Is He Worthy It?

Luke 19-29-34

And it came to pass, when He drew near Bethphage and Bethany, at the mountain called Olivet, that He sent two of His disciples, saying “Go into the village opposite you,where as you enter you will find a colt tied, on which no has ever sat. Loose it and bring it here. And if anyone asks you, why are you loosing it? Thus, you shall say to him “Because the Lord has need of it.”

In fulfillment of Zechariah’s prophesy, Jesus set His face to Jerusalem, and sent two of His disciples on a mission to complete a task that contributed to the fulfillment of God’s salvation plan for mankind. He went through Bethany; the hometown of Mary, Martha and Lazarus and transformed it from a place of misery into a place of testimony after He raised Lazarus from the dead (John 11:38-340); Bethany, a place where Christ ascended into heaven on Mount Olive is also the same place where He would return to the earth on a white horse. (Zechariah 14:3-4, Acts 110-12) Our God, the God of the prophets, symbolically covey his message through the works of Christ to minute details in this study.

Unlike a military king who rides on a majestic warhorse to convey power, dominion, and conquest, Jesus, gentle and lowly came on a baby donkey to bring peace to the nations, set prisoners free, and make peace between God and man, from sea to sea and from the rivers to the ends of the earth.   Foreshadowing him-self as our Passover lamb, whose atoning sacrifice was for our sin and not for ours only but for the whole world, offered His soul as a sin sacrifice to save us. In His conquest of love, He delivers all who believe in Him from the power of sin and death, to reconciled us to God and justified us for eternal life.

Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion!

Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem!

Behold your King is coming to you

He is just and having salvation,

Lowly and riding on a donkey

A colt, the Foal of a donkey.” (Zechariah 9:9)

Pause to Reflect

• What is the significance of Palm Sunday?
• What instruction did Jesus gave the disciples? Luke 19:30 -31
• How many disciples were sent on this obscure mission? Luke 19-29
• What is the significance of the town Bethphage and Bethany?

Luke 19: 32-33: So those who were sent went their way and found it just as He had said to them. But as they were loosing the colt, the owners of it said to them “Why are you loosing the colt” and they said the Lord has need of it”

 The disciples took step of faith, being led by the Holy Spirit (for as many that are led by the spirit, these are the sons of God) and went to a village, with no contacts and walked in the town until they found a colt, the prophetic word of Christ prove true, the colt location, that it will be tied-up, the un-ridden condition, and the owners faith in Him. When the owners of the colt asked them why they were loosing the colt?  They responded in faith and spoke in verbatim what Jesus said: “The Lord has need of it.”  The owners of the colt were available, they responded in obedience to the Lord’s request, by giving their donkey to the disciples, and were useful for the Master’s work.  What does the Lord need of you, today? Jesus said: if you abide in me and my words abide in you, you will ask what you desire and it shall be done for you-Even better, this was not the disciple’s request but the Lord’s. (John 15:7).

Pause to Reflect

• How did the disciple vs. the owners respond to the Lord’s request?
• What does omniscience means and how does it apply to this story?

Luke 35-38: Then they brought it to Jesus, and they threw their own clothes on the colt, and they set Jesus on it. And as He went, many spread their clothes on the road. Then, as He was now drawing near the descent of the Mount of Olives the whole multitude of the disciples began to rejoice and praise with a loud voice for all the mighty works they had seen saying:

“Blessed is the King who

Comes in the name of the Lord!

Peace in heaven and glory in the highest.” (Luke 19:38, Luke 2:14)

Why is peace in heaven?

Peace can only exists on earth, if there is peace in heaven. Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. So, when the accuser of the brethren was cast down on earth, heaven rejoice, because peace was in heaven, but woe to the inhabitant of the earth and the sea, because the devil came down to the earth and brought great wrath. (Revelation 12:11-12) Through the blood of Jesus, we are saved from the wrath of God that the devil brought down to the earth through sin, and we overcome the devil by the blood of the lamb and the word of our testimony. Thank God for Jesus. Thank Him for the blood of Jesus. This is why at Christ’s birth, the angels rejoice saying:

“Glory to God in the highest,

 And on earth peace, goodwill

Toward men!” (Luke 2:14)

God demonstrated His love for us, in that while we were still sinners Christ died for us. Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him.” (Romans 5:8-9)

