The owner comes looking for fruit in the Song of the Vineyard in Isaiah 5:1-7. He didn't send servants too early when the tenants were not ready. God is not expecting us to produce fruit that we are not ready to produce yet. But because of all God has done for his vineyard, whether Israel in the Old Testament or the church in the New Testament, he still expects fruit.

Table of contentsDon't Take God’s Grace for GrantedGod's Grace in My LifeWe Should Examine Our FruitGod Only Needs to Remove His Protection to Discipline UsGod Removed Job's Hedge of ProtectionIsrael's DesolationJesus Expanded on The Song of the VineyardGod Expects Fruit in the Song of the Vineyard and Our LivesThe Right Motivation to Produce Fruit

https://youtu.be/RyO3zw6Y2Ms

The owner comes looking for fruit in the Song of the Vineyard in Isaiah 5:1-7. He didn't send servants early when the tenants were not ready.

My dad was always a big fan of working outside. To give you an idea of how much he liked it, I once asked him what he thought would be his favorite job, and he said – and I’m not kidding – “Working on a railroad in the hot sun.” Yes, he said the words, “In the hot sun.” And he didn’t mean inspecting railroad cars. He meant laying down ties to build the track. As a kid, I couldn’t imagine many things that sounded more unpleasant, and I feel pretty much the same as an adult. I thought this was what they made inmates do in prison for punishment.

Because Dad liked working outside so much, it seemed like he was always finding things for us around the house, even if I didn’t think they needed to be done. If I was home on the weekend or during the summer, I had to work outside with Dad. I tried to get a job as soon as possible for two reasons. First, so I could be inside with air-conditioning. Second, so I could get paid.

One thing Dad loved was having a garden. I remember many hours in the backyard on our hands and knees, removing rocks and picking weeds. Dad would come into the house with vegetables he grew and ask us to try them. He was proud that he thought they tasted better than anything we could find at the supermarket.

It didn’t matter to me how good they tasted. I didn’t think they were worth the effort. I couldn’t understand all that hard work for something we could buy at the store for a few dollars. But I think that misses the main reason my dad, and probably others, have a garden: the satisfaction from watching things grow. But what if you planted a garden and it didn’t grow? What if it never produced anything? Worse, what if it produced what it wasn’t supposed to produce? That would be very frustrating, but this is what happened to God. He had a vineyard that produced the wrong kind of fruit, and it is described in the Song of the Vineyard in Isaiah 5:1-7:

Isaiah 5:1 Let me sing for my beloved my love song concerning his vineyard: My beloved had a vineyard on a very fertile hill. 2a He dug it and cleared it of stones, and planted it with choice vines; he built a watchtower in the midst of it, and hewed out a wine vat in it;

Isaiah speaks in the first person and refers to God as “My beloved.” Notice the wonderful advantages the vineyard enjoyed:

It belonged to a loving person: my beloved.

It was planted in a great place: a very fruitful hill.

The ground was carefully prepared: dug and cleared it of stones.

Good plants were used to get it started: choice vines.

It was protected: a watchtower [was] in the midst of it.

Provision was made for the fruit to be processed: a wine vat [was] in it.

My dad would’ve been proud!

1 Corinthians 10:11 These things [in the Old Testament] happened to [Israel] as an example [for us, and], they were written down for our instruction.

So, this account with Israel is an example for us. It’s not a question of whether we should learn from it. It’s a question of what we should learn from it. And there’s much we should learn from it!

Don't Take God’s Grace for Granted

I was challenged by this passage because God showed great care and concern for his vineyard or Israel, and he has shown great care and concern for me. The vineyard enjoyed many wonderful advantages, and I have enjoyed many wonderful advantages.

Because of all this, if the vineyard did not produce good fruit, it reflects the vineyard and not the ground, the owner, or the work that went into it. Similarly, if I do not produce good fruit, it is a reflection of me and not – let’s say – the ground, the owner, or the work that God has done in my life. F.B. Meyer wrote, “It will be seen then…that every soul of man had the chance of becoming a fruitful vineyard; and if it became the reverse, it was due to no failure in either the wisdom or grace of God.”

I was conversing with Rick DeVos, and he shared something that stuck with me and caused me to appreciate God’s grace in my life even more. He was reflecting on his salvation and how blessed he was to be born where and when he was: in the United States, where the gospel is so prevalent, and during this time when there are so many Christian resources available to us. It made me think that I have taken this for granted because so many people today haven’t heard the gospel and don’t even have Bibles available to them.

I think about my conversion and how I was surrounded by Christians, like Elwyn Ordway, at the school where I was teaching. They invited me to their church when my brother passed away. Then, the pastor and his family spiritually adopted me as a son in the faith, like Paul did with Timothy. I look back over every season of my Christian life, and one of God’s other graces is he has always surrounded me with godly men I could look up to and who invested in me.

God's Grace in My Life

Ed Simmons was the pastor of the church I was saved in, and Barry Branaman was the father of some girls I was good friends with. Few people know these names, and both passed away at young ages, but they spent lots of time investing in me, so I will always be very grateful to them. I wish they would have lived long enough to see me become a pastor and hopefully recognize the fruit of their investment. The verse that comes to mind as I think about them is:

Hebrews 11:4 Abel still speaks even though he is dead.

These men still speak through me because of their investment in me.

I don’t want to talk too much about myself. These are just examples of God’s grace in my life or how he has cared for me as part of his vineyard. I want you to appreciate, and hopefully not take for granted, God’s grace in your life or how he has cared for you as part of his vineyard. We can take God’s grace for granted:

2 Corinthians 6:1 Working together with him, then, we appeal to you not to receive the grace of God in vain.

Paul appealed to the Corinthians not to take God’s grace for granted. Instead, we are called to work with God so his grace is not in vain. Grace isn’t given because of anything we have done or could do. That is what makes it grace or unmerited favor. Grace is given simply because God is gracious. But even though grace isn’t received because of our works, it is given to encourage works. We aren’t to be passive. God gives us grace because there’s work to be done. After all of God’s grace in Israel’s life, he expected fruit or works:

Isaiah 5:2b and he looked for it to yield grapes, but it yielded wild grapes.

The Hebrew word for wild is bᵊ'ušîm, meaning “Stinking or worthless things, stinking berries.” I didn’t even know there was such a thing as stink berries, but that’s what the vineyard produced. Adam Clarke said the wild grapes were “Poisonous berries…not merely useless, unprofitable grapes, such as wild grapes; but grapes offensive to the smell, noxious, poisonous.”

We are dealing with something here that is worse than unfruitfulness. These wild grapes, or stink berries, are worse than no grapes at all. Talk about taking God’s grace for granted; the vineyard produced what we would have expected if nothing had been done for it. All the love, care, time, and effort were in vain.

We Should Examine Our Fruit

We use the term “Fruit inspectors” when discussing people’s salvation. We say something like, “I can’t say for sure whether someone is saved, but I can inspect the fruit.” This makes sense because fruit, or works, are one of the clearest evidences of salvation. We are not saved by fruit or works, but if we are saved, there will be fruit or works. Jesus said as much:

Matthew 7:16 You will recognize them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? 17 So, every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit. 18 A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit. 19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 Thus you will recognize them by their fruits.

But based on these verses, I wasn’t challenged to examine the fruit in other people’s lives. I was challenged to examine the fruit in my own life. What bad fruit am I producing in my life? How many wild grapes or stink berries are there?

Spurgeon said, “Has it been so with us? Have we rewarded [God] ungratefully for all his pains? Have we given him hardness of heart instead of repentance; unbelief instead of faith; indifference instead of love; idleness instead of holy industry; impurity instead of holiness?”

Isaiah 5:3 And now, O inhabitants of Jerusalem and men of Judah, judge between me and my vineyard.

The owner wants to know who is to blame for the harvest of wild grapes. Is it the owner’s fault or the vineyard’s fault? Obviously, a vineyard shouldn’t be blamed for producing the wrong fruit. Farming is a matter of cause and effect. If a vineyard produces the wrong fruit, the owner is blamed for planting the wrong fruit. But that’s the point.

John the Baptist told people to “Prepare the way of the Lord.” There’s no record of Jesus walking around saying, “Man, these roads are terrible. Why didn’t anyone fix things up for me?” The preparation he wanted was spiritual instead of physical. Jesus didn’t care about having better roads to walk on, but he did care about people having better hearts to receive him.

Table of contentsThe Old Testament Prophesied a King Was ComingWhen Kings CameIs This What Jesus Really Wanted?Jesus Wants Heart Construction Versus Road ConstructionPrepare the Way of the Lord by RepentingPrepare the Way of the Lord By Providing a Straight PathPrepare the Way of the Lord By Being JoyfulPreach to Your SoulThe Joy of ChristmasPrepare the Way of the Lord By Being HumblePrepare the Way of the Lord By Acting JustlyPrepare the Way of the Lord By Smoothing Out Rough EdgesSeeing Jesus Is Seeing "the Salvation of God"Jesus' Robe, Crown, Scepter, and Servants

https://youtu.be/lCn8cZopKZI

John the Baptist told people to “Prepare the way of the Lord.” Jesus wanted people to prepare for him spiritually versus physically.

On November 30th, Ron DeSantis, governor of Florida and presidential candidate, debated Gavin Newsom, governor of California. Governor DeSantis criticized how Governor Newsom prepared San Francisco for China’s president, Xi Jinping’s, visit. Governor DeSantis held up a map of San Francisco that showed areas Governor Newsom wanted cleaned up. Because it is so disgusting, I won’t tell you what Governor Newsom wanted cleaned up from the streets of San Francisco, but I will read part of what Governor DeSantis said:

“When a communist dictator [came] to town. Then [Governor Newsom] cleaned up the streets. [He] lined the streets with Chinese flags. [He] didn’t put American flags there. [He] cleaned everything up. So, [he’s] willing to do it for a communist dictator, but [he’s] not willing to do it for [his] own people.”

Governor DeSantis was upset Governor Newsom prepared San Francisco for a Chinese president, but not for the American people. I mention this because it is a present-day example of the practice described in this morning’s verses: preparing for the arrival of an important or powerful person. In our day, we do it for presidents, and in the ancient world, they did it for kings.

