Euphoria and Grief

After He had said these things, He was going on ahead, going up to Jerusalem.
When He approached Bethphage and Bethany, near the mount that is called Olivet, He sent two of the disciples, saying, “Go into the village ahead of you; there, as you enter, you will find a colt tied on which no one yet has ever sat; untie it and bring it here. If anyone asks you, ‘Why are you untying it?’ you shall say, ‘The Lord has need of it.’” So those who were sent went away and found it just as He had told them. As they were untying the colt, its owners said to them, “Why are you untying the colt?” They said, “The Lord has need of it.” They brought it to Jesus, and they threw their coats on the colt and put Jesus on it. As He was going, they were spreading their coats on the road. As soon as He was approaching, near the descent of the Mount of Olives, the whole crowd of the disciples began to praise God joyfully with a loud voice for all the miracles which they had seen, shouting:
“BLESSED IS THE KING WHO COMES IN THE NAME OF THE LORD; Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!”
Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Him, “Teacher, rebuke Your disciples.” But Jesus answered, “I tell you, if these become silent, the stones will cry out!”
When He approached Jerusalem, He saw the city and wept over it, saying, “If you had known in this day, even you, the things which make for peace! But now they have been hidden from your eyes. For the days will come upon you when your enemies will throw up a barricade against you, and surround you and hem you in on every side, and they will level you to the ground and your children within you, and they will not leave in you one stone upon another, because you did not recognize the time of your visitation.” Luke 19:28-44


"These things:" the lecture regarding spiritual investment and rewards in vss. 11-27.

The time had arrived for Jesus to make His entry into Jerusalem. He sent two disciples ahead to commandeer an unridden colt, with instructions on how to answer those who would question this. So the grand entrance began, with the whole crowd cheering and spreading their garments for the colt to walk on, bearing their Lord. They sang as He entered, the Psalm of pilgrimage: 118:26 "Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord; Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!" What a glorious scene it must have been. Emotions and expectations were high that day.

Zechariah 9:9 Rejoice greatly, Daughter Zion! Shout, Daughter Jerusalem! See, your king comes to you, righteous and victorious, lowly and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.

Some of the Pharisees, alarmed at the frenzied adoration, advised Jesus to quiet the crowd. That wouldn't happen. This was the moment for adoration of the King. If the disciples were silenced, the very stones would have cried out the blessings. The King of Israel was arriving at His date with destiny. He'd been preparing His disciples for this event for over three years. They were not prepared, however, because of their own weakness, but they knew this was big. He allowed the crowd their euphoria, knowing it would soon turn to wholesale rejection as He faced the wrath of religion.

He, Himself was grieved as He approached the city, because He knew how clueless they were and how severely they would be disciplined in the coming days and years because the people as a whole were rejecting their King. He wept over it. (Greek: klaio. To sob, wail aloud. Intense grief.) Indeed, there was coming a terrible judgment on Jerusalem in their near future, after their arrogance had so thoroughly blinded them to the visitation of their eternal King. Knowing this, He came anyway, to fulfill the prophecies and to pay the penalty for all their sins. They were not condemned because of their sins. He would pay in full for their sins. They were condemned because they rejected Him, their only hope.