Daniel’s Sixty-Ninth Week Concludes

Transcript

GRM 844
04/13/2003
Daniel's Sixty-Ninth Week Concludes
Matthew 21:1-11
Gil Rugh

We are going to look into the Gospel of Matthew and chapter 21 today. The events associated with Easter become rather familiar to us because they become of an annual celebration. Much of the western world at least is impacted by the Gospel of Jesus Christ and so events associated with Jesus Christ, and it does go beyond the western world as well. Eastern Orthodox churches and so on, they follow a little different calendar but many of the same events impact them.

Where we often celebrate things time after time, they just become part of the celebration and we fail to appreciate the significance of the event. I think that may be true of what we call Palm Sunday. Where we are remembering in a special way and celebrating the coming to Jerusalem of Jesus Christ. He's coming there on the Sunday that precedes the week that will include His crucifixion. Then the following Sunday we'll be celebrating His resurrection.

This is the beginning of a week that is momentous in many ways. But this event that we're celebrating called Palm Sunday is an event of tremendous significance. Not only for what happens as Jesus presents Himself to the nation as the Messiah of Israel but how this fits in the overall plan of God as unfolded in the Scripture.

Keep a marker in Matthew 21 and we are going to go back to the Old Testament to the book of Daniel 9. Part of the last third of your Old Testament and through the large prophets Isaiah, Jeremiah and Ezekiel and you'll hit Daniel. We'll look at chapter 9 and many of you are familiar with Daniel 9 particularly verse 24 and following because it concludes what we call the 70 weeks of Daniel, and this gives the overall structure of God's program for the nation Israel. Daniel 9 began by Daniel talking about the fact that he had been studying the book of Jeremiah, the prophecies of Jeremiah and he had come to understand through his studies of the prophecies of Jeremiah that the Babylonian captivity would be 70 years in duration. Remember God had told the nation Israel that one day, the seventh day of the week, they were to keep as a day of rest in honor of Him. The nation Israel was also to keep every seventh year as a year of rest to the Lord. They weren't to plant crops and so on during that year. Israel had been unfaithful and so for 490 years Israel did not keep that seventh year as a year of rest to the Lord. What God said is you owe me 70 years. I'm going to take all 70 years at one time. We have the 70 years Babylonian captivity where the southern kingdom in particular is carried into captivity in Babylon.

Now while he's studying these things God reveals to Daniel something of his plan for the nation Israel for the coming 490 years. You see what we have. For the past 490 years Israel was unfaithful in keeping every seventh year. We have the 70-year Babylonian captivity. Daniel is part of that captivity. He's been carried a captive to Babylon. God is going to transfer Daniel's attention from the past 490 years to the future 490 years. You read in Daniel 9:24, "Seventy weeks [or literally 70 7's] have been decreed for your people and your holy city." That 70 7's are a week or a seven-year period, and that would not be difficult for Daniel in light of the fact he's just understood something of the past 490 years. There are comparative passages in Daniel and also the book of Revelation that make it clear that we are talking about 490 years here.

What God reveals to Daniel in Daniel 9:24 and following is His program for Israel encompasses 490 years. In that time, he'll accomplish the six things mentioned in verse 24. These are things relating to the Jews, your people, Daniel, the Jews and your holy city Jerusalem. One of the things accomplished in verse 24 is finish the transgression, the rebellion of Israel against God and the Messiah He has provided. At the end of that they'll seal up vision and prophecy. We know that will be after the New Testament's completed because there are additional visions and prophecies given in the New Testament. The book of Revelation for example is a vision given to John the apostle. They'll anoint the most holy place, and we will have the kingdom established and so on.

The timeline from the issuing of a decree to rebuild, restore and rebuild, Jerusalem "until Messiah the Prince there will be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks." Jerusalem will be built again with "plaza and moat even in times of distress." That first 7-year period, 49 years per 7-week period, 490 years relates to the building of the temple under Ezra and Nehemiah. The building of Jerusalem under Ezra and Nehemiah. It begins with the giving of the decree to rebuild and restore Jerusalem. That was given in Nehemiah chapter 2 under the reign of Artaxerxes the Persian King. It began in 444 BC, approximately April 44 BC. Now why we are looking at this is we have a 7-week period, 49 years, followed by 62 weeks, a total of 69 weeks or 483 years.

