Greetings! Glad to be with you this Tuesday as we continue to get ready for Palm Sunday and Holy Week!
Yesterday we recognized how Holy Week is the centerpiece of the Gospel witness. We commented on how much attention each of the Gospel writers devotes in leading us to the Cross and the Empty Tomb!
Today we’ll focus on our chosen text for Palm Sunday, Luke 19:28-44. As we look into Luke’s writing we’ll see how this text is informed by four “backdrops” (or settings) reflected in this Scripture.
First, we see how this text signals that we are about to experience the culmination of Jesus’ earthly ministry. All his miracles, teachings, and healings have been signs leading us to this greatest work of Christ. Our opening verse (Luke 19:28) says, “After he had said this, he went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem.” The phrase “going up to Jerusalem” is a recurrent thread throughout the Gospel. Tracing back to Chapter 9, when Peter confessed Jesus as the Christ and Peter, James and John went up the Mount of Transfiguration with our Lord, Jesus spoke of “that which he was to accomplish in Jerusalem.” (Luke 9:30). Then again in Luke 9:51 we read, “When the days drew near for him to be taken up, he set his face to go to Jerusalem.” When Luke has Jesus “going up to Jerusalem” we are tipped off that something monumental is about to happen.
A second backdrop for the text is the “Messianic hope”. Ever since the Davidic Covenant was established (approximately 900 BC), Israel had looked for a king whose kingdom God would establish. In II Samuel 7:13 we read God’s word through the prophet, “I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever.” This promise fed the hope of God’s people for God’s king for centuries. Particularly when the Jews suffered oppression, the longing for a Messianic king who would come, rescue and restore glory flamed with fervency. When we hear the crowds in Luke 19:38 welcoming Jesus with the words from Psalm 118, “Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord”, we hear the hope burning in the hearts and minds of the people.
A third setting for the text was the geopolitical circumstance of the day. In those days all the known world was ruled by Rome. The era was called the Pax Romana. Even though it was a time of “Peace”, this peace came at a huge price. Taxation was unbearable. Any insurrection was brutally suppressed. Some of the religious leaders in Jesus’ day were keenly aware of Rome’s oversight and attempted to maintain a balancing act between keeping the people satisfied and Rome appeased. As these leaders saw Jesus coming into Jerusalem and fulfilling the Messianic hope they worried about Rome’s response. And so in verse 39 we hear their words to Jesus, “Teacher, order your disciples to stop”.
And then there is a “final framework” for this Scripture. It is the backdrop of God’s saving act in the Cross of Christ. Jesus was going up to Jerusalem to fulfill the Messianic hope in the face of heavy opposition, but even as he was on course to complete his mission, it would not be as anyone anticipated. His was not to be an “earthly glory”, but an “eternal sacrifice”. And so you see Jesus In this Scripture not basking in the adulation of the crowds, but weeping over the city. In verse 42 Jesus says, “If only you had recognized on this day the things that make for peace. But now they are hidden from your eyes.”
As we progress through this Scripture we see how the writer uses all of these backdrops to advance the message. Are there other observations you make on how the writer structures this Scripture to proclaim the Good News? If so, jot down your thoughts. Also, write down any other observations you make about this text.
Tomorrow we continue our exploration, noting the framework of our world and our lives that provide present-day meaning to this Scripture. I look forward to sharing that with you.
Prayer: Gracious Lord, as you set your face to go to Jerusalem you fulfill your saving will in ways beyond our expectation. Help us to always be open to the magnificence of your sacrificial love that is the salvation of our lives. In Jesus’ holy name we pray. Amen