Effie Darlene Barba

Although thousands had gathered around Him joyously celebrating His entry into Jerusalem.  The crowds were overwhelming as they threw their coats along the path, symbolic of surrender to His rule as King.  At that moment they were certain, He was the Messiah who would free them from the Roman tyranny.  Certainly, He would set up His Kingdom.  However, it would be this same crowd that would reject Him and cry out for His crucifixion only a few short days later.  Why did they so quickly reject Jesus as King?

Shortly after His triumphal entry, Jesus goes to the temple where He drove out the merchants and money changers.  “⁷ And he taught, saying unto them, ‘Is it not written, My house shall be called of all nations the house of prayer? but ye have made it a den of thieves” (Mark 11).  In this He quoted, Isaiah 56:7 and the fulfillment of Jeremiah 7:11. “¹¹ Is this house, which is called by my name, become a den of robbers in your eyes? Behold, even I have seen it, saith the Lord.”

They Reject Jesus as King of Righteousness

Continue reading “Why Did They Reject Jesus as King?”

Jesus is riding the colt.  The crowds crying forth “Save Us” are surrounding Him-it would appear that the multitudes believed in Him as the long-awaited Messiah He was. Yet, as the city comes into view, Jesus weeps over Jerusalem.

⁴¹ Now as He drew near, He saw the city and wept over it, ⁴² saying, “If you had known, even you, especially in this your day, the things that make for your peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes. ⁴³ For days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment around you, surround you and close you in on every side, ⁴⁴ and level you, and your children within you, to the ground; and they will not leave in you one stone upon another, because you did not know the time of your visitation” (Luke 19 NKJV).

Did He weep knowing it would this same crowd who cried out for His crucifixion in only a few days?  For they did not want salvation from their own sin.  Instead they wanted only to be saved from the Roman oppression. They wanted health, wealth and prosperity.  Not to bow down to worship God.  No, not really to make Him Lord of their life.  Rather than to love the giver of the gifts, their eyes were on the gifts only.

Furthermore, He saw the great devastation that lay ahead of them.  There would be the decimation of the temple in 70 AD by the Roman emperors trying to squelch a Jewish revolt.  Some estimate that more than a million Jews died during that time period.  Additionally, they essentially lost all hold of their land from 120 AD until 1948.

Jesus Weeps

Scripture presents an earlier scene where Jesus weeps.  As He approached the crowd gathered and weeping at the tomb of Lazarus, we are told “Jesus wept”.  So, often people present this as an exemple of Jesus compassionate empathy for those weeping.  Yet, as He approached Bethany that day, He knew He came with the greatest gift of all.  He knew that He was going to raise Lazarus from the dead, so He did not weep for the death of Lazarus.  Instead, He wept because the crowd and His dear friends did not really understand fully His deity.  If they had, they would not have been mourning.  They did not understand He held the keys to the Kingdom of God and the power over death.  Theirs had been a mournful cry.  Now this cried who joyfully cried out “Hosanna, Lord, Son of David” did not really know who He is either.

Now once more Jesus came with the greatest gift of all-life.  He came to bring spiritual life, but the crowd did not understand.  Much as was foretold by Jeremiah.

¹Oh, that my head were waters,
And my eyes a fountain of tears,
That I might weep day and night
For the slain of the daughter of my people!
² Oh, that I had in the wilderness
A lodging place for travelers;
That I might leave my people,
And go from them!
For they are all adulterers,
An assembly of treacherous men.

³ “And like their bow they have bent their tongues for lies.
They are not valiant for the truth on the earth.
For they proceed from evil to evil,
And they do not know Me,” says the Lord. (Jeremiah 9)

Still, Jesus Weeps Today

I am certain that Jesus weeps today as He looks down upon our nation and the world.  He came that He might bring life.  Dying on the cross, He paid the penalty of our sin.  Then, He arose from the grave and sits upon His throne in heaven.  One day, He will return to gather His church—all who have accepted Him as Savior and Lord to be with Him in heaven.  He will return to establish His Kingdom on earth during His millennial reign.  Then, He will bring final judgement upon all sin.  Satan will be cast into hell for eternity along with all who refused to accept the gift that Jesus freely offers. I am certain Jesus weeps, as He watches our nation foolishly chases after false ideologies of Him and do not really know Him.  So many proclaim the name of Christ; yet, do not know Him.

Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me” (John 14:6). Do you know Him as Savior and Lord of your life?

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.

ARE YOU IN OF NEED PRAYER?

If you have a prayer request email me by clicking here

Furthermore, if you would like to tell me your story or thoughts  comment here

Books Available

If you want to know more about books I have written. Then, please click on this link to discover a world of Book Resources.

Or you can find all my books on Amazon.com, search just by searching Effie Darlene Barba.  Or click this link to be taken there

Furthermore,  for inspirational photos or home decor click here.

Series:  Finding Faith on the Road to Emmaus

Did Jesus Come to Offer Salvation to All?

How to Certainly Know Jesus As the Lion of Judah

 God Works All Things According to His Will

How Can I Be Certain Jesus is the Christ?

Was Jesus the Savior they Waited For?

How was Christ’s Suffering a Part of His Glory?

Why is it so Important to Know All the Truth?

How Faith is Found on the Road to Emmaus

Poetry:

Trust in You

Thy Greatest Glory Be Thy Love Poured Out On Calvary

Disclosures

©Effie Darlene Barba, 2018
Disclosure of Material Connection: I have not received any compensation for writing this post. 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.

As the time was right Jesus came to enter Jerusalem.  The crowds surrounding Him were thousands.  He stopped in Bethany along this journey where Mary the sister of Lazarus anointed His feet with oil.  There is no doubt that He had been telling the apostles and these His dear friends that He must suffer many things and must die.  They had all seen Lazarus rise from the dead at His command.  But still they did not fully understand, nor did they know the significance of all the prophecies.  After all this group of followers were not the learned of the nations.  The scribes and pharisees versed in scripture had denied Him, despite His truth being displayed throughout their scriptures.  Now it was time for the King of Kings to enter Jerusalem, to become the Passover Lamb whose blood was shed to redeem all those accepting His atoning gift of salvation.

The crowds swelled to thousands pressing around Him.  He sent forth His apostles to a nearby town and told them where to find a donkey and a colt.  Just as always, He was in perfect Sovereign control.  They went and found the donkey with her lowly colt and brought them to Jesus, after asking permission of their owner, just as Jesus told them.  He would ride the colt, while they lead the mother.  Donkey colts could be quite unruly if the mother wasn’t there to lead them.  It was the day that Jews would choose their Passover Lamb.  Furthermore, it was the exact day foretold by Daniel 9:25; but, no one really recognized that scripture was being fulfilled.  They and the crowds wanted the King to enter and overthrow the Romans, establish rule.  Little did they know; He came to address sin and death instead- their sin and ours.

The King of Kings Salvation Brings

With all the pomp and circumstance, the crowds threw their clothes along the path.  Symbolic of surrender to the King of Kings; crying forth

“Hosanna to the Son of David!
‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!’
Hosanna in the highest!” Matthew 21:9

Hosanna being “Save Us Now” was perfect repeating of Psalm   118 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!

Oh, they wanted Him to save them from Roman oppression; but, did not realize what they needed most is what He came to give.  Salvation from their chains of sin.  What they needed was a Passover Lamb.  One that once and for all paid the price for their sins.  He, the King of Kings came as just that.

He came riding on a donkey’s colt, not a big white stead.  Lowly, meek He rode into town.  He did not carry a sword nor a royal robe; but, He came at the exact time told by Daniel predicted and precisely how Zecariah said He would.

Zechariah 9: 9

“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.

Daniel 9: 25

“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 ^[a]street shall be built again, and the ^[b]wall,
Even in troublesome times.

Greater scholars than I have shown that from the time that the decree of Artaxerxes in March of 444 BC until Christ’s entrance into Jerusalem as the Messiah in April 33 AD was exactly 173,880 days which equals the 483 years calculating them as 360 days per year as was done in the Jewish Calendar.  You can read a lot more about this fulfillment by going to a post I wrote in 2016, How to Have Joy and Hope by Understanding Truth.

Concluding thoughts:

Every detail of His triumphal entry, the King of Kings who came as the Passover Lamb, was foretold in Old Testament Scripture.  Yet, as John 12: 16 tells us, “these things understood not his disciples at the firs: but when Jesus was Glorified, then remembered they that these things were written of Him and that they had done these things unto Him.”

