Luke 19:28-40

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Day Three of Steps to the Cross - Luke 19:28-40

28 After Jesus had said this, he went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem. 29 As he approached Bethphage and Bethany at the hill called the Mount 

of Olives, he sent two of his disciples, saying to them, 30 "Go to the village ahead of you, and as you enter it, you will find a colt tied there, which no one has ever ridden. Untie it and bring it here. 31If anyone asks you, 'Why are you untying it?' tell him, 'The Lord needs it.' "

32 Those who were sent ahead went and found it just as he had told them. 33 As they were untying the colt, its owners asked them, "Why are you untying the colt?"

34 They replied, "The Lord needs it."

 35 They brought it to Jesus, threw their cloaks on the colt and put Jesus on it. 36 As he went along, people spread their cloaks on the road.

 37 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: 

 38 "Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!" [a]

      "Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!"

 39 Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Jesus, "Teacher, rebuke your disciples!"

 40 "I tell you," he replied, "if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out."

Footnotes:

[a] Luke 19:38 Psalm 118:26

John 1:1-34: The Medium is the Message

Marshall McLuhan was a 20th century scholar famous for coining the phrase, “The medium is the message.”

It’s a great line, and oh so true. Take heavy metal music, for example. Does it really matter what the lyrics are? The medium is the message. Or diamonds, which some of you might be lucky enough to receive this Christmas. There’s no need for words to explain them (that’s why men buy them!); the medium is the message.

Or consider Jesus. He is the eternal Word. He is the Creator. He is Light. He is Life. He is full of grace and truth. He is the bearer of the Holy Spirit.

And he’s as human, as approachable, as touchable and knowable as you and me! He’s God in the flesh!

The medium is the message.

I’m not trying to diminish our need for Jesus’ teachings or miracles, or his death and resurrection—of course we need these. But just the mere presence of Jesus in the flesh, “pitching his tent among us” as John 1:14 metaphorically states, almost says enough. It says God will go to all lengths to reach us. That God will condescend to all depths to reveal himself to us. That God will stop at nothing to save us.

John the Baptist saw the significance of Jesus’ mere presence. Before Christ did much of anything ministry-wise, John was already saying, “Look, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” The medium is the message. Just the fact that Jesus is here is a harbinger of wonderful things to come!

Posted by Greg