Palm Sunday and the Triumphal Entry

Transcript

GRM 567
Palm Sunday and the Triumphal Entry
Matthew 21:1-11
4/5/1998

This is the day that we call “Palm Sunday.” A day in which we remember, in a special way, the triumphal entry of Christ into Jerusalem. I’d like to look at the events of that day as they are recorded in the scripture. We’ll use Matthew chapter 21 as our basic passage. Matthew, chapter 21. As you’re aware, we have four men who have written gospel accounts, accounts of the earthly life of Christ, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. And each of these men had been directed by the Spirit of God to emphasize certain aspects of the life of Christ. So they don’t all include the same information, but the event we call the “Triumphal Entry” or “Palm Sunday” is one of those events that is recorded by all four gospel writers. And that does draw our attention to something of the importance and significance of this event. All four of them are directed by the Spirit to include it in their account. All four gospel writers are building to the same point: the sacrificial death of Jesus Christ on the cross and His subsequent resurrection from the dead. Matthew’s account, particularly, focuses on the fact that Jesus Christ was the King of Israel, their Messiah, the One who had been prophesied to come and bring spiritual and physical deliverance to the nation. The One who was rejected as the King of Israel.

Now, the period of time with which we are dealing is very significant in the unfolding plan of God for the nation Israel. The events of what I will call “Palm Sunday”, even though I think that the “triumphal entry” perhaps occurred on Saturday not Sunday. I’ll still refer to the events as “Palm Sunday” because of the tradition. We find the culmination of an Old Testament prophecy that is very significant in Israel’s history. Put a bulletin or a marker in Matthew, chapter 21 and come back to the book of Daniel, chapter 9.

Daniel, chapter 9. In Daniel, chapter 9 and verse 24, we have presented the seventy weeks of Daniel, or literally the seventy sevens of Daniel. We are dealing with seventy, seven-year periods. Later on, in the book of Daniel, that’s made clear. The book of Revelation and parallel passages also makes it clear we are talking about seventy, seven-year periods. These have been decreed for the Jews and for Jerusalem, for Daniel’s people and Daniel’s city. By the time you move through this 490-year period, seventy times seven, 490-year period, we will have come to the time when the Jews will have experienced God’s salvation. The nation will have Jerusalem as their capital, the Messiah as their King. Verse 25, some details of the seventy weeks are broken down. “You are to know and discern that from the issuing of a decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem until Messiah the Prince there will be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks.” So from the time the decree is given to rebuild Jerusalem, there will be a period of sixty-nine weeks, seven weeks plus sixty-two weeks, 483 years. The decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem is given in Nehemiah, chapter 2, and occurs, I believe, somewhere around March of 444 or 445 B.C., depending on some calendar things. Four hundred and eighty-three years, and others have worked out the timing where you deal with the leap years and everything that have to be considered in such chronology, will carry us to Messiah the Prince. Indeed, we are to the days of Jesus Christ. Then we are told in verse 26, “after the sixty-two weeks the Messiah will be cut off”, remember the sixty-two weeks were after the seven weeks. So, after a total of sixty-nine weeks, or 483 years, the Messiah will be killed, cut off, die, by execution. It doesn’t say He’ll be cut off in the seventieth week, it says after the sixty-ninth week. And then, verse 27 tells us the seventieth week will begin by the signing of a covenant, or an agreement, between Israel and the man we call the “antichrist”, the false religious leader of the coming days. We have a gap between the sixty-ninth and seventieth week.

Now, seems to me that there’s been work done that would indicate that not only do we come to the days of the Messiah with the 483 years, but rather we come even more specifically to the event we celebrate as Palm Sunday, or the triumphal entry. That the 483 years will come to a conclusion on this day of the triumphal entry of Christ into Jerusalem which is the time which culminates His presentation during His earthly ministry of Himself to the nation as Messiah. And here, if you will, is the formal and final presentation to the nation of their Messiah, and He receives the acclaim of the nation that He is the Son of David, the King of Israel. So, very important in Israel’s history. All of God’s plans for Israel are built around these sixty-nine weeks. We have one seven-year period left that will occur at a yet future date. How far in the future, I do not know, which will serve to bring judgement on the world and to turn Israel from their rejection of Christ to faith in Him as their Savior.

Come over to Matthew. That alone makes the triumphal entry of great importance. We have a very crucial end point, the conclusion of the first sixty-nine weeks of Daniel occurring at this time. We call this the “triumphal entry”, but that has to be colored by the surrounding events. The nation, as represented by its leaders, has already determined that they will execute Jesus Christ.