But, we can look back and see how miraculously Jesus Christ fulfilled every detail of Old Testament Scripture.  Oh, I say miraculously; but, truth be known the King of Kings was always in perfect Sovereign Control.  He had written Old Testament Scripture foretelling His life and His triumphal entry into Jerusalem through the hands of many prophets over thousands of years.  It was His choice to come, suffer, and die that He might provide salvation to all who would believe.  He truly came to be the Passover Lamb to redeem all who would by faith accept His gift of Salvation.

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.

ARE YOU IN OF NEED PRAYER?

If you have a prayer request email me by clicking here

Furthermore, if you would like to tell me your story or thoughts  comment here

Books Available

If you want to know more about books I have written. Then, please click on this link to discover a world of Book Resources.

Or you can find all my books on Amazon.com, search just by searching Effie Darlene Barba.  Or click this link to be taken there

Furthermore,  for inspirational photos or home decor click here.

Series:  Finding Faith on the Road to Emmaus

Did Jesus Come to Offer Salvation to All?

How to Certainly Know Jesus As the Lion of Judah

 God Works All Things According to His Will

How Can I Be Certain Jesus is the Christ?

Was Jesus the Savior they Waited For?

How was Christ’s Suffering a Part of His Glory?

Why is it so Important to Know All the Truth?

How Faith is Found on the Road to Emmaus

Poetry:

Trust in You

Thy Greatest Glory Be Thy Love Poured Out On Calvary

Disclosures

©Effie Darlene Barba, 2018
Disclosure of Material Connection: I have not received any compensation for writing this post. 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.

The time drew near.  Jesus would physically depart earth.  He began to draw aside on trips with His apostles, preparing them for faith without sight.  Of course, they still so longed for Him to establish His Kingdom, right then and there.  Little did they recognize the truth. Before Jesus Christ would return to complete the promises to the Jewish nation, He came to offer salvation to all. In this, He would establish His Bride, the church.  Had this not been what the prophets foretold?  The Jewish nation had been commissioned to spread the praise of God throughout the world.  But they failed in that commission.  Had this not been the entire message of Jonah as I outlined in Jonah: The Pursuing Love and Grace of God.   Instead of fulfilling their commission the Israelite nation had allowed in the idolatrous ideologies of pagan worship, which repeatedly lead to their destruction.

God had told Abraham that from his seed all nations would be blessed.  (Genesis 22:18),

Then there was Isaiah 42:5-8.  Thus saith God the Lord, he that created the heavens, and stretched them out; he that spread forth the earth, and that which cometh out of it; he that giveth breath unto the people upon it, and spirit to them that walk therein: I the Lord have called thee in righteousness, and will hold thine hand, and will keep thee, and give thee for a covenant of the people, for a light of the Gentiles;  To open the blind eyes, to bring out the prisoners from the prison, and them that sit in darkness out of the prison house. I am the Lord: that is my name: and my glory will I not give to another, neither my praise to graven images.

OLD TESTAMENT PRECIDENT WITH PROMISE

God’s mercy toward the gentile people who turned from their wickedness to follow Him remained on display in the Old Testament.  We see His mercy and grace that reached out to Rahab and to Ruth who, though gentile entered the lineage of Christ.  Then there was the Ninevites, known for their cruelty and evil offences whom turned from their wickedness for at least a generation.  Many were saved by faith, despite their angry, unwilling prophet-Jonah.  Yet, Jonah’s was a lesson so needed by the people of Israel.  Humbled, Jonah ultimately told his story which is still read on Yom Kippur-The Day of Atonement.  This comes as the last day of the ten days of penitence that begins with Rosh Hashanah.

Furthermore, God reached out His hand of Grace to Nebuchadnezzar, the Babylonian king.  Cyrus, King of Persia, helped the Jewish nation to rebuild Jerusalem and the temple.

Psalm 87: 4 (NIV) “I will record Rahab (Egypt) and Babylon among those who acknowledge me—Philistia too, and Tyre, along with Cush—and will say, ‘This one was born in Zion.’”

