Sermon26-18 Lk19 Guide

Luke 19:28-40 theme verse Luke 19:38

The praise and honor and glory be to our heavenly Father who seeks true worshipers who worship Him with the Spirit and truth.

In this thirteenth Sunday of the year 2026, I pray that His grace of the application of all the benefits which Jesus earned for our salvation and the glorious ministry of the proclamation of His kingdom by the power of the Holy Spirit may be full in our life.  Last week, through Mt 10, we learned that in our way to follow His mission, even with the sufferings, we could endure them by the grace of the Lord to enjoy the privilege to join in His sufferings. Yet, in this week of Hosanna, we would like to learn few lessons after meditating on the reason why He entered Jerusalem riding on the colt in  Luke 19.

1)    Our Lord was God, the King of Israel, Great Prophet, and the High Priest; yet, also as a human being and a serving servant, He personally had to fulfill the Law and become the Lamb of Sacrifice.

The turning point of this mysterious ministry was Caesarea Philippi.

I mean, in Luke 9:18–27, Luke wrote that as His public ministry reached its turning point, as if He seemed to solemnly evaluate the teachings He had delivered thus far, Jesus asked His disciples, "Who do the crowds say that I am?" And when the disciples replied, “John the Baptist. But others say Elijah and others, that one of the prophets of old has risen," He asked them, "But who do you say that I am?" To this, Peter answered, "The Christ of God.”

Our Lord then commanded them not to tell anyone about this until they fully grasped the meaning of the work of the Messiah. And then, three times, He foretold that He would suffer, die, and rise again on the third day.

Furthermore, He revealed to His core disciples on the Mount of Transfiguration a vision in which He spoke with Moses and Elijah regarding His "departure." And then He started the journey that began from Caesarea Philippi back to the shores of the Sea of ​​Galilee and then after passing through the Mount of Transfiguration, toward Samaria.

However, when the Samaritans refused to allow Jesus and His company pass through their territory, He altered His route. Traveling down along the western bank of the Jordan River. And passing through Jericho, He finally entered Jerusalem via Bethany and Bethphage.

2)    To summarize Jesus’ journey narrative as presented in the Gospel of Luke, we can divide it into four distinct stages based on four key geographical references as follows, I mean;

Luke 9:51 saying “As the time approached for him to be taken up to heaven, Jesus resolutely set out for Jerusalem”;

Luke 13:22 saying “He went through the towns and villages, teaching as he made his way to Jerusalem”

Luke 17:11 saying “Now on his way to Jerusalem, Jesus traveled along the border between Samaria and Galilee”; and Luke 18:31 saying “Jesus took the Twelve aside and told them, ‘We are going up to Jerusalem, and everything written by the prophets about the Son of Man will be fulfilled.’”

In the first route which begins with the departure for Jerusalem from Caesarea Philippi, where Peter confessed, “The Christ of God”, Luke wrote that He said He did not have a place to lay His head on His way to Jerusalem, even though He was the Messiah and the Son of God who possesses authority equal to that of God, rejected the political conception of the Messiah that the Jewish people had long awaited, instead, He revealed Himself as the suffering Son of Man. Nevertheless, it is said that He saw Satan falling from heaven and challenged the Jewish leaders to go and do likewise through the Parable of the Good Samaritan and instructed His disciples to be careful of hypocrisy, and to refrain from worrying about what to say or what to eat and drink for the sake of their lives, and He came here on earth to cast out the fire of and fulfill their mission.

Furthermore, in the second phase—from 13:22 to 17:10, it is said that the Lord reiterated the necessity of His journey to Jerusalem and also during this time, He delivered extensive teachings on His suffering as well as the Kingdom of God that would be clearly revealed despite such tribulations.

And then in the third phase from 17:11 through 18:30, He continued to provide instructions on the Kingdom of God, I mean, its nature and governance and also He declared that the Kingdom belongs to children, affirming He Himself would attain glory through enduring great suffering.