You note verse 26, "Then after the sixty-two weeks," which were after the seven weeks remember. A total of 69 weeks. "The Messiah will be cut off and have nothing." After 69 weeks of years, 483 years total, the Messiah is going to be cut off. That refers to His execution. He'll have nothing. He won't be ruling and reigning and so on. It doesn't say in the 70th week. There's an indication there is a gap here, a break in time between the 69th and 70th week. It doesn't say in the 70th week the Messiah will be cut off. He'll be cut off after the 69th week. Then we're told in verse 27 what will make the beginning of the last 7-year period which is still future. Now what is of interest to us, and we are not going to go through the mathematics of it. A number of people have, and you can get material on this in the bookstore. We know when it began. At the decree of Artaxerxes in 444 BC. They've also worked this out we know exactly when it ends. Do you know when the first 69 weeks of Daniel's prophecy conclude? They conclude on Palm Sunday. We celebrate the triumphal entry as we talk about, we are talking about a very significant moment in Israel's prophetic history. We are talking about when Messiah is presented to the nation and we are told shortly following this, it will be a matter of days as we know from history. Jesus Christ is going to be cut off. He is going to be crucified. We await yet that 7-year period when God will complete His program with the nation Israel. Jesus will reference to this momentous event as we walk through some of the matters related to the triumphal entry and we'll look at that then.

Come back to the book of Matthew and come to chapter 16. Now you know what the prophecy given to Daniel is. After 69 weeks, 483 years, after 69 weeks, not in the 69th week, not in the 70th week, after the 69th week, the Messiah will be cut off. We need to understand that as we talk about the triumphal entry, we are talking about both a triumphant and a tragedy. In fact, you know what Jesus Christ is going to do as He enters the city as He enters the city in what we call triumphant? He is going to weep. He is going to cry. He's going to weep because of the judgment that is going to be poured out on the nation Israel for their unbelief. We understand as Jesus rides into Jerusalem on this colt and there are perhaps hundreds of thousands of people acclaiming the Son of David. He understands a great tragedy is unfolding. There are people celebrating him, rejoicing over him, who do not understand anything about him. This a tragedy unfolding for the nation. A tragedy but a triumphant because this is part of God's plan in providing redemption and salvation.

You ought to understand when we talk about the triumphal entry, it is also a tragedy. Look what Jesus says in Matthew 16. These are now, remember before the events of Matthew 21, before the triumphal entry. Note what Jesus tells His disciples in verse 21 of Matthew 16. “From that time Jesus began to show His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem” and be acclaimed as Messiah king? No. “And suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes. And be killed and be raised up on the third day.”

Look in chapter 17 verse 22, "While they were gathering together in Galilee Jesus said to them," and this is in anticipating of journeying down ultimately to Jerusalem. The Son of Man is going to be delivered into the hands of men and they will kill Him and He will be raised on the third day.”

Turn over to chapter 20 of Matthew verse 18. Look at verse 17, "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 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 to the Gentiles to mock and scourge and crucify Him. And on the third day He will be raised up.'" You can appreciate why Jesus weeps over Jerusalem in the midst of what we call the triumphal entry because He knows men's hearts. He knows the true condition of the nation is not one of faith in Him as their redeemer Messiah. They are caught up in the excitement of the moment. As we'll see much of the multitude is there because they heard about the resurrection of Lazarus from the dead. They've heard that the prophet of Nazareth who can do miracles is here. The great teacher. But they don't really understand who He is. Their faith is not in Him. That's why we'll see a change in the multitude in a few days. They'll become part of the move to crucify the Messiah of Israel.

Matthew picks up his account and we know something of the significance of this event because all four Gospel writers, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, record what we call the triumphal entry. We'll look at some of the comparisons in their gospels. Jesus journeys from Bethany to Bethpage at the Mount of Olives, from the Mount of Olives to Jerusalem. The crowds build along the way. It's Passover time. Josephus was a first century Jewish historian, not a believer in Jesus Christ, in fact, an apostate Jew, a Roman sympathizer, but he wrote helpful material on the history of this time. He writes about Passover in his day. He writes that at one of the Passovers 256, 500 lambs were sacrificed. Then helps us to estimate how many people gathered for the Passover or an event like this. If you figure a low estimate, remember you would sacrifice a lamb and then you were to eat it all that night. If you figure ten people to a lamb, and there were probably more than that . . . We'll figure ten people to a lamb; you would have over 2 ½ million people at Jerusalem for Passover. So, you see there's filling out of the city and the countryside. We talk about Jesus gathering a multitude here, by the time it gets to Jerusalem the word used is going to be like an earthquake. His arrival. I mean it just rippled through the whole city and surrounding area. This is a momentous event. Now they don't understand how momentous. This is in the context of Jesus warning his disciples I'm going to Jerusalem not to be installed as king but to be crucified and you know what, the leaders of the nation have already planned his execution.