The Gentiles who believed in Him and acknowledge Him would be counted and would share in the promises of Abraham.  We saw this happen in the Babylon, Assyria, and Persia each for a time in the Old Testament.  Tyre had been the epicenter of Baal worship; yet, we see in Mark 7 that Jesus Christ journeys there.

Salvation to All

Jesus had been rejected by the people of Nazareth in Galilee, His hometown (Mark 6:1-6).  He needed to prepare His apostles for His coming death and resurrection, though they wanted to hear nothing of this.  Furthermore, He needed to prepare them to establish the church which would include the Gentiles.  They would be the ones who would go into all the world to preach the gospel message.

So, He went to Tyre.  There a Syrophoenician Greek woman came to seek Him.  Her heritage would have excluded her in the eyes of Jews.  She lived in the wrong town and came from a long line of pagan worship, a lineage condemned long before.  Yet, with great humility and persistence she came to Jesus pleading for her demon possessed daughter.  She believed He had the power to save.  Furthermore, she knew He was the long-awaited Jewish Messiah.  Had she read of Rahab? Or had she heard of what He had done?  Was that she exhausted the prayers to the pagan Gods?

Whatever brought her there, she acknowledged Him for who He was.  Have mercy on me, O Lord, thou son of David; my daughter is grievously vexed with a devil.     (Matthew 15:22).  She did not think she deserved anything.  Instead she knew that it was mercy alone that could save her and her daughter.  So, when He ignored her, she persisted in her cries for mercy.  The apostles wanted to send her away.  Jesus needed them to learn that true faith, saving faith requires this kind of humility, persistence, and acknowledgement that if Jesus says no-there is no hope left.  He is the only hope and way of salvation.

He asks, why should He feed the dogs when He came to feed the children? Why did He say this?

A True Lesson in Saving Faith

The children, referring to the Jews, unfortunately thought themselves entitled to be fed.  Hence, many failed to accept Jesus as the Messiah, the Lord.  They wanted all the Glory but would not accept that He must die to pay the price of their sins.  Had that not always been the problem?  They never recognized their own depravity and sin.  Entitlement ideology is a barrier to coming to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ.  But Jesus tested this Gentile woman’s faith.  Furthermore, she exemplified what true faith looked like.    “Lord, might I though lowly as a dog have the crumbs that fall from the table?  I am not asking for more.”

Then Jesus answered and said unto her, O woman, great is thy faith. Be it unto thee even as thou wilt. And her daughter was made whole from that very hour (Matthew 15:28).

True faith comes humbly, repentant before Jesus Christ, knowing that if He does not show mercy there is no hope of salvation. It is not a faith that demands.  For were God to give me what I deserve, I would perish.  True faith is full of gratitude for all that one is given, knowing and trusting in the heart of God.  He knows what is best and will guide you to the greater knowledge of Himself.

Yes, Jesus came to offer Salvation to All who would believe.  Salvation to all who would humbly with repentant heart come to accept the gift of salvation through Jesus Christ.  Jesus Christ came to die as the Sacrificial lamb for all who would come by faith acknowledging Him as Lord, Savior and the only true Son of God-born of a virgin.   Do you have the faith of this Greek Syrophoenician woman?

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.

ARE YOU IN OF NEED PRAYER?

If you have a prayer request email me by clicking here

Furthermore, if you would like to tell me your story or thoughts  comment here

Books Available

If you want to know more about books I have written. Then, please click on this link to discover a world of Book Resources.

Or you can find all my books on Amazon.com, search just by searching Effie Darlene Barba.  Or click this link to be taken there

Furthermore,  for inspirational photos or home decor click here.

Series:  Finding Faith on the Road to Emmaus

How to Certainly Know Jesus As the Lion of Judah

 God Works All Things According to His Will

How Can I Be Certain Jesus is the Christ?

Was Jesus the Savior they Waited For?

How was Christ’s Suffering a Part of His Glory?

Why is it so Important to Know All the Truth?

How Faith is Found on the Road to Emmaus

Poetry:

Thy Greatest Glory Be Thy Love Poured Out On Calvary

Disclosures

©Effie Darlene Barba, 2018
Disclosure of Material Connection: I have not received any compensation for writing this post. 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.

Footnotes and Credits

Photo by Joshua Hanks on Unsplash