The fourth and final phase from 18:31 to 19:44, recounts the narrative of Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem. This stage is characterized by a sense of anticipation regarding Jesus’ dramatic approach to the city (19:11, 41; cf. v. 37) and a palpable tension surrounding His ascent toward the holy city (18:31, 19:28). So demanding the reader’s close attention to these scenes, Luke depicts Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem with increasing vividness and meticulous detail.

Consequently, throughout this journey narrative, Luke portrays Jesus as the One who restores the "lost," through teaching and preaching like Moses, and demonstrates that Jesus’ journey constitutes a new work of restoration as His redemptive mission.

3)    Among them, today’s text, 19:28–44, is the part of the stage four of journey narratives, which is structured according to the chiasmic literary device common in Hebrew literature. I mean,

first, the initial theme of Jesus’ prediction of His own suffering and death, corresponds to the final theme of Jesus’ lamentation over the destruction of Jerusalem.

And second, the theme of Jesus restoring the sight of a blind man that everyone who witnessed it offered praise to God forms a parallel with the fifth theme that the entire multitude to begin praising God with loud voices when Jesus entered Jerusalem as King.

Finally third, the event of Jesus saving a tax collector who was one of the "lost" people of Israel forms a structural parallel with the fourth theme of the Parable of the Ten Minas in which a nobleman travels to a distant land to receive a kingdom; upon his return, he rewards his servants according to their individual labors, while punishing the enemies who did not receive Him as their king.

So today’s text corresponds to the final two segments, I mean, the fifth and sixth theme, within this chiastic structure.

4)    So by reflecting several key points, we would like to learn few lessons together.

First, today’s text says that when the Lord entered Jerusalem, He rode upon a colt.

The reason why Jesus ride a colt is first that it was the fulfillment of the prophecy in Zechariah 9:9 “Rejoice greatly, O Daughter of Zion! Shout, Daughter of Jerusalem! See, your King comes to you; He is righteous and having salvation, humble and riding on a colt, the foal of a donkey.” And also even this very event was foretold as far back as Genesis 49:11.

And also while the custom of the kings in that era was to ride the mule, our Lord chose to ride a colt, a young donkey which was considered even humble than a mule. This signifies that He came as a King of humility, I mean, as a King who serves. Furthermore, it is said that no one has ever ridden" which implies that, since this colt was not tainted or defiled; thus, it was perfectly suited for a sacred purpose and befitting of a King.

5)    As such, Jesus entered Jerusalem riding upon a young donkey as the King of Humility, it is said that His disciples and the crowds cheered and praised Him.

I mean, it is said that the disciples spread their cloaks over the cold, and as Jesus proceeded, they laid their cloaks out along the road.

And also it is said that the entire multitudes of disciples, rejoicing over all the mighty works they had witnessed, praised God with loud voices, saying "Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!"

However, it seems that various people appearing in today’s scene of Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem harbored a wide range of thoughts and expectations.

Because it is said that when Jesus had given His disciples the third fortelling of His suffering in Luke 18:31–33, as Luke said in verse 34, the disciples did not understand what Jesus said. Even later in chapter 24, after Jesus had died on the cross, some disciples who were returning to their hometowns said "We had hoped that He was the One who was going to redeem Israel" (24:21). As such it is said that they had perceived Jesus merely as a political hero who would deliver them from the Roman Empire.

Therefore, providing the account of healing of a blind man in 18:35–43 who was healed by asking a favor to the Lord and the account of Zachaeus who was small so that he could not reach the Lord, yet by climbing a sycamore fig tree, he could catch the Lord’s attention and be saved, we can see Luke conveyed a sense of regret, suggesting what if the disciples, too, when Jesus foretold His Passion, should have earnestly sought for the Lord to open their spiritual eyes so that they might truly comprehend His message.