Before we look at Matthew turn over to John, the Gospel of John. Here we are brought into the meeting of the Sanhedrin, the Jewish leaders of the nation Israel. As they are discussing the problem of Christ in verse 47 of John 11, "The chief priests and the Pharisees convened a council, and were saying, 'What are we going to? For this man is performing many signs.'" Jesus has come and gone to Jerusalem at different times. They realize His popularity is growing because He's done many miracles. That climatic miracle of the resurrection of Lazarus earlier in chapter 11 has had a great impact. Now you note people can be impacted. They like the spectacular. They do today. They did then. They like to be part of what is happening and what is going on. But you understand even though these Jewish leaders can say He does many signs, and they are talking about miracles that are signs, that should have caused them to consider His claim to be the Messiah. "If we let Him go on like this, all men will believe in Him." And then what will happen? Well, the Romans aren't going to allow an insurrection to establish a Jewish king do the Romans will come and take away our place in our nation. They'll wipe out the Jewish. What are we going to do?

Then the high priest, the man named Caiaphas stands up and says you'll all stupid. Verse 49, "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." The high priest stands up and he says, Just stop and think. We don't want the whole nation to perish. What's the solution? We'll kill one man. If we kill Jesus of Nazareth, that will solve the problem. Then the people won't continue to follow Him. The Romans won't come and wipe out our nation and we'll still have our position. That's what He meant, but God was using Him in a special way as a mouthpiece. The next verse says, "Now he did not say this 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. So, from that day on they planned together to kill Him."

You see Jesus knows and has told His disciples what is going to take place at Jerusalem on this trip. The Jewish leaders, the Sanhedrin have already planned that this is what they are going to do as soon as they get an opportunity. God's plan is His Son will die at Jerusalem and His death will be for the salvation of the nation Israel and for the salvation of Gentiles also.

Verse 55 while you're in John 11 gives you the setting, "Now the Passover of the Jews was at hand, and many went up to Jerusalem out of the country before the Passover, to purify themselves." They were ceremonially clean and ready to partake of Passover, share in the Passover lamb and so on. But the people are buzzing. They are wondering.

Verse 56, "They were seeking for Jesus and were saying to one another as they stood in the temple, 'What do you think; that He will not come to the feast at all?'" The chief priests have already sent the Word out. This just heightens the anticipation. The word's out on the street so to speak. If you see Jesus of Nazareth, He's to be arrested, reported. "Jesus therefore six days before the Passover came to Bethany where Lazarus and Jesus had raised from the dead."

All right come back to Matthew 21. They leave Bethany and they come in verse 1 of chapter 21 of Matthew to Bethpage to the Mount of Olives. Bethpage - the name means house of unripe things. It's on the Mount of Olives. We don't know the exact site. There are some speculative sites. The Mount of Olives is a significant place. Interestingly it would be at the Mount of Olives that Titus, the Roman general, will camp with his soldiers in 70 A.D, in anticipation of bringing destruction on the nation that the leaders thought they would avoid by killing their Messiah. It was the Mount Olives that Jesus will depart from in His ascension in Acts 1. It is the Mount of Olives that Jesus will return to in glory at His second coming to establish a kingdom on this earth for the nation Israel. The Mount of Olives is that place where you see so many of the pictures taken as it looks down over the temple mount, the city of Jerusalem.

