Speaker: Pastor Mike Hale | Above is the link to YouTube.
(audio recording will be provided Sunday afternoon)
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March 24, 2024
“Jesus Enters Jerusalem to Offer Up Himself”
See John 12:1-2, 9-11… This tells us time, place, and prevailing attitudes.
Read John 12:12-15… It was on Sunday that Jesus rode into Jerusalem, after time spent in Bethany with Martha, Mary, Lazarus and the Twelve.
We are told that a crowd of those who had come to Jerusalem for the Passover, heard Jesus was approaching (from Bethany), they went out to meet Him.
Those of you who were with us in Sunday School this morning are aware that a crowd from Jerusalem had gone out to Bethany to see Jesus and Lazarus (who had been raised from the dead); that crowd was also following Jesus, and so these two large crowds of people looking with interest upon Jesus, enter the city.
John 12:13 describes the scene as Jesus enters from the SE side of the Mt. of Olives, a crowd of people are waving palm branches and shouting, “Hosanna! BLESSED IS HE WHO COMES IN THE NAME OF THE LORD, even the King of Israel.”
This display on the part of the people was reserved for royalty, it came from the ancient practice of showing homage to a new king (cf 2Kings 9:12-13); and so, it seems that the people are recognizing Jesus as the Messiah, the King of the Jews.
“Hosanna!” is a contraction of the words “save” and “please,” so that the intent is adoration, praise, and pleading! This is a Hebrew transliteration from Psalm 118:25-26, which says, “O LORD, do save, we beseech You; O LORD, we beseech You, do send prosperity! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the LORD.”
Think about it, the name Jesus is Greek, in Hebrew it is Yeshua, they both mean, ”God’s salvation,” and so, the people are shouting, “God Please, Save Us!”
Read again John 12:14-15… Jesus finds a young donkey (a colt), gets on it, and rides it into town, this is the fulfillment of Zechariah 9:9, “Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout in triumph, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your king is coming to you; He is just and endowed with salvation, humble, and mounted on a donkey, even on a colt, the foal of a donkey.”
Read Matthew 21:1-7… Notice that Jesus sent two of His disciples into Bethphage to find a donkey tied up, along with her young colt, the disciples were to bring them to Jesus. They did as Jesus said, they also laid their coats on both the mare and the colt (probably not sure which one He was going to ride, although the prophecy clearly said it would be the colt).
Read Matthew 21:8… The people are excited, throwing their outer garments and fresh cut palm branches in front of Jesus, this is symbolic of the people’s expression of hope and desire for the Messiah-King to save and liberate them.
Read Matthew 21:9, “The crowds going ahead of Him, and those who followed, were shouting, ‘Hosanna to the Son of David; BLESSED IS HE WHO COMES IN THE NAME OF THE LORD; Hosanna in the highest!’”
Read Matthew 21:10-11… The OT foretells the birth, ministry, suffering, and death of God’s Son, the Messiah, through Whom forgiveness for sin would come.
Isaiah 7:14, says, “a virgin will be with child and bear a son, and she will call His name Immanuel,” with means God with us.
Zechariah 9:9 says He will enter Jerusalem on a colt.
Zechariah 11:12 says He will be betrayed for 30 pieces of silver.
Psalm 22:16 says He will be pierced on the Cross.
Psalm 16:10 says He will rise from the dead.
Psalm 110:1 says He will ascend back into heaven.
Everything God said happened just like He said it would. His Word is Sovereign Truth, declaring either Eternal Life or Eternal Judgment for all of humanity.
Read Matthew 21:12-13… Jesus enters the Temple and begins to clear out all those who are desecrating the House of God. The outer court had become a market place and stockyard; worshippers who came to offer sacrifices and pay their temple tax were forced to pay high exchange rates (Greek & Roman coins changed to Jewish currency); and high prices for sacrificial animals and birds (approved by the Priests, who were getting kickbacks from the vendors).
The Outer Court, where all this was taking place, was for the Gentiles; who were not allowed to enter any other part of the Temple, and so, this area was set apart for Gentile converts to Judaism to pray and worship.
It is here that these vendors of Temple goods, under the supervision of the Jewish religious leaders, had turned a place of prayer and worship into a robber’s den, where criminals were being protected by the Chief Priest and Pharisees, who should be arresting them and bringing them to judgement (Jeremiah 7:11), “‘Has this house, which is called by My name, become a den of robbers in your sight? Behold, I, even I, have seen it,’ declares the Lord.”
These Religious leaders belonged to the Sanhedrin (the Supreme Court of Israel), presided over by the High-Priest, it met daily in the Temple to judge all matters of Jewish Law.
Jesus had offended the ruling body (Mark 11:18), “The chief priests and the teachers of the law… began looking for a way to kill Him, for they feared Him, because the whole crowd was amazed at His teaching,” (cf. Mark 1:22), Jesus taught as one with authority, unlike the scribes, who only taught what someone else had said, where as Jesus spoke the very words of God.