Again, leave something in Matthew and come over to the gospel of John. Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, and the twelfth chapter. We’re going to be in chapter 11, the end of chapter 11. But chapter 12 is where the triumphal entry is recorded. John, chapter 12 and verse 12, down through verse 19 records the triumphal entry in John’s gospel as John records it. But back up into chapter 11 of John. Verse 47, “Therefore the chief priests and the Pharisees convened a council.” I take it this would be the Sanhedrin, the governing body of the nation Israel. “What are we doing? For this man is performing many signs.” They are at the end of themselves. The resurrection of Lazarus from the dead recorded just earlier, has had a dramatic impact upon the nation Israel. That one would be raised from the dead after four days in the tomb. “If we let Him go on like this,” verse 48, “all men will believe in Him, the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation. But a certain one of them, Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, said to them, ‘You know nothing at all, nor do you take into account that it is expedient for you that one man should die for the people, and that the whole nation should not perish.’” What Caiaphas meant by this is, “You’re right. If we allow this to go on the nations, the Romans might come and crush our nation. So the best plan is, we kill this man and thus spare our nation.” But he was saying more than he understood. He was the high priest and God used him as a spokesman. Verse 51, “Now this he did not say on his own initiative; but being high priest that year, he prophesied that Jesus was going to die for the nation, and not for the nation only, but that He might also gather together into one the children of God who are scattered abroad.” God was using Caiaphas as a spokesman even though he didn’t understand it, that the death of Christ would be a provision of salvation for all. But note verse 53, “So from that day on they planned together to kill Him.” And Jesus retires from public ministry because His popularity has grown but so has the intensity of opposition.

Now, you keep that in mind when we consider the acclaim of the multitude. There is already in process the plan for His execution. And this is not a surprise to Christ, either. Come back to the gospel of Matthew. And look in Matthew, chapter 16 and verse 21. Matthew 16:21. “From that time Jesus Christ began to show His disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes and be killed and be raised up on the third day.” So, He has been preparing His disciples for the trip to Jerusalem that will culminate in His crucifixion and resurrection.

Turn over to chapter 20 of Matthew. Now we are within two days of the triumphal entry. Matthew, chapter 20, verse 17. “And as Jesus was about to go up to Jerusalem, He took the twelve disciples aside by themselves, and on the way He said to them, ‘Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem; and the Son of Man will be delivered to the chief priests and scribes, and they will condemn Him to death, and will deliver Him up to the Gentiles to mock and scourge and crucify Him, and on the third day He will be raised up.’” And you note how precise and clear the information that Christ gives is. In verse 18, “He will be delivered up to the chief priests, scribes, ” Judas will deliver Him up to them. But, then the chief priests and scribes will deliver Him up to the Gentiles, the Romans, under the authority of Pontius Pilate. He well understands all that lays before Him. So, as we contemplate what we call the “triumphal entry” we understand that Jesus has been teaching and telling His disciples that the events at Jerusalem will culminate in His crucifixion and subsequent resurrection. That the Jewish leadership has already determined in a formal meeting that He must die so, are looking for the right occasion to seize Him and have Him put to death.

You’ve got to also note that in John chapter 12, just before the account of the triumphal entry, we are told that the Jewish leadership had also determined that they would put to death Lazarus. Because his ongoing life is a continuing testimony of the power of Jesus Christ to raise someone from the dead and because of his testimony, many were believing. We’re reminded in Luke, chapter 16, in the account Christ told of the discussions between the rich man in the fires of Hades and Abraham. The rich man said, “Send somebody back from the dead to tell my family." And Abraham said, “If they do not believe the scriptures, Moses and the prophets, they will not believe even if one is raised from the dead.” That is true of the testimony of the resurrection of Lazarus and then, in even a more dramatic way, the resurrection of Christ will demonstrate. The issue is not lack of evidence to support the testimony that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and the Savior of the world. The real issue is the stubborn hardness of our hearts, of refusal to bow before Him.

So we come to Matthew, chapter 21. The chapter begins, “And when they had approached Jerusalem and had come to Bethphage, to the Mount of Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples, saying to them, ‘Go into the village opposite you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied there and a colt with her; untie them, and bring them to Me. And if anyone says something to you, you shall say, “The Lord has need of them,” and immediately he will send them.’”