The Old Testament Prophesied a King Was Coming

When Jacob was blessing his twelve sons, he said to Judah:

Genesis 49:10 The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor the ruler's staff from between his feet, until tribute comes to him; and to him shall be the obedience of the peoples.

In ancient times, scepters represented a ruler or king’s power. This is a prophecy a king would come from the tribe of Judah. Jesus is the fulfillment of this prophecy, which is why he’s called the Lion of the tribe of Judah. We learn more in David’s day when God made a covenant with him about his son:

2 Samuel 7:13 I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. 14 I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son…16 And your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before me. Your throne shall be established forever.’”

Jesus fulfills this prophecy, so he’s also called the Son of David. Listen to the way the angel Gabriel described Jesus’ birth to Mary:

Luke 1:32b The Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, 33 and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.”

Gabriel told Mary that Jesus’ birth was the coming of the prophesied King.

When Kings Came

The Old Testament also prophesied what people were supposed to do when that King came:

Isaiah 40:3 A voice cries: “In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord; make straight in the desert a highway for our God. 4 Every valley shall be lifted up, and every mountain and hill be made low; the uneven ground shall become level, and the rough places a plain.”

This describes what happened in the ancient world when kings came. They sent messengers, or forerunners, ahead to announce their coming. The people would begin preparations. They would get busy picking up trash and cleaning up the town until it was good as new…or at least as good as a town could be in the ancient world.

The people also prepared the roads to the town so the king would be comfortable while he was being carried in his coach. People would fill in potholes, smooth out rough spots, flatten hills, fill in valleys, and straighten out curves.

When the king arrived, messengers ran ahead shouting, “The king is coming! The king is coming!” Banners waved, and people lined the streets cheering as the king made his grand entrance.

Is This What Jesus Really Wanted?

Now, let’s be honest about something that might bother you. I’m talking about kings being spoiled and coddled. All these poor people are already working hard to stay alive. The ancient world was a tough place to live. Now, they are using resources and spending time to pamper a king…who is already pampered.

So, you’re thinking, “This is what Jesus wanted? I don’t like the way this makes him sound. Didn’t Jesus say, “The Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many” (Matthew 20:28). But we think, “This sounds like the coming king is being served a lot and not serving much.”

We get into trouble with scripture when we interpret physically what should be interpreted spiritually. For example, when Jesus preached the parable of the two builders, was he really concerned about the foundations of our homes and whether they’re built on rock or sand? No, he’s concerned about the foundation of our lives, marriages, and families and whether they’re built on something firm – a rock – or something shifting, like sand.

In the Parable of the Sower, was Jesus really trying to help us agriculturally by ensuring we don’t throw seeds on paths, shallow soil, or thorny areas where they won’t grow? No, he was concerned about whether our hearts are fertile for God’s Word. And these verses are similar.

Jesus Wants Heart Construction Versus Road Construction

I think we know Jesus didn’t really care about roads and towns being prepared for him because there’s no record of him walking around saying, “Man, these roads are terrible. Why didn’t anyone fix things up for me? Look at all the trash on the streets. Couldn’t anyone have done a simple walkthrough and picked up a bit?”

The people had to get ready for Jesus. It was so important God sent a man – John the Baptist – ahead to prepare the way for him. But that preparation wasn’t physical. The preparation Jesus wanted – and still wants – is spiritual. Jesus didn’t care about having better roads to walk on, but he did care about people having better hearts to receive him.

And this is what we sing: "Let earth receive her King; LET EVERY HEART PREPARE HIM ROOM, and heaven and nature sing, and heaven and nature sing, and heaven, and heaven and nature sing." These lyrics are all about preparing our hearts to receive the King!

We can see what John the Baptist did to prepare the way for King Jesus 2,000 years ago, and it’s the same thing we do to prepare for his coming today:

Luke 3:2 during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John the son of Zechariah in the wilderness. 3 And he went into all the region around the Jordan, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.

Now, if we interpreted these verses physically versus spiritually, which is to say we interpreted them incorrectly, what would we expect John to say? “The King is coming. Pretend like you have family coming over for the holidays! Pick up all the trash. Clean up the town. Make it look as good as new. Prepare the roads. Fill in the potholes. Smooth out the rough spots. Flatten the hills. Fill in the valleys. Straighten out the curves.” Instead, what did John do? He baptized people!

That doesn’t seem like it has much to do with preparing the way for a king, does it? So, let’s briefly talk about this. The Greek word for baptize literally means immerse or submerge. This is why John spent his time in the region around the Jordan so that he could immerse people in the water. The type of baptism John performed differs from the baptisms we perform when we baptize people in the name of Jesus. We baptize people so they can identify with his death, burial, and resurrection. But Jesus hadn’t died, been buried, or resurrected yet.

Let me show you two examples in Acts revealing people had received John’s baptism but hadn’t been baptized in the name of Jesus:

Acts 18:25 He (this is Apollos) had been instructed in the way of the Lord. And being fervent in spirit, he spoke and taught accurately the things concerning Jesus, though HE KNEW ONLY THE BAPTISM OF JOHN.

Apollos hadn’t experienced a Christian baptism yet.

Acts 19:1 And it happened that while Apollos was at Corinth, Paul passed through the inland country and came to Ephesus. There he found some disciples. 2 And he said to them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” And they said, “No, we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.” 3 And he said, “Into what then were you baptized?” They said, “Into John's baptism.” 4 And Paul said, “John baptized with the baptism of repentance, telling the people to believe in the one who was to come after him, that is, Jesus.” 5 On hearing this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.

They had only received John’s baptism. That wasn’t enough, so they had their second baptism to identify with Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection.

Acts 19:4 tells us something else important John said that isn’t recorded in Luke: he commanded people to “believe in the one who was to come after him, that is, Jesus.” Even though Luke doesn’t record John commanding people to believe, from Acts 19:4, we can tell he was doing that when baptizing. So,

Jesus' authority was questioned by the elders, chief priests, and scribes in Matthew 21:23-27, Mark 11:27-33, and Luke 20:1-8. The religious leaders “were afraid of the people” (Mark 11:32). They wouldn’t obey Jesus, but they would obey man because we obey what we fear.

Table of contentsThe Chief Priests, Scribes, and Elders Questioned Jesus' AuthorityThe Chief PriestsThe ScribesThe EldersThe Religious Leaders Tried to Trap Jesus, but He Trapped ThemThe Religious Leaders Played DumbJesus Would not "Give What Is Holy to the Dogs"We Obey What We FearSaul Disobeyed Because He Feared the PeopleLove and Fear Produce ObedienceAbraham Obeyed Because He Feared GodThe Hebrew Midwives Obeyed Because They Feared GodIsrael's Fear Would Produce ObedienceLack of Fear Produces Disobedience

https://youtu.be/qKES6njGGJc

Jesus' authority was questioned by the elders, chief priests, and scribes in Matthew 21:23-27, Mark 11:27-33, and Luke 20:1-8.

Henry Kissinger served as secretary of state and national security advisor during Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford’s presidencies. He wrote about the seven people he believed to be the most powerful in history:

Number 7: The American President since 1945 because of the nuclear weapons at his disposal

Number 6: President Theodore Roosevelt (1858-1919)

Number 5: Napoleon Bonaparte (1769-1821) the Emperor of the French Empire

Number 4: Mahatma Gandhi (1869-1948) the leader of the Indian Independence Movement

Number 3: Peter the Great (1672-1725) the czar of the Russian Empire

Number 2: Qin Shi Huang (259 B.C.-210 B.C.) the emperor of Unified China

Number 1: Julius Caesar (100 B.C.-44 B.C.) the Emperor of the Roman Empire

It’s a good thing nobody asked me who I thought the seven most powerful men in history were for two reasons. First, I don’t think I would have guessed many of the names on the list. Second, the Person I would have said is number one didn’t even make the list, and that’s Jesus. He said:

Matthew 28:18 “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.

Nobody has ever had more authority than Jesus because he has all authority. But you wouldn’t know that from the gospels. The religious leaders didn’t even think Jesus had the authority to cleanse the temple.

The context for this account is important. The triumphal entry is in verses 28 through 40. Jesus weeps over Jerusalem in verses 41 through 44. This was on Sunday, also known as Palm Sunday, and it began the last week of Jesus’ earthly life leading up to his crucifixion. Then, in verses 45 and 46, which was probably Monday, Jesus cleansed the temple. This went over terribly with the religious leaders. Not only did it make them look bad, it also cost them lots of money. If that wasn’t enough, Jesus followed this up by calling them robbers and thieves:

Luke 19:47 And he was teaching daily in the temple. The chief priests and the scribes and the principal men of the people were seeking to destroy him, 48 but they did not find anything they could do, for all the people were hanging on his words.

They want to murder Jesus, but they can’t. This shows why they questioned Jesus' authority: they couldn’t directly get rid of Jesus because of his popularity, so they try to indirectly by trapping him.

After Jesus cleansed the temple, even though the religious leaders were trying to murder him, he decided to stay in the temple teaching during the week leading up to the crucifixion. In our sermon on these verses, I said it was like Jesus set up his headquarters in the middle of enemy territory.

Think about what it looked like when Jesus cleansed the temple. He bursts in, and we know by looking in all three synoptic Gospels he drove out everyone who was selling and buying, and overturned the tables of the money changers and knocked over the chairs of those selling pigeons. Mark 11:16 says he would not allow anyone to carry anything through the temple, which makes it seem like he interrupted everything that was happening. He rebukes them for being thieves. After all that, he’s bold enough to set up shop in the middle the temple and teach everyone.

If you were watching this, what might you say? “This Man must have an incredible amount of authority to be able to do this!”

But if you hated Jesus, what might you say? “Who does this guy think he is? Where does he get the authority to do this?” Which is exactly what the religious leaders asked:

Luke 20:1 One day, as Jesus was teaching the people in the temple and preaching the gospel, the chief priests and the scribes with the elders came up 2 and said to him, “Tell us by what authority you do these things, or who it is that gave you this authority.” 

More than likely this is Tuesday of the Passion Week.

