NOTES for Luk 19:28-48

Entering Jerusalem, Jesus weeps over its fate. He clearly foresees the city's sad destiny: in A.D. 70, after the anti-Roman revolt raised by the Zealots and the war that followed, Jerusalem will be razed to the ground by the Roman army sent to suppress the revolt. In the Middle Ages, and partly also in modern times, an opinion was widespread and popular among Christians that this catastrophe became a punishment for the Jewish people's rejection of the Messiah sent to them. Yet Jesus Himself looks at the situation differently. For Him this is above all a tragedy, a national catastrophe. He does not look at it as just retribution. For Him it is rather a rejected and therefore missed opportunity.

In the lives both of individuals and of whole peoples, there are crossroads at which the direction of further spiritual movement is determined and set for years ahead, if we are speaking about a person, or for centuries ahead, if we are speaking about a people. There is nothing predetermined here, no program written in advance, no fate or doom. On the contrary, such a crossroads is always a moment of highest freedom. A moment of that choice when the person himself or the people themselves choose and determine what later may look to them like doom or fate. The day of the Savior's entry into Jerusalem became such a moment for the Jewish people.

Of course, one can say that the enthusiasm with which the crowd met Him in the streets of Jerusalem was not worth much: the enthusiasm of crowds never lasts long. But the people did have the possibility of a choice, a serious choice determining further history for centuries ahead, and Jesus understands this perfectly. He also understands something else: like all such choices, this one essentially comes down to whether to follow God or one's own opinions, traditions, and habits. And the second option is always catastrophic. The only question is how soon this catastrophe will come. That it will come is beyond doubt: missed opportunities always exact a price, and the greater the opportunity, the more terrible the catastrophe will be if that opportunity is missed.

That is why Jesus weeps over Jerusalem. He understands as no one else does what has been given and what has been missed. And He also understands what the consequences will be.

The evangelist combines in one account Jesus' triumphal entry into the holy city, when praise and joy cannot be restrained by any force, so that even the stones are ready to sing glory to the coming King, and Jesus' sorrowful weeping over Jerusalem. The city of promise here becomes a collective image of all who wait for Christ, who cannot live without Him, but who do not recognize Him and cannot believe that their hope is being fulfilled in Jesus of Nazareth. Before our eyes there is both triumph and catastrophe, because the city, the people, and individual persons are given the long-awaited opportunity to see, recognize, and meet their dream, but they "do not know the time of visitation."

Deep down, we would probably like this time to be clear, obvious to everyone, or at least for it to be optional, not for everyone. But such a time does happen, and what is most terrible is that it can be missed: one can fail to recognize God when He passes nearby...

The Mount of Olives is the beginning of Christ's glorification. It is His Entry into Jerusalem, the entry of the King. And He returns to the same mountain after He has eaten the Passover with the disciples. And again from the Mount of Olives begins Christ's glorification, now as Savior of the World.

And at the Passover meal Christ explains to the apostles what He Himself had been doing and what is being accomplished. He is the One who serves, and beside Him were people whose hearts had already changed. People to whom He promises a meal in the Kingdom of Heaven. And to whom, as witnesses of His deeds, He bequeaths the Communion of His Body and Blood. Communion in His death and imminent Resurrection. Communion in the glory of Christ, through which all Christians have been strengthened and saved from those days onward.

Why do the Pharisees ask Jesus to make His disciples be silent when they were glorifying Him as the Messiah? Was it only out of fear of possible political consequences? Of course, they could have feared excesses, or even outright revolt, although in a certain sense the time for that had already been missed. Still, anything at all could be expected from the Jerusalem crowd, and the Romans, who tolerated no disturbances in the city, were always ready to intervene, and their intervention always ended in bloodshed. But the matter was not only these fears. The matter was also that, in the eyes of the Pharisees, Jesus was the "wrong" Messiah, one completely inconsistent with their ideas and concepts. They were, of course, waiting for the Messiah, but not for one like this. And this one did everything differently from what they expected. At first He refused to provide them with the proofs of His messiahship that they expected; then He avoided the opportunity to head a mass popular movement, though such an opportunity presented itself to Him several times. But now He, it seems, speaks directly about His messiahship, yet again not in the way a "real" Messiah should have done it. After all, a real Messiah cannot ride into the city mounted on a donkey, can he?! This is no longer even a parable; it is a real profanation of the triumphant entry into the city of the Messiah-victor, the Messiah who drives out the Romans, the Messiah who establishes His Kingdom, the Messiah who will rule with a strong hand in the name of God... And suddenly, instead of the expected triumph, there is some half-solemn, half-buffoonish procession, recalling the entrance into the city of a "king" chosen from slaves during the Roman Saturnalia... There was reason to be confused. It is no wonder that the Pharisees, as deeply religious people, began asking Jesus to stop what seemed to them an inappropriate and unworthy comedy. And Jesus answered them that everything was serious. So serious that it was even hard for them to imagine it. Only the events would unfold differently from what they expected.