Matthew picks up the account here after Christ has left the house of His friends in Bethany on the Mount of Olives. And Bethphage, evidently, was a small village between Bethany and Jerusalem. Bethany being also on the Mount of Olives. We don’t know where Bethphage is, mentioned on other occasions in scripture but they have not uncovered Bethphage itself. Which is not a surprise since to do archaeological work you have to remove many things that have been built up over the time. But indications here it is a small village on the way, between Bethany and Jerusalem. And it would be on the Mount of Olives.

And He gives them some very specific instructions. “I want you to go into the village over there and you’ll find a donkey and her colt tied. I want you to untie them and bring them to me.” So again, you see the insight and knowledge that Christ has which goes beyond just human understanding. Obviously, these animals were in a village over there out of sight. Otherwise, Christ could have said, “Go get those two animals you see there.” But He describes to them the situation, so that then, when they walk into the village they’ll know that these are the animals. Furthermore, He says, “If anyone says something to you,” which you might expect. You know, it’d be similar to your car being parked someplace and you’re leaning against it and someone comes over and gets in to drive it away. You might say, “What are you doing?” Well, if the owner of these donkeys may perhaps be sitting there on the step and you walk up and untie them to walk away. He might say, “What are you doing?” And in fact, it’s Luke’s account who records that very thing does happen. When they come, loose the animals, “What are you doing?” Their response, “The Lord has need of them.” And he lets them take them without further discussion. Now, that may raise many questions in our minds. And if all the answers to every question and every detail was filled in to satisfy everybody’s curiosity, can you imagine how many volumes we’d have for our Bible? I’d be saying, “Turn to Volume 939, page 2, and look at this. It would not be possible. I say that because some people, because certain details are not filled in, say, “Well, this is probably made up, because how would this make sense?” Well, number one, the title “the Lord” is a Messianic title. I take it that when the disciples say, “the Lord has need of it,” they don’t say, “our lord,” as though I’m talking about a personal master, individually, or, “A lord,” but “THE Lord has need of them.” Perhaps the person who owned the donkeys was himself a believer. We don’t know. But he was prepared and so the donkey and the colt are brought to Christ.

Now verse 4, Matthew is concerned throughout his gospel to demonstrate that Jesus Christ fulfills the prophecy’s of the Old Testament. He wants us to see that clearly so that we know He is the Messiah. He fulfilled what the prophets wrote centuries before. So, here, he does it again. Now verse 4, “Now this took place that what was spoken through the prophet might be fulfilled, saying, ‘Say to the daughter of Zion, ‘Behold your King is coming to you, gentle and mounted on a donkey, even on a colt, the foal of a beast of burden.’”

“This took place that what was spoken through the prophet might be fulfilled.” Now, again, we shouldn’t understand this to mean that the disciples understood at this time what was taking place. Because in John’s account, and we won’t turn there just for time, John, chapter 12, we are told that the disciples did not understand the fulfillment of prophecy that was taking place in their very prescience when all of this took place at the Triumphal Entry. But they understood it after the fact when Jesus Christ was raised and the Spirit opened their eyes and they began to see all the pieces that fit together. So, we are told, that they didn’t even know. Many think that the New Testament was written to try to make it look like Christ was fulfilling the prophecy. That’s almost a greater miracle than just accepting the fact that God directed them afterwards. To think that men could have put it together like this.

“Fulfilled by the prophet.” Two prophets are in view here, Isaiah and Zechariah. Now you remember in Old Testament prophecy, the Old Testament prophets saw the first coming of Christ and the second coming of Christ joined together. They couldn’t understand how the Messiah could suffer and die and rule and reign in glory because the Old Testament didn’t reveal there would be a gap between His first coming and His second coming that’s extended almost 2000 years now. So, in the context of Zechariah, chapter 9, verse 9, where the bulk of this quote comes from, part of it does not apply to the first coming of Christ but to the second. So, the Spirit directs Matthew to take a portion from Isaiah’s prophecy and put it on the front of Zechariah’s prophecy.