The Chief Priests, Scribes, and Elders Questioned Jesus' Authority

Because each of these groups was part of the Sanhedrin, the Jewish Council, more than likely they met together to orchestrate this attack. They didn’t think Jesus had the authority to do what he was doing, but they believed they had the authority to do what they were doing. Let me tell you why they thought they had authority, but didn’t think Jesus had authority.

The Chief Priests

The chief priests claimed their authority from the Mosaic law, because it said that Levites, or the tribe of Levi, could be priests. They looked at Jesus, and what tribe was he from?

He’s from the tribe of Judah. They don’t know he is a priest according to the order of Melchizedek, so they didn’t think he could claim his authority from his tribe or the law. So, they didn’t think he has the authority to be a priest, say nothing about coming into the temple like a priest and then driving out the priests.

The Scribes

Scribes were students of the law who claimed their authority from the rabbis whose interpretations they studied. In other words, the scribes studied rabbis writings about the law, the way we would study commentaries. The scribes would defend their positions, or demonstrate their authority, by quoting these rabbis.

Mark 1:22 They were astonished at [Jesus’] teaching, for he taught them as one WHO HAD AUTHORITY, and NOT AS THE SCRIBES.

For a few years I wrongly thought this meant that Jesus spoke very boldly and confidently…or authoritatively. Instead, it means he didn’t quote anyone the scribes who quoted rabbis. I don’t think we have any idea what Jesus sounded like when he taught. We know the content of what he taught. But we don’t know how he taught. Maybe he taught very gently and calmly.

But the point I want you to notice is because Jesus didn’t quote any rabbis – like the scribes did – they didn’t think he had the authority to teach what he did.

The Elders

The elders of Israel were the leaders of families and clans. They were usually chosen because of their experience and wisdom. They could point to their election for their authority. They could say, “The people chose us for these positions.”

But Jesus wasn’t chosen by anyone. In fact, he was rejected by many, including the religious leaders themselves. Or in other words, he was rejected by the most prominent and respected people who would have given him some authority: the religious leaders.

And it gets even worse. He had 12 disciples with him that he could point to, but Peter, James, John, and Andrew were fishermen, Matthew was a tax collector, and we don’t know what the other disciples did. But we do know this: they were ordinary men. They were not men you pointed to when you wanted to establish your authority…because they had no authority themselves.

So, the chief priests, scribes, and elders were certain of their authority, and they were not afraid to confront Jesus about his perceived lack of authority.

The Religious Leaders Tried to Trap Jesus, but He Trapped Them

Jesus can’t say that he doesn’t have authority, or he wouldn’t be justified in cleansing the temple, overthrowing the moneychangers and vendors, and then setting himself up like a prophet for everyone to hear. But Jesus also couldn’t say his authority came from man. Because the temple was God’s house, Jesus needed God’s authority to cleanse it. If he says he only had man’s authority then it looks like he did something without God’s permission.

But Jesus also couldn’t say his authority came from God, because then the religious leaders would accuse him of blasphemy and have him executed. He responded:

Luke 20:3 He answered them, “I also will ask you a question. Now tell me, 4 was the baptism of John from heaven or from man?” 

Earlier I said Jesus couldn’t look to the 12 disciples to establish his authority. But there was one earthly figure Jesus could point to, and that was John the Baptist. John was well-known as Jesus’ forerunner. He’s the one who introduced Jesus to the nation.

You might wonder why Jesus  asked them whether John’s baptism was from God, versus asking whether John himself was from God? Why ask about John’s baptism versus simply asking about John? John's ministry is associated with baptism. He’s John the Baptist, or John the Baptizer. Asking about his ministry was asking about the legitimacy of what he was doing as Jesus’s forerunner.

With Jesus' one question, he turned the tables on the religious leaders. And they knew it:

Luke 20:5 And they discussed it with one another, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will say, ‘Why did you not believe him?’ 

If the religious leaders admitted John’s baptism was from heaven, people would surely ask, “Then why didn’t you believe John when he said Jesus is the Messiah?” They would be answering their own question and acknowledging Jesus’ authority came from God.

Luke 20:6 But if we say, ‘From man,’ all the people will stone us to death, for they are convinced that John was a prophet.” 

On the other hand, they also can’t deny that John’s baptism is from heaven,

The blood of the lamb of God saves us. Jesus’ life was important. He had to be unblemished to serve as our Passover Lamb. But if Jesus had stayed alive, he wouldn’t have helped us anymore than any Passover lambs would’ve helped anyone if they weren’t sacrificed.

Table of contentsThree Things That Could not Deliver Israel from EgyptFirst, Moses Could not Deliver IsraelSecond, the First Nine Plagues Could not Deliver IsraelThird, the Passover Lamb Could not Deliver IsraelThe Blood of the Lamb Provided Immediate DeliveranceLooking Forward to ChristThe Lamb's Death Is More Important than Its LifeThe Blood of the Lamb's ImportanceThe Blood of the Lamb ProtectedThe Blood of the Lamb Was not to Be Trampled OnThe Blood of the Lamb Must Be Personally AppliedThe Lamb's Sacrifice Becomes PersonalEveryone Needs the Blood of the LambGod Was Willing to Do What He Wanted to Spare People From Suffering

https://youtu.be/yErE5hFzuFA

Charles Spurgeon said, “Morality may keep you out of jail, but it takes the blood of Jesus Christ to keep you out of hell.” Billy Graham said, “Be assured that there is no sin you have ever committed that the blood of Jesus Christ cannot cleanse.”

Charles Spurgeon and Billy Graham had high views of Jesus’ blood. By the end of this post, you too, will have a high view of Jesus’ blood, and if you already have a high view of it, you will have an even higher view.

Three Things That Could not Deliver Israel from Egypt

I want to begin by sharing three things that could not deliver the Israelites from Egypt. Then, I will share the one thing that did deliver them.

First, Moses Could not Deliver Israel

We say that Moses delivered Israel – and God used him to do that – but if you’re familiar with Moses’s attempts, you know how poorly they went.

Exodus 5:1 Afterward Moses and Aaron went and said to Pharaoh, “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, ‘Let my people go, that they may hold a feast to me in the wilderness.’”...6 The same day Pharaoh commanded the taskmasters of the people and their foremen, 7 “You shall no longer give the people straw to make bricks, as in the past; let them go and gather straw for themselves. 8 But the number of bricks that they made in the past you shall impose on them, you shall by no means reduce it, for they are idle. Therefore they cry, ‘Let us go and offer sacrifice to our God.’ 9 Let heavier work be laid on the men that they may labor at it and pay no regard to lying words.”

Not only was Moses unable to deliver Israel, but he actually made their bondage worse. How did the Israelites respond? They weren’t happy with Moses at this point, as you might expect:

Exodus 5:20 They met Moses and Aaron, who were waiting for them, as they came out from Pharaoh; 21 and they said to them, “The Lord look on you and judge, because you have made us stink in the sight of Pharaoh and his servants, and have put a sword in their hand to kill us.”

The people were like, “Some deliverer you are. I hope God punishes you for what you’ve done.”

Second, the First Nine Plagues Could not Deliver Israel

What did the first nine plagues accomplish for the Israelites? Were the Israelites any less slaves after the plagues were unleashed than they were before? Were they in any less bondage? Had their oppression been improved whatsoever?

Even though these were the most dramatic plagues the world has ever known, they didn’t change anything for the Israelites.

Third, the Passover Lamb Could not Deliver Israel

Exodus 12:3 Tell all the congregation of Israel that on the tenth day of this month every man shall take a lamb according to their fathers' houses, a lamb for a household.

The Israelites got a lamb for Passover on the 10th day of the month of Nisan. We could argue that this is when Passover began. They had their lambs from the 10th day to the 14th day, and at any time during those days, were they delivered? No. So, when exactly was Israel delivered? Or I should say, what exactly delivered Israel?

Exodus 12:6 and you shall keep it until the fourteenth day of this month, when the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill their lambs at twilight. 7 “Then they shall take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and the lintel of the houses in which they eat it.

The word blood introduces one of the themes of the passage. It occurs six times.

The Blood of the Lamb Provided Immediate Deliverance

Exodus 12:13 The blood shall be a sign for you, on the houses where you are. And when I SEE THE BLOOD, I WILL PASS OVER YOU, and no plague will befall you to destroy you, when I strike the land of Egypt.Exodus 12:23 For the Lord will pass through to strike the Egyptians, and when he SEES THE BLOOD ON THE LINTEL AND ON THE TWO DOORPOSTS, THE LORD WILL PASS OVER the door and will not allow the destroyer to enter your houses to strike you.

Not to sound overly simple, but twice, we are told that God had to SEE the blood. It was not enough to see the lamb itself. When God saw the blood, the Israelites were delivered.

Exodus 12:11 In this manner you shall eat it: with your belt fastened, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand. And you shall eat it in haste. It is the Lord's Passover.

The deliverance happened so quickly that the Israelites had to eat the lamb standing up, dressed, and ready to go.

Exodus 12:31 Then he (this is Pharaoh) summoned Moses and Aaron by night and said, “Up, go out from among my people, both you and the people of Israel; and go, serve the Lord, as you have said.

Pharaoh summoned Moses and Aaron in the middle of the night to tell them to get the Israelites out of Egypt. He didn’t even wait until morning. That’s a quick deliverance!

Notice the incredible contrast from before the lamb’s blood was shed to after the lamb’s blood is shed. Moses, Aaron, the most dramatic nine plagues in human history, and even the Passover lamb when it was alive, couldn’t deliver the Israelites. The Passover Lamb’s blood is shed, and the Israelites are not only delivered but driven out.

Looking Forward to Christ

Passover is not primarily about Israel’s deliverance from Egypt. That’s what the account is secondarily about. The account is primarily about Christ, and the way he delivers us from the enemies we face that are even greater than Egypt, and those are sin and death. The Passover Lamb is merely a shadow or type. If you read the account and fail to see Christ, you are no better off than people who don’t read the account at all.

Exodus 12:35 The people of Israel had also done as Moses told them, for they had asked the Egyptians for silver and gold jewelry and for clothing. 36 And the Lord had given the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians, so that they let them have what they asked. Thus they plundered the Egyptians.

