NOTES for Luk 19:28-48
28 And when he had thus spoken, he went before, ascending up to Jerusalem. |
29 And it came to pass, when he was come nigh to Bethphage and Bethany, at the mount called the mount of Olives, he sent two of his disciples, |
30 Saying, Go ye into the village over against you; in the which at your entering ye shall find a colt tied, whereon yet never man sat: loose him, and bring him hither. |
31 And if any man ask you, Why do ye loose him? thus shall ye say unto him, Because the Lord hath need of him. |
32 And they that were sent went their way, and 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 cast their garments upon the colt, and they set Jesus thereon. |
36 And as he went, they spread their clothes in the way. |
37 And when he was come nigh, even now at the descent of the mount of Olives, the whole multitude of the disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works that they had seen; |
38 Saying, Blessed be the King that cometh in the name of the Lord: peace in heaven, and glory in the highest. |
39 And some of the Pharisees from among the multitude said unto him, Master, rebuke thy disciples. |
40 And he answered and said unto them, I tell you that, if these should hold their peace, the stones would immediately cry out. |
41 And when he was come near, he beheld the city, and wept over it, |
42 Saying, If thou hadst known, even thou, at least in this thy day, the things which belong unto thy peace! but now they are hid from thine eyes. |
43 For the days shall come upon thee, that thine enemies shall cast a trench about thee, and compass thee round, and keep thee in on every side, |
44 And shall lay thee even with the ground, and thy children within thee; and they shall not leave in thee one stone upon another; because thou knewest not the time of thy visitation. |
45 And he went into the temple, and began to cast out them that sold therein, and them that bought; |
46 Saying unto them, It is written, My house is the house of prayer: but ye have made it a den of thieves. |
47 And he taught daily in the temple. But the chief priests and the scribes and the chief of the people sought to destroy him, |
48 And could not find what they might do: for all the people were very attentive to hear him. |
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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...
Readings for 22 August 2025
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