Does Praising Jesus Mean We Recognize Him as King?
Welcome to Day 289 of our journey with Jesus. Today, we consider what Jesus calls us to question in our beliefs or lives. The main truth for today is this: Public excitement about Jesus does not necessarily mean we recognize who he is or accept the peace he offers. Let’s begin.
Current details of the journeyView the calendar, Episode and passage
Jesus in Action
Luke 19:28–44
Step 4 of 5
- Dia 286 Conhecer
- Dia 287 Escutar
- Dia 288 Descobrir
- Dia 289 Questionar Você está aqui
- Dia 290 Responder
Examine o que Jesus nos chama a questionar em nossas crenças ou em nossa vida.
Depois de dizer isso, Jesus foi adiante, subindo para Jerusalém. Ao aproximar-se de Betfagé e de Betânia, no monte chamado das Oliveiras, enviou dois dos seus discípulos, dizendo-lhes: “Vão ao povoado que está adiante e, ao entrarem, encontrarão um jumentinho amarrado, no qual ninguém jamais montou. Desamarrem-no e tragam-no aqui. Se alguém lhes perguntar: ‘Por que o estão desamarrando?’ digam-lhe: O Senhor precisa dele”. Os que tinham sido enviados foram e encontraram o animal exatamente como ele lhes tinha dito. Quando estavam desamarrando o jumentinho, os seus donos lhes perguntaram: “Por que vocês estão desamarrando o jumentinho?” Eles responderam: “O Senhor precisa dele”. Levaram-no a Jesus, lançaram seus mantos sobre o jumentinho e fizeram que Jesus montasse nele. Enquanto ele prosseguia, o povo estendia os seus mantos pelo caminho. Quando ele já estava perto da descida do monte das Oliveiras, toda a multidão dos discípulos começou a louvar a Deus alegremente e em alta voz, por todos os milagres que tinham visto. Exclamavam: “Bendito é o rei que vem em nome do Senhor!” “Paz no céu e glória nas alturas!” Alguns dos fariseus que estavam no meio da multidão disseram a Jesus: “Mestre, repreende os teus discípulos!” “Eu lhes digo”, respondeu ele; “se eles se calarem, as pedras clamarão.” Quando se aproximou e viu a cidade, Jesus chorou sobre ela e disse: “Se você compreendesse neste dia, sim, você também, o que traz a paz! Mas agora isso está oculto aos seus olhos. Virão dias em que os seus inimigos construirão trincheiras contra você, a rodearão e a cercarão de todos os lados. Também a lançarão por terra, você e os seus filhos. Não deixarão pedra sobre pedra, porque você não reconheceu a oportunidade que Deus lhe concedeu”.
Biblia Sagrada, Nova Versão Internacional®, NVI® Copyright © 1993, 2000 by Biblica, Inc.® All rights reserved worldwide.
Luke 19:28–44 describes a joyful welcome for Jesus as he approaches Jerusalem. Someone might assume that public praise and Jesus’ acceptance of it mean everything is well. Yet the same account includes his tears and a warning of destruction. What should we make of that contrast?
A Welcome Jesus Accepts
Jesus approaches Jerusalem riding on a colt, a young donkey. People spread their cloaks on the road. Cloaks are outer garments. The crowd of disciples, his followers, praises God joyfully and loudly for all the miracles they have seen. They declare, “Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!” and “Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!”
Some Pharisees, members of a Jewish religious group, object. They tell Jesus, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples!” They want him to order his disciples to stop. Jesus replies, “I tell you,” “if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out.” With this answer, Jesus refuses their request to silence the praise. He accepts the disciples’ royal welcome.
A Warning Alongside the Welcome
Jesus then approaches Jerusalem and sees the city. He weeps over it and says, “If you, even you, had only known on this day what would bring you peace—but now it is hidden from your eyes. The days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment against you and encircle you and hem you in on every side. They will dash you to the ground, you and the children within your walls. They will not leave one stone on another, because you did not recognize the time of God’s coming to you.”
Jesus addresses Jerusalem in this warning. He connects its coming destruction to its failure to recognize the time of God’s coming. His words give us more to consider than the joyful welcome alone. The disciples praise God and call Jesus king. Jesus accepts their praise, but the city’s failure to recognize what would bring peace remains serious.
Does Celebration Mean Everything Is Well?
The disciples’ praise is genuine, and Jesus refuses to silence it. Yet their joyful welcome does not mean that everything is well in Jerusalem. The praise he accepts and the warning he gives both matter. Paying attention only to the celebration would leave us with an incomplete understanding of this moment.
For Jerusalem, the consequences are concrete. Jesus describes enemies surrounding the city and destroying it. His tears do not make that warning less serious, and the disciples’ praise does not erase it. The joyful welcome and the city’s failure to recognize God’s coming belong to the same account.
When a scene appears joyful or successful, do we still listen to Jesus’ words of warning? Could concentrating on the celebration cause us to overlook his grief and what he says about peace? What changes in our understanding when we give attention to both?
The joy of the welcome does not cancel the seriousness of Jesus’ warning. This is the Question step in the Jesus365 Journey for Luke 19:28–44. Next, the Respond step considers how to respond to Jesus’ words and actions in this passage.
Pense nisto.
Which assumption does Jesus confront in you?
Examine your assumptions
Do not confuse admiration, religious excitement, or familiarity with truly recognizing Jesus.
