Luke 19 Study Notes

19:28 Over the course of the seventeen miles from Jericho (see note at vv. 1-2) to Jerusalem, the elevation rises about 3,300 feet. Thus to travel that road was going up at the average rate of almost 200 feet per mile.

19:29 Bethphage and Bethany were small villages near the road from Jericho to Jerusalem. Bethany, the hometown of Lazarus, Mary, and Martha (Jn 11:1) was only two miles east of Jerusalem, just over the Mount of Olives, a ridge across the Kidron Valley from the temple in Jerusalem. The two . . . disciples are not named in any of the Gospels.

19:30-34 Religious or political leaders in that time often borrowed property (a young donkey) for a short time, as here. Matthew 21:7 says that the mother donkey was also commandeered. This action fulfilled the prophecy of Zch 9:9: “Daughter Jerusalem . . . your King is coming to you . . . humble and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.”

19:35-36 The clothes (outer garments) were cast down by the two disciples and by the crowd. Spreading their clothes on the road was a way to honor special dignitaries, as was done for Jehu when he was acclaimed king of Israel (2Kg 9:13).

19:37-38 As Jesus passed over the Mount of Olives (see note at v. 29) and began his descent into Jerusalem, the crowd of disciples praised God for all the miracles they had seen. The Gospel of John reports that the miracle of raising Lazarus from the dead had recently occurred in Bethany, near the beginning point of the triumphal entry (Jn 11:1-44). The crowd was shouting Ps 118:26, which is messianic. In addition, they added the word King to their recitation of the OT Scripture, showing that they believed Jesus was the Messiah.

The word kurios is the twenty-second most common word in the Greek NT and the third most common noun (after the words for “God” and “Jesus”). Kurios can mean lord, master (both with reference to either deity or humans), and even sir (see Jn 4:11; 5:7). In the Greek OT, however, kurios was used to translate two significant Hebrew words: Yahweh (over 6,000x), the personal name for God (normally translated Lord or God); and adonai (over 700x; over 300x in reference to God), a title of respect and honor (normally translated Lord/lord or Master/master). Thus two important ideas from the OT carry over into the NT’s use of kurios: deity and lordship. Yahweh is God and demands absolute loyalty to himself as Master. The NT teaches that Jesus, God’s Son, demands loyalty to himself as absolute Lord. His deity is the basis of his lordship.

19:39-40 The Pharisees asked Jesus to rebuke his disciples because they understood that the repetition of Ps 118:26 was a confession that Jesus was both Messiah and rightful king of Israel. Jesus replied that, even if his disciples were to keep silent, God would make the truth known some other way (the stones would cry out), even if it took a miracle.

19:41-44 Jesus wept before Lazarus’s tomb (Jn 11:35), and here he wept at the thought of his rejection by the city of Jerusalem. True, lasting peace with God comes through faith in Jesus Christ (Rm 5:1). The Jews enjoyed a temporal though imperfect peace under Roman rule, but such a peace cannot be secured forever, as the destructive events of AD 70 proved. Due to their unbelief, many Jews did not open their eyes to see Christ as Messiah (2Co 4:4) or recognize his coming as the time (Gk kairos, “opportune time”) of God’s visitation and offer of salvation.

19:45-46 The court of the Gentiles in the temple was where sacrificial animals were sold for outrageously high prices. According to Is 56:7, the temple (my house) was to be a house of prayer. The other quote (a den of thieves) is from Jr 7:11, which reflects a time when the corruption of the nation and its religious system was about to be judged by God in the Babylonian captivity. Now, as Jesus beheld the corruption of the temple and the opposition arrayed against him, the nation faced an even greater season of judgment.

19:47-48 The religious leaders of Israel were increasingly desperate to get rid of Jesus, but they were hesitant to act because Jesus had gained considerable popularity among the masses.