The King of Peace

Luke 19:28-48

Main Idea: God offers true and lasting peace when we praise, seek, and listen.

1. Peace Is a Person (19:28-40).
   1. Jerusalem, the City of Peace (19:28)
   2. Riding on a colt (19:29-35)
   3. Praise for peace (19:36-40)
2. Peace Is Elusive (19:41-44).
   1. Not knowing what makes for peace (19:42)
   2. Not knowing that God is with us (19:43-44)
3. Peace Requires Maintenance (19:45-48).
   1. We maintain peace by speaking to God (19:45-46).
   2. We maintain peace by listening to God (19:47-48).

Few things are more fragile than peace. You can break windows with a stone, but you can break peace with as little as a look or a word.

Entire nations have not known peace for generations. We think of Israel’s conflict with the Palestinians, the long civil war in Sudan, and the “troubles” in Ireland.

Local communities sometimes long for peace. The great city of Chicago sees so much violence on its south side some now call it “Chiraq.” The streets where I live in Washington, D.C., lack peace.

A lack of peace affects families and individuals, too. Marriages fill with strife. Parents and children argue. We may lack peace within ourselves. We may be unsettled, uncertain, conflicted. One moment we are angry. The next we are sad. Then all of a sudden we are happy—without ever knowing exactly why we feel any of those things.

We simply know we need peace. Indeed, we need peace with men and we need peace within.

Do you have peace? Where did you get it? Do you know where to find peace or how to keep it? Do you know what makes for peace? Would you recognize peace if it were offered to you? Would you know what to do with it if you had it?

Our text lies between two great conversation partners—the Old Testament prophet Zechariah and the New Testament apostle Paul. This text, with its simple action, fulfills profound prophecy and can only be explained in light of the finished work of the Lord Jesus Christ. As we examine Luke 19:28-48, from time to time we want to bring Zechariah in to speak with us. And from time to time we want to bring the apostle Paul in to share an insight so that we might understand this text as fully as possible.

Luke 19:28-48 holds out to us a rare thing: a true and lasting peace. The world cannot give us the peace of Luke 19, and the world cannot take it away. Do we want this kind of peace?

Peace Is a Person

Luke 19:28-40

Since Luke 9:44, the Lord had been predicting his death. “When the days were coming to a close for him to be taken up, he determined to journey to Jerusalem” (9:51). From that point the entire Gospel builds to Luke 19:28. Now, finally, the Lord arrives at the holy city. In Jerusalem Luke reveals that Jesus is the King of peace. Luke makes the revelation in three ways.

Jerusalem, the City of Peace (19:28)

First, we get a hint at the theme of peace in the city name, “Jerusalem.” Sometimes cities have nicknames for themselves. Philadelphia is the “City of Brotherly Love”—which you cannot tell from its sports fans! Pittsburgh boasts that it is “Steel City.” Detroit is known as “Motor City.” Kristie and I lived for years in Raleigh, North Carolina—the “City of Oaks.” The name “Jerusalem” literally means “Foundation of Peace.”

Riding on a Colt (19:29-35)

The Lord’s kingship of peace is alluded to in a second way. In verses 29-35 the Lord instructs his disciples to enter a nearby village. They will find a never-ridden colt there. He tells them to untie the colt and bring it to him. If anybody asks, “Why are you untying it,” they are to answer, “The Lord needs it” (vv. 33-34).

Zechariah helps us understand the business with the colt that had never been ridden.

Rejoice greatly, Daughter Zion!

Shout in triumph, Daughter Jerusalem!

Look, your King is coming to you;

he is righteous and victorious,

humble and riding on a donkey,

on a colt, the foal of a donkey. (Zech 9:9)

Zechariah predicted that the true king of Israel would come to Jerusalem on a young, unused colt. When kings came to cities in times of war, they came on mighty warhorses, terrible steeds. But when kings came on a donkey, it meant they were coming in peace.

Perhaps this is why the people simply allow the disciples to take the donkey. It’s a peculiar scene. The disciples find the colt just as Jesus prophesied. As far as we know, the disciples are strangers to the colt’s owner. Can you hear the owners speak up, “Uh . . . what are you doing, bruh? You just gon’ take m’ donkey?” Then the disciples say, “The Lord needs it.” And the owners are like, “Oh, OK, then. Go ahead.” Where does that happen? Perhaps the owners of the colt were expecting the Lord, just as Zechariah prophesied.