The day has come of which the prophets of Israel spoke with fear: God has visited His people. From deepest antiquity people waited for this coming of God and placed all their hopes on it. Not only Israel, but many other peoples at the beginning of the first century of our era expected the appearance of someone who would bring them peace and open the way to life. To some degree even we, after two thousand years, have inherited this expectation and hope for God's visitation. The prophets proclaimed that the sun would be darkened on that day and all creation would change, sin would cease, and people would be redeemed from death. "Oh, that You would tear the heavens and come down!" exclaimed the author of the second part of the book of Isaiah. "The voice of my beloved! Behold, he comes, leaping over the mountains, bounding over the hills", as the Song of Songs presents this day as a happy meeting of lovers.

And now He comes. A multitude of disciples, perhaps several hundred people, praise the great works of God and bless His coming. But right there, among the distrustful crowd, there are those who consider it necessary only to reproach Him for immodesty: "Forbid Your disciples to praise God and You!". And almost no one thinks about what He called for many times through the prophets: "Amend your evil ways, so that you do not perish on that day." Only His Most Pure Mother and close disciples are given to feel His sorrow. He comes, and even on this day we do not know that to meet Him we must stop doing evil and learn to do good. How should we meet Him, and by what can we deserve His favor? What should we do so that He will bless us and help us? "Seek good, and not evil, that you may live," He said through His messengers. But we think that we must perform certain rites and arrange splendid celebrations. As if this would serve for our peace and give us peace in this meeting with Jesus.

If He does not enter Jerusalem today, we will not be able to become partakers of His Body and Blood. If He does not give Himself up for us, we will remain prisoners of death. But His chosen ones do not recognize the time of visitation; they do not recognize that the expected and foretold day has come. And therefore Jesus weeps. Recently the Lord spoke in one of the passages about what His disciples should rejoice in. Today we understand what we need to fear: failing to recognize the time of visitation.

When we read that our task is to imitate Christ in everything, we mostly take these words as a convention. This Gospel text can be read from that point of view. In such a situation a person either waves his hand in resignation and says, "That is how it turned out," or reaches open gloating: "There, we told you that you could not do this, that you had to do it this way; now suffer and be tormented."

But Jesus, "looking at it, wept over it." He is powerless to impose Himself; everyone is free to receive Him or not receive Him. But the result of refusing life with Christ is so terrible that God weeps when He thinks about it. This is not despair from powerlessness, but grief over the choice a free person makes. And this even though Jesus knows that such refusal will lead Him Himself to the cross in a few days. Yet He does not weep over that; He weeps over what the people chosen by God are casting themselves into.

Here is the utterly clear portrait of God: He created the human being free; He will die a terrible death because the human being chose to kill Him; knowing this, He weeps over how terrible the life of the person who made this choice will be. This is what He calls us to imitate.

Here is the day which the prophet Isaiah spoke about with fear: God visited His people. People waited for this God's arrival since the high antiquity, they had put all their hope in Him. Not only Israel, but several other peoples at the beginning of the 1st century AD waited for the appearance of somebody, who would bring them peace and would open them the road of life. Even we in some degree inherited after two millenniums this expectation and hope of God's visit. The prophets announced that the sun will be darkened in this day and all creatures will be transformed, there will not be sins anymore and people will be redeemed from death. “Oh that thou wouldest rend the heavens, that thou wouldest come down!” – the author of the second part of the book of Isaiah exclaim himself.“The voice of my beloved! Behold, he cometh leaping upon the mountains, skipping upon the hills” – as a happy meeting of lovers, the book of Solomon presents this day.

And here He comes. A multitude of the followers - may be some hundreds of men - praise God's mighty works and bless His coming. But at the same place, among a mistrustful crowd, are found those who consider necessary to merely reproach Him of indiscretion: "rebuke Your followers from praising God and You!" And almost nobody thinks about what He exhorted several times through the prophets to do: "return from your evil ways, in order not to die in this day ". Only His most blessed Mother and close followers were given the possibility to feel His tribulations. He comes, but we don't know that in this day, it is necessary for us to stop doing evil and learn to do good, in order to meet with Him. How to meet with Him, how to deserve His grace? What should we do so that He blesses and helps us? "Seek good, and not evil, that ye may live" he said through His prophet Amos (Amos 5:14). But we think that it is necessary to carry out certain cults and to make luxurious festivities; as if they could serve us as peace, or give us peace in this meeting with the Lord Jesus.

If He does not enter in Jerusalem today, we wouldn't be partakers of His Body and Blood. If He doesn't give away His life for us, we shall remain in bonds of death. But His elected ones don't recognize the time of the visit, they don't know that the predicted day long-awaited has arrived. And that's why Jesus cries. The Lord spoke once of what His followers should be delighted. We understand today what we have to be afraid of: not knowing the time of the visit.