Maybe you ought to go back to Zechariah. It may have been a while since you went to Zechariah. It’s not too hard to find because it’s the next to the last book of the Old Testament. So you’re in Matthew, just go toward the front of your Bible a little bit and you’re in the Old Testament. Malachi is the last book of the Old Testament and the book before Malachi is Zechariah. Zechariah 9, so, just two books before Matthew is the book of Zechariah, and the ninth chapter. Zechariah 9:9, “Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout in triumph O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your king is coming to you; He is just and endowed with salvation, Humble and mounted on a donkey, even on a colt, the foal of a donkey.” And, a similar idea, “Daughter of Jerusalem,” we have, “Daughter of Zion.” That’s saying the same thing. Isaiah 62:11 seems to be the line that is taken to put on the front. That fits more precisely with what Matthew quotes, but the concept is still the same. Although the ultimate rejoicing and celebration is not drawn from the Old Testament prophecy because the rejection of Christ looms over the triumphal entry. There is not the true fulfillment of the rejoicing and shouting because the deliverance of Israel will not occur on this occasion. You note, again, how precise. It doesn’t just say, “He’ll come on a donkey.” But, “He’ll come on the colt of a donkey.” And the other parallel accounts in the other gospels tell us this colt had never been ridden upon. Again, portraying the honor that is to be bestowed upon Him. This is reserved for His use and none other has used this colt.

“Daughter of Zion,” as we have it in Matthew’s account. Zion is the hill. Mount Zion is where Jerusalem is built. So, Zion becomes a name for Jerusalem because that’s the physical location. Mount Zion is where you find Jerusalem, so we refer to, in the song we sing, “We’re marching to Zion, beautiful, beautiful, Zion.” Well, it becomes a synonym for Jerusalem because the city is built on Mount Zion.

Come back to Matthew 21. “Behold your king is coming to you.” Their king is coming. In a formal presentation, now, He is arriving. But He’s arriving in an unusual way, riding on the colt of a donkey. To come as a conquering king, we’d expect Him to come on a great white horse as the Roman generals would have arrived. As Jesus Christ, Himself will arrive in Revelation 19 when He returns to earth the second time as the conquering king to take possession of everything. But here He comes in lowliness, in humility. I mean, it’s not a very dramatic picture in the one sense. Not comparable to the prancing white stallion that comes and depicts the power and authority. And here comes someone riding on a colt of a donkey. On the back of which some clothes had been laid to form the saddle. No particular ornate or striking purple or scarlet. Preparation materials have been prepared. The glory associated with a king is lacking. The picture is one of lowliness, humility.

Turn back to Isaiah 53. I believe the greatest prophetic passage in all the Old Testament is Isaiah 53. He gives great detail regarding the suffering and death of Christ. And we just want to look at the opening verses. Isaiah 53:1, “Who has believed our message? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed? For He grew up before Him like a tender shoot.” He, referring to the coming Messiah. “Like a root out of parched ground; He has no stately form or majesty that we should look upon Him, nor appearance that we should be attracted to Him.” You see the humility and lowliness of Jesus Christ. “Nor form or appearance that we should be attracted to Him. No stately majesty.” And that’s true. Even as He comes in this climactic, formal presentation to the nation, that He is the long-prophesied Messiah of Israel, He’s riding in on the colt of a donkey. One who comes in humility and lowliness of this, and this all worked together to make Him unacceptable to the Jewish nation. They were looking for a mighty, delivering, conqueror. But their Messiah came first to deliver them from their sins, to cleanse them, purify them, and thus spare them from judgement to come. And then the redeemed nation could experience the physical deliverance. They were unwilling to accept Him on those terms. They were unable to come to grips with the reality of their spiritually destitute condition. So they reject Him.

Come back to Matthew, chapter 21. It fits with what Philippians, chapter 2, verses 5 to 7 say, where Christ humbled Himself and became obedient even to the point of death on the cross. So here He comes, presented before the nation as their Messiah. Verse 6, we pick up in Matthew, chapter 21. “The disciples went and did just as Jesus had directed them, and brought the donkey and the colt, and laid on them their garments, on which He sat.” So, you see, there’d been no preparation as we associate with a king. You watch even now where they have royalty, like in England, and what? There’s great preparation and pomp done, and everything is prepared to portray lavishness. And, uh, I was watching a program on the royalty and the expenditure of money. And the observation is, people want their king to have the majesty and lavishness associated with royalty. But here, it’s what? No particular saddle, no particular garments to ride upon. So, they take off their outer cloak and lay it over to form a makeshift saddle, if you will.

Again, keep in mind, as I mentioned in John, chapter 12, I think it’s verse 16, we are told the disciples don’t understand the significance of the moment. Here they are living out Old Testament prophecy, but they don’t understand it at this point. They are doing it by divine appointment, but they’re not saying among themselves, “Do you realize we’re fulfilling Isaiah 9? Do you realize what we’re seeing here?” No. They’re just, another day’s activity, a little more special, but we’re going up to Jerusalem. We’ve done this before with Him. But this is a unique time.

