On Sunday morning of Passion week, Jesus climbed on to a donkey, and rode it the two miles from Bethphage to Jerusalem. And as he went, thousands upon thousands of pilgrims, who had come for the Passover feast in Jerusalem, began praising Him, and hailing Him as their Messiah. They waved palm branches, and laid their cloaks in His path in homage to Him.
And one week later, they would crucify Him. This is that story.
On Sunday morning of Passion week, Jesus climbed on to a donkey, and rode it the two miles from Bethphage to Jerusalem. And as he went, thousands upon thousands of pilgrims, who had come for the Passover feast in Jerusalem, began praising Him, and hailing Him as their Messiah. They waved palm branches, and laid their cloaks in His path in homage to Him.
And one week later, they would crucify Him. This is that story.
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this podcast is designed to listen to On Sunday afternoon, Greetings again from Bruce. As I said on Saturday, I'm putting together a devotional podcast that takes a daily walk through Jesus Passion Week. Yesterday we started with the anointing of Jesus by Mary, the sister of Lasser's. You didn't listen to that one. You may want to do so before continuing with today's message. Today, we're looking at harmony of the gospel story of the triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem. Just to let you know how I put this together. I took the harmony of the Gospels out of the notes in my MacArthur study Bible and wove the Scriptures together in the order that MacArthur placed the stories. Now, since each of the Gospels witnesses have different accounts about the narrative, I had to take some license in deciding how phrases and events should intermingle. For example, I picture the triumphal entry taking place in the afternoon of Palm Sunday, one week before Jesus Resurrection. The accounts of the triumphal entry don't indicate win on Sunday. This happened, but the events end in the evening, so I imagine them starting in the afternoon. I'm not going to say that I'm always right or that I always have the order. Right of these events were phrases, but I tried to remain faithful to preserve the words and a sense of the gospel narratives. I hope that you are as blessed hearing it as I wasn't studying it. Let's proceed with the Sunday afternoon story of Jesus triumphal entry into Jerusalem Palm Sunday Spring of 30 a. D. The 10th of Nice on That's about our month of April or March. We start story of the triumphal entry by taking you back in time to the Kingdom of Babylon to a Jewish prophet in exile. That profits name was Daniel, and God used Daniel in a very special way, he revealed to Daniel, and Daniel wrote down prophecies of events that would happen in the world's near future in the Messianic time and far into the distant future. And I'm so glad that he revealed the future in that way because some of Daniel's prophecy is about the distant future. Haven't happened yet, but I have confidence that they will. You know why? Because he has given predictions that did come true. God told him about every kingdom that would follow the Babylonian kingdom, he said, after Babylon would come Mito Persia, then Greece and Rome. His prophecies of the world's near future spans some 600 years, and they all came true. But let me tell you about one Messianic prophecy in particular that pertains to our study today. And this prophecy literally pinpoints the very day when Jesus would ride into Jerusalem and be hailed as Israel's King and Messiah. In Daniel, Chapter nine, we have what is commonly referred to as the 70 weeks prophesy, it says in verse 24. 70 weeks are determined upon thy people in upon thy holy city to finish the transgression and to make an end of sins and make reconciliation for iniquity and to bring in everlasting righteousness and to seal up the vision and prophecy and to anoint the most holy No, therefore and understand that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto Messiah, the prince shall be seven weeks and three score in two weeks, the street shall be built again and the wall even in trouble sometimes and after three scoring two weeks, shall messiah be cut off. But not for himself. Now. We're not going to go into great detail here about this, but here's the long and short of it. It was revealed to Daniel that two major events were going to happen in the future years. First, there's going to be a decree to restore and build Jerusalem in Daniel's Day. Jerusalem and the Temple of God had been destroyed by the invading Babylonian army. Daniel himself had been taken captive to Babylon in 605 BC. So he's told there's going to be a decree to restore the city now. Did that happen? Yes. Years later, 4 45 BC over 200 years after Daniel was taken into captivity after Daniel was long dead under the Persian rule of the world, King Arctic CIRC sees that King gave the command to rebuild the city. You can find a record of that event in Nehemiah, Chapter two. So what is the second event that Daniel predicted? He predicted the coming of the promise Jewish Messiah. Throughout the Old Testament, God had been promising Israel a savior and eternal king, a healer, a deliverer. And now Daniel has told that not only will he come But God says I'm going to tell you exactly when he will come. And he is told that the Messiah will be quote and quote cut off, which