The Gospel of Luke, An Exposition

phal Entry.

d found even as he had said unto them. 33 And as they were loosing the colt, the owners thereof said unto them, Why loose ye the colt? 34 And they said, The Lord hath need of him. 35 And they brought him to Jesus: and they threw their garments upon the colt, and set Jesus thereon. 36 And as he went, they spread their garments in the way. 37 And as he was now drawing nigh, even at the descent of the mount of Olives, the whole m

d from thine eyes. 43 For the days shall come upon thee, when thine enemies shall cast up a bank about thee, and compass thee round, and keep thee in on every side, 44 an

that sold, 46 saying unto them, It is written, And my house sh

s and the principal men of the people [pg 177] sought to destroy him: 48 and the

by acclaiming multitudes, sweeping over the brow of Olivet, while his attendant disciples spread their garments in the way and hail him as the Messiah. We see him lamenting over the doomed city and hear the harsh tones of the rulers w

ations of the crowd. When the Pharisees criticized Jesus for permitting such praise and arousing such excitement, he declared that such homage to himself was not only proper but necessary, and that if the multitudes were silenced the very stones would "cry out" to welcome and to honor him. Jesus was offering himself as King for the last time, and therefore his offer was to be made in the most impressive way. He appealed to the imagination. He st

o encounter; he saw his rejection and death and the consequent destruction of Jerusalem and he pronounced his pathetic lament, "If thou hadst known in this day, even thou, the things which belong unto peace!" He predicted the ghastly horrors of the coming siege and the deso

ter of the scene, on one hand the rulers plotting against his life, and on his other the multitudes hanging admiringly upon his words. Only too soon the rulers were to p

later years and as their trust in Christ strengthened, they looked back with ever deeper emotions upon the experiences of t

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ho is he that gave thee this authority? 3 And he answered and said unto them I also will ask you a question; and tell me: 4 The baptism of John, [pg 179] was it from heaven, or from men? 5 And they reasoned with themselves, saying, if we shall say, From heaven; he will say, W

ourt, the sanhedrin, to entrap Jesus in his talk or to bring him into conflict with the Jewish or Roman rulers. They challenged him to state by what authority he was receiving such honors as the Messiah, or driving the traders from the Temple, or performing his miracles. Their question was framed with subtle skill, "By what authority doest thou these things? o

y could not say "from heaven," for they had rejected John; they dared not say "from men," for they feared the people by whom John was regarded a

ohn was divine [pg 180] and that his own authority was the same; but as they were afraid to deny the divine authority of John they were also powerless to deny that of Jesus; and further he implied that if t

on at issue was not authority but obedience. The enemies of Jesus pretended that they wanted to know more of his credentials; they really wanted to discredit and entrap him. The modern enemies of our Lord declare that they want more proofs, more evidence

tion. They, therefore, were disqualified to pass an opinion on the exactly parallel case of the authority of Jesus. Jesus had defeated them with their own weapon. No wonder that subsequently, when on trial before such judges, he refused to answer them a word. He had shown their incompetence, their insincerity, their unbel

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