Verse 8, “And most of the multitude spread their garments in the road, and others were cutting branches from the trees, and spreading them in the road.” When they say, “the multitude” here, we understand this is Passover time. We are told, given a timeline in John, chapter 12, verse 1, that Jesus came up to Bethany on the Mount of Olives six days before Passover. As we’ll see, I think, the triumphal entry occurs four days before Passover, before the crucifixion of Christ. So the time, here is Passover time. This was a time when people, Jews, from all over descended upon Jerusalem. In fact, during this period of time, not this particular Passover, but during a Passover in this time, maybe ten years later, we have some records from the time. And we are told that 256,000 lambs were sacrificed at that Passover. Now that’s a lot of lambs. The Old Testament specified, one lamb per household. Or, if you had too small a family, you could join together with another family, because you were supposed to eat the entire lamb during the night and nothing was to be left over. And anything left over had to be destroyed. And they have figured, figuring even ten people per lamb. That would mean there were 2.7 million people in Jerusalem for that Passover. That’s a lot of people. Um, that would mean that they would be spilling out all over. You see this mass of people, similar what you would see more on the television on news times, for Muslim holidays where they descend upon Mecca and everyplace you see it’s like people everywhere. You say, “How do they even handle this logistically?” Well, here, they would descend upon Jerusalem in mass, and so you’re dealing with probably in excess of 2 million people. That doesn’t mean all of them are out on the road, on the route here coming down from the Mount of Olives from Bethany through Bethphage into Jerusalem. But you can be sure that there were great numbers. When they talk about a multitude, here, there would be great crowds, because the people had come into Jerusalem. Again, John’s account, for example. And you read the parallel accounts at your leisure. But for instance, in John we’re given some indication that the people coming in were inquiring. They had heard about the miracles. They had heard about the resurrection of Lazarus. There was a stir about. They had known, they knew the Jewish leaders were looking for an opportunity to execute Christ. They were wondering, “Will He come up to the feast this year?” So there is this sense of expectation among the people. I think we wed that with just what God was doing within the nation. That sense of expectation where we had come to the climax of the first 69 weeks of Daniel, the supernatural work of God that was going on in preparing the whole nation for the coming of Messiah.

So, this great multitude, “They spread their garments in the road, others were cutting branches from the trees, and spreading them in the road.” They didn’t have paved, uh, roads in those days. So here, spreading the garments, you know, in the road of a coming figure, was a way of declaring your allegiance to Him, your submission to Him, honoring Him. In other words, we don’t want you to come on a dusty road. Their paving the road, if you will, with their garments. Similar to what you see, in maybe an old movie of a act of chivalry, where, you know, the man demonstrates what a gentleman he is takes off his cloak and lays it down so the lady doesn’t have to walk through the mud. I think I saw that one time. I’ve never put it into practice. It was an act, you know, that this lady shouldn’t have to step in the mud or the dirt, put the cloak down. Well, that’s what they’re doing here. It’s a way of honoring Him. So as He’s coming, they’re taking out their outer robe, if you will, their coat, and putting it on the road so the donkey can travel across their garments down. Like rolling out the red carpet, kind of concept.

With that, they go and they cut branches from the trees around. And other parallel accounts tell us these were palm trees. So we get our name, Palm Sunday, because they were cutting down the branches of the palm and spreading them in the road. We won’t turn there, but in Leviticus, chapter 23, verse 40, in the Old Testament, the cutting of the palms and the waving of the palm branches was to portray joy and rejoicing. It’s celebration. We see that in the New Testament, uh, future time in Revelation, chapter 7, verse 9. The martyrs under the altar are waving the palm branches, the praise and joy and celebration that is going on. So it’s a festive occasion, here.

Verse 9, “The multitudes going before Him, and those who followed after were crying out, saying, ‘Hosanna to the Son of David; Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord; Hosanna in the highest!’” That proclamation, “Hosanna!” the Hebrew word for, “Save now!” or “Save, we pray!” What they are declaring is, “God’s salvation. The Messiah has come. This is our salvation. Hosanna! Salvation! Save now!”