is another way of saying that the Messiah will be killed. That prediction alone is astounding, considering what we know happened to Jesus. But look at what Daniel is told, quote from the going forth of the commandment to restore and build Jerusalem unto Messiah. The prince shall be seven weeks and three score and two weeks, a little bit further on. And after three score and two weeks, shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself? So let's do the math on this week's stuff. The commandment to restore Jerusalem happened in 4 45 BC and God says it will be seven weeks plus 62 weeks until the Messiah is cut off or killed. So 69 weeks, 62 plus seven? Well, it obviously wasn't just 69 weeks between 4 45 BC and 30 a. D. When Jesus was actually crucified. But in Daniel's prophecy, the word for week is just the number seven. So instead of 69 weeks, if you had translated it directly to English, it would say 69 sevens. So they're going to be 69 sevens from 4 to 45 BC to Messiah. The prince. Now we know the sevens aren't days or weeks or months, because that's too short of a time. But what if he's talking about years? Each seven would be seven years for told love 69 times seven, 483 years. So if that is what God was telling Daniel then he was saying that from 4 45 BC to the coming of Messiah and his being cut off or killed, there would be 483 years. Well, if you do the math 483 spanning from 4 45 BC, brings us to 30 a. D and more precisely to the month of Nice on in 30 a. D. Do you know what happened on the ninth of Nice on in 30 a. D. Jesus rode a donkey's colt into Jerusalem, with thousands of people swarming around him, saying Hosanna, blessed is the king that comes in the name of the Lord. Blessed be the kingdom of our father, David. That comes in the name of the Lord Hosanna in the highest peace in heaven and glory in the highest Jesus came at exactly the right time. And what's interesting about this is that nobody was counting up the days from this prophecy. Nobody was saying Okay, today's the day that messiah the prince is supposed to show up. They did show up to waive palm branches of Jesus, but not because of fulfillment of this prophecy or that they were expecting this prophecy to be fulfilled. You see, they didn't understand the prophecy. They expected a messiah, a savior who would overthrow the Romans. Rule of their country, not a savior toe overthrow. Sins rule in their hearts. They wanted a soldier, not a sacrifice. They didn't understand how or why their messiah would be cut off or die. So they weren't looking for the fulfillment of this prophecy. And one week after Jesus triumphal entry on Palm Sunday, he was cut off. He was killed, crucified. But as the prophecy put it, he was killed, not for himself. He wasn't crucified for any guilt of his own. But he was killed as a substitute for you and me. Well, that's how we introduce the triumphal entry of Jesus in Jerusalem. It was a long time coming, and it was in the fore ordained Plan of God. Mark 11 1 begins this story this way, and when they that is Jesus and his disciples came near to Jerusalem to Beth, Fergie and Bethany at the Mount of Olives, he said, two of his disciples to go get an animal. I told you last time that Jesus had a destined appointment with death in Jerusalem. He and his disciples ate supper on Saturday evening in Bethany, two miles from Jerusalem, with Lazarus, Mary and Martha. Mary had anointed Jesus feet with very expensive oil as an expression of her love for him as her lord and grief that he was going to the cross. It is likely that Jesus and his disciples spent the night in their home. Now we're not told all the details of what they did the next day, but after their goodbyes in that following morning, they start the short journey up the Mount of Olives to Jerusalem. On the way was a small town named Beth McGee. When they arrive at Beth McGee, Jesus selects to his disciples for an errand. It continues in mark verse two. And he said to them, Go your way into the village, over against you, And as soon as you enter it, you will find a colt tied where on Never man sat loose him and bring him. How did Jesus know about this particular animal being in this particular place? Well, frankly, Scripture says that Jesus was God in flesh, so it would be no challenge to nowhere. Every cold in the whole world was at that moment. But it's probable that the owner of this particular colt was a follower of Jesus or at least sympathetic to Jesus commands. Or else he wouldn't have even given permission for Jesus disciples to take him notices Well, that this colt had never been ridden. This two indicates that Jesus is in complete control of this situation. Even the animals submit to his divine will. Jesus further instructs his disciples. If any man say to you, why do you do this? Say ye that the Lord had need of him and straight way he will send him hither. And they the two disciples went their way and found the colt tied by a door without in a place where two ways met and they lose him. And certain of them that stood there said unto him, What do ye losing the cold? And they said unto them, even as Jesus had commanded and they let them go And they brought the colt to Jesus and cast their garments on it, and he sat on him. The Gospel of Matthew indicates that there were two animals, a donkey and her full. Now we continue the story With the passage in John 