Luke 19:37-42
Luke 19:37 (KJB)
And when he was come nigh, even now at the descent of the mount of Olives, the
whole multitude of the disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud
voice for all the mighty works that they had seen;
As the multitude had approached the descent into the city and now had a good
view of the Kidron Valley and Jerusalem, the people had now burst out into
praise to God. These people were the ones who came done from Galilee, Capernaum,
and regions north where the Lord ministered for over a year and performed many
miracles. No doubt, many that Jesus healed had now come down to celebrate the
Passover. They were probably praising God because many of the miracles Jesus did
were on the way from Galilee to Jerusalem and it would be fresh in their minds.
Luke 19:38 (KJB)
Saying, Blessed be the King that cometh in the name of the Lord: peace in
heaven, and glory in the highest.
(Psa 118:26 KJV) Blessed be he that cometh in the name of the LORD: we have
blessed you out of the house of the LORD. Their praise and adoration would
have included the singing of the psalms but here they focus on a messianic part
of psalm 118 recognizing the fact that Jesus is the promised Messiah. Many of
the people wanted to make Jesus their desired King who would throw off the yoke
of Rome. Even up to this point, the people did not understand the type of
Kingdom Jesus was bringing in. It was not going to be a physical Kingdom, as He
told them previously that the Kingdom does not come with observation.
Luke 19:39 (KJB)
And some of the Pharisees from among the multitude said unto him, Master, rebuke
thy disciples.
Right in the midst of the people praising God, the Pharisees once again attack
Jesus by telling Him to rebuke His disciples. They were probably angry that they
were proclaiming Jesus as the promised Messiah. One of the normal functions of
the teacher/disciple relationship was that the teacher had the authority to
control their disciples but here we have a different situation. Never before did
the Messiah come into Jerusalem in fulfillment of prophecy. This was not an
ordinary teaching session but a joyous occasion. The Pharisees were probably
fearful that the Romans would think it was a riot and send soldiers to quash it.
Probably the overall reason they wanted Jesus to control His disciples was
jealousy. In comparison to Jesus, they were just religious parrots teaching the
same thing constantly with the focus on building their wealth and social
position.
Luke 19:40 (KJB)
And he answered and said unto them, I tell you that, if these should hold their
peace, the stones would immediately cry out.
Then Jesus tells the Pharisees plainly that if His disciples would be quiet,
then there would be so much joy that the stones would start crying out. (Hab
2:11 KJV) For the stone shall cry out of the wall, and the beam out of the
timber shall answer it. It is a close quote to what is found in Habakkuk
2:11. John the Baptist had also told the crowds which assembled at the site
where he was baptizing. (Luke 3:8 KJV) Bring forth therefore fruits worthy
of repentance, and begin not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our
father: for I say unto you, That God is able of these stones to raise up
children unto Abraham. The Pharisees kept insisting they were children of
Abraham and that Abraham was their father. God could make stones to praise the
Lord. Keep in mind that Adam was made from the earth and if there was no one to
praise the Lord, then God could easily create people from the earth to bring
forth praises.
Luke 19:41 (KJB)
And when he was come near, he beheld the city, and wept over it,
Jesus had finally descended enough where He could now see the city and the
temple area. He knew that the daily rituals of prayer and sacrifices would
already be under way, especially because of the feast of Passover. He saw it as
a representation of God’s people and He knew that it was a foreshadow of
Himself. He knew that He was going to be rejected and killed and the whole
situation of Him being rejected by the very people He come to had saddened Him
deeply. (John 1:11 KJV) He came unto his own, and his own received him not.
He was their Messiah and they did not recognize Him, even though there were
ample descriptions in the Hebrew Scriptures. He also knew that there were still
prayers being made seeking the coming Messiah and He was standing right there.
He knew that He would be the culmination of all sacrifices performed in the
Tabernacle and Temple for the past 1500 years.
Luke 19:42 (KJB)
Saying, If thou hadst known, even thou, at least in this thy day, the things
which belong unto thy peace! but now they are hid from thine eyes.
Jesus now says that if only they had known or realized what they have done over
the course of hundreds of years in rejecting the messages and messengers of God,
maybe there still might be a ray of repentance in them, even in this, their last
day, before they commit the ultimate sin by having their own Messiah put to
death on a Gentile cross. If they would have received all the prophets, then
they would have had peace in their land and would not come under judgment by
God. If they would have received their Messiah, then they would not face the end
of their country in 37 years. Their consistent rebellion has now caused God to
intentionally blind them to the reality of their sin and they will go through
with the killing of their Messiah and face the final consequences of their
actions.