The Gospel According To LukeSample

Triumphal Entry: Luke 19:28-21:38

Luke's report of Jesus’ ministry in Jerusalem begins in Luke 19:28-44, with Jesus entering Jerusalem while the crowds welcomed him with shouts and praises. 

Following his entry into the city, Jesus’ first act was to cleanse the temple by driving out the merchants. This event appears in Luke 19:45-46. This cleansing condemned the sinful practices that had corrupted Jewish worship and life, and thereby greatly insulted the Jewish leadership.

As we read in Luke 19:47–21:38, Jesus spent the next several days teaching in the temple courts, speaking about the kingdom of God. During this time, his conflict with the Jewish leaders intensified, as he continued to condemn their practices and as they continued to challenge his authority. Consider what the teachers of the law and the chief priests did in Luke 20:20:

They sent spies, who pretended to be honest. They hoped to catch Jesus in something he said so that they might hand him over to the power and authority of the governor.

But Jesus didn’t stop preaching the truth just because evil men were trying to trap him. Instead, he openly rebuked them. As he told the crowds in Luke 20:46-47:

Beware of the teachers of the law. They like to walk around in flowing robes and love to be greeted in the marketplaces and have the most important seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at banquets. They devour widow’s houses and for a show make lengthy prayers. Such men will be punished most severely.

As Jesus neared Jerusalem, Israel’s refusal to accept him as their saving Messiah led him to prophesy the city’s destruction. But even this catastrophe would be only a foretaste of greater judgment. On the last day, when Jesus returns in glory, everyone will give an account before him. And for this reason, Jesus calls his disciples in every age to obey him diligently, and to watch carefully for his return.