12 John indicates that Jesus road to Jerusalem on a donkey's colt and that it was a fulfillment of the Old Testament prophecy. John then quotes the passage out of Zachariah 99 I'm going to share with you the entire passage from Zachariah 99 It says Rejoice greatly. O daughter of Zion Shout Oh, daughter of Jerusalem! Behold thy king comes to the is just and having salvation lowly and riding upon an ass And upon the colt, the full of an ass. So, other than fulfilling prophecy, why did Jesus ride a donkey into Jerusalem? Well, tradition tells us that the people of a town new if a king came to town riding on a horse. His intentions were for war against that city. But if you rode in on a donkey, he was coming in peace. He was identifying with the common people he was coming to do good and offer grace well. John goes on to say these things understood not his disciples at the first, but when Jesus was glorified. Then remember they that these things were written about him and that they had done these things unto him. So Jesus disciples are alongside him as he begins the ride toward Jerusalem. And there are others as well for 17. And John's account says the people therefore, that were with him when he called Lazarus out of his grave and raised him from the dead bear record. So as he went, an entourage was going along with him all along the way. Word was going out that this miracle worker, this one who raised a man from the dead who had been dead for four days this man who spoke such gracious and profound words was riding toward Jerusalem. So a crowd started to swell. Verse 18 says. For this cause, the people also met him for that. They heard that he had done this miracle. The miracle of raising Lazarus from the dead. On that next day, much people that were come to the feast when they heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem took branches of palm trees and went forth to meet him. So as they were going, somebody ran ahead to Jerusalem and began shouting that Jesus was coming. Thousands of pilgrims have been coming to the city to celebrate Passover. They came from all over Israel. So many may have met him or heard of him during the three years he had traveled through the nation and perform miracles so they run out of the city to see him. There's a rush of excitement because the hush words of the people spoke of Jesus, wondering if he was the promised savior and king that they had read about in their scriptures. In the flurry of that excitement, they begin cutting down date palm branches from the trees, delay as a carpet or toe wave before him as a road into town. This was their equivalent of a ticker tape parade reserved for kings, dignitaries and very important people now mark ads and many spread their garments in the way it took off their outer coats, cloaks and laid them in the path in front of Jesus as though to say, We are your servants. You may tread on us Verse 37 in John's Gospel. And when he had come nigh even now, at the descent of the Mount of Olives, the whole multitude of the disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works that they had seen. So everybody's gathering to this makeshift parade route, and naturally, some people knew who Jesus was and others didn't. So when someone didn't know, they would ask their neighbor, Who's this man? And the neighbor might have, Ah, secondhand or even a firsthand account of the thousands of miracles that Jesus performed, or the incredible words he spoke or the indescribable love they felt in his presence. So everybody just begin shouting words of love and praise Jesus as he rides by on the winding path to the eastern gate of Jerusalem, Mark says. And they went before and they followed and cried, saying Hosanna, blessed is the king that comes in the name of the Lord. Blessed be the kingdom of our father, David, that comes in the name of the Lord. Hosanna in the highest peace in heaven and glory in the highest Now, part of their words are just the bubbling up from joy surrounding the prospect that their messiah was actually present. Others of their words came straight from Messianic scriptures. Let me giving sample someone 18 verse 25 to 26. They directly quoted this passage. It says Save now I beseech thee, Oh Lord, Oh Lord, I be seats the send now prosperity Blessed be he that comes in the name of the Lord. We have blessed you out of the house of the Lord. They're crying to him. Save now they're quoting a Messianic prophecy. They're saying we're ready to be saved from Rome. You've got the power. Now you got this crowd, you've got the people. So go ahead and vanquish the enemy. Well, it's quite a request, and I think if he had asked, this crowd would have followed him to battle against the Roman army in that moment to liberate their land from its iron fisted tyranny. But I'm not the only one that saw that they would probably do that. John, 12 tells us that the religious elite were also represented in that crowd. 