The long journey that began in Luke 9:51 ended, and Jesus entered Jerusalem. He very deliberately entered in a way that echoed history (cf. 1 Kings 1:32-39) and prophecy (Zechariah 9:9-10), and made a clear claim to peaceful kingship. But he wept over the city, tears that tell us he loved the city’s people. Yet their heedless leaders did not love him. As they plotted his death, Jesus told a story that exposed the murder in their hearts.

• The prophet Zechariah wrote that a righteous king would ride on a donkey’s colt, and bring Jerusalem salvation and peace. How did Luke hint that Jesus pre-arranged his ride into Jerusalem to fulfill that prophecy? Who sang and praised Jesus (verses 37-39)? Who found his entrance into the holy city offensive? Would you more likely have been with “the establishment” who didn’t want the orderly status quo disrupted, or with the upstart rabbi from Galilee?
• Jesus’ vineyard story drew on a beloved Scripture (Isaiah 5:1-7), which called Israel God’s vineyard. But Luke 19:47 and 20:19 show the hatred that surrounded Jesus during his last week. We, like the Jerusalem leaders, can have blind spots. Is there anything God’s spirit is nudging you to face honestly in your life? Do you have the courage to face it, to know “the things that lead to peace”?