion
then Ill get that raise and once I am making more
money
and life will be better”
This is one of the reasons cults and false religions are
so popular and inviting
they instill in us a thinking
that we can attain peace by our own
power
that through certain actions
or rules
or whatever
they can achieve peace
but bothers and sisters
peace cannot be attained
through self improvement
or self promotion
or self anything
peace can only be attained
through self denial
and utter submission
to Jesus Christ
peace substitutes will not fulfill us
and they wont last
But Jesus has come
riding on a donkey bringing us that peace
that peace that comes through him
and not through us
because when we try to attain peace
ourselves
through some other sort of medium
then that path leads to destruction
which is why Jesus continues
as he weeps by saying
Luke 19:43–44 “For the days will come on you when your enemies will build a barricade around you, surround you, and hem you in on every side. They will crush you and your children among you to the ground, and they will not leave one stone on another in your midst, because you did not recognize the time when God visited you.””
Jesus is talking here of the eventual destruction
of Jerusalem
that will come some 40 years later
in AD 70
when the Romans will do this very thing
when they will surround Jerusalem
and bring it to ruins
they will murder all the inhabitants
including their children
they will tear down
the walls and they would also
tear down the temple
they will reduce their beloved
city to pile of stones
all of this will result
due to their rejection
of the roman occupation and
their continued rebellion
Jesus predicts this
because just like their city will
soon fall
so will they
but on a whole different level
see this self destruction
came upon them all because
they failed to recognize Gods
presence among them
and that presence was when
Jesus walked the earth with them
but instead of welcoming Him as the
true messiah
they rejected him
See peace is a very difficult thing
to find when it eludes you
and it eludes you because
you do not know that God is
present with you
what if we realized that all of our
problems stem from the fact that
we fail to recognize that God is with us
think about the peace we can realize
if we understand that through all of
our downfalls
through all of our infirmaries
and through all of our shortcomings
God is there
when we worry less about the
outcomes of things
and focus more on
God’s presence in all things
we will get such a deeper understanding
of the cross and the peace that comes with it
on that cross Jesus fulfilled God’s
law by sacrificing himself
that one act of self giving
made peace for all who will only see it
and recognize it
it made peace within
it made peace between men
and it made peace with God
But without that understanding
without that recognition we will only
be on a path of self destruction
which leads me to my final point of the morning
Peace Requires Preservation
Peace Requires Preservation
Once we realize that peace is a person
the person of Jesus Christ
the we can realize that peace does
not have to be elusive as long as we recognize it
as that person
once we have realized those two things
our next step to keeping that peace is
to preserve it
and that is exactly what Jesus did
as he entered into Jerusalem after his
triumphal entry
Luke 19:45–48 “He went into the temple and began to throw out those who were selling, and he said, “It is written, my house will be a house of prayer, but you have made it a den of thieves!”
We covered Jesus clearing the temple a couple of months
ago in John
this is a different occasion as that one
was done at the beginning of his ministry
and this one at the end
but the reasons and details are essentially the same
see many tried to turn religion into a business
and while doing that
they disrupted the true worship of the father
for those that truly wanted to worship Him
for who he was
not what they could gain off of him
and Jesus shows us here that sometimes in
order to preserve the peace
we must stand our ground
even if it means confrontation
and just because I speak of Jesus as
the king of peace does not mean
he was weak
no not all all
sometimes the greatest show of power
is through the ability to control it
until
well
until its time to not
and here Jesus preserves
the peace by getting rid of those
causing strife and blasphemy
by getting rid of those that
made their house of prayer
into a den of thieves
see sometimes we must discontinue relationships
and walk away from things that distract us from that peace
sometimes its easy to do
and sometimes it must be done out
of faithfulness and discipline
Just as Jesus shows us here
V 47 & 48 continues with
Every day he was teaching in the temple. The chief priests, the scribes, and the leaders of the people were looking for a way to kill him, but they could not find a way to do it, because all the people were captivated by what they heard.”
The other ways we are to preserve
the peace that comes through Christ
is through prayer
as we just mentioned above
which is one of the reasons Jesus interupted
the temple racket
was because it was impeding prayer
here we see that we are preserve
our peace by listening
and learning from God
the couple of days to follow
essentially before thursday
when things took their turn to
calvary
Jesus was teaching in the temple
and the people were learning
and this teaching was so important
that the chief priests, scribes
and leaders couldn’t get to
him
they were trying to capture him in order to kill him
but as it says
all the people were captivated by him
therefore they could not
Jesus was about to enter into the hardest
cruelest
most demanding week of his
life
and our text says that the days leading up to it
he was teaching in the temple
and that should transfer directly to us
in the form of the fact that
when we are entering into tough times
when we are entering into
the storms of life
we should find peace in learning
and reading Gods word
so finally, in order to preserve the peace that comes through Christ
we are to do as we saw here at the temple
during and after its clearing
we are to stand up for God
we are to pray
and we are to be in God word
So as we finish up for the morning
Let me ask you
where do you find your peace?
do you find it things
do you find it in self gain
or do you find it in Christ
Ill end this morning with a quote from
my commentary
Exalting Jesus in Luke Application
When Christ comes to us, he comes to give us this peace. Sinners though we are, rebels though we have been, though far from the will of God we have strayed, he comes to bring us back to God that we might have peace with God.
Invitation
Invitation
so as we enter into a time of invitation
lets reflect on the peace that comes through Christ
because
Peace, true peace
is found only in the person
of Jesus Christ
This is also a time of prayer and commitment
If you would like to pray with me
or one of our deacons about your salvation
or any other needs
now is the time
also, if you would like to begin the process of
becoming a member here
you can come up front as well
Let us Pray!