1st 19 says the Faris is therefore set among themselves. Perceive ye how you prevail, nothing. Behold, the world is gone. After him, you prevail. Nothing. They had been conspiring for months to try and bring down Jesus popularity, his influence, his growing power with people. But when they witnessed this crowd and here the crowd quoting Scripture in praised to Jesus, they say to each other, Obviously we've failed miserably to bring this man down. Others of them of the Faris ease, began to be offended. Not only that, the crowd is applying Messianic prophecy to Jesus, but that he is receiving it. So they shout to him over the throng. This from John 19 Verse 39 and some of the Faris ease for among the multitude said to him, Master, rebuke your disciples and Jesus. Reply is I tell you that if these should hold their peace, the stones would immediately cry out. Jesus is saying that at this moment of praise to the son of God, he will be praised. And if those who have voices don't praise God will cause the inanimate creation to praise him. We don't know how long that two mile journey took. With that many people gathering that much praise being lifted up that many stories of Jesus to tell. This could have been a journey of multiple hours and a gathering once they got to the amount of hours more. And as the evening wore on and light began to wane, the pall of night overshadowed the city. It was time for Jesus and his company to go back to their lodging and Bethany. The crowd had dissipated. But before they went, Jesus turns to take a final look at Jerusalem, John, 19 says. And when he was come near, he beheld the city and wept over it. Why was he weeping? Because he knew what was coming after the parade. In just one week, the same crowd would no longer shout. Blessed is he who comes and named the Lord, but they would shout, Crucify him! And he wasn't weeping for himself as a victim that it was weeping for them because their rejection of him would lead to God's judgment against the Jewish people and the city of Jerusalem, John says in Verse 42. He was weeping, saying, If thou hadst known, even thou at least this in thy day the things which belong unto thy peace. But now they're hid from nine eyes. In other words, he psyche saying, You cry out for a military savior to bring victory and peace. But you're really peace will come only if you repent and believe in your crucified Messiah. Continuing, he describes how their judgment will come at the end of the very spear that they wanted to overthrow. Verse 43 for the days will come upon the that line. Enemies will cast a trench around the encompass the round and keep the end on every side. He's describing an army surrounding a city in a siege in Verse 44 shall lay the even with the ground and I Children with the and they shall not leave in the one stone upon another because thou newest not the time of I visitation and their judgment did come. Jesus was crucified. He rose from the dead and 30 a. D. And for 40 years after that, Jesus disciples continued with miracle working power to proclaim in Jerusalem that Jesus was the Jewish Messiah and that the Jewish people needed to repent and follow Jesus. But most of them did not or would not believe. They even hated and persecuted Jesusdisciples as they had hated him. And in 70 a. D. Rome, tired of Jewish insurrection and riots and marched to Jerusalem, laid seed to the city and eventually tour down its walls and temple. 10 thousands were killed by Rome, 97,000 were enslaved. All the testimony to judgment against the people who crucified their king. The final word from Scripture around this narrative comes from Mark, Chapter 11 Verse 11 and Jesus entered into Drew, slamming into the temple. And when he had looked round about upon all things and now the even tied was come, he went out unto Bethany with the 12. What is the lesson from all of this today? The lesson is that today is the day of salvation. You know that some people have placed the blame for Jesus's death on the Jewish people and the majority of the Jews in Jesus Day, and the years after did reject him. In fact, some Jewish rabbis tried to suppress the teaching of Daniel, nine, that prophesized his coming in his death in their synagogues because the 70 weeks prophesy so clearly pointed to Jesus as their messiah. The curse read this way is found in San Hadron 97 be quoted in Chapter 12 of Hill Cost Milic, Um, from the missionary tora of Rambam, it says, May the spirits of those who attempt to calculate the final time of Messiah's coming expire. They proclaim a curse of death on anyone who would try to do the math from Daniel Chapter nine and determine that Jesus was indeed the Messiah. But it wasn't just the Jews or even the Roman to crucify Jesus. It was us, Isaiah, 53 says. Verse four. Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows. He was wounded for our transgressions. He was bruised for our iniquities. The chastisement of our peace was upon him, and by his stripes we are healed. It wasn't his own grief, his own sorrow or transgressions or iniquities or chastisement that he was bearing. It was ours. We all put Jesus on the cross. The blame is ours. But the forgiveness, the spiritual healing and the atonement are also ours. If we will believe and surrendered to him. Let's pray. Lord, thank you for this wonderful look back at your triumph. And we know that your triumph was not a group of thousands shouting. Blessed is the king because they didn't know what they were saying. Your triumph happened at the cross and three days later, at the Resurrection you left us a way to be redeemed. That if we humbly and sincerely come to you saying please save me now from my sin, make me new. Then we can have that messiah. And we pray this in the name of he who deserves our Ho Zana's The Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.