Here Jesus comes to this village on the Mount of Olives. He gives instructions to two of His disciples and He tells them to go into the village and there they will find a donkey and a donkey's colt. Untie them and bring them to Him. In verse 3 says, "If anyone says anything to you, you shall say the Lord has need of them and immediately he will send them." You know, when you read Luke's account in Luke 19:33,34 that's what happens. The owner sees these two disciples untying the colt and the donkey and he says what are you doing? And they said the Lord has need of them, the Lord being a title for the Messiah. The Lord had evidently prepared this man's heart. Perhaps He went and joined the crowd. We don't know. But they bring the two animals. Now He rides on the colt in fulfillment of prophecy as we'll see. The donkey, the mother of the colt, is brought because that will be a quieting influence for this colt that has never been ridden before. As they ride through the crowds and the multitudes and the shouting and all that's going on, evidently the presence of the mother donkey will be a quieting influence for the colt. We're not going into the details because Matthew's concerned about the fulfillment of prophecy.

Look at verse 4, "And this took place that was spoken through the prophet might be fulfilled saying." Then the prophet . . . There's really two prophets brought together here. Isaiah 62:11 starts this out, "Say to the daughter of Zion, 'Behold your king is coming to you.'" The daughter of Zion is a reference, a way of referring to the Jews, Zion being their capital, the capital of the nation. Those who belong to Zion, belong to Jerusalem. Like we refer to the capital. Those who belong to Washington. We are associated with our capital. So, it is with the Jews in a special way.

Then you have Zechariah 9:9. We are not going to take the time to go back into these Old Testament prophecies but if you go back and read the context, you'll find that the Spirit has directed just certain portions to be selected out from these prophets because not everything is fulfilled. Remember the Old Testament prophets saw the first coming of Christ and the second coming of Christ brought together. They didn't understand there would be two comings, separated by 2000 years.

But very carefully the Spirit directs and what is being fulfilled here is the coming of the king of Israel and He is coming on the colt of a donkey, a beast of burden. The point here is He comes in humility and lowliness. Remember Isaiah's great prophecies in the end of chapter 52 and all of chapter 53 of Isaiah that He has no comeliness or form that we should be attracted to Him. His lowliness. He's a man of humility. That has created a great problem for the Jews. We are all familiar with how the Roman emperors are portrayed and they would come on their majestic horse, the conquering victor, and now here you have the Messiah, the king of Israel, riding into Jerusalem on a colt of a donkey, a beast of burden. He comes in humility and lowliness. The Jews couldn't accept it. They wouldn't accept it.

Verses 6 and 7 said that the disciples did as Jesus directed them. You know we might think, Wow! think what it would have been like to be the disciples living this out. Here we are going to Jerusalem to see the fulfillment of all the prophets have prophesied and then now we are getting the colt of the donkey. Can you believe it! We are seeing Zechariah 9:9 fulfilled before our very eyes. You know, none of that's going through their minds. You know how I know that? I'm a preacher. We know everything. No. I know that because the Bible tells me so.

Turn over to John 12. We see verse 15 is a reference from Zechariah, "Your king is coming seated on a donkey's colt." But note verse 16, "These things His disciples did not understand at the first but when Jesus was glorified then they remembered that these things were written of Him and that they had done those things to Him." Even His disciples don't understand what is going on. It's not until after His resurrection and Jesus explains the Old Testament scripture to them and the Spirit brings these things to their mind, then they understood. They saw that God was working His purposes and fulfillment of His Scripture.

You know I often think of these kind of passages as we live out our lives day by day and you look back and wonder as we stand in Glory, we'll say we didn't know how momentous, how significant that time was. We didn't know that was just three days before the Lord was going to come for us. We didn't know that was the last opportunity. We didn't understand importance . . . I read the history and I say, wow, how could they miss it? I say I can go through my life, and I can be so distracted with so many things in my mind and what really matters and is important is not even on my mind. So here they are going through these most significant of days, fulfilling Old Testament Scripture, but they are not even aware of what is taking place.

Back to Matthew 21. They put their garments on this colt. Lay their outer garments like their coat, their outer robe, for a place for Him to sit. Then the multitudes have gathered, and they are going before, and you have the scene now. Keep in mind we are talking maybe a couple million people that have gathered at Jerusalem spilling out to the Mount of Olives and so on. Word spreads. We have already scene in Jerusalem there's questions coming. Will He come up to this Passover. They go to Bethpage, and they get the donkey, and they say the Lord has need of him. You'd think in that village word spreads; the Lord is here. So, the people are coming out and now you are lining the way.

