John 12: 9 – 19
All Hail King Jesus
9 Now a great many of the Jews knew that He was there; and they came, not for Jesus’ sake only, but that they might also see Lazarus, whom He had raised from the dead. 10 But the chief priests plotted to put Lazarus to death also, 11 because on account of him many of the Jews went away and believed in Jesus. 12 The next day a great multitude that had come to the feast, when they heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem, 13 took branches of palm trees and went out to meet Him, and cried out: “Hosanna! ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD!’ 14 Then Jesus, when He had found a young donkey, sat on it; as it is written: 15 “Fear not, daughter of Zion; Behold, your King is coming, sitting on a donkey’s colt.” 16 His disciples did not understand these things at first; but when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that these things were written about Him and that they had done these things to Him. 17 Therefore the people, who were with Him when He called Lazarus out of his tomb and raised him from the dead, bore witness. 18 For this reason the people also met Him, because they heard that He had done this sign. 19 The Pharisees therefore said among themselves, “You see that you are accomplishing nothing. Look, the world has gone after Him!”
The raising of Lazarus is a familiar story but many have never paid much attention to the “plot to kill Lazarus” that is described in chapter 12.
9 Now a great many of the Jews knew that He was there; and they came, not for Jesus’ sake only, but that they might also see Lazarus, whom He had raised from the dead. 10 But the chief priests plotted to put Lazarus to death also, 11 because on account of him many of the Jews went away and believed in Jesus.
It is almost unreal to think about people who plot to kill a guy just after he was brought back from the dead! What was the reason that they wanted to kill Lazarus? Was it because they had something against Lazarus personally? No. People wanted to kill Lazarus because his physical resurrection was undeniable evidence that our Holy Lord Jesus Was Who He claimed to be. That miracle was very public and obvious. Many people knew Lazarus had been dead. Now they could see he was alive. People were coming to faith in Jesus because they saw the signs of life in Lazarus. The enemies of the light wanted to put an end to that.
If that is the case with Lazarus, what should we expect?
There is such as things as physical resurrection, but there is also spiritual resurrection. Without our knowing we are born dead spiritually. Spiritual resurrection is when someone is spiritually dead and is brought back to life spiritually. This happens at the moment of salvation. We learn from the book of Ephesians chapter 2 verse 1 says that we “were dead in the trespasses and sins” in which we once walked. Ever since Adam's rebellion, each of us come into this world spiritually dead—separated from the life of God because of sin. Even Christians were “by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind” as Ephesians verse 3 explains. Thankfully, God did something about this. The next verse says, “But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved.” This is spiritual resurrection. Salvation is being made alive again.
When God raised Lazarus there were obvious signs of life. He wasn't just lying there anymore. People could tell that he was no longer dead. In the same way, people should also be able to see signs of life when someone receives spiritual resurrection. It doesn’t outwardly look the same for everyone, but at salvation God starts the process of changing us from the inside out. We receive a new heart. New affections start growing—new loves. Sins we used to love become distasteful to us. The things of God that we used to find dull turn from black and white to color. Some people are able to say goodbye to deep sinful habits. Others start to struggle against them—when there wasn’t even a struggle before. People find themselves wanting to read God’s Word, go to church, and pray and worship…not because they have to, but now because they want to. These changes are noticeable.
Our lives should be a testimony to what God has done. It takes a miracle to physically raise someone from the dead and it also takes a straight-out miracle to raise someone to life spiritually. Whether the changes seem big or small, fast or gradual, people see them. Some people will be happy with what they see. Others won’t.
Are you living a life that God’s enemies would be worried about? Does your life give evidence to the world that Jesus Christ saves and changes lives?