The Egyptians were so glad to see the Israelites gone; they were even able to take Egypt’s wealth with them on the way out. This also is not primarily about Israel being given riches after they are redeemed by the blood of the lamb. This prefigures or looks forward to the riches we receive when we are redeemed by the blood of the lamb. Please listen to this…

Ephesians 1:7 In him we have REDEMPTION THROUGH HIS BLOOD, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to THE RICHES OF HIS GRACE…18 having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are THE RICHES OF HIS GLORIOUS INHERITANCE IN THE SAINTS.

You can see how the same happens to us, not physically, but spiritually.

The Lamb's Death Is More Important than Its Life

The lamb's life was important. If the lamb wasn't spotless or unblemished, it couldn't serve as the Passover lamb. But no matter how important the lamb’s life was, it couldn’t save anyone. Only its blood could save.

We don’t have a record of this happening, but imagine a family gets a lamb on the 10th day like verse 3 describes. The lamb is without blemish, a male a-year-old, and taken from the sheep or goats like verse 5 describes. If the lamb isn’t slaughtered, it doesn’t save anyone.

Jesus’ life was important. He had to be spotless or unblemished, a male, a-year-old – which is to say in the prime of his life –to serve as our Passover Lamb. But if his blood wasn’t shed, he couldn’t save anyone. If Jesus had stayed alive, he wouldn’t have helped anyone any more than any Passover lambs would’ve helped anyone if they hadn’t been sacrificed.

I’m thankful for Jesus’ life. I’m thankful for his teaching. I’m thankful for his example. But more than all that, I’m thankful for his death. I’m thankful he was willing to shed his blood for me.

If you understand the importance of Jesus’ blood, you understand why it is so unfortunate when people say things like, "I love the way Jesus lived. He was such a great miracle worker. I am so blessed when I read the accounts of him healing those people. He helped so many. And what about all those wonderful things he taught? We could spend days just talking about his different parables."

But if people stop there – there’s no mention of the cross – they are coming up short. It isn’t Jesus’ teaching, miracles, or even life that paid for our sins. It was his blood. That’s what redeemed us from sin and death.

The Blood of the Lamb's Importance

Take your mind to what we commonly call the Last Supper, when Jesus celebrated Passover and then went out to become our Passover Lamb:

Matthew 26:27 [Jesus] took a cup, and when he had given thanks he gave it to them, saying, “Drink of it, all of you, 28 for this is MY BLOOD OF THE COVENANT, which is poured out for many FOR THE FORGIVENESS OF SINS.

We have Jesus telling us that his blood did two crucial things: instituted the new covenant and forgave our sins. This is why, even though Jesus’ life was so wonderful, throughout the rest of the New Testament,

According to Exodus 12:1-6, families were to get a lamb on the tenth day of the month of Nisan, examine it, and sacrifice it on the fourteenth. The five days between the tenth and fourteenth look forward to the days between the triumphal entry and crucifixion when Christ, our Passover Lamb, was examined.

https://youtu.be/3SbLjawBeKU

The days between Nisan 10th and 14th (Exodus 12:1-6) look forward to the days when Christ, our Passover Lamb, was examined in Jerusalem.

Table of contentsJesus Is Our Passover LambWholehearted Service to GodLooking to Christ in JerusalemChrist Our Passover Lamb Was Examined Before Being SacrificedJesus' Six TrialsChrist Our Passover Lamb Was Without BlemishChrist Our Passover Lamb Passed God the Father’s Examination

During ROTC, after we fired live rounds, we had to clean our M-16s and then have them examined before they could be turned back in. My freshman year was the first time I went through this tedious process. I would guess I cleaned my gun for about 30 or 45 minutes, and then stood up to go have it examined. The cadet I was sitting across from was a junior who had done this numerous times, and he said, “What are you doing?”

I responded, “I’m going to have my gun examined to see if it’s clean enough to turn in.”

He said, “Don’t bother. There’s no way your gun is clean enough yet. Nobody gets to turn their gun in until they have been cleaning for at least three hours.”

I can’t remember if I brought my gun up at that moment or not, but I do remember that when I did bring it up, it was rejected numerous times before finally being accepted. Sure enough, it took about three hours, which seemed average for almost everyone. So, I was only off by about two hours and 15 minutes. The cadre examining the M-16s would search every spot. They sent you back to continue cleaning if they could pull out their finger or a cotton swab with the tiniest black speck on it.

I had never seen anything in my life examined like those guns, until I studied this week. I think Jesus faced greater examination than those M-16s did. During the last five days of his earthly life there seemed to be no part of his life they didn’t inspect.

I assume many of you already know this, but it's worth mentioning even if a few of you don’t. We use the title “Last Supper” so often we can almost forget that the Last Supper was when Jesus celebrated Passover with his disciples. Then after the meal Jesus went out to be crucified. So, Jesus celebrated Passover, and then became our Passover Lamb.

Jesus Is Our Passover Lamb

1 Corinthians 5:7 Christ, our Passover Lamb, has been sacrificed.

Every Passover lamb that was ever sacrificed – and there were millions of them – were shadows and types of Christ. Or another way to say it is, every Passover, beginning with the first one back in Exodus, looked forward to, or prefigured, Jesus dying on the cross for our sins. Because Passover – like so much else in the Old Testament – looks forward to Christ, let me be clear about what is happening in this chapter:

Egypt is a picture or type of the world. When the Israelites, God’s people, were delivered from Egypt, it looked forward to us, God’s people, being delivered from the world.

When the Israelites were delivered from their bondage to the Egyptians, it looked forward to us being delivered from our bondage to sin and death.

When the Passover lamb was sacrificed and its blood covered the door so the firstborn sons would not experience physical death, it looked forward to Christ, our Passover Lamb being sacrificed and his blood covering our sin so we would not experience eternal death.

Consider these verses:

Colossians 2:17 These [things in the Old Testament – including Passover] are a shadow of the things to come, but the substance belongs to Christ.

Hebrews 10:1 [The Old Testament is] a shadow of the good things to come instead of the true form of these realities.

Passover was a shadow of the good things to come, but the substance belongs to Christ. He is the true form of these realities.

And here’s why it’s so important to see Jesus in the Passover: If we read every passage in the Old Testament related to Passover, if we memorize every detail that’s recorded, but we fail to see Christ, then we have made the same mistake the religious leaders made in Jesus’s day, which Jesus condemned them for:

John 5:39 You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me.

The religious leaders thought they would obtain eternal life simply by learning the Scriptures. But Jesus said they were missing eternal life because they didn’t see Jesus in the Scriptures they were learning! Eternal life doesn’t come from knowing Scripture: eternal life comes from knowing the Christ of the Scriptures! Let’s keep this in mind as we look at these verses in Exodus 12 so we can see Jesus in them.

Exodus 12:1 The Lord said to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, 2 “This month shall be for you the beginning of months. It shall be the first month of the year for you. 3 Tell all the congregation of Israel that on the tenth day of this month every man shall take a lamb according to their fathers' houses, a lamb for a household. 4 And if the household is too small for a lamb, then he and his nearest neighbor shall take according to the number of persons; according to what each can eat you shall make your count for the lamb. 5 Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male a year old. You may take it from the sheep or from the goats,

This refers to the month of Nisan, which is the first month on the Jewish calendar. On the 10th day of the month, or on Nisan 10, families would get a lamb for Passover. This tenth dy corresponds to the triumphal entry.

Wholehearted Service to God

The lamb must be “without blemish.” We can read this and find application for ourselves. God didn’t want animals that had defects or were injured. Similarly, God wants our best. He doesn’t want us bringing halfhearted or indifferent spiritual sacrifices to him. Amaziah, King of Judah, came to mind:

2 Chronicles 25:2 [Amaziah] did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, yet not with a whole heart.

Amaziah is a fitting picture of half-hearted devotion to God. The problem is that it leaves half of your heart for something else. God wants all our hearts. He wants us to bring him our best. We want to provide service that is without blemish.

Looking to Christ in Jerusalem

The words “A male a year old” might not look like they apply to Christ, but they do. The idea is God wanted lambs sacrificed when they were in the prime of their lives, and Jesus was sacrificed when he was in the prime of his life at 33 years of age.

Exodus 12:6 and you shall keep it until the fourteenth day of this month, when the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill their lambs at twilight.

Picture what this looked like: the family would take the lamb into their home on the tenth day, and they would keep it with them until it was sacrificed on the fourteenth day. What would happen between the family and that lamb during those five days? My understanding is lambs are calm and gentle animals. This is another reason Jesus is compared with a lamb: his gentleness.

During those days the lamb would become like a pet. Why? God wanted people having affection for the lamb before it was killed. He wanted people knowing the lamb died for them. He wanted people grieving when the lamb was sacrificed.

And all this looked forward to Christ. Jesus spent most of his ministry around Galilee, but during the last week of his earthly life leading up to the crucifixion he entered Jerusalem. The five days, from Nisan 10 to Nisan 14, looked forward to the days between Jesus’ triumphal entry and crucifixion.

When Jesus was in Jerusalem, he was like that lamb living with that Hebrew family. The Jews were supposed to develop affection for Christ, the Passover Lamb. They were supposed to grieve when he died. They were supposed to know the Lamb was sacrificed for their sin.

Christ Our Passover Lamb Was Examined Before Being Sacrificed

There has never been any other Passover like the first one. If Jews skipped Passovers in the future, which they did for years, it was sinful, but their firstborn son wasn’t killed because of it. I’m sure if they did lose their firstborn sons, you can be sure they wouldn’t have missed any Passovers. But at that first Passover the consequence was the death of your oldest son.

If you were alive at that first Passover and you knew that the only thing standing between you and the Destroyer passing over your home was that lamb that had to be without blemish: How well do you think you would examine it between the 10th and 14th day? How many times would you look for any blemish?

Would you do anything that last day before sacrificing the animal BESIDES searching it from top to bottom to make sure there was no blemish whatsoever?