Read Matthew 21:14-16… The blind and lame who came to the Temple to beg for money and seek healing, were despised by the religious leaders, who considered their ailments to be payment for either their own or their parent’s sins.
The religious leaders showed little, if any, mercy toward the poor and afflicted; where as Jesus healed all who came to Him; this infuriated the religious elite who (cf. Matthew 12:22-26) accused Him of casting out demons by the power of the devil, and perhaps healing the blind and lame by this same power.
Jesus condemns these self-righteous hypocrites and enemies of God (pp. Psalm 8:2), “Out of the mouth of infants and nursing babes You have prepared praise for Yourself,” in order to quiet your enemies.
God knew the Religious Leaders and most of the Jewish people would not accept Jesus as Messiah, for they wanted Him to come as a conquering warrior, defeating Rome and freeing Israel from Gentile rule; instead, He allowed Himself to be captured and crucified, and that did not fit with their plan for the Messiah.
Read Matthew 21:17… Jesus came to offer freedom from the penalty of sin, and eternal life in heaven with God; but they adamantly rejected His offer and despised Him, so “He left them and went out of the city to Bethany, where He spent the night.”
John 1:11-13, “He [Jesus] came to His own [the Jews] , and those who were His own did not receive Him [just five days after being praised by the people, as He entered Jerusalem, the people cried out for Him to be crucified]. But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God [born from above, i.e., born-again].”
John 3:3, 6-7, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” “That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not be amazed that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’”
1Corinthians 15:50, “Now I say this, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God.” 54-57, Only when the mortal will have put on immortality, then will come about the saying that is written, ‘Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?’ The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law; but thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”
Jesus left the temple, at the end of a long day, leaving Jerusalem and those who rejected Him, he went to be with those who loved Him, those who believed in Him, like Mary, Martha, Lazarus, and many others, in Bethany.
The Nation of Israel didn’t receive Jesus as their Messiah because He came riding into town on the colt of a donkey (a beast of burden, a common animal used by common men). Jesus didn’t come in on the back of a white stallion, like a conquering King, defeating His enemies with force; but as a servant, laying down His life for all who would believe in Him.
Mark 10:45, “the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many,” (John 1:11), “He came to His own, and those who were His own did not receive Him.”
Israel didn’t understand that God’s Son was Lord and Savior, He came not to free them from Gentile rule, disease ,or mental illness, but from the penalty of sin.
In the future, all those who believe in God’s Son, will be taken up into heaven, followed by the rise of Anti-christ on earth, leading to 7 years of Tribulation; after which, Jesus Christ will return to the earth, as a conquering Warrior: KING of Kings and LORD of Lords, and everyone will see Him (cf. Revelation 19:11-16).
The truth is, no one remains neutral, after being exposed to God in the flesh, Jesus Christ (Colossians 1:15-16), “He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things have been created through Him and for Him.” 19-20, “For it was the Father’s good pleasure for all the fullness [of the God-head] to dwell in Him, and through Him to reconcile all things to Himself, having made peace through the blood of His cross; through Him, I say, whether things on earth or things in heaven.”
Everyone has a response to Jesus: many will believe in, love, and serve Him, like Mary, Martha, Lazarus, Peter, James, John, and Paul.
Paul said (1Corinthians 15:1-5), “Now I make known to you, brethren, the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received, in which also you stand, by which also you are saved, if you hold fast the word which I preached to you, unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that He appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve.”
John 20:31, “these have been written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name.”
John 3:16, “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.”
Jesus said (John 14:6), “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.”
The majority of people will remain indifferent, toward Jesus, like those in the crowds who witnessed His miracles but didn’t believe in Him. Instead, they said in their hearts, “I don’t believe He is God’s Son,” “I don’t need Him for salvation,” “I’m good enough just as I am.”
Well, they are absolutely and eternally wrong (Romans 3:10-12), “There is none righteous, not even one; there is none who understands, there is none who seeks for God; all have turned aside, together they have become useless; there is none who does good, there is not even one.”
The world needs Jesus, as Paul says (Romans 10:9-10), “if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.”
A person’s heart response to Jesus Christ will determine their eternal destiny (Acts 4:12), “for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved,” Romans 3:23 says everyone is a sinner, Romans 6:23 says the penalty for sin is death, but the free gift of God is forgiveness for our sins and eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”
No wonder Paul proclaims (2Corinthians 9:15), “Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift!” Jesus Christ, God’s Son, Lord and Savior, was crucified for your sins, buried, and then He rose from the grave on the third day to demonstrate that He alone is the resurrection and the life; he alone grants eternal life, and He alone freely grants forgiveness for sin to everyone who comes to Him for salvation.
John 5:39-40, “You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; it is these that testify about Me; and you are unwilling to come to Me so that you may have life.”
Romans 10:13, for “WHOEVER WILL CALL ON THE NAME OF THE LORD [for the forgiveness their sins] WILL BE SAVED.”
Pastor Mike Hale
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