Each of the evangelists, in keeping with the logic and particular features of his narrative, gives us an account of the cleansing of the Temple. The point is that for the Jews who saw the Lord Jesus driving the sellers out of the Temple, this was a sign that He truly was the Savior of the world, the Christ. The prophet Haggai says of this Second Temple that its glory would be greater than the glory of Solomon's Temple, because the Deliverer would come into it. And now Christ drives out of the Temple the bustle unworthy of the holy place and then, as the evangelist Luke writes, He teaches every day in the Temple. Day after day, again and again, Christ proclaims the Father's love and calls people to repentance.

It is important for us to notice how the evangelist Luke speaks about His listeners. The Synodal translation offers the words: "...all the people listened to Him intently"; in the Greek original, however, the evangelist uses a very vivid word: "...all the people hung upon Him, listening." This kind of persistence, when we literally hang in clusters upon Christ, catching every word of His, is what prevented the chief priests and scribes from immediately carrying out their treacherous plans. They wanted to destroy Him, but they could not, says the evangelist, because all the people were literally hanging upon Him. The world's enmity against Christ, the resistance of the forces of evil to His saving action, proved powerless when people listened to His word in this way.

The resemblance between this image and the words of Christ quoted by the apostle John in chapter 15 of his Gospel draws attention to itself: "Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me." It is characteristic that here the evangelist Luke uses not his usual word "ochlos," crowd, but "laos," people - the word that later came to refer to the laity in the Church.

Each of the evangelists, according to the logic and features of his own narrative, gives us an account of the cleansing of the Temple. The point is that for the Jews who saw the Lord Jesus driving the sellers out of the Temple, this was a symbol that He truly is the Savior of the world, the Christ. The prophet Haggai says of this Second Temple that its glory will be greater than the glory of Solomon's Temple, because the Deliverer will come into it. And now Christ drives out of the Temple the bustle unworthy of the holy place, and then, as the evangelist Luke writes, He teaches every day in the Temple. Day after day, again and again, Christ proclaims the Father's love and calls people to repentance.

It is important for us to notice how the evangelist Luke speaks about His listeners. The Synodal translation here offers the words: "...all the people listened to Him attentively"; in the Greek original, however, the evangelist uses a very vivid word: "...all the people hung on Him as they listened". This is the kind of unflagging attention, when we literally hang in clusters on Christ, catching His every word, that prevented the chief priests and scribes from immediately carrying out their treacherous plans. They wanted to destroy Him, but could not, the evangelist says, because all the people were literally hanging on Him. The world's hostility toward Christ, the opposition of the powers of evil to His saving action, proved powerless when people listened to His word in this way.

What draws attention is the similarity of this image to the words of Christ recorded by the apostle John in chapter 15 of his Gospel: "Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in Me". It is characteristic that here the evangelist Luke uses not his usual word "ochlos," crowd, but "laos," people, the word by which laypeople in the Church later came to be called.

Experience shows that this parable is very difficult even for established Christians. The image of the king, as described in the parable, clearly points, according to the messianic biblical symbolism already familiar to us, to the Most High Judge, and the situation itself is very much like the Last Judgment. But this image itself can evoke nothing but rejection, revulsion, and animal fear: cruel, unloved by the people, greedy... and he confirms all this by his own words and deeds. But is this really so? What is this image in reality, who is its true prototype, and if it is only an image, on whose consciousness is it imprinted?

Let us pay attention to the words: "By your own mouth I will judge you, wicked servant." We must dwell on this for a long time in order to read correctly the words that follow: "You knew that I was a harsh man, taking what I did not deposit, and reaping what I did not sow." When we read these words at an ordinary pace, we usually see in them only confirmation of what we already see: that this king is greedy, that his people do not love him, that he orders those who disagree with him to be killed before his face. All of this fits into one image and hardens in the mind, while the words "by your own mouth" remain truly unnoticed. But if we listen to them, the picture instantly changes radically. This is only one negligent servant's idea of the king, and an idea that did not help him do anything good.

People will say to us: what, then, about the idea held by all the "citizens" who sent an embassy and did not want to have such a king? But that too is only their idea. And finally: but he himself says, "slay them before me." Yet let us think: perhaps this is only an indication of the well-known words of the psalm: The Lord said to my Lord, Sit at My right hand until I make Your enemies a footstool for Your feet (Ps. 109:1), or of the words of another psalm: "I have set My King on Zion, My holy mountain; I will declare the decree: the Lord said to Me, You are My Son; today I have begotten You; ask of Me, and I will give You the nations for Your inheritance and the ends of the earth for Your possession; You shall strike them with a rod of iron; You shall shatter them like a potter's vessel" (Ps. 2:6-9)? Then this is indeed only an indication of the day of Judgment.

In fact, there is a very important point here. What often undermines our faith, what makes us suffer in confusion and doubt? Often we see people who, it would appear, should know God better than anyone saying something that sounds like complete nonsense to us. And this troubles us. But we must not forget that this is only their idea about Him, although at times it appears to us, as when reading this parable, to correspond so obviously to reality. Finally, let us note that we never learn the idea about the king held by some of the people mentioned in the parable. The idea held by the people who simply took the money and earned more. What do they think about the king? We do not know.