I mention this, because the way these lambs were examined before being sacrificed, looked forward to the way Jesus was examined between the 10th and 14th day, or between his triumphal entry and crucifixion.

Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God, was watched and tested by his enemies during that final week.

Warren Wiersbe, The Bible Exposition Commentary New Testament volume 1: Matthew-Galatians, page 255

First, the religious leaders questioned Jesus’ authority in Luke 20:1-8…

Luke 20:1 One day, as Jesus was teaching the people in the temple and preaching the gospel, the chief priests and the scribes with the elders came up 2 and said to him, “Tell us by what authority you do these things, or who it is that gave you this authority.”

Next, the religious leaders questioned Jesus about paying taxes in Luke 20:20-26…

Luke 20:21 So they asked him, “Teacher,

The second instance of Jesus cleansing the temple of corruption is in all three synoptic Gospels (Matthew 21:12-16, Mark 11:15-18, Luke 19:45-48). The first instance is only in John 2:12-25 right after the wedding at Cana when Jesus’ ministry began. The first thing Jesus did after his ministry began was cleanse the temple, and the first thing he did after making his triumphal entry into Jerusalem was cleanse the temple. These two cleansings serve as bookends on Jesus’ three-year ministry and reveal his heart for "pure and undefiled religion" (James 1:27).

https://youtu.be/IRhPakgaiLY

Jesus cleanses the temple of corruption in all three synoptic Gospels (Matthew 21:12-16, Mark 11:15-18, Luke 19:45-48).

Table of contentsJesus Cleansed the Temple Because Jews Were Ripping Off GentilesMisusing the Temple CourtyardThe MoneychangersThe Animal VendorsForbidden in the LawFalse Teachers Rip Off People TodayOld Testament Verses Were Quoted Because of Their Context"My House Shall Be A House Of Prayer" (Isaiah 56:7)"You Have Made It A Den Of Robbers” (Jeremiah 7:11)Jesus Cleansed the Temple Because He Cared More About Religious Corruption Than Roman OppressionJesus Cleansed the Temple and Then Remained in the Heart of Enemy TerritoryWas Jesus Really in More Danger When He Remained in the Temple?God the Father Was Always in Control

When I was in Army ROTC, during one of the summers, I attended air assault school at Fort Drum in upstate New York. We had a weekend off, so we decided to travel across the border to Canada. We went to a restaurant, and after we ate, we told the cashier that we only had US dollars.

We didn’t know the conversion rate between US and Canadian dollars, so we simply had to trust the cashier when he told us how much our meal cost. The one thing I did know was I had never paid that much for a meal before. But we were in no position to argue because we had no familiarity with the conversion rate between Canadian and US dollars…and we didn’t have cell phones that allowed us to say, “Okay Google.” Now I feel old.

The cashier also pointed toward the cash in his register and said that he didn’t have any US money, so he would not be able to give us change. As we were walking out, I saw him lift the till containing the Canadian money. He put our US dollars underneath it…on top of what looked to me like quite a bit of US money. I said, “I thought you said you didn’t have any US dollars?” I don’t remember what he said in return, but it was obvious that he took advantage of us.

This Canadian cashier ripping off his American neighbors reminded me of the Jewish vendors in the temple courtyard who were doing the same to their Gentile neighbors. At least until Jesus came along.

Jesus Cleansed the Temple Because Jews Were Ripping Off Gentiles

Luke 19:45 And he entered the temple and began to drive out those who sold,

This is the second instance of Jesus cleansing the temple. The first instance is only in John’s Gospel. It took place right after the wedding at Cana, which is to say it took place right after Jesus’ ministry began. So, it is interesting that:

The first thing Jesus did after his ministry began was cleanse the temple.

And the first thing he did after making his triumphal entry into Jerusalem was cleanse the temple.

These two cleansings serve as bookends on Jesus’ three-year ministry. Why would Jesus cleanse the temple at the beginning and end of his ministry? Iit reveals his heart for pure and undefiled religion:

James 1:27 Religion that is pure and undefiled before God the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.

James says that pure and undefiled religion does two things.

It is loving. It does things such as visit orphans and widows. This is not an exhaustive list. James mentions these as examples so that people know what pure and undefiled religion looks like.

It keeps itself unstained from the world, which is to say it produces holiness. When people claim to be religious, but their religion produces, or at least allows, unholiness, it is not pure and undefiled religion.

When Jesus looked at the temple, he didn’t see pure and undefiled. He saw corrupt and unscrupulous religion. Instead of lovingly serving others, he saw a religion that manipulated and exploited others.

Misusing the Temple Courtyard

The different courts of the temple were:

The outermost court was the court of the Gentiles. This is where the cleansing took place.

Next was the court of the women.

Then there was the court of Israel, also known as the court of men.

Finally, there was the court of priests which, as the name implies, only priests could enter.

The court of the Gentiles, or the outermost court, was the only area of the temple that non-Jews could enter. We say Jesus cleansed the temple, but both times he wasn’t in the temple. He was outside in this courtyard.

Because this was the area accessible by Gentiles, it was intended to be a place of evangelism and outreach. The Jews could witness to their Gentile neighbors and tell them about the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

But instead of this court being used to evangelize Gentiles, it was being used to exploit them:

Instead of praying for the Gentiles, the priests were preying on the Gentiles.

Warren Wiersbe, The Bible Exposition Commentary New Testament volume 1: Matthew-Galatians, page 255.

The Moneychangers

There were primarily two Jewish groups ripping off Gentiles: money changes and animal vendors. Let me explain both.

First, according to Exodus 30:11-16 the Mosaic law required that everyone pay a temple tax of half a shekel. Like me going to Canada without the right currency, Gentiles would go to the temple without the right currency. They had coins with images of pagan emperors on them, and they would not be accepted at the temple.

There were Jewish money changers in the courtyard who exchanged foreign coins for Jewish coins that would be accepted at the temple. But they would do so at exorbitant exchange rates.

The Animal Vendors

Second, there were animal vendors. Gentiles would come to the temple, but they might not have an animal to sacrifice, so the vendors would sell them animals that were overpriced. Or, even if Gentiles came to the temple with animals, the vendors would examine them, but tell worshipers their animals were unacceptable. Then they would try to sell them one of their overpriced animals.

Gentiles didn’t know better, so they were perfect victims for these unscrupulous Jews. Imagine what this looked like. A Gentile abandons his pagan, idolatrous ways. He wants to worship the God of Israel, so he goes to the temple. He is a new convert, so even though he is sincere, he lacks familiarity with the Old Testament sacrificial system.

He brings an animal because he wants to offer a sacrifice. But a Jewish vendor says, “It is wonderful that you are here. God wants a relationship with you. But I hate to tell you your animal is unacceptable. You see, according to our law, there is a standard for animals that are sacrificed. Sadly, your animal does not meet that standard. But, today is your lucky day! I have animals that are in exceptional condition, and I will sell you as many as you would like.”

Forbidden in the Law

This sort of behavior was strictly forbidden in the Mosaic law:

Exodus 22:21 “You shall not wrong a sojourner or oppress him, for you were sojourners in the land of Egypt.

Leviticus 19:34 You shall treat the stranger who sojourns with you as the native among you, and you shall love him as yourself, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God.

When Jesus cleansed the temple, he showed not only his anger at the temple being abused. He also showed his concern for Gentile converts who were being ripped off.

And I will share something else with you that I think is going on. I say “think,” because the text doesn’t directly tell us this is the case, but I think we can indirectly assume it. Passover is only a few days away, so this would be the busiest time of the year at the temple. The courtyard would be filled with Gentiles who traveled long distances to be there. And what does everyone need? Lambs! Passover preparation is described:

Exodus 12:3 Tell all the congregation of Israel that on the tenth day of this month every man shall take a lamb according to their fathers' houses, a lamb for a household...5 Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male a year old. You may take it from the sheep or from the goats. 6 and you shall keep it until the fourteenth day of this month, when the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill their lambs at twilight.

The lamb had to be without blemish and a year old. Can you see how animal vendors would use this to take advantage of people? They could say, “Unfortunately, I see a blemish. It’s small, but it’s there. This lamb will not work. But I have one right here that I can sell you. You could try to buy one from outside the temple grounds, but who knows if it will have a blemish too.”

They get their lamb on the 10th day of the month. But they don’t kill it yet.They were supposed to get the lamb on the 10th day and kill it on the 14th day. With Passover only a few days away, the courtyard was filled, or would be filled the next day, with countless people getting their lambs.

What does this mean for vendors? It means they have dollar signs in their eyes. They probably expect to make more money ripping people off the week before Passover than over many other months combined.

But then what happens? Right when they think they are about to start lining their pockets, Jesus comes in and starts driving out all the vendors. The parallel account in Matthew 21:12 says he overturned their tables and chairs.

Jesus weeps over Jerusalem in Luke 19:41-44. After the triumphal entry, in the midst of the shouting, worshiping, multitude, was a weeping King. Jesus saw the Jews' coming judgment for rejecting him in five days.

Table of contentsThe Bible Contains Vivid Descriptions of Men CryingJeremiah’s Weeping Is a Type of Jesus’ WeepingWhy Did Jesus Weep Over Jerusalem?The Jews Rejected Peace When They Rejected the Prince of PeaceJesus Saw the Jews' Coming JudgmentHow Did Jesus Weep Over Jerusalem?Weep in Hell or Have Your Tears Wiped Away in Heaven

https://youtu.be/KcgGSqCu7iI

Jesus weeps over Jerusalem in Luke 19:41-44, because he saw the Jews' coming judgment for rejecting him in five days.

We had our tenth child, Hudson Taylor LaPierre at the end of October. So far, he has been a great baby. But if he cried a lot, it wouldn’t surprise us because we expect babies and infants to cry.

We understand God created men and women differently. Women tend to be more sensitive and emotional than men. Because of that, we are not surprised when women cry. But because we don’t expect men to cry, at least not as much as babies or women, there can be something dramatic, and even moving about men, especially grown men, crying.

The Bible Contains Vivid Descriptions of Men Crying

When David and his men were hiding from Saul, they returned to Ziklag where they were staying with their wives and children. They found Ziklag burned to the ground and their wives and children kidnapped:

1 Samuel 30:3 When David and his men came to the city, they found it burned with fire, and their wives and sons and daughters taken captive. 4 Then David and the people who were with him raised their voices and wept until they had no more strength to weep.