If we are living changed lives we should expect that some people won't like it. Someone rightly has said that if you want to live for Jesus do not be surprised that people will come running to crucify you. Darkness hates the light. Sin hates a contrast. Sinners like other people to sin with them because it helps down out feelings of guilt. Those who hate Jesus won't like it. Satan certainly isn’t going to like it. He doesn't want more people to put their trust in Christ. Satan doesn’t want people to look at your life and see undeniable evidence of Jesus’ power to give new life. The enemies of the light want to cover that up. Expect that. Prepare for that. But don’t let it happen
We are now going to take a look at our Holy Lord coming in fulfillment of prophecy as the legal heir of King David. All four Gospel writers record this event. Therefore I suggest that this must be very important. So let us see what the other Gospel writers have recorded and try to put it all together
Matthew 21:1–11“ 1 Now when they drew near Jerusalem, and came to Bethphage, at the Mount of Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples, 2 saying to them, “Go into the village opposite you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her. Loose them and bring them to Me. 3 And if anyone says anything to you, you shall say, ‘The Lord has need of them,’ and immediately he will send them.” 4 All this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying: 5 “Tell the daughter of Zion, ‘Behold, your King is coming to you, lowly, and sitting on a donkey, a colt, the foal of a donkey.’?” 6 So the disciples went and did as Jesus commanded them. 7 They brought the donkey and the colt, laid their clothes on them, and set Him on them. 8 And a very great multitude spread their clothes on the road; others cut down branches from the trees and spread them on the road. 9 Then the multitudes who went before and those who followed cried out, saying: “Hosanna to the Son of David! ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD!’ Hosanna in the highest!” 10 And when He had come into Jerusalem, all the city was moved, saying, “Who is this?” 11 So the multitudes said, “This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth of Galilee.”
Mark 11:1–11 – 1 Now when they drew near Jerusalem, to Bethphage and Bethany, at the Mount of Olives, He sent two of His disciples; 2 and He said to them, “Go into the village opposite you; and as soon as you have entered it you will find a colt tied, on which no one has sat. Loose it and bring it. 3 And if anyone says to you, ‘Why are you doing this?’ say, ‘The Lord has need of it,’ and immediately he will send it here.” 4 So they went their way, and found the colt tied by the door outside on the street, and they loosed it. 5 But some of those who stood there said to them, “What are you doing, loosing the colt?” 6 And they spoke to them just as Jesus had commanded. So they let them go. 7 Then they brought the colt to Jesus and threw their clothes on it, and He sat on it. 8 And many spread their clothes on the road, and others cut down leafy branches from the trees and spread them on the road. 9 Then those who went before and those who followed cried out, saying: “Hosanna! ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD!’ 10 Blessed is the kingdom of our father David that comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!” 11 And Jesus went into Jerusalem and into the temple. So when He had looked around at all things, as the hour was already late, He went out to Bethany with the twelve.
Luke 19:28–40? - 28 When He had said this, He went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem. 29 And it came to pass, when He drew near to Bethphage and Bethany, at the mountain called Olivet, that He sent two of His disciples, 30 saying, “Go into the village opposite you, where as you enter you will find a colt tied, on which no one has ever sat. Loose it and bring it here. 31 And if anyone asks you, ‘Why are you loosing it?’ thus you shall say to him, ‘Because the Lord has need of it.’?” 32 So those who were sent went their way and found it just as He had said to them. 33 But as they were loosing the colt, the owners of it said to them, “Why are you loosing the colt?” 34 And they said, “The Lord has need of him.” 35 Then they brought him to Jesus. And they threw their own clothes on the colt, and they set Jesus on him. 36 And as He went, many spread their clothes on the road. 37 Then, as He was now drawing near the descent of the Mount of Olives, the whole multitude of the disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works they had seen, 38 saying: “?‘Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the LORD!’ Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!” 39 And some of the Pharisees called to Him from the crowd, “Teacher, rebuke Your disciples.” 40 But He answered and said to them, “I tell you that if these should keep silent, the stones would immediately cry out.”
