Journal: Southern Baptist Journal of Theology
Volume: SBJT 01:3 (Fall 1997)
Article: The SBJT Sermon: Sovereign in His Temple Luke 19:45–48
Author: Kent Hughes

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SBJT 1:3 (Fall 1997) p. 68

The SBJT Sermon:
Sovereign in His Temple
Luke 19:45–48

Kent Hughes

Kent Hughes is pastor of The College Church in Wheaton, Wheaton, Illinois, where this message was first preached. He is the author of numerous volumes, including Disciplines of a Godly Man, Disciplines of Grace, and the extremely popular Preaching the Word series. All quoted Scriptures are from the New International Version unless otherwise noted.

The evidence indicates that the Triumphal Entry and the cleansing of the temple recorded in Luke 19 are of one premeditated fabric. Jesus orchestrated both with an eye to Old Testament Scripture. This is illustrated in the Triumphal Entry by his prescient knowledge of an unridden colt of a donkey in the next town, his regal assurance that its loan would be granted simply by saying “The Lord needs it” (v. 34), and in his royal ride into Jerusalem. All of these acts were a conscious demonstration that he was the Messiah-King prophesied in Zechariah 9:9: “Rejoice greatly, O Daughter of Zion! Shout, Daughter of Jerusalem! See, your king comes to you, righteous and having salvation, gentle and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.” At his entrance into the city, the crowds understood this messianic act and began to chant lines from the Hallel Psalms, principally: “‘Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!’” (v. 38, cf. Ps 118:26).

Every act that Scripture records during Jesus’ final days was purposeful; nothing was wasted. The tears he shed over Jerusalem were part of the Father’s plan to reveal the heart of the soon-to-be king of all the world. Even the timing of these events was significant, for Passover was the chosen time for the Lamb to die.

We see the same divine control in the subsequent temple cleansing. The verse that the throngs had been chanting to Jesus, “’Blessed is the king who comes (ho erchomenos) in the name of the Lord,’” echoes the question which messengers from John the Baptist had earlier asked Jesus, “Are You the Expected One? (ho erchomenos)” (Lk 7:19, NASB). This question about his coming was generated from their knowledge of the famous prophecy of Malachi 3:1: “’See, I will send my messenger, who will prepare the way before me. Then suddenly the Lord you are seeking will come to his temple; the messenger of the covenant, whom you desire, will come,’ says the LORD Almighty.” So we understand that ...

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