Furthermore, when the Pharisees witnessed the disciples' acclamations and enthusiastic welcome, they urged Jesus to rebuke His followers. However, it is said that the Lord replied, "If they keep quiet, the stones will cry out." In doing so, our Lord affirmed that even if such cheers were not grounded in deep theological understanding, the gracious work of salvation accomplished by the Son of God, who took on human flesh and descended to this earth, is indeed a reality that all people ought to welcome and celebrate.

6)    And then in the following passage, it is said that as Jesus drew closer to the city of Jerusalem, it is said that He looked upon it and wept and explained that the reason for His sorrow was that the people did not understand the things that make for peace; furthermore, foreseeing the judgment that would befall the city, specifically, its destruction and the ensuing loss of many lives, it is said that He lamented that they failed to recognize the day of their visitation.

Here, "the things that make for peace" refers to the very means by which they could experience peace, I mean, the salvation attained through a true knowledge of the Messiah. Likewise, "the day of their visitation" signifies the specific time God had appointed to bring them aid and blessing, that is, the time when the Son of God arrived to proclaim the message of salvation.

7)    However, at this point, I think we need to reflect once more and more deeply on why Jesus had to come as the King of Humility.

To answer this question, I think we need to look back at the first sin committed in the Garden of Eden. I mean, on the surface, it appeared simply as our ancestors, Adam and Eve, eating from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil which God had expressly forbidden them to do. Yet, deeply beneath that outward sin, it lays a hidden sin, I mean, a fundamental distrust of God’s Word, and the arrogance of desiring to become "like God".

Therefore, our Lord came to this earth to restore faith within us and also to heal our arrogance, and to instill in us a humble heart. Consequently, unlike Satan, who relies on violence, Jesus, who had no sin at all, achieved righteousness through His death on the Cross and paid the penalty for our sins and secured our salvation. This act was not merely a symbolic gesture; rather, it reveals the very essence of salvation.

In other words, while the people of Israel anticipated a political deliverance from Roman empire, yet  Jesus delivered humanity from far more fundamental problems: sin and death. I mean, as the Son of God, He humbly stepped into the place of sinners and fulfilled every requirement necessary for our salvation. Thus, the core truth of Christianity lies in the principle of service, encapsulated in the words, "The greatest among you should be like the one who serves” and its very essence is victory achieved through death. Accordingly, the Lord triumphed by offering Himself up completely, even to the point of death; He walked this path first in order to establish this new order in the world. Therefore, Jesus’ humility should not be perceived as weakness, but rather as the manifestation of divine power that brings about eternal salvation.

8)    This is why we ought to praise the Lord. He came to this earth—dying on the cross and rising again—to set us free from the bondage of sin and to open a path for us to return to God. Therefore, I pray that this year, in every matter and at every moment, we may come before the Lord in faith, take upon ourselves the yoke He has given us, and follow closely in the footsteps of the One who has gone before us. Yet, when we stumble in our weakness along this journey, we may learn Lord’s humility and gentleness, praising His grace and giving all glory to God. And especially in this Holy Week, I hope we can participate in His suffering to participate in His glory too.

Key Questions as Small Group Activity

Q1 Through today’s text, we became to know that Jesus can here on this earth to give us true freedom through crucifixion and resurrection. So after reflecting our life and checking if we are living the life of freedom, I hope we could share our thought and experience with our team members together to learn from each other.

Q2 And also, if still we think there remains area not free from old habits and temptation of sin, after reflecting our life and thinking how we can be liberated from that, I hope we could share our thought and experience with our team members together to learn from each other.

Love you. Thank you. God bless you.

Prayer Note

Dear ( God’s attribute which you found Today ) God!

Thanks for ( something you received through the sermon or  even during the week )

Praise, gratitude and glory be to You, Lord!

Today, I realized my sin (pains) that ( the sin God reminded through the sermon ),

please forgive (or heal) me and help me not to repeat ( the sins you recognized   ).

I learned that ( something you learned through the sermon                                    )

Please help me to live in that (  learned way of life                                                )

I pray in ( Jesus’ attribute you find ) Jesus’ name. Amen.