If you go to Jerusalem today, well, not today, but in recent days. Perhaps today at times. You could walk from the Mount of Olives down through the valley and to Jerusalem and into the gates. You've seen a picture of the scene here. People are gathered and they are throwing palm branches. That's why we call it Palm Sunday. Why palm branches? Well, Leviticus 23:40 and Revelation 7:9 use the palm branches as an expression of joy and rejoicing. It was a way of celebrating.

You know we do that on occasion when certain things become symbolic. They are spread out at certain times. They have the palm branches there. It's the rejoicing. It's the celebration. The multitude is growing. The word is spreading as they make this slow trip from the Mount of Olives to Jerusalem, that the prophet of Nazareth is coming, the one who does mighty miracles, the One who raised Lazarus from the dead. The One that the Jewish leaders are seeking to arrest. It's just like "celebrities" today. Everybody wants to gawk and see and become part of this event. They don't want to miss it.

When I was a younger person, much younger, John F. Kennedy was running for President. He was driving down the street at the end of the road where Marilyn lived. We all ran out to get on that street so that when he drove by in his open car, we could wave. And we'd say what? We saw him, and he waved to us. I know he was waving to me particularly.

But you have this. The word is spread. Here you have a unique situation. This is the one who many claim to be the Messiah of Israel. Verse 9 the multitudes going before Him. "Those who followed after Him 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. Reference is drawn from Psalm 118:25,26. If you go back and read Psalm 118, you'll see other messianic references also. Hosanna. We heard it in songs today. Save now or Salvation is now. Zechariah talks about, you know, your salvation is come. Your king is come. Because with the coming of the Messiah of Israel comes their salvation. The problem is the people of Israel are only looking for one kind of salvation. Political deliverance from the Romans. They don't understand the Messiah of Israel according to Old Testament prophecies has to be first and foremost a spiritual Savior and because of that spiritual salvation He can bring physical deliverance. But there's a crying out and the people become part of the cry. Part of the multitude. Hosanna to the son of David. The son of David comes from II Samuel 7:12 the Davidic covenant where God promised to David that he would give him a descendant that would rule forever on his throne. Then they sing Hosanna to the Son of David. They are declaring here is the fulfillment of God's promise to David. He is the One who comes in the name of the Lord. He's the one who is the fulfillment of all that the Lord has promised. Another reference to the Messiah. So, Hosanna in the highest. This salvation comes from heaven itself. God's provision.

What a great cry! The tragedy is people do not understand. We often think it's . . . you know. . . boy, it's almost unbelievable. It is and it isn't. How many people celebrating Palm Sunday today really understand the significance of Jesus Christ and His salvation. You have multitudes that have joined together to celebrate but they don't understand even what they are celebrating.

Turn to Luke 19. You note it is the multitudes that are crying out. What we just read in Matthew in Luke's account in Luke 38 and 30, verse 38. Look at verse 39, “And some of the Pharisees in the multitude said to Him, 'Teacher, rebuke Your disciples.'" You see, here the Pharisees have become part of the crowd and they respect the fact that Jesus is a great teacher. Remember Nicodemus in John 3 came to Jesus by night. “Lord, we know you are a teacher come from God.” You see many people acknowledge many things about Jesus of Nazareth. Oh, great teacher. Wonderful person. Great moral example. Jesus said to Nicodemus unless you're born again, you'll never see the kingdom of God. Not enough to know I'm a great teacher. Not enough to know I'm a great person. Not enough to know I'm a great miracle worker. So even these Pharisees that have been following along and are close enough to Christ to talk to Him, tell him. You've got to tell your disciples to stop. It's blasphemy in effect. They are declaring you to be the Son of David, the Messiah of Israel. But this is the day. Read verse 40, "I tell you if these become silent, the stones will cry out.” We’re fulfilling prophecy. Do I wring my hands about the future. Do I worry about tomorrow and its uncertainty? No. Because there is no uncertainty. Here they are at this momentous time. They must cry out. Here is the presentation of the Messiah of Israel. Certainly, the believers in that multitude cannot restrain themselves. In the purpose and plan of God it is His intention that He be announced and declared. But there's a tragedy in this. While you're in Luke 19, look at the next verse. “And when he approached the city, he wept over it.” What about this time of great triumph, declaring that He's the Son of David, that salvation has come. And then he says, “if you have known in this day,” and that is a particular expression there. Important. Remember that we noted that this is the culmination of the first 483 years, the first 69 weeks of Daniel's prophecy. "If you had known in this day the things which make for peace." What a momentous day this is. But they've been hidden from your eyes. Hundreds of thousands of people joining in the celebration, straining to see; and they don't have any idea who He is.