To assist us in the probable sequence of what took place I arrange all 4 Gospels which then says;
The next day when they drew near Jerusalem, and came to Bethphage and Bethany at the mountain called Olivet or the Mount of Olives, Jesus then sent two disciples, saying to them, “Go into the village opposite you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her on which no one has sat. “Loose them and bring them to Me. And if anyone asks you, ‘Why are you loosing them?’ thus you shall say to him, ‘Because the Lord has need of them.’?” So those who were sent went their way and found it just as He had said to them. They found the colt tied by the door outside on the street, and they loosed it. But as they were loosing the colt, the owners of it said to them, “Why are you loosing the colt?” And they said, “The Lord has need of him.” They brought the donkey and the colt to Jesus and threw their clothes on the colt. All this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying: “Tell the daughter of Zion, ‘Behold, your King is coming to you, lowly, and sitting on a donkey, a colt, the foal of a donkey.’? And they threw their own clothes on the colt, and they set Jesus on him. Then, as He was now drawing near the descent of the Mount of Olives, the whole multitude of the disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works they had seen, saying: “?‘Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the LORD!’ Hosanna to the Son of David! ‘ Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!” Therefore the people, who were with Him when He called Lazarus out of his tomb and raised him from the dead, bore witness. For this reason the people a great multitude that had come to the feast, when they heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem, also met Him, because they heard that He had done this sign took branches of palm trees and went out to meet Him. And many spread their clothes on the road, and others cut down leafy branches from the trees and spread them on the road. And some of the Pharisees called to Him from the crowd, “Teacher, rebuke Your disciples.” But He answered and said to them, “I tell you that if these should keep silent, the stones would immediately cry out.” The Pharisees therefore said among themselves, “You see that you are accomplishing nothing. Look, the world has gone after Him!” 10 And when He had come into Jerusalem, all the city was moved, saying, “Who is this?” 11 So the multitudes said, “This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth of Galilee.” 11 And Jesus went into Jerusalem and into the temple. So when He had looked around at all things, as the hour was already late, He went out to Bethany with the twelve.16 His disciples did not understand these things at first; but when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that these things were written about Him and that they had done these things to Him.
We know that annually when the people gathered at Jerusalem for the Passover every year they would be in an excited and festive mood. However in this case it is clear that our Lord Jesus was given special treatment because He was seen by many as a great prophet.
The Romans troops would have been keeping it under observation, but they would know of Jesus’ reputation as a man of peace, and they were used to the behavior of the crowds. They had been hearing similar things cried out all week. Thus they appear not to have been disturbed by all the action.
The other Gospels make clear that The Lord Jesus had a deliberate purpose in His actions in that He went out of His way to enter Jerusalem on a donkey, not as a warlike leader, but as a king of peace. This was a deliberate enacting of the prophecy in Zechariah 9.9 in order to reveal once and for all that He was the promised King.
It was certainly a never to be forgotten scene and many would later ponder it in their hearts, as John tells us. But there is no suggestion that the crowds made any attempt to use it as a means of insurrection. By most it was soon over and forgotten. Most did not really recognize Who He was. They were carried along by the emotion of the moment. Even the disciples did not grasp its significance at the time. To every Christian, of course, its meaning is crystal clear. Here was the King Messiah entering Jerusalem to face His rejection and triumph.
Some teachers have said that this is the day that the Lord has made. We will rejoice and be glad in it. I do not agree. I believe that the day our Lord has made was the triumph in His death and resurrection in which He provided the way for us back to God.
It could have been the day but the people were not ready for Him. He said this as He observed that the people even though they were told by Daniel’s prophecy the exact date He would ride into Jerusalem they were not ready for Him. In the Gospel of Matthew chapter 13 we read, ‘O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen.”
We learn about our Lord’s coming to us as The Messiah in the book of Daniel 9:24-25 "Seventy weeks are determined for your people and for your holy city, to finish the transgression, to make an end of sins, to make reconciliation for iniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy, and to anoint the Most Holy. "Know therefore and understand, That from the going forth of the command to restore and build Jerusalem until Messiah the Prince, there shall be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks; The street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublesome times.
Of all the students of the scriptures that have looked into Daniel's prophecy of the 70 Weeks, none have opened up this key section of God's holy Word with more devotion, careful scholarship, and precise accuracy as Sir Robert Anderson has done. His classic work, 'The Coming Prince', was first published in Great Britain in 1894.