This isn’t what we normally think of as weeping. Weeping doesn’t sap all your strength. David and his men wept, or probably more like sobbed or wailed, until they were completely exhausted.

When you consider the type of men these were, I think their weeping looks even more dramatic. They were used to killing other men with swords or their own hands when they were close enough to look in their faces. These included David’s mighty men who had been hardened by war, hunger, thirst, fighting, and fear of death. But there’s no record of anything driving them to this point before.

But now they weep like this because they know their wives and children were captured by some of the wickedest people in history: the Amalekites. If there was ever a group you would want to keep as far away from your family as possible, it was them. They were so evil that decades earlier God commanded Saul to exterminate them. But because he failed, they were able to attack David and his men’s families.

Another example that stood out to me was when Esau realized he would receive no blessing, because he gave away his birthright:

Genesis 27:34 As soon as Esau heard the words of his father, he cried out with an exceedingly great and bitter cry and said to his father, “Bless me, even me also, O my father!…38 Have you but one blessing, my father? Bless me, even me also, O my father.” And Esau lifted up his voice and wept.

Esau was another man’s man. He was a hunter. He was hairy, even as a baby. You know you’re a man’s man when you’re hairy even as a baby. But when he learned that he would receive no blessing from his father,  he wept loudly. It is sad picturing a grown man sobbing and begging his father to give him something.

I also thought about Job’s friends because they wept, not for themselves, but for Job. When they heard the news about what happened, they went to visit him:

Job 2:12 When they saw him from a distance, they did not recognize him. And they raised their voices and wept, and they tore their robes and sprinkled dust on their heads toward heaven.

These grown men wept loudly for their friend because his trials left him unrecognizable to them.

Jeremiah’s Weeping Is a Type of Jesus’ Weeping

Jeremiah has the unique distinction of being known for his weeping:

Matthew 16:13 Jesus…asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” 14 And they said, “Some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” 

Let’s briefly talk about each of these guesses, because they give us a unique insight into how people viewed Jesus during his earthly ministry.

First, some people said he was John the Baptist. John 10:41 says John never performed a miracle. So, they didn’t think Jesus was John because Jesus and John performed miracles.

They more than likely thought Jesus was John because of their similar preaching. They both preached repentance and truth regardless of how it was received and confronted the religious leaders.

There are multiple reasons people could have guessed Elijah. Elijah and Jesus were both famous miracle workers. They were known for bold, uncompromising preaching. Elijah went up to heaven in a whirlwind without dying, which made it easier to believe he returned as Jesus. Finally, and most significantly, there was an Old Testament prophecy that Elijah would appear again:

Malachi 4:5 “Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and awesome day of the Lord comes.

This is the second-to-last verse of the Old Testament, which means it is the second-to-last verse God spoke for over 400 years. So, you can imagine the attention it received. The verse prophesied God would send Elijah back, and it prophesied of Elijah returning as one of the two witnesses in Revelation 11. But the people in Jesus’ day didn’t have the book of Revelation, so Elijah was a logical guess.

The third person they named is Jeremiah. We know Jeremiah resembles Jesus, because of the rejection, betrayal, and suffering they both experienced. But the problem is, Jesus had not experienced much rejection, betrayal, and suffering when they said this. All of that is still in the future. So why did people think they were the same person? I think it was because of their sorrow. Jeremiah is the author of Lamentations, and Jesus is:

Isaiah 53:3 He was…a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief.

Like Jeremiah, Jesus was known for his sensitivity and tenderheartedness. Nine times in Matthew, Mark, and Luke, we read about Jesus’s compassion. Just using Matthew’s gospel:

Matthew 9:36 When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.

Matthew 14:14 When he…saw a great crowd, and he had compassion on them and healed their sick.

Matthew 15:32 Jesus…said, “I have compassion on the crowd because they have been with me now three days and have nothing to eat.”

Jesus was deeply compassionate, and we don’t see his compassion for people any better than when he weeps over Jerusalem. I like shadows and types of Christ. Initially this lesson said that Jeremiah is a type of Jesus, but I changed it because as I studied this week, it seemed like not only did Jeremiah prefigure Jesus, Jeremiah’s weeping over Jerusalem prefigures Jesus’ weeping over Jerusalem:

Jeremiah 9:1 Oh 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!

Jeremiah said he wept for all the Jews who would be slaughtered. He’s talking specifically about when Babylon sieged Jerusalem, destroyed the temple, slaughtered countless Jews, and took many others captive. Let me illustrate this by describing someone and then asking you who I am describing.

Jerusalem would be sieged and then broken into. The temple would be destroyed. Hundreds of thousands of Jews would be slaughtered, and thousands more would be taken captive. A man thought about this and wept. Who is the man?

I could be talking about Jeremiah, the weeping prophet, as he thought about what would happen to Jerusalem at the hands of the Babylonians in 600 BC.

I could be talking about Jesus, the weeping Savior, as he thought about what would happen to Jerusalem at the hands of the Romans in 70 A.D.

Just as Jeremiah was brokenhearted over what was going to happen to the Jews in his day, so too was Jesus brokenhearted over what was going to happen to the Jews in his day.

Many Old Testament events prefigure or foreshadow New Testament events. The similarities between the Babylonians attacking Jerusalem, destroying the city and the temple, slaughtering the Jews and taking many of them captive in Jeremiah’s day is so similar to the Romans doing the same thing to Jerusalem in 70 A.D. that it looks as though the Old Testament event foreshadows the New Testament one.

Why Did Jesus Weep Over Jerusalem?

We are jumping into the middle of the triumphal entry:

Luke 19:37 As he was drawing near—already on the way down the Mount of Olives—the whole multitude of his disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works that they had seen, 38 saying, “Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!” 39 And some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples.” 40 He answered, “I tell you, if these were silent, the very stones would cry out.”

There were probably thousands of people, and it says they were rejoicing and praising God with loud voices. There is no other celebration like this in the Gospels. The response was so staggering the religious leaders couldn’t handle it. This was Jesus’ coronation, so if the people were silent, creation itself would respond.

All the Gospels record Jesus’ Triumphal Entry, but Luke records something completely shocking that is not in the other Gospels:

Luke 19:41 And when he drew near and saw the city, he wept over it,

You will get much more from your Bible reading if you picture what is being described,

The Jews misunderstood Old Testament prophecies of Jesus' Coming. The Old Testament compressed prophecies of Jesus' first and second coming, leading the Jews to believe all the prophecies would be fulfilled in one coming.

Table of contentsThe Old Testament Prophecies of Jesus' Coming Were CompressedJohn the Baptist Questioned Whether Jesus was the Messiah, Because He Misunderstood Old Testament Prophecies of Jesus' ComingA 2,000 Year-Old CommaThe Jews Expected Old Testament Prophecies to be Fulfilled in One ComingThe Jews Wanted Salvation from Rome Versus Salvation from SinUnderstanding Jesus' Two ComingsFootnotes

https://youtu.be/iKJpHR5GTgE

The Jews misunderstood Old Testament prophecies of Jesus' Coming, because they believed they would be fulfilled in one coming.

This past week I read about some of the greatest misunderstandings in history. I settled on the Treaty of Wuchale as the second greatest misunderstanding. On May 2, 1889, Ethiopia and Italy signed this treaty to promote friendship and trade, but the two countries wrote the treaty in their own language. One part, Article 17, was particularly problematic.

The Ethiopian version stated that their Emperor could use the Italian embassy to conduct his foreign affairs if he wanted. But Italy understood the Ethiopian Emperor was committing to using the Italian embassy. This doesn’t sound like a big deal, but it led Italy to believe Ethiopia had given up its independence and become a colony under Italy’s protection.

Italy informed all the European governments that they could no longer conduct diplomatic relations with Ethiopia, and instead could only deal with Italy. Ethiopia did not like this, so they denounced the treaty. Italy attempted to enforce it, and when this failed, Italy invaded Ethiopia in 1895. Ethiopia ended up winning, safeguarding its independence. You heard that correctly: because of a misunderstanding over the wording of a treaty – that was supposed to promote friendship and trade – two nations went to war.

I told you this is the second worst misunderstanding in human history. Of course, you want to know what’s first? The Treaty of Wuchale pales in comparison to the misunderstanding at Jesus’s triumphal entry. The people in attendance completely misunderstood what they were witnessing. I think the best way to understand this misunderstanding is by looking at the Old Testament to see how it happened.

The Old Testament Prophecies of Jesus' Coming Were Compressed

Zechariah 9:9 Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your king is coming to you; righteous and having salvation is he, humble and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey. 10 I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim and the war horse from Jerusalem; and the battle bow shall be cut off, and he shall speak peace to the nations; his rule shall be from sea to sea, and from the River to the ends of the earth.

Ephraim is another name for Israel because Ephraim was the largest tribe. Zechariah is prophesying of the Second Coming when Jesus defeats the nations that assemble against Israel:  he cuts off the chariot, warhorse, and battle bow.

Jesus’s rule stretches from the river, referring to the Euphrates, to the ends of the earth.94

He speaks peace to the nations, because with all the enemies destroyed peace is established. The order of prophetic events: Jesus returns, destroys enemies at the battle of Armageddon, and then sets up his kingdom on the earth. Many well-known verses describe this as a time of peace:

Isaiah 2:4 They shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore.

Isaiah 11:6 The wolf shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the young goat, and the calf and the lion and the fattened calf together; and a little child shall lead them. 7 The cow and the bear shall graze; their young shall lie down together; and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. 8 The nursing child shall play over the hole of the cobra, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the adder's den.

Zechariah 9:9 is about Jesus’s first coming, and Zechariah 9:10 is about Jesus’s Second Coming. The arrival of the Savior in verse 9 is immediately followed by a description of his reign in verse 10. There have been at least 2000 years between verses 9 and 10, but the Bible puts them back-to-back. This is known as “prophetic compression.”

