The Weeping King (Luke 19:28-44)

Reformed & Expository Preaching

As Christ approaches Jerusalem, expectations are high among the people, who anticipate the visible and immediate arrival of God’s kingdom. Christ is presenting a tone of a peace transition even while bringing judgment. The approach through the Mount of Olives carries deep prophetic significance, connecting to Zechariah’s vision of both judgment and deliverance at the Mount of Olives using language like the Red Sea parting. The humble entry on a colt rather than on foot or a war horse signals a fulfillment of prophecy and communicates a kingdom rooted in peace and humility, contrary to popular hopes for a triumphant, earthly ruler. The full physical judgment is delayed.

The act of sending disciples to secure the colt is not only an example of Christ’s divine foreknowledge but also links back to covenant history and the promises of Genesis and Zechariah. This colt, unbroken and pure, underscores Christ's consecrated purpose and fulfills the imagery of the coming king arriving in humility, not as a conquering hero as the crowd expects. The crowd responds by laying down cloaks and shouting praise, echoing Psalm 118 and Psalm 148. These are Psalms that echo God’s saving power, and ultimately the Lord building his city despite his people rejecting his chosen stone. Christ is going to the vision of peace, but it will not be peaceful. However, his heavenly kingdom will be established; he does not ride on a war horse to establish his kingdom, but on a donkey symbolizing his peaceful laying down his life.

Some of the Pharisees are not impressed with Christ’s seizing power. Their words expose a conviction that Christ is not the messiah. They tell the teacher to command his disciples to be silent. It is true that if Christ is not the God-man, then the crowds are out of line. They are committing blasphemy by making a mere mortal into God. However, if Christ really is the God-man, then the Pharisees need to repent. Their demand to silence the crowds shows their inability to see Christ as the promised Messiah and God incarnate, reflected in their outrage that divinely reserved praise is being offered to Jesus.

What is the right profession? Christ’s reply that even the stones would cry out if the people were silent highlights both the inevitability of his recognition and the spiritual blindness of the religious leaders, who see themselves as guardians of truth but stand outside the true kingdom. You see, this is an echo back to John the Baptist warning Israel that they better not find their comfort in their covenant lineage. They need to embrace the Messiah because God could raise up children of Abraham from these very stones.

Despite outward celebration, Christ weeps over the city, revealing the depth of his compassion and the divine sorrow at Jerusalem’s failure to apprehend the true peace he offers. His lament is not a sign of defeat or doubt but underscores the tragic reality that many will reject the path of suffering and redemption he embodies. The passage concludes with a call to recognize Christ’s unique mission: to embrace his version of peace, compassion, and justice, living as people marked by humility and readiness to discern the truth of the gospel in the shadow of the cross. This only comes as one bows the knee to Christ, one is born by the Spirit,and one is united to Christ. We are called to continually adopt that cross-like posture of wanting to be informed and instructed by our savior.