This passage is all about worshipping King Jesus. It’s all about how Jesus’ followers worship their king by giving their possessions to him, lifting their voices in praise of him and shattering the stony silence of the pride filled Pharisees. This passage is really an invitation for us to come and worship the King of Kings with our possessions & our voices while disrupting the silence of the dying world around us.
Philip Ryken in his commentary on this passage says that, Jesus’ “royal entrance into Jerusalem was a momentary triumph before an impending tragedy – a triumph that disclosed his true identity and invited people to acknowledge him as their King. Soon Jesus would suffer the humiliation of his crucifixion, but first God wanted people to see who he really was, and for a few moments at least to give him something like the majesty that he deserved. As we watch the regal procession that Christians usually call Palm Sunday, we see the King claiming his property, displaying his humility, and receiving some of his glory. As we watch, we should ask ourselves this question: Am I ready to give King Jesus the wealth and the worship that he royally deserves?”
Look at Luke 19:28 – 40…
28 And when he had said these things, he went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem. 29 When he drew near to Bethphage and Bethany, at the mount that is called Olivet, he sent two of the disciples, 30 saying, “Go into the village in front of you, where on entering you will find a colt tied, on which no one has ever yet sat. Untie it and bring it here. 31 If anyone asks you, ‘Why are you untying it?’ you shall say this: ‘The Lord has need of it.’” 32 So those who were sent went away and found it just as he had told them. 33 And as they were untying the colt, its owners said to them, “Why are you untying the colt?” 34 And they said, “The Lord has need of it.” 35 And they brought it to Jesus, and throwing their cloaks on the colt, they set Jesus on it. 36 And as he rode along, they spread their cloaks on the road. 37 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, 38 saying, “Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!” 39 And some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples.” 40 He answered, “I tell you, if these were silent, the very stones would cry out.”
#1: Worship The King By Giving Your Wealth & Possessions To Him… (28-36)
Luke tells us that after Jesus spoke about the importance of the investment of the gospel and after he challenged his followers to be faithful investors of the gospel “he went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem” and as “he drew near… he sent two of his disciples” with instructions to “Go into the village… find a colt tied, on which no one has ever yet sat… Untie it and bring it back. And if anyone asks, ‘Why are you untying it?’ you shall say this: ‘The Lord has need of it.’” So those two disciples did exactly what Jesus instructed them to do and when they returned with the colt Luke tells us that Jesus’ disciples threw “their cloaks on the colt (and) they set Jesus on it. And as he rode along they (also) spread their cloaks on the road.” This is a picture of the King being worshipped by his followers to the extent that they are willingly and sacrificially giving their wealth & possessions to him as he makes his way to the cross to die willingly and sacrificially as a ransom & a payment for their sin.
Are You Worshipping Jesus By Giving Your Wealth & Possessions To Him?
The authenticity of our worship is rooted in the activity of our hearts that flows into our desires, our thinking & our behavior. The owners of the colt and the owners of the cloaks in our passage proved the authenticity of their worship of the King by their willingness to give their wealth & their possessions away. If these people had thought “That’s my only colt or my only cloak… Someone else with more colts or more cloaks can give their wealth & possessions to Jesus”… If they had thought this, then their worship of Jesus would not have been authentic. If these people had desired to prop up their image of value in the world instead of willingly and sacrificially giving their wealth & possessions in authentic worship of Jesus, they would have kept their colt and their cloaks so that they could feel like they were valuable or like they had finally carved out a space with the “in-crowd” who had all the nice forms of transportation and clothing. If they had given into those desires then they wouldn’t be authentically worshipping Jesus. If these people had clung tightly to their wealth and possessions then they would have behaved and acted in ways that were unbiblical with their wealth & possessions and therefore wouldn’t have worshipped Jesus authentically by giving their wealth & possessions to him.
When we think un-biblically about our wealth & our possessions we don’t see our wealth & possessions as a means of worshipping Jesus authentically but instead we cling tightly to what we have and we look to what we cling to, to bring us satisfaction & wholeness & worth. In essence… when we refuse to worship Jesus with our wealth & our possessions then we wind up worshipping our wealth & our possessions instead. What does your thinking and your desires and your behavior say about the authenticity of your worship of Jesus? Do you think that your wealth & your possessions are yours to do with whatever you want to do instead of thinking that the wealth & possessions you have actually belong to God and you are to steward them or manage them for the furtherance of the gospel and the kingdom of God? Do you find yourself dreaming about that next financial expenditure or purchase to fill the void of feeling left out or lonely or worthless? Do you use your wealth & possessions to strengthen the ministry of the gospel through the local church and other ministries? Are you worshipping Jesus by giving your wealth & possessions to him?