“Son of David.” A Messianic title. In Second Samuel, chapter 7, verse 12, God had promised that the Son of David would sit on the throne of Israel forever. So the “Son of David” became a title for the Messiah. David had many sons, it’s true. But only one would be the Son who would sit on the throne. So “Son of David” becomes a Messianic title. So what they are declaring, “Salvation! This is the Messiah. We’re crying for Him to bring His salvation to us.” The tragedy is though, they want physical salvation. They are not ready, as a nation, for spiritual salvation. Not so different than people today. We read this and say, “Well, boy, how could they be so blind? How could they be so hard?” But we want to talk about Christ all across the country, around the world. But just focusing on our country, people will be celebrating the events of Easter and they’ll be going to programs and they’ll be singing songs and they’ll listen to sermons. “Wonderful! And we want to talk about it. And it’s a beautiful season. And we’ll buy special clothes. And we’ll have the beautiful flowers and all of that. And all wonderful!” But you know what they don’t want to hear? Try to talk to them about sin. Talk to them about judgement. Talk about the need to bow in humility before the living God and place their faith in His Son as their only hope for salvation. All the sudden, what? “You’ve ruined the season. I mean, I don’t want to hear that.” So in that sense, nothing’s changed.

The Jews wanted the physical deliverance. They wanted the joy and happiness that would come. When the Jews were delivered and made the conquering people of the world. But, “To talk about the sinful condition of my heart, I’m not open to that. To talk about the fact that I am under condemnation and judgment, and I must bow before this Savior and believe in Him?” They’re not open to that. That’s why, within four days, we see such a radical change from, “Hosanna! Son of David!” to “Crucify Him! Crucify Him!” Just like we have today. It’s not so different. You could go and sit down at lunch with people who attended church, sang songs that have been passed down through the centuries. Sit down with them and say, “You’ve just been to church celebrating and talking about Jesus Christ.”

“Oh, yes! We had Palm Sunday and the kids may have done something and the choir was great and everything.”

“Let’s talk about what it really means. Who was Jesus Christ? Why was He on earth? Do you know He’s already told His told His disciples that He’s going to Jerusalem to suffer and die?”

“Oh, yes, I know that’s there.”

“Do you know what that means for you? That’s telling you, you are a sinner hopelessly lost and on your way to hell. He has to be your Savior.” All of the sudden there’s a little bit of indignation.

“Who are you to walk all over my pride?”

We’re not so different than the Jews. They have a dichotomy here.

“Hosanna! Son of David! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna!” I’m not saying none of this crowd were believers. I believe that many in this multitude had come to believe in Him. But the overwhelming majority had not as coming events will clearly portray.

They are crying out, and they are really using Psalm 118, verses 25 and 26. Maybe you’d jump back there. We have the quote here, but I want you to see something about this Psalm. Psalm 118 is a Messianic Psalm, meaning it is a Psalm that contains material about the Messiah. Look at verse 22. Psalm 118, verse 22, “The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone. This is the Lord’s doing; it is marvelous in our eyes.” A passage applied to Christ in the New Testament. “The stone which the builder’s rejected has become the chief cornerstone.”

Then you look at verse 25, “O Lord, do save, we beseech Thee; O Lord, we beseech Thee, do send prosperity! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord; We have blessed you from the house of the Lord.” That’s, verses 25 and 26 there, basically are what they are proclaiming. It was understood in the context of the Messiah. You see the Jews were on a pick and choose mission. Did you read in the paper here a week or two ago that someone has edited and published a new version of the Bible? Where he’s taken out all the negative stuff and now it’s only the positive. It’s a positive Bible. You know, people haven’t changed, have they? The Jewish leaders go back, and they pulled out all they liked about the Messiah in the Old Testament, all having to do with the joy they would have, the physical deliverance He would bring, the physical prosperity of the nation and of Jerusalem under the reign of the Messiah. And they just totally rejected and ignored all they didn’t like, all it had to say about sin, about judgement and so on. We realize, nothing changes, because the human heart is the same, as Jeremiah said, “Deceitful and desperately wicked above all things.” So we are deluded by our own hearts and minds. We are deceived. We’ll pick and choose what we like and what we don’t. So here they are, proclaiming from Psalm 118, verses 25 and 26, the truth concerning the Messiah.

You know, I ought to also mention, we don’t have time to compare all the parallel accounts, but we are told the Jews told Him to tell His disciples to be quiet. “I mean, teacher, do you hear what your disciples are saying?” This is in Luke’s account in chapter 11. And do you know what Jesus said? “If they didn’t cry out, the stones would cry out!” So you see this is the time in the sovereign plan of God for His Son to be presented before the nation as the Messiah. And if the tongues of every person in Jerusalem had been cut out and their mouths sewed shut, the rock would have cried out. Amazing! What we are told is you cannot frustrate the plan and purposes of God. The praises of the Messiah must be declared today. If the rocks have to do it, it will be done. And here they are hearing it and blind toward what is taking place.

“When He had entered Jerusalem, all the city was stirred saying, ‘Who is this?’ And the multitudes were saying, ‘This is the prophet Jesus, from Nazareth in Galilee.’” Um, “This is the prophet.” There’s not a clear understanding. The multitudes did take Him to be a prophet. The Jews were concerned and afraid to arrest Him because of the fact the Jews thought He was a prophet. But they don’t really have a grasp. They’re impressed by the miracles that have taken place, but they don’t have an understanding in the full sense.

Turn over to Luke, chapter 19. Luke, chapter 19. I think I said Luke, chapter 11 was the account. Luke, chapter 19 is the account. Mark, chapter 11 is the account of the Passover, of the Triumphal Entry in Mark, Mark 11. It is Luke 19, correct that. Luke chapter 19, and what we were just reading is in verses 38, 39 is what I just referred to. “Some of the Pharisees,” Luke 19:39, “’said Teacher, rebuke Your disciples.’ And He answered and said, ‘I tell you, if these become silent, the stones will cry out!’” This is taking place as they descend the Mount of Olives. When you come from the Mount of Olives down through the valley and then up to Jerusalem, enter Jerusalem.

You’ll note here, verse 41, “And when He approached, He saw the city and wept over it.” You see Jesus clearly sees and knows the tragedy of what is taking place. Here, He comes to the city of Jerusalem in fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy, as their Messiah to the acclaim of the multitudes. And yet they are not truly believing in Him. And it’s a tragedy for the nation. “He wept over the city saying, ‘If you had known in this day, even you.’” And I take it that’s significant. “If you had known in this day,” the significance of this day, the importance of this day. And that fits with the culmination of those first 69 weeks. And here we are, to Messiah the Prince, when He is formally presented before the nation as their coming Messiah.

“The things which make for peace!” I mean, where would the peace for Jerusalem be found and for the nation Israel? In Him, salvation is found in Him. If they would bow before Him He would bring to them the spiritual cleansing the nation must have before it can experience the physical deliverance that it so longs for.

“But now they have been hidden from your eyes. For the days shall come upon you when your enemies will throw up a bank before you, and surround you, and hem you in on every side, and will level you to the ground and your children within you, and they will not leave in you one stone upon another, because you did not recognize the time of your visitation.”

“You really don’t understand what’s going on. You really don’t believe who I am. So what awaits you is judgement. On this very Mount of Olives, Titus, the Roman general will set up his headquarters for the destruction that is so graphically recorded. Destruction of women, men, children, all the stones thrown down from the wall, mighty stones. You can go to Jerusalem now, they’ve excavated, walk, the stones are still laying there as they’ve uncovered them. Laying where they were thrown down by the Romans, in exact fulfillment of what Christ had said would take place. What a momentous day this is for the nation Israel. The conclusion, if you will, of that three-year ministry, where the kingdom was offered to the nation. Their rejection is set. Jesus has come to Jerusalem to die. But, oh, what a tragedy. They are in the very presence of their Messiah. How close but how far!

“If you had known in this day even the things which make for peace!” But they reject Him and in the gracious plan of God He’ll go to the cross to die, to pay the penalty for our sins. He’ll be raised from the dead and in that, God has graciously provided that One should die for the nation, and not just for the nation but for the Gentiles as well. He died that we might live. But, you know, the tragedy continues. In a similar way, I think, “Boy, as I see this, you know, how close the Jews were, in the very presence of their Messiah. And the truth concerning Him and their eyes are closed to see it.” And I think, “How many people will hear again at this season the message about the triumphal entry, the message concerning the coming of Christ, His death and resurrection.” And they turn a deaf ear. They walk out and, you know, it may make an impression on them for a short time as it did on these Jews. But, you know what? Four days later, they’re ready to crucify Him. How tragic!

You know, I mentioned that there is a fulfillment taking place here, in that we see the culmination of the first 69 weeks of Daniel. There is another event taking place here of awesome significance. Turn back to Exodus, chapter 12. I mentioned, we are coming up on Passover, where the Jews will celebrate the event of their deliverance from Egypt. When the angel of death swept through and killed all the first born in the land of Egypt. But the Jews who had obeyed God and slain the lamb and put the blood of the lamb on the door posts, the angel of death passed over them. So we have Passover. In Exodus, chapter 12 you have God giving instructions for the observing of this event. Verse 3 of Exodus 12, “Speak to all the congregation of Israel, saying, ‘On the tenth of this month they are each one to take a lamb for themselves, according to their fathers’ households, a lamb for each household. Now if the household is too small for a lamb, then he and his neighbor nearest to his house are to take one according to the number of persons in them.’” Verse 5, “Your lamb shall be an unblemished male a year old; you may take it from the sheep or from the goats. And you shall keep it until the fourteenth day of the same month, then the whole congregation of Israel is to kill it at twilight.” And what we have at the triumphal entry, the very day when the lambs are to be selected for the Passover sacrifice, you have the Lamb who is provided by God as the fulfillment of all Passover sacrifices, being presented before the nation. So He is being, in effect, selected out as the Lamb without blemish and without spot. You remember when John the Baptist introduced Christ to the nation? In John, chapter 1, “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.” And in 1 Corinthians, chapter 5 and verse 7 we are told, “Christ, our Passover, has been sacrificed.”

Jesus Christ is the ultimate Passover Lamb. It’s not possible, the book of Hebrews tells us, that the blood of bulls and goats should take away sin. They all were reminding people that the penalty for sin is death. You need a sacrifice. Jesus Christ comes to be that sacrifice. And so, at the triumphal entry, you not only have Christ coming with a final presentation of Himself before the nation as their Messiah in fulfillment of Zechariah’s prophecy. But you have the One who will be the Passover Lamb selected out before the people and before it’s done He will have the declaration of all that they cannot find sin in Him. Even the pagan Roman governor will have declared, “I find no fault in Him.” How precise God is in all He has done! Isn’t it amazing? You think about the events taking place here. All comes together and we understand it. Because, as we look back and with the completed scripture we see the sovereign hand of God at work, to do what? Provide a Savior. This Savior is coming again to deliver the nation Israel. When the final 70th week of Daniel is complete. Revelation 19 describes Him descending from heaven. There on a great white horse. Because He comes as the victorious conqueror to take possession of everything and in doing so He will destroy all His enemies. When He came the first time to provide salvation how tragic the nation Israel missed it. They have experienced the suffering, the agonies of history and the worst is yet to come, because they will not bow the knee before Him.

I was reading in the paper this weekend, I believe it was yesterday’s Omaha paper, about Passover and it was making the point that most of the Jews in the United States are what we call non-religious Jews. Most don’t even go to the synagogue. They identify physically with the nation Israel but they do not identify spiritually in any way. Their sad state of affairs. That will change by the end of the 70th week of Daniel by the grace of God and the awesomeness of His judgement.

But now is the time of salvation for us as Gentiles. You know there’s a significant event taking place with the climax of the sixty-ninth week of Daniel. The time of Jewish salvation has passed for the time. That doesn’t mean any Jews will be saved but by and large God’s dealing with the nation now is put on hold. He begins the plan that will begin the specifically with the development of the church in Acts chapter 2 and we live in the day of the Gentiles now. But that day will come to a conclusion with the rapture of the church and God will resume with the signing of the covenant that begins the seventieth week of Daniel, His program with Israel.

These are days of salvation for us. We need to be very careful that we don’t repeat the error of the people that we’ve been studying. So close and yet so far. You’ve heard the message of Jesus Christ. You may sit in this church week after week after week as the Jews attended their synagogues and heard the Old Testament scriptures read repeatedly. But they were not saved by hearing them. Salvation comes by believing the truth as presented. How tragic! To sit in this church or any other church today, perhaps regularly through the year and never experience the salvation that Christ came to provide by His death and resurrection. That is even more tragic than these people are assembled in the presence of the Messiah in the city of Jerusalem and fail to understand and believe that He is the Savior that they must trust.

Praise God for a Savior. Praise God that He has come. Praise God that He’s coming again. Praise God for grace that extends to men, women and young people today, the salvation that was provided in Jesus Christ. It is given as a free gift to all who believe that He loved them and died for them and was raised in victory. Let’s pray together.

Thank you, Lord, that you are the sovereign God who reigns and rules over all. And in Your marvelous plan You provided Your Son to come to earth. Lord, all the details were carried out as You had promised and prophesied, even to this climactic event when He presents Himself before the nation as their Messiah. And yet, at the same time, He is presented before the nation as the Passover Lamb. Lord, these events seem overwhelmingly tragic and in one way they are. But in another way they are overwhelmingly wonderful and amazing that this is the One who was provided not only to be the Messiah of Israel, but He is the One who would die for the nation and not for the nation only, but for the Gentiles as well. And we rejoice in the salvation You have provided for us in His death and resurrection. Lord, I pray for each person here that they might give careful attention to who this One is, to why He died, why He was raised, that they might settle for time and eternity their relationship with Him. And we pray in Christ’s name. Amen.

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