Luke 19: Jesus is acclaimed

Let’s give praise where it is due, writes Territorial Pioneer and Fresh Expressions Officer Major Sarah Butler.

Key texts

• Luke 19:28–44

Have you ever been in a situation where something so good has happened that you just need to show appreciation to those involved? Perhaps it was a delicious meal in a restaurant, an outstanding performance of music or drama or a stirring article that challenged your thinking. Your response could be a five-star review, a standing ovation or a recommendation on social media. We’ve all heard the phrase ‘praise where praise is due’. It’s right and proper to show our appreciation to those who enhance our lives.

In our study passage, we follow Jesus on his entry towards Jerusalem, acclaimed by the crowds. ‘Acclaimed’ means to be enthusiastically praised or celebrated. When Jesus entered Jerusalem on a donkey, riding past those celebrating crowds, I wonder just how enthusiastic the praise was.

Reading the description of this scene conjures up images of chaos, spontaneity and heartfelt praise. It seems loud, raucous, impulsive – disordered, even – as people threw down the coats they were wearing, not worrying if they were trampled on or ruined by the donkey. They were ripping off palm branches from trees and the sound of shouting and cries of ‘Hosanna!’ must have been deafening.

Pause and reflect

• Imagine you’re there. What can you hear, see, smell, feel and taste in the air?
• How might you have joined in?

Why were the crowds praising Jesus so enthusiastically? What had they seen and heard to unlock such a passionate, spontaneous response?

For such a raw and heartfelt reaction, there must have been a myriad of reasons. Some people would have been encouraged to act in a new way by the stories he told them. Others would have been challenged or encouraged by his passionate teaching. Others still would have been impressed by the miracles that happened before their very eyes.

Their response was to praise through shouts and songs and actions: ‘When he came near the place where the road goes down the Mount of Olives, the whole crowd of disciples began joyfully to praise God in loud voices for all the miracles they had seen: “Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord!” “Peace in Heaven and glory in the highest!”’ (vv37 and 38).

Pause and reflect

• What is it about Jesus that makes you want to give him praise? 
• How do you express your praise for him?

Think back to my opening question. Now turn it around. When have you received praise from others? What was your response?

Many of us might shy away from praise and deflect it. ‘Oh, it was nothing, really!’ ‘I didn’t do much, it was them.’ Perhaps, embarrassed by the attention, we try to avoid or ignore it completely. Some people, however, might bask in the limelight for a while, enjoying the attention and recognition.

How did Jesus react to this spontaneous praise? He received criticism as well as acclamation.

He knew that the praise was so heartfelt that he told the disapproving Pharisees: ‘If they keep quiet, the stones will cry out’ (v40).

Jesus recognised the significance of the praise, the quotes of ancient psalms that the crowd knew so well. He knew that if they kept quiet, there would be another way for praise to rise.

Hearts were responding in that moment to the embodiment of their Creator God riding through the streets of Jerusalem, the juxtaposition of a humble man on a lowly colt and the King of Glory all wrapped up in one. To many, his glory was still hidden as they were swept up with the crowd and carried away with their shouts of ‘Hosanna!’ and the excitement of the moment.

Caught up in the emotion, they missed the reality of what was really going on. They saw the local celebrity but failed to recognise the Son of God.

Just a few days later, many people would turn away and change their shouts of praise and acclamation into something else.

Jesus wept as he looked over the city, not because of possible rejection or fickle admiration, but rather because he knew that so much was hidden from people’s eyes and their hardened hearts, and that the consequences of this would be catastrophic and costly (see vv41–44).

Pause and reflect

• How genuine is your praise of Jesus? 
• Are you sometimes so wrapped up in the moment that you fail to recognise the Son of God you’re worshipping?

While some of the crowd were just caught up in the emotion of the day, the disciples’ praise was real and sincere. All would go through doubt and questioning as the twists, turns and horrors of Holy Week played out.

However, for those whose faith was real and deep, their acclamation stayed true. In the midst of uncertainty, they discovered that true praise carries us through the storm and God is still with us. He is worthy of our praise.

Let us also be authentic in our acclamation of Jesus. May our worship be acceptable to him and our faith be strengthened as we learn to praise God through the difficulties and storms of life.

Let our response to him be spontaneous, wild, chaotic and heartfelt, because the Spirit stirs such passion within us again as we look to Jesus and recognise the Son of God.