Isaiah 9:6 For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

So, talk about a compressed prophecy! Now we don’t even have verses back-to-back. In the same verse we just went from Jesus’s birth to Jesus ruling the nations.

You don’t expect to see words like this about a child. A child can’t carry the government on his shoulder. Again, this looks forward to the second coming followed by the millennial kingdom.

You say, “I thought we were talking about a Child. Now we’re talking about a Father? Are we talking about God the Father or God the Son?” The child is Jesus. He is not to be confused with God the Father. It’s best to understand the title “Father” means “originator” or “source of.” For example, in John 8:44, Jesus said Satan is the “father of lies.” It’s referring to lies originating from him.

In saying Jesus is the Everlasting Father it means he is the father – or originator of – time:

Jesus Himself is eternal: John 8:58 Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am.”

Jesus is also unchanging: Hebrews 13:8 Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.

Isaiah 61:1 The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the poor; he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound;

The Hebrew word for anointed is māšaḥ, where we get the word “Messiah,” which means, “anointed one.” To say Jesus is the Christ is to say he is the anointed one. The Greek word for anointed is chriō, which is where we get our English word “Christ.” So Christ and Messiah both mean anointed, but one is Hebrew and one is Greek.

Everything in this verse is spiritual versus physical.95 For example, it says Jesus is anointed to bring good news. Gospel means good news, so Jesus is anointed to preach the gospel to the poor. This doesn’t mean physically, or financially poor. It means those who recognize they are spiritually poor, or recognize they are sinners who need to be saved.

He proclaims liberty to the captives, not physical captives, but spiritual captives to sin and death, which is a far worse captivity.96

John the Baptist Questioned Whether Jesus was the Messiah, Because He Misunderstood Old Testament Prophecies of Jesus' Coming

He [opens] the prison to those who are bound and this is spiritual versus physical. The last person we would ever expect to doubt that Jesus is the Messiah doubted that Jesus is the Messiah, because he was in prison, and interpreted this physically versus spiritually:

Matthew 11:2 Now when John [the Baptist] heard in prison about the deeds of the Christ, he sent word by his disciples 3 and said to him, “Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?”

This is shocking! You have John the Baptist, of all people, asking if Jesus is the Messiah. John knew better than anyone that Jesus was the Messiah. He was the forerunner of the Messiah. By this point he identified Jesus as the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. He baptized Jesus and saw the Holy Spirit descend on him in the form of a dove and he heard the Father’s voice ring out saying, “You are My beloved Son; in You I am well pleased.”

So how could John ask this? There were numerous prophecies in the Old Testament that the Messiah [opening] the prison to those who are bound:

Isaiah 42:7 [the Messiah will] bring out the prisoners from the dungeon, from the prison those who sit in darkness.

Isaiah 49:9 [the Messiah says] to the prisoners, ‘Come out,’ to those who are in darkness, ‘Appear.’

John knew these prophecies. He could not understand why he would still be in prison if Jesus was the Messiah. Even John – whom Jesus said was greater than anyone who had ever been born of a woman – had problems when he looked at what was spiritual, but interpreted it physically.

Isaiah 61:2 to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all who mourn.

The word “year” should not be interpreted literally. It simply means a time or season. The word “favor” can often be used interchangeably with the word “grace.” Maybe you have heard grace defined as unmerited or unearned favor. That is a fitting definition. So, when it says Jesus is anointed to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor, it means Jesus is anointed to proclaim the time or season of God’s grace. Isaiah writes about the same period a few chapters earlier:

Isaiah 49:8 In a TIME OF FAVOR I have answered you; in a DAY OF SALVATION I have helped you;

Notice Isaiah uses “time of favor” synonymously with “day of salvation.”

A 2,000 Year-Old Comma

There is a comma after the word favor. That is a 2000-year-old comma. We live before that comma and there are lots of titles for this season: The acceptable year of the Lord (which is how it’s translated in the NKJV and KJV, which is a fitting title, because it communicates that now is the time to be accepted by the Lord), the Church Age, Time of Favor, Dispensation of Grace, Day of Salvation.

That was a quick jump from the year of the Lord’s favor to the day of vengeance of our God. We just moved from the first coming to the Second Coming…in the same verse.

At the triumphal entry Jesus's "disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice" (Luke 19:37). The Pharisees said to Jesus, "Teacher, rebuke your disciples” (Luke 19:40). Jesus responded, "I tell you, if these were silent, even the rocks will cry out." This was the only time Jesus permitted a public demonstration on his behalf. On this day there would be no silencing the welcoming of the Son of David, Israel’s king.

https://youtu.be/OXYG89Hzyuc

Table of contentsEven the Rocks Will Cry Out, Because Jesus Was Following a Divine TimelineThere Was a Time to Be SilentThere Was a Time "Even Rocks Will Cry Out"There Was a Time to DieJesus Repeatedly Said, “My Hour Has Not Yet Come”Jesus Finally Said His Hour Had ComeThe Triumphal Entry Ensured Jesus Would Die on TimeGod Has a Course for Our Lives

When I was in Army ROTC at Florida Tech, there was an ITT (individual tactical training) course. You’ve probably seen courses like this in movies that depict basic training, or if you’ve been in the military, you’ve probably been on courses like this multiple times. Unlike other obstacle courses, which teams typically go through together to build teamwork – think of soldiers helping each other over walls – ITT courses are performed individually. Hence, the word individual is used in the acronym.

ITT courses include numerous obstacles that involve running, climbing, swinging, balancing, high crawling, low crawling, jumping, dropping, and sometimes swimming. You move from one obstacle to the next as quickly as possible with soldiers yelling that you are moving too slowly and need to pick it up…regardless of how fast you are going.

The entire course is laid out for you. You don’t get to decide whether to go left or right. You can’t skip any obstacles or do them out of order. You move from one to the next in the order laid out for you.

Even the Rocks Will Cry Out, Because Jesus Was Following a Divine Timeline

A you read the gospels, you might notice that Jesus’ ministry seemed like this. He moved from one event (or obstacle) to the next in the order laid out for him by God the Father. Listen to Jesus describe his ministry this way:

John 5:30 “I seek not my own will but the will of him who sent me."

John 6:38 “I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me."

Matthew 26:39 “My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will.”

Jesus was describing the course that was before him. At least once he even described his earthly ministry as a course:

Luke 13:32 “Behold, I cast out demons and perform cures today and tomorrow, and the third day I finish my course.”

Jesus didn’t get to decide whether to go left or right. He didn’t get to skip obstacles or do them out of order. He moved from one obstacle to the next.

There Was a Time to Be Silent

Let me show you some examples from Jesus’s life. In Mark 1:40-42 Jesus cleanses a leper. Then:

Mark 1:43 And Jesus sternly charged him and sent him away at once, 44 and said to him, “See that you say nothing to anyone, but go, show yourself to the priest and offer for your cleansing what Moses commanded, for a proof to them.” 45 But he went out and began to talk freely about it, and to spread the news, so that Jesus could no longer openly enter a town, but was out in desolate places, and people were coming to him from every quarter.

It is surprising that Jesus told this man not to tell anyone about the miracle. Why would he do that?

One reason is it wasn’t time for the people to recognize Jesus was the Messiah. That might sound odd, but he was following the divine timeline set by His Father.

Another reason is large amounts of publicity would hinder Jesus’s mission and divert public attention from his message to his miracles. He wanted to continue teaching ministry in an uninhibited way. He needed to be able to move around easily. If people knew about his miracles, he would be swarmed by so many people he would be unable to enter towns where he could preach. This is exactly what happened because this man disobeyed him.

Unfortunately, the man did the exact opposite of what Jesus asked: he talked to everyone but the priests. You can see the problems it caused. Before Jesus cleansed the man he was able to minister in the town. But after the man told everyone, Jesus was forced “out in desolate places” where there were fewer people for him to reach.

You could ask, why did Jesus perform miracles if it was going to hinder his ministry? First, because he loved people and he wanted to help them. But more importantly, they served as signs that he was the Messiah.

Beginning at Mark 5:21 Jesus raises Jairus’s daughter from the dead. Then he said to feed her, but not tell anyone:

Mark 5:43 And he strictly charged them that no one should know this, and told them to give her something to eat.

In Mark 7:31 Jesus healed the def man. Then:

Mark 7:36 And Jesus charged them to tell no one. But the more he charged them, the more zealously they proclaimed it.

Jesus healed the blind man, but not in the middle of the village because of the commotion it would cause. Jesus entered the village, and then brought the blind man out of the village to heal him:

Mark 8:22 And they came to Bethsaida. And some people brought to him a blind man and begged him to touch him. 23 And he took the blind man by the hand and led him out of the village, and when he had spit on his eyes and laid his hands on him, he asked him, “Do you see anything?”…26 And he sent him to his home, saying, “Do not even enter the village.”

Jesus told him not to return to the village, because more than likely everyone knew the blind man, and when they learned Jesus healed him, Jesus would be mobbed by the crowds:

Luke 9:18 Now it happened that as he was praying alone, the disciples were with him. And he asked them, “Who do the crowds say that I am?” 19 And they answered, “John the Baptist. But others say, Elijah, and others, that one of the prophets of old has risen.” 20 Then he said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” And Peter answered, “The Christ of God.”

Lots of people were getting this wrong. Seems like people thought Jesus was everyone except the Christ: John the Baptist, Elijah, or one of the other prophets raised from the dead. But Peter got it right. This is one of those times he opened his mouth and hit a home run. Of course, Jesus is going to say, “Great, now go tell everyone the truth. Straighten them out because they have no idea who I am.” Nope:

Luke 9:21 And he strictly charged and commanded them to tell this to no one, 22 saying, “The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised.”

Jesus told them not to tell anyone he was the Christ! Something similar happened right after the Transfiguration:

Matthew 17:9 Jesus commanded them, “Tell no one the vision, until the Son of Man is raised from the dead.”

Jesus told them not to tell anyone about seeing Jesus in his glory, for the same reason he said not to tell everyone he’s the Christ. He knew it would cause problems. Most people, including even the disciples, didn’t know what Jesus was going to do as the Messiah. They thought he would be a conquering king who would sit on a throne. The transfiguration would further this view. They didn’t know he was a suffering Servant who would hang on a cross. If they didn’t understand Jesus’s first coming, they couldn’t talk to people about Jesus, because it would increase the confusion about who he was…they would almost be unintentional false teachers!