The disciples brought the donkey to Jesus, they heard His word, they saw the manifestation of His word with their eyes, they looked upon it and with their hands they handed the output of His word to Him- glorious.  (1 John 1:1)“You just think about that.”  On the other hand, the action of: spreading of clothes and the spreading of leafy branch on the road, of the disciples and the people show their acts of reverence and submission to Jesus as King.  A similar act of homage and submission was pay to Solomon. (1 Kings 1:33, 38) Those who knew scripture would have seen the royal celebration before their eyes.  There was an uproar of praise to God in the city, among the people, in the atmosphere, for His mighty works: Jesus healed the paralytic, healed a man on the Sabbath, forgive sins, cast out unclean spirit, restored relationships, fed five thousand, and raised the dead: Lazarus and Jarius daughter from the dead.  Jesus, the Son of Man, was attested by God to the people by miracle, signs, and wonders which God did through Him in their midst for His glory. (John 512, 7: 16-23, 8: 27-39, 51-54, Luke 8:39)

Luke 19:29-40

Some of the Pharisees called to Him from the crowd, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples” But He answered and said to them, “I tell you what is these should keep salient, the stones would immediately cry out” 

Some of the Pharisees were offended by the disciples’ loud noise and they asked Jesus to reprove His disciples, for their blasphemous action, of worshiping a Him as God.

Have you not known, have you not heard: that all creation praise the Lord?

Psalms 19:  The heavens declare the glory of the Lord and the skies proclaim the works of His hands.

Psalms 66:1-4: Say to God, How awesome are your works! Through the greatness of your power, your enemies shall submit themselves to you. All the earth shall worship you and sing praises to you.

Psalms 96:12- let the field be joyful and all that is in it. Then all the trees of the woods will rejoice before the Lord.

Psalms 69:34: Let heaven and earth praise him, the sea and everything that moves in in them (Psalms 96:12-13, Isaiah 44:23; 55:12, Habakkuk 2:20)

Pause to Reflect

• Does blessed correspond to praise?
• Why was Jesus worship as God?
• What are the acts of worship? (Acts 2:42, 47, Psalms 88, 22)
• Did the people (disciples, crowd, Pharisee) fully understand Jesus mission?
• Did the people worship Jesus in one accord?

Jesus, the Son of Man, reveals Himself as King- the blessed and only Potentate, the King of King, and Lord of lords- to not only His disciples but also to the Jews and gentiles to fulfilled the prophecy by Zechariah, and to confirm the message spoken by the angel to Mary.  Jesus, our God and King was born to be worship. The wise man said: Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the east and have come to worship Him. (Matthew 2:2)

But when He (God) again brings the firstborn into the world, he says:

“Let all angles of God worship Him”(Hebrews 1:5-6)

When Christ ascended into heaven the disciples worshiped him (Luke 24:51-53)

“Now it came to pass while He blessed them, that he was parted from them and carried up into the heaven. And they worshiped Him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy and were continually in the temple praise and blessing God.” Amen.

Why is Jesus worthy of Worship?  We worship Jesus to honor God.  Jesus said: “Hear O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. Again He said: “Serve the Lord your God and worship Him only.” He also said, I am the Father are one. “No one has seen God, but the one and only Son, who is himself God and is in closest relationship with the Father and has made him known.” We worship Jesus because He is God, He is in union with God, and He is one with God. (Deuteronomy 6:4, John 1:18, John 17:22, John 10:30)

Jesus is worthy of praise and worship because He is our Passover lamb who was slain before the foundation of the world.  He is lamb that takes away the sins of the world.  He is also the lion of the tribe of Judah; the root of David who has prevailed.

As a results, the heaven host worship before Him (the lamb) with bowls of incense, prayers of the saints and a new song saying:

“You are worthy to take the scroll,

And to open its seals

For you were slain

And have redeemed us to God by your blood

Out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation,

And have made us kings and priest to our God

And we shall reign on the earth” (revelation 5:8-10)

The numerous angels and living creatures also echo with a loud voice saying:

“Worthy is the lamb that was slain

To receive power and riches and wisdom

And strength and honor and glory and blessing

Blessing and honor and glory

Be to Him who sits on the throne

And to the lamb, forever and ever!”

 Jesus said: But the hour is coming and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. God is Spirit and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.  Jesus, the image of the invisible God, the first born over creation, is worthy of praise and worship in heaven and earth as King of kings and Lord of lord. This king, conquest is to love, His royal law is love, and He commands us to love.  His throne is established in righteousness and justice, He hate lawlessness, yet He demonstrated the love of God to men by being obedient to the point of death, even death on the cross; to save us from sin, bring us into fellowship with God and to establish peace with God, and give us eternal life.

Come let us worship Him by saying with one voice:

Holy, holy, holy

Lord God almighty

Who was and is and is to come

You are worthy, O Lord

To receive glory and honor and power

For you created all things

And by your will they exits

And were created “(Colossians 1:16, Revelation 4:11)