He weeps for the coming judgment. "The days will come upon you when your enemies will throw up a bank before you, surround you, hem you in on every side, will level you to the ground. Your children within you. They will not leave in you one stone upon another because you did not recognize the time of your visitation”. God has come. The Messiah is here. You didn't recognize it. Judgment awaits. In 70 AD this prophecy will be fulfilled. Titus will marshal his armies on this same Mount of Olives, and they will descend and crush the Jews, destroy the city, throw the stones down. If you visit there today, they've excavated, and you can walk among these huge cut stones that are laying where the Romans pushed them down. All fulfilled.

The Jewish leaders thought we’ll escape judgment of the Romans and the wrath of the Romans by killing the One who claims to be the Messiah. All they did was bring upon themselves judgment. That's why I say in the Triumphal Entry there's triumph but there's tragedy. We ought to understand what's going on here. Jesus is being presented to the nation as their Messiah. But there is no saving faith here. Doesn't mean that no individuals are believing in Him. There are believers here. But the attitude of the nation as a nation is reflected in its leaders here. People are interested because of the spectacular and the miracles. They are not interested to know and hear they are sinners. They are whitewashed tombs as He will say in days following. That they are under the wrath of God and doomed to destruction. That they must believe in Him. All that does is antagonize them all the more. People don't mind the general excitement about Christ. They don't like the truth concerning Him. It's an interesting time. It's an interesting event.

Come back to Matthew and look at verse 10. You know what says, "And when he had entered Jerusalem all the city was stirred." That word "stirred" that's the word I was referring to earlier. It's the word that would be used for an earthquake. When an earthquake occurred, you talk about the ground was stirred. Everything was shaken. So as Jesus has spent the two miles or so traveling from Bethpage and over from the Mount Olives and down and into Jerusalem. It's been a building crescendo as these people that are standing on the Mount of Olives gather and word spreads ahead, the prophet of Nazareth is coming; that’s how they refer to Him. They ask who this in verse is 11. The multitudes are saying this is the prophet Jesus from Nazareth in Galilee. This is not the son of David. This is not the Messiah of Israel. This is not the promised one who is coming. This is a prophet. But you know what happens? Boy, they are just gathering. By the time He gets to Jerusalem, it's like an earthquake has gone through the city. There's just a great stir everybody is talking about. In fact, in John's Gospel 12:19 the Jewish leaders despair. You know what they say? We are not able to do anything. The whole city's gone after Him. The whole nation is going after Him.

But they need not fear. Everybody's caught up in the excitement of the moment. But you know what happens? It has not really impacted our hearts, but we have turned to Jesus Christ in faith; the emotion of the moment passes. That excitement soon wears off. That's what will happen to the multitudes. In a few days most of these people will become part of the crowds that are comfortable in joining in their leaders in crucifying their king. What a sad day it is! A momentous day, an exciting day but a sad day. Now we are reminded in the midst of the triumphal entry, we see the king who's coming is being celebrated, weeping for the people that are celebrating His coming because they are doing it in ignorance. The vast majority of them are in spiritual darkness and blindness. The best . . . He's the prophet of Nazareth. Everybody likes to hear a prophet. What a teacher! What a miracle worker! He raised Lazarus from the dead. In John's account in chapter 12 he says that many of these people in the multitude are anxious to see Jesus because they had heard that He had raised Lazarus from the dead. There are all kinds of reasons for interest and a relatively small amount have become believers.

You know there is one other thing occurring here as we conclude, that is of tremendous significance. Remember Jesus said He was going to Jerusalem to suffer and die and be raised from the dead. Something is happening on this day we call Palm Sunday in preparation for Passover which is a few days away. According to Exodus chapter 12 verse 3, 5, 6, the Jews several days before the slaying of the Passover lamb were to select that lamb and then set it apart, isolate it. That lamb would be recognized as without spot, acceptable as a sacrifice, and in its isolation then it would demonstrate not to be sick or anything and thus be sacrificed several days later at the Passover. The interesting thing in all the unfolding events, you see the sovereign hand of God in control of all the details. Palm Sunday is the day the lambs for sacrifice are being selected, the very day that God brings His Lamb. Remember in John 1, John the Baptist introduced Jesus to the nation, "Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world." On this day when the Jewish leaders and responsible people and the families are selecting lambs to represent the nation. God presents His lamb to the nation, the one that Peter says is unblemished, unspotted, the Lamb of God.