Imagine if they said, “We saw the Coming King transfigured. He’ll be on the throne of David any day now!” How confused would people feel when he was crucified instead? So, Jesus says, “Be quiet for now. After my resurrection, when it’s clear I would die, then you can preach about me!”

There Was a Time "Even Rocks Will Cry Out"

At the triumphal entry the religious leaders completely resented the outpouring of praise:

Luke 19:38 saying, “Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!” 39 And some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples.”

When we read the word “disciples” we typically think of the 12 disciples. But it is important to know that disciple means student or follower, which is why we also read that John the Baptist and the Pharisees had disciples. When the Pharisees said this they weren’t referring to only the 12 disciples. They were referring to all the people who were recognizing Jesus as the King coming in the name of the Lord.

There are two possible reasons the Pharisees told Jesus to silence the crowd versus trying to silence the crowd themselves. One possibility is Jesus was so popular the Pharisees didn’t dare trying to silence the crowd themselves. The other possibility is they knew they could not silence the crowd, because it was too large and enthusiastic. So they went directly to Jesus and told him to silence them.

After Jesus fed the 5,000 he became incredibly popular. So popular that:

John 6:15 Perceiving that they were about to…take [Jesus] by force to make him king, Jesus withdrew again to the mountain by himself.

Jesus came to become king. That’s what he wanted. Why would he not let them make him king? He was following the timeline. This wasn’t his coronation. But the triumphal entry was, so:

Luke 19:40 He answered, “I tell you, if these were silent, the very stones would cry out.”

This was the one and only time that Jesus permitted a public demonstration on his behalf. This is the exact opposite of every situation we read about earlier. Instead of hiding, escaping, or silencing there is no hiding or escaping,

Jesus's triumphal entry into Jerusalem is one of the unique accounts that's found in all four gospels (Matthew 21:1-11, Mark 11:1-10, Luke 19:28-40, and John 12:12-19). The account fulfills the prophecy in Zachariah 9:9 and reveals Jesus's Messiahship and Kingship.

Table of contentsThe Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem Fulfilled ProphecyA Surprising ProphecyA Full Understanding of the Triumphal EntryWhy Did Jesus Send the Disciples to Get the Donkey for Him?The Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem Reveals Jesus’s MessiahshipThe Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem Reveals Jesus’s KingshipWhy a Donkey "On Which No One Has Ever Sat"?We Should Be Willing to Give Up Whatever the Lord NeedsThe Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem Reveals Jesus’s OmniscienceJesus Came to Bring Peace Between God and ManFootnotes

https://youtu.be/k5xubljPTVc

Jesus's triumphal entry into Jerusalem is found in all four gospels: Matthew 21:1-11, Mark 11:1-10, Luke 19:28-40, and John 12:12-19.

George IV’s coronation as king of the United Kingdom took place at Westminster Abbey in London on July 19, 1821. George’s extravagant tastes and lifestyle greatly influence the ceremony. It ended up costing 238,000 pounds, which would be 21,000,000 pounds today, or converted to dollars, almost $26,000,000. You heard that correctly: King George IV’s coronation would cost almost $26,000,000 today.

The money went toward renovations and furnishings for Westminster Abbey, costumes and uniforms, jewels and plate armor, and a coronation feast for all 4,656 guests. It proved to be the most lavish and expensive of any British monarch. It was over twenty times more expensive than the previous coronation.

Unlike King George’s coronation, the coronation of the King of Kings, Jesus Christ, involved no cost whatsoever. The coronation, like the rest of Jesus’s earthly life and ministry, was characterized by modesty: born in a manger in Bethlehem, parented by two poor people in Joseph and Mary, raised in Nazareth, and baptized in the Jordan.

All of these speak of Jesus’s humility. There is nothing impressive about Bethlehem, Joseph, Mary, Nazareth, or the Jordan. The only reason we know about them is because they are associated with Jesus. But if I had to choose one earthly event that pictured Jesus’s humility better than others, second only to the cross, it would be the triumphal entry into Jerusalem.

The traditional calendar for events has this taking place on the Sunday before resurrection Sunday. In other words, this is five days before the crucifixion. Typically, we call this Palm Sunday, which is the beginning of Holy week or Passion week, or the last week of Jesus’s earthly life leading up to the crucifixion.

The Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem Fulfilled Prophecy

Let's begin by looking at the prophecy of the triumphal entry:

Zechariah 9:9a Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your king is coming to you;

Because Zion is another name for Jerusalem, saying daughter of Zion and daughter of Jerusalem are both ways of referring to Jerusalem’s inhabitants, the Jews. They are told to show great exuberance, and rejoice greatly and shout aloud, because their king is coming. A coronation is a time of celebration, but the Jews have even more reason to celebrate, because listen to the way their king is described:

Zechariah 9:9b righteous and having salvation is he,

They should celebrate because of who Jesus is (righteous or just), and what he brings (salvation). Many kings throughout history have been selfish. Instead of serving people, they used people for personal gain.

When Israel rejected God as king, and asked for an earthly, human king, God could have justly given them what they wanted and let them suffer for it. But first, he graciously warned them what it would be like to have their earthly king. Listen to the repetition of the word take:

1 Samuel 8:11 [Samuel] said, “The king who will reign over you will take your sons…13 He will take your daughters…14 He will take the best of your fields…15 He will take the tenth of your grain…16 He will take…the best of your young men and your donkeys. 17 He will take the tenth of your flocks, and you shall be his slaves.”

If you would expect anyone to have a good king, it would be Israel. But God said their kings would be unjust takers. But when Zechariah prophesied about Jesus, he would be the ideal ruler. He would be just and give people the greatest gift: salvation or eternal life.

A Surprising Prophecy

Now the prophecy becomes completely shocking and contrary to anything anyone would have imagined for such a king:

Zechariah 9:9c humble and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.

These words don’t reconcile with the previous part of the verse. You would expect to read, “Behold, your king is coming to you, great, mighty, and powerful, riding on a magnificent horse.” Instead, we read this.

Though the triumphal entry was a joyful celebration, anyone watching would wonder what was so triumphal about it. The king himself would not look like some great victor. He would look like a humble servant.

A Full Understanding of the Triumphal Entry

Many of the triumphal entry’s important details can’t be found using just one gospel. If we use just Luke’s gospel, it looks like this is the order of events leading up to the triumphal entry:

Jesus heals blind Bartimaeus

Jesus visits Zacchaeus

Jesus preaches the parable of the Minas

Then Jesus makes his triumphal entry

But John’s gospel records an important event that took place before the triumphal entry, and that’s when he raised Lazarus. It’s important to know this happened. When Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead (John 11:38-44), it did two things related to the triumphal entry. First, it caused the religious leaders to start plotting Jesus’s death:

John 11:53 So from that day on they made plans to put him to death.

Imagine that: Jesus raised someone from the dead and the religious leaders wanted to murder him. It gets even worse:

John 12:9 When the large crowd of the Jews learned that Jesus was there, they came, not only on account of him but also to see Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead. 10 So the chief priests made plans to put Lazarus to death as well, 11 because on account of him many of the Jews were going away and believing in Jesus.

This is the second thing raising Lazarus did: it drew a large crowd. This is why there were so many people at the triumphal entry. Imagine how much raising someone from the dead would excite the masses. Unbelievably, now they want to murder Lazarus too. This is one of the other details that’s not in Luke.

Why Did Jesus Send the Disciples to Get the Donkey for Him?

Understand the immense opposition against Jesus, because in Luke, Jesus obtains the donkey in a quiet, almost secretive way. Instead of getting the donkey himself, he sends disciples ahead to get it and bring it back to him. Why? The hostility toward Jesus.106

The religious wanted to murder him. More than likely Jesus had the disciples get the donkey – versus getting it himself – to protect the owners. If the religious leaders knew the owners helped Jesus, they would be in serious trouble.

John 12:12 The next day the large crowd that had come to the feast heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem. 13 So they took branches of palm trees and went out to meet him, crying out, “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, even the King of Israel!”

We get to see some things that are not in Luke’s gospel. First, the people gathered palm branches. This is why the triumphal entry came to be known as Palm Sunday. Luke doesn’t mention the palm branches.

Second, notice the people were saying, “Hosanna.” Luke is the only gospel that doesn’t record the people saying, “Hosanna.” The word hosanna only occurs six times in the Gospels and only at Jesus’s triumphal entry. Hosanna is often thought of as a declaration of praise, like hallelujah. But hosanna is actually a plea for salvation. It means, “Save us.”

The Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem Reveals Jesus’s Messiahship

Psalm 118 is a distinctly messianic Psalm, and it is probably most well-known because of verse 22:

Psalm 118:22 The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone. 23 This is the Lord's doing; it is marvelous in our eyes. 24 This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.

We recognize these verses because they are quoted numerous times in the New Testament regarding Jesus’s rejection: six times that I could find.107 That probably makes them some of the most quoted verses in the New Testament.

Psalm 118:25 Save us, we pray, O Lord! O Lord, we pray, give us success!

The word “hosanna” is drawn from the words “save us” in this verse. The Hebrew words yasha, meaning “deliver” or “save,” and anna, meaning “beg,” or “beseech,” combine to form the word “hosanna.” So, literally, hosanna means “I beg you to save!” or “Please deliver us!”

Psalm 118:26 Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! We bless you from the house of the Lord.

This is what the people were loosely quoting at the triumphal entry. In Matthew, Mark, and John the people said, “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord,” as the verse says. But in Luke it says, “Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord.” Luke emphasizes Jesus’s kingship.

The Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem Reveals Jesus’s Kingship

John 12:14 And Jesus found a young donkey and sat on it, just as it is written, 15 “Fear not, daughter of Zion; behold, your king is coming, sitting on a donkey's colt!”

John and Matthew quote Zechariah 9:9 to show the triumphal entry fulfills this verse. This is when Israel received their king. Verse 14 says Jesus “found a young donkey,