Praise for Peace (19:36-40)

If Zechariah’s prophecy and Jesus’s riding on a donkey were too subtle, notice what the crowds say. A praise parade breaks out in verse 37. The crowds seem also to fulfill Zechariah’s prophecy as they “Rejoice greatly, Daughter Zion.” They proclaim “Hosanna!” (Matt 21:9) and lay their cloaks before the Lord. Having witnessed Jesus do great things amplified the praise of the crowds. They discern that the Lord’s coming has something to do with peace. “Peace in heaven and glory in the highest heaven,” they proclaim (v. 38). Their words in verse 38 hark back to Luke 2:14, where our Savior’s birth took place. The angels cried, “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and peace on earth to people he favors!”

Wherever Jesus goes, he brings peace. When he was born and came to earth, the angels cried, “Peace on earth.” When the Lord was about to be crucified and ascend to God, then men cried out, “Peace in heaven.” Here is the King of peace entering the city of peace on a beast of peace.

Application

Do you know where to find peace with God? We find it with God’s Son, Jesus Christ. “He himself is our peace” (Eph 2:14 ESV). We will not have peace with God, peace with men, or peace within until Jesus Christ becomes our peace.

What is this peace? It is wholeness or wellness. It is a kind of integrity that puts the soul at rest. Everything has a place and is in its place. No matter what happens in the rest of the world, there’s a stillness, a quiet and confident certitude that you’re going to be alright.

When Christ comes to us, he comes to give us this peace. Sinners though we are, rebels though we have been, though far from the will of God we have strayed, he comes to bring us back to God that we might have peace with God. He not only brings us peace with God but reconciles us with one another. So the New Testament church becomes a community of peace where people are stilled, quieted, and calmed. Christ has joined each of us to himself, and in joining us to himself has joined us to each other in peace.

Whoever knows Jesus and has seen his mighty works cannot help but praise him. The Pharisees want Jesus to rebuke his disciples because of this praise (v. 39). They think the crowd has gone too far. They don’t like to see Jesus praised as king. They don’t like this talk of glory where Jesus is concerned. They want this ended.

Our Lord’s response is famous in every expressive church and among those who love to praise God. God will be praised by his creation, even if inanimate rocks must give voice to his greatness (v. 40). The rocks will cry out. The trees will clap (Isa 55:12). The mountains will skip and sing (Ps 114:4,6; Isa 55:12). The sky will proclaim his handiwork (Ps 19:1). Everything that has breath will praise the Lord (Ps 150:6).

Do not let anyone stop you from praising Jesus, including outwardly religious folks. Do not be afraid to express yourself when you praise him. He is worthy! If Christ brings you peace, then bring him praise!

Peace Is Elusive

Luke 19:41-44

The Lord finally catches sight of Jerusalem itself (v. 41). The Prince of Peace also weeps. You can have peace in yourself and weep over your city. Jesus does. Perhaps there’s something wrong with someone who claims to have the peace of Christ but never seems to have the tears of Christ. That may not be peace but indifference and hard-heartedness.

Our Lord looks on the city he loves and his heart melts. Perhaps you have not thought about this at any length, but God cries. Here the Son of God with all power and glory looks on the city of sinful man. Thunder does not rumble, and lightning does not flash in divine curses. The earth does not quake in destruction. Instead, rivulets of tears flow down the Savior’s face. He weeps for the city, for entire cities and entire communities and entire nations. He weeps because what he has come to bring has somehow escaped them. It eluded them.

Not Knowing What Makes for Peace (19:42)

Peace is elusive. First, peace eludes people when they don’t know what makes for peace (v. 42). The Lord wishes Jerusalem knew the key to peace. He wishes Jerusalem knew what would settle their hearts and minds. He wishes they knew what would heal their relationships, what would give them a settled confidence before God.

Even today cities are full of people who do not know what things produce shalom, peace. People try all kinds of things. We pass people along the way who are medicating themselves with drugs and alcohol. We see people trying to calm their raging hearts with sex and relationships, money and power. There are those seeking peace with God in false religions and cults. If you ask them why, they tell you that they are looking for peace.

Peace substitutes will not fulfill or last. But Jesus has come to give us this peace. In some ways Jesus’s mission may be summed up in that one idea (1:76-79). When someone comes to guide you to Christ and into the knowledge of his salvation, forgiveness of sin, and the righteousness of God, they come guiding you into peace.

Not Knowing That God Is with Us (19:43-44)

Jerusalem will one day be surrounded and besieged by enemies. Those enemies will reduce the city to rubble and tear families apart because they did not know the day or recognize the moment of the visitation, when God came to them.

Peace is a difficult thing to find if you do not know that God is present with you. All that Jesus prophesies in verse 43 comes to pass. In AD 70 the Romans occupied and destroyed Jerusalem along with the temple. No stone was left on another. What had been known of that great city was obliterated. Our Lord effectively says, “It would have been different for you if you had known I had come to visit you.”

Have you ever thought about how many of our problems come from a failure to recognize God’s presence with us? That was true in Jerusalem, and it is true today as well.