#2: Worship The King By Lifting Your Voice In Praise Of Him… (37-38)
Luke tells us that “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, saying, ‘Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!’” The picture that Luke is painting for us here is the picture of Jesus on the back of a borrowed donkey making his way down the slope of the mountain just outside of Jerusalem and as he rides along slowly his followers are creating a red carpet entry for him as they place their robes on the ground and lift their voices in praise and worship to him and the song they were singing is an old hymn that the people of Israel would sing as they looked forward to the time of the coming Savior King. But the difference now is that Israel was singing that thousands year old hymn in the very presence of the Savior King they had hoped in for so long. Can you imagine the hype and the joy and the energy in that place?
Are You Worshipping Jesus By Lifting Your Voice In Praise Of Him?
The authenticity of our worship of Jesus is rooted in the activity of our hearts that becomes visible through the words of our mouths. The Scriptures teach us that it is out of the abundance of our hearts that our mouths speak. Grumbling & complaining comes from the cancer of discontentment within our hearts. Gossip & slander comes from the cancer of un-forgiveness within our hearts. When my heart isn’t hoping in the King or trusting in the work of the King or resting in the promises of the King then the words of my mouth will be full of despair or anger or bitterness or envy because I was looking to broken things to give me hope or rest or wholeness. Worship is a heart issue. Though we try to blame shift by excusing our words while pointing to other people’s failures or the lack of wealth or material possessions the reality is that the authenticity of our worship is rooted in the activity of our hearts and is made visible through the words of our mouths.
The disciples’ hearts were full of joy because of the awesome things they witnessed Jesus doing so they praised him loudly. Are you worshipping Jesus by lifting your voice in praise of him? Do your words communicate joy or discontentment? Do your words communicate bitterness or forgiveness? Do your words communicate hope or despair? Are you worshipping Jesus by lifting your voice in praise of him?
#3: Worship The King By Disrupting The Silence Of The World Around You… (39-40)
Luke tells us that “some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples.” (And) He answered, ‘I tell you, if these were silent, the very stones would cry out.’” The picture that Luke paints for us here is a picture of religious people with stone cold hearts that refuse to worship Jesus as their King. Jesus was often opposed by religious people who were jealous of him, angry at him and plotting against him. Jesus referred to these people as “white washed tombs” or “the blind leading the blind.” These people thought they were all clean on the outside but all along they reaked of the stench of death from within and they were blind to their own sin. These people preferred silence over exuberant worship because deep within the interiors of their hearts they worshipped the fake images of themselves that they had constructed. There was no joy in their hearts over who Jesus is and what Jesus was doing. There was no exuberance over being in the presence of the King with the rest of the King’s people. There was no excitement bubbling out of their hearts because their Savior King had finally come. There was only the presence of dead cold silence instead of personal, willing and sacrificial worship of King Jesus. And these religious hypocrites couldn’t stand to see or hear other people worshipping Jesus so they tried to silence their worship because their worship of Christ was disrupting the silence of their dead, cold, backstabbing hearts.
Are You Worshipping Jesus To The Extent That You Disrupt The World Around You?
The authenticity of our worship of Jesus is rooted in the activity of our hearts where the affections of the world that have taken hold of us get disrupted. Our hearts are constantly churning away. John Calvin said that “our hearts are like idol factories” which means they never shut down and are always working to create new images of worship within us. The world around us is constantly churning away and laboring to erect new idols of self-worship all around us and it doesn’t appreciate being disrupted from this daily grind. The sin inside of you, the Satan outside of you and world around you will always be working to silence the worship that our Creator is developing within you by the work of his Spirit through the message of the cross of Christ. Are you worshipping Jesus in such a way that you disrupt the activity of the dying world around you? When sinful impulses from within attempt to silence your worship of the King… do you resist in the power of the Spirit of God? When worldly affections around you, tempt you to give into momentary pleasures that silence your worship of the King… do you shout your love and worship of your King from the mountaintops of your heart? How engaged are you in this fight to disrupt the the dying world around you with your worship of the King?
Final Thoughts…
I opened this message by saying that this passage is really an invitation for us to come and worship the King of Kings with our wealth & possessions & our voices while disturbing the silence of the dying world around us. The question left for every one of us to wrestle with is this: