Finally, it was time for Jesus to descend into Jerusalem as the Messiah. Precisely what He had come to earth to accomplish. Merely 4 days and He would be arrested, then hung upon the cross. This was Passover. On the 10th of the month of Nissan, the sacrificial lambs were brought into Jerusalem. The sacrificial lambs would be on display so all could see their perfection for four days before being placed on the altar. There was joyous praise as the ceremonies began. This was Grace on Display. Each year at the Passover the people were reminded of God’s gracious salvation of His people that first Passover in Egypt. The blood of the lamb symbolized God’s love, protection, and forgiveness. This meant life rather than death. So yes there was Glorious Joyous Praise and celebration at this time of the year.
Now, it was the 10th of Nissan in the year 33 AD. Long ago, Daniel had prophesied the Messiah would arrive into Jerusalem on the 10th of Nissan, 33 AD. Precisely, he had written at the instruction of Gabriel.
Know therefore and understand,
That from the going forth of the command
To restore and build Jerusalem
Until Messiah the Prince,
There shall be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks;
The street shall be built again, and the wall,
Even in troublesome times. Daniel 9:25-26
TIMING is Exact.
The command sent forth to restore and build Jerusalem occurred in the month of Nissan 444 B.C.—that began the clock ticking toward the time the Messiah would arrive at the end of 69 weeks of years. Their lunar years were 360 days, thus making the time referred to as being 173,880 days from March 5, 444 B.C. This fell on March 30, 33AD which was the day the Messiah would enter Jerusalem. These final 70 weeks regarding the story of God’s people Israel was to:
24 “Seventy weeks are determined
For your people and for your holy city
To finish the transgression. (Until the final transgression of humanity is done-the greatest of which was the crucifixion of Christ)
To make an end of sins. (Declaring Victory over sin and death).
To make reconciliation for iniquity. (By Jesus paying the price for our sin).
To bring in everlasting righteousness. (One day yet to come when Christ returns)
To seal up vision and prophecy. (When the final prophecy is complete).
And to anoint the Most Holy. (When every knee shall bow) Daniel 9:24
So, Jesus was to come to finish the transgression, to make an end of sins, to make reconciliation for iniquity. Then during the 70th week (yet to come) He is to bring in everlasting righteousness and seal up vision and prophecy. And to anoint the Most Holy. So, all these Pharisees and Sadducees should have known, this must be the Messiah. But alas they forgot this key verse which separated the times.
26 “And after the sixty-two weeks
Messiah shall be cut off, but not for Himself. Daniel 9
Jesus came to die, that He might be the final sacrificial lamb who paid the price once and forever for your sins and mine.
So, Why Did They Not See?
They did not consider the mysterious gap in time between His coming to make reconciliation for sin and His ultimate reign as King of Kings. Never did they consider His plan to save the Gentiles. Although He had told them many times in many ways. Indeed, He told them to live righteous, Holy lives. To be light to a dark world, bringing salvation to others. Ah instead they chased the dark ideologies and idols of the ones they were to save. Either that or they followed the sins of the spirit: pride and arrogance. Believing themselves so righteous, they believed the Messiah would come and destroy all the others, setting up His Kingdom with them as rulers. How foolish they were to ignore all the prophecies about the Suffering servant.
And so, as He entered into Jerusalem, the joyous praise of His disciples disturbed the Pharisees and Sadducees. This was the first time Jesus had allowed such joyous praise. Because He knew it was not time until this day. The exact day foretold by the prophets of old. Had the Religious Scholars forgotten to read Isaiah.
Isaiah 53:
Who has believed our report?
And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?
2 For He shall grow up before Him as a tender plant,
And as a root out of dry ground.
He has no [a]form or [b]comeliness;
And when we see Him,
There is no [c]beauty that we should desire Him.
3 He is despised and [d]rejected by men,
A Man of [e]sorrows and acquainted with [f]grief.
And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him;
He was despised, and we did not esteem Him.
4 Surely He has borne our [g]griefs
And carried our [h]sorrows;
Yet we [i]esteemed Him stricken,
[j]Smitten by God, and afflicted.
5 But He was wounded[k] for our transgressions,
He was [l]bruised for our iniquities;
The chastisement for our peace was upon Him,
And by His stripes[m] we are healed.
6 All we like sheep have gone astray;
We have turned, every one, to his own way;
And the Lord [n]has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.
7 He was oppressed and He was afflicted,
Yet He opened not His mouth;
He was led as a lamb to the slaughter,
And as a sheep before its shearers is silent,
So He opened not His mouth.
8 He was taken from [o]prison and from judgment,
And who will declare His generation?
For He was cut off from the land of the living;
For the transgressions of My people He was stricken.
9 And [p]they made His grave with the wicked—
But with the rich at His death,
Because He had done no violence,
Nor was any deceit in His mouth.
Joyous Praise to the Righteous Servant Bruised for Us
10 Yet it pleased the Lord to [q]bruise Him;
He has put Him to grief.
When You make His soul an offering for sin,
He shall see His seed, He shall prolong His days,
And the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in His hand.
11 [r]He shall see the labor of His soul, and be satisfied.
By His knowledge My righteous Servant shall justify many,
For He shall bear their iniquities.
12 Therefore I will divide Him a portion with the great.
And He shall divide the [s]spoil with the strong,
Because He poured out His soul unto death.
…numbered with the transgressors.
He bore the sin of many,
And made intercession for the transgressors.
Obedient Servants Do His bidding
Well, we would be foolish to think the disciples remembered that He was coming to die. Neither did the apostles recall this fact, although He had just told them. But let us look closer to the story as outlined by Luke.
It came to pass, when He drew near to Bethphage and Bethany, at the mountain called Olivet, that He sent two of His disciples, 30 saying, “Go into the village opposite you, where as you enter you will find a colt tied, on which no one has ever sat. Loose it and bring it here. 31 And if anyone asks you, ‘Why are you loosing it?’ thus you shall say to him, ‘Because the Lord has need of it.’” Luke 19
So, they went with no doubt to do exactly what He asked.
32 So those who were sent went their way and found it just as He had said to them. 33 But as they were loosing the colt, the owners of it said to them, “Why are you loosing the colt?” 34 And they said, “The Lord has need of him.” 35 Then they brought him to Jesus. And they threw their own clothes on the colt, and they set Jesus on him. Luke 19
Soon they returned with the donkey colt and his mother (as we note in Matthew 21).
Obedience with Joyous Praise, but did they know?
Did anyone realize this was the fulfillment of Zechariah’s prophecy.
Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion!
Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem!
Behold, your King is coming to you;
He is just and having salvation,
Lowly and riding on a donkey,
A colt, the foal of a donkey. Zechariah 9:9
Maybe some did, as they looked up some 200 feet and saw Jesus riding into town on the donkey. Did they realize this was His perfect declaration of being the Messiah? At any rate they began their joyous praise, hailing Him as King of Kings. Surely, He had come to set them free!
37 Then, as He was now drawing near 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 they had seen, 38 saying: ‘Blessed is the King who comes in the name of theLord!’
Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!” Luke 19
But not every was happy.
39 And some of the Pharisees called to Him from the crowd, “Teacher, rebuke Your disciples.” Luke 19
Tell them to stop praising you as though you are the Messiah!
40 But He answered and said to them, “I tell you that if these should keep silent,the stones would immediately cry out.” Luke 19
Why would the stones Cry Out in Joyous Praise?
Jesus knew that today was the day, the exact day prophesied in Daniel. It was so important that He be proclaimed as the Messiah that if the people were silent, the stones would proclaim Him. God’s prophecies and His will Always are accomplished exactly as He foretells.
Jesus came in the Triumphant Messiah entered the gates of Jerusalem to be viewed in all His perfection and then to pay the price for all our sins. David wrote this joyous praise song for such a day in Psalm 118.
21 I will praise You,
For You have answered me,
And have become my salvation.
22 The stone which the builders rejected
Has become the chief cornerstone.
23 [c]This was the Lord’s doing;
It is marvelous in our eyes.
24 This is the day the Lord has made;
We will rejoice and be glad in it.
25 Save now, I pray, O Lord;
O Lord, I pray, send now prosperity.
26 Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!
We have blessed you from the house of the Lord.
27 God is the Lord,
And He has given us light;
Bind the sacrifice with cords to the horns of the altar.
28 You are my God, and I will praise You;
You are my God, I will exalt You.
29 Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good!
For His mercy endures forever.
The Heart of our Savior
41 As he approached Jerusalem and saw the city, he wept over it 42 and said, “If you, even you, had only known on this day what would bring you peace—but now it is hidden from your eyes. 43 The days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment against you and encircle you and hem you in on every side. 44 They will dash you to the ground, you and the children within your walls. They will not leave one stone on another, because you did not recognize the time of God’s coming to you.” Luke 19
Why were their eyes blinded?
3 But even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, 4 whose minds the god of this age has blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them. 5 For we do not preach ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord, and ourselves your bondservants for Jesus’ sake. 2 Corinthians 4
So, which are you? Are you filled with joyous praise to the King of Kings, trusting Him no matter what? Is your hope based on trusting Him who will one day establish His Kingdom, willing to endure the trials and tribulations until then? What will you do with all the gifts you have been given today? Or do you only want Jesus to solve your problems today?
DO YOU KNOW CHRIST AS YOUR SAVIOR AND LORD?
If you don’t know Jesus Christ as your Savior and Lord: I urge you to go to my page titled How to Be Saved by clicking on this link. There is nothing more important than this; because He is the way, the truth and the life. Therefore, I urge you to seek Him today.
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Disclosures
©Effie Darlene Barba, 2021
Disclosure of Material Connection: I have not received any compensation for writing this post. Furthermore, I have no material connection to the brands, products, or services that I have mentioned except for my own books. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.
Credits
New King James Version (NKJV)
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.