Yet Christ has fulfilled God’s law by sacrificing himself on the cross. His act of self-giving made peace—peace between men, peace within, and peace with God. When Christ died on the cross for our sins he ended the strife so characteristic of a fallen world. So whether we are Jews or Gentiles, by the preaching of Jesus Christ crucified, buried, and resurrected, we have peace. By faith in the Son of God we receive reconciliation with God. We stop trying to earn God’s approval by our good works. We stop trying to please men. Instead, we begin to live to please God who accepts us in his Son.

We worry no more about God’s acceptance because Christ has become our righteousness (1 Cor 1:30). We worry no more about God’s justice because Christ has been condemned for us. He was punished in our place. All the anger of God toward the sin of men is satisfied in the Son of god. There is peace with God—a quiet mind and confident assurance that in believing and following Jesus we are reconciled to our Father in heaven and to our brethren on earth.

Do not let little church squabbles fool you, beloved. Oh, we may have our periods of disagreement. Some of those may be sharp. We may think differently on things. But such struggles should never rob us of peace as the people of God. For our peace remains in Christ who has reconciled us to himself, to each other, and to the Father. Nothing in this world can destroy that peace.

Peace Requires Maintenance

Luke 19:45-48

Not only is peace elusive; it also requires we maintain it once we have it. Keeping peace differs very little from grass that needs to be mowed, exercise that needs to be monitored, or a relationship that needs repeated investment. In fact, since peace is most fundamentally a relationship with Christ, we should not be surprised if, like all relationships, we must give peace with Christ constant attention.

We Maintain Peace by Speaking to God (19:45-46)

First, once Jesus enters Jerusalem, he purges the temple and restores prayer. Sinful men have always made religion big business. People have always attempted to make money off of their gods. Such people are not true worshipers or teachers. These are the false teachers who worship mammon.

In Jesus’s day the moneychangers set up shop right in the temple. They sold the animals and things people needed to make offerings to God. They did so for a profit rather than for genuine religious motive. The temple became a den of robbers.

Sometimes maintaining peace requires confrontation. So the Lord Jesus made a whip and drove them out. To say Jesus is the King of peace does not mean he is soft. The Lord can be angered just as he can weep—especially when predators corrupt his worship.

We are God’s temple (1 Cor 3:16; 6:19). We are also his priesthood. So we ought to be a people of prayer. We can never pray enough if we want to maintain the peace of God. God will “keep the mind that is dependent on [him] in perfect peace” (Isa 26:3). So do you pray as you should? What robs you of prayer and peace? Is there anything you should drive out? If so, do it before Christ makes a whip and cleanses you, his temple.

We Maintain Peace by Listening to God (19:47-48)

Once the Lord cleansed the temple, he went back to teaching the people. Jesus loves to teach. “Every day he was teaching in the temple” (v. 47). How important must the Lord’s teaching be if near the end of his life he did it every day?

“The chief priests, the scribes, and the leaders of the people were looking for a way to kill him.” However, “They could not find a way to do it” (v. 48). Why could they do nothing? “All the people were captivated by what they heard.” There were too many people peacefully listening to Jesus’s words, so conflict could not advance. They hung on his words. All around them conflict and violent rage surged, but they sat listening to Jesus. They were content. They were filled with peace. The remedy to blindness, ignorance, and disquieting anger is listening to God’s word.

What will we do with seasons of peace when the Lord gives them to us? We should be captivated by Jesus’s every word.

God’s people don’t always have this peace and quiet. In a few days the calm of this scene will be shattered by the crucifixion. The peace that comes before the storm suggests we may better survive suffering and disappointment by using seasons of peace to store up our Lord’s word. Later, the disciples remembered what the Lord taught while he was with them. By remembering his teaching they regained and maintained peace. By remembering the teaching they had received in seasons of peace, they were able to correctly interpret and understand the horror that befell them on Calvary.

How about us? How are we doing at being captivated by the Lord’s words? Are we more focused on the chaos around us or on Christ’s word?

Conclusion

Praise God for his peace. Seek God for his peace. Listen to God for his peace. Praise, seek, and listen, and peace will be yours. The world cannot give and cannot take away the peace the Savior gives (John 14:27; 16:33).

Reflect and Discuss

1. Where do you think most people search for peace?
2. Why do you think some people easily believe peace apart from God is possible while peace through a relationship with God seems unreal?
3. What has God done to provide mankind peace?
4. Would you say you are in a season of peace or of turmoil? How might getting to know Jesus better increase your peace?
5. The Lord promises that the world cannot take away the peace he gives (John 14:27; 16:33), but we see Christians who lack peace and face trouble. How do we reconcile those two things?
6. What are you doing to maintain peace with God? How can you help others find greater peace in Christ?