My understanding of the chronology of events is that the very time, and that's way the Scripture specifies the time so clearly, that those Passover lambs will be slain throughout Jerusalem the surrounding area, Jesus Christ is being executed on the cross. That's why Paul will later write in I Corinthians 5:7 “For Christ our Passover also has been sacrificed.”

Isn't it amazing the sovereign control of God. 483 years go by, 69 weeks of God's 70-week program for the nation Israel and on that very day the Messiah is presented to the Jews in Jerusalem. The very day that the Passover lambs are being selected and set apart in anticipation for their offering, the Lamb of God is being presented at Jerusalem because He's come to die. Daniel said 100 of years earlier after the 69th week the Messiah will be cut off. Jesus had told we are going to Jerusalem not for me to be installed as king but for me to suffer and die and be raised again.

It's an awesome and momentous day. We celebrate Jesus' entry into Jerusalem but of upmost importance we appreciate what is taking place. To me a great tragedy being reproduced among Gentiles today is many of them will gather in churches because its Easter time. Many will go through their religious ritual as they do regularly as the Jews did. But it's a great tragedy that they do not understand the truth of the significance of the coming of Christ, His suffering, His death and His resurrection. They do not understand.

We are talking about a Savior who came to suffer and die. Why? Because our religious activity cannot save us. Our good works cannot save us. Our baptism cannot save us. The Jews found that message offensive. Gentiles today find that message offensive. I don't like to go to church and be told I'm a dirty sinner, to be told I'm on my way to Hell. But we think we go to church and want to hear the message of Jesus Christ. But you know, the coming of Christ is a message of sin and judgment. If it wasn’t for my sin and guilt, if it wasn't for the reality of an eternal hell, Jesus Christ the Son of God would have never had to come to this earth. Why was He here? Why did the Son of God leave glory and come to earth? Because as John the Baptist said when he presented him to the nation in John 1:29, "Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world." We need a Savior. You know why we need a Savior? We are sinners and the penalty for sin is not baptism. The penalty for sin is not church membership. The penalty for sin is not good work. The penalty for sin is death. Like Jesus told Nicodemus, "You must be born again." So, we must be born again. It's not enough to understand things about Christ, not enough to be interested in things about Christ, not enough to go to church and learn about Christ. The issue comes have we ever understood the truth of the message of Christ that we are sinners, that we are without hope, that we are doomed to an eternal hell and separation from God. But His Son died on the cross to pay the penalty for our sin which is death. He was raised in victory and now God gives a free gift to every person who turns from their sin and places their faith in Him, the gift of life. Causes them to be born again. Washes them clean from the defilement of sin and makes them new.

We do have something to celebrate. The greatest thing of all is we have a Savior. I'm glad when Jesus Christ came to Jerusalem. He was coming to die. The most awful, wretched, tragic event that could happen where the Creator is crucified by His creation. It is part of the marvelous plan of God for salvation. How would I be saved if He didn’t die. I wouldn't. How would you be saved if He didn't die. You wouldn't. The tragedy is He did die. He was raised. But many people are still lost. Many people gathered around in the crowds. How tragic they didn't believe in the Savior that was there. Let's pray together.

Thank you, Lord, for Your Son Jesus Christ. Thank you that He did leave the glories of heaven, become a man. Lord, on this final journey traveled to Jerusalem not to be enthroned as king but to be crucified on a cross. In accordance with Your prophecies of old the Messiah would be cut off. Lord, we are in awe of the way that You accomplish Your purposes and Your plan. But on this very day the Lamb of God is being presented in anticipation of His sacrifice to pay the penalty for our sin. Lord, thank you that salvation cannot be earned, that salvation is given as a free gift to anyone and everyone who bows before You, recognizing their sinful condition, casting themselves upon Your mercy, believing that Christ died for them. I pray this might be a day of salvation as we anticipate the fact that Jesus Christ is coming again for us as His children. We pray in Christ's name, amen.