Sir Robert Anderson was a devoted evangelical and a prominent public servant of the Crown in the days of Victorian England. As Chief Inspector for Scotland Yard he was renowned for his excellent work as an investigator. As well as writing on the subjects related to criminal investigation he also wrote Christian books on devotional and prophetic subjects. When his heart and mind were drawn to the elusive prophecies of Daniel, which are the keys to unlocking the end time mysteries, his careful and penetrating investigative talents brought us a wonderful and landmark work. His in depth study of the seventy weeks prophecy, 'The Coming Prince', still stands today as the benchmark work on the subject. His remarkable contribution, however, was not something any intelligent and diligent investigator could discover. Many brilliant men had preceeded him in attempting to "crack" the mystery of Daniel's 70 weeks. Even Sir Isaac Newton had tackled it a couple of centuries before. They had failed. But Sir Robert Anderson had something else, (or Someone else), going for him. He was a man devoted to His Savior and Lord.
So Sir Robert's insight came not just by intellect alone. As a committed evangelical Christian, he humbly submitted himself to the authority of the plain reading of the Holy Scriptures and allowed himself to be led in his investigations by the Holy Spirit. In that divine illumination and guidance he made some highly significant discoveries in certain key areas of Bible prophecy where many others had failed.
Sir Robert Anderson came to understood that in Holy Scripture a period of time decreed from the throne of God is reckoned in terms of perfect geometrical years made up of 12 months of 30 days to make a biblical year of 360 days. The books of Daniel and Revelation both confirm this by giving an equivalent accounting of the final half of the 70th week in terms of years, months and days. In these scriptures
3.5 years, or a time, times and a half a time, (Dan.12:7 and 12:14)
= 42 months (Rev.11:12 and 13:5
= 1260 days (Rev.11:3 and 12:6).
Another area in which Sir Robert's investigative work turned the lights on was in nailing down the correct royal edict which had fired the starting gun for the initiation of the Seventy Weeks prophecy. He had to establish the year, month and day that would begin that countdown for the 70 Weeks. Daniel had prophesied a coming edict which would "command" the restoration of the city of Jerusalem and specifically the rebuilding of its walls. Sir Robert's studies in scripture had proved conclusively that the only edict that gives any mention of the walls (and gates) of Jerusalem being allowed to be restored was the edict of Artaxerxes given to Nehemiah. This was given in the 20th year of Artaxerxes Longimanus in the month of Nisan of 445 B.C. With this edict Nehemiah had gained permission for the restoration of the walls and gates. With that came the restoration of the political sovereignty of the city of Jerusalem. This of course was under the covering of gentile political power. The "Times of the gentiles" had just begun!
In the attempts to identify the starting point of Daniel's prophecy of the seventy weeks there have been a number of edicts put forward. An old favorite has been the very early edict issued by Cyrus after his defeat of the Babylonians. But this was way back in 538 B.C. This was in the century before Nehemiah.
We are looking at a time-line of 69 x 7 = 483 biblical years or 476.067 of our solar years. We will place it's beginning day on an edict and look to see it it will terminate on a day that is auspicious as the day of "Messiah the Prince". A time line beginning in 538 B.C. will run out of days in 538-476 = 62 b.c. This is decades before the birth of Christ.
The information we need is not complicated. It is right there in our Bibles. The angel Gabriel had brought the crucial message to the prophet Daniel concerning the 70 Weeks. And in this message he made specific mention of the restoration of the city of Jerusalem and its walls.. As can be readily seen, the edict of Artaxerxes Longimanus given to Nehemiah in 445 B.C. sets forth the only time-line that fits. It is the only edict that takes the 69 weeks of biblical years, (476 solar years plus 27 days or 173,880 days), and lays out that time-line in a way that connects to an auspicious event noteworthy as the appearance of "Messiah the Prince". The time-line thus laid out happens to be a perfect fit!
The Holy Spirit writes it out clearly for us in Nehemiah chapter 2. The edict was delivered into the hand of Nehemiah in the 20th year of Artaxerxes. The year of Artaxerxes ascension to the throne is a rock solid date in history. And Nehemiah records that it was in the Passover month of Nisan. So the time is fixed at the springtime month of Nisan in 445 B.C.. the Nisan month that came in the 20th year of Artaxerxes.
So in Nehemiah's late time, the city of Jerusalem still lay waste. It had still not regained its political sovereignty. The Medo-Persian superpower of the day, and the Babylonians before them, had simply not given any sort of permission for this restoration of sovereignty. That critical issue of the independence for Jerusalem was Nehemiah's burden.
All this is highly significant - why? Because the angel Gabriel had told Daniel that "70 weeks were determined for, "your people" and "your holy city".
Both the people of God and the city of Jerusalem were the subject of the 70 week prophecy. So the edict permitting the rebirth of Jerusalem with her own sovereignty and self-governing integrity as a city-state was the key. The edict authorizing this restoration of the city walls and gates was not just an architectural restoration project. This was the authorization that allowed Jerusalem to have her city elders occupy the gates again and regulate the laws, the politics, and the commerce that came through those gates and what went to and fro into and out of the city. This restoration of the Holy City as a living sovereign city-state was the crux of the prophecy as given to Daniel by the angel Gabriel. It was this edict with its implied authority for political independence that met the criteria and fired off the starting gun for Daniel's prophecy of the 70 weeks.
In ancient times the "gates" of a city were not just large swinging doors. They were more than this. They were also alcoved rooms attached to the entryway in the walls of the city. These were places for travellers to 'check in' with city authorities as they prepared to enter the city. Like our town halls today the gates of the city were the place of governmental power, the place in which resided the city elders. The city gates housed the offices of the magistrates who were the city's rulers and the guardians of the city's sovereignty. As well as being the portal of entry into the city they were also the place where the city elders sat to make judgment in matters of law. Like today's city hall it was here at the city gates where the laws protecting the integrity of the city were enacted and the place where commerce was regulated. The gates were the nerve center of a city and the seat of its civic authority. So when Nehemiah went to the king he was asking for more than just architectural repairs. He was asking for permission to restore all the governmental workings of a city-state.
The year of the above edict, Nehemiah tells us, was the 20th year of Artaxerxes. -Nehemiah 2:1
Artaxerxes reigned from 465 B.C. to 425 B.C. This date is very well established in secular history. The 20th year of Artaxerxes and the edict to rebuild Jerusalem was therefore in 445 B.C.
From this scripture we can deduce that the rebuilding of the walls and restoration of the sovereignty of Jerusalem would take 7 x 7 = 49 prophetic years. From that point on and for another 62 weeks or "sevens" or 7 x 62 = 434 biblical years the holy time-line would travel forward without pause until it came to a climactic moment in holy history. After the passage of 7 + 62 = 69 (weeks) or 69 x 7 = 483 biblical years Israel would see their Messiah. On this special day they could expect to see their Prince. Their Messiah would be at the gate. And was He?
Jesus/Yeshua had been among His people for three and a half years. He had ministered to them in many ways during that time. But on this day it would be different. As the Passover lambs were being inspected for sacrifice Israel's long promised Sacrifice Lamb was also being presented for inspection before the priests of Israel that year. On this day, (it was four days before the Passover), Jesus Christ/Yeshua Hamashiach would finally reveal Himself politically to His people. On this very day, (and on no other), they would see their long awaited Messiah come in through the eastern gate of Jerusalem, riding upon a donkey.
That day was "Palm Sunday". It was day 173,880, and Messiah was arriving right on time. It was the tenth day of the Nisan/Passover moon. This was four days before our Lord Jesus Christ/Yeshua Hamashiach was crucified. That momentous year, (a year that saw a late Passover to fit in some of the 24.7 the extra days), was 32 A.D.
The most outstanding issue for me is that here you had so called scholars studying constantly about Daniel’s prophecy of God’s Anointed coming to earth to the exact date. Here our Precious Master and Lord shows up and no one was aware or ready for Him.
Thank You Precious Lamb of God, Lord Jesus Christ.
