1416 - "Palm Sunday, The Day of the Presentation of the Lambs"

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:01

Welcome to On the Way with Tony Crisp. Each weekday, Dr. Crisp will be discussing biblical passages, people, places, and prophecies. Tune in daily to start your day right and deepen your understanding of how to better walk the way and enjoy the journey. Here's your host, Dr. Tony Crisp.

SPEAKER_00 0:21

Welcome to On the Way. This is Tony Crisp, and this is Podcast 1416. Well, we're only days before the crucifixion of Jesus. But this is a big day in Jerusalem. Shabbat has passed. It had ended the night before. And now Jesus is going to make his way from Bethany into Jerusalem. And when we look at the Gospel of John chapter twelve, we have the story unfolding. Now it was not only recorded in John chapter twelve, but it was also recorded in the Gospel of Luke chapter nineteen, the Gospel of Mark chapter eleven, and Matthew chapter twenty one. This is the day of the presentation of the lambs for Passover. That's right. We are on the first day of the week, but it is Nisan ten in the Old Testament. Nisan was named Aviv A V I V or as we would say in English Ab with a B as in boy ABIB. Now that month was changed, that is its name was changed, because in the Torah, not all the months were named, but just special months relating to some kind of special act or work of God or something about his person. Springtime was the first month of the year. It was Avib, but after the Babylonian exile and the people returned, they brought back the Babylonian names and the month of Abib was changed to Nisan. It was the first month of the year. And that's when all of the lambs were chosen for Passover. Now this is very important because when Jesus came down that Palm Sunday road riding on that colt, he was fulfilling the prophecy of Zachariah the prophet. And the people recognized that this was the man that brought Lazarus back from the dead, the man who taught with great authority and rebuked and confused and confounded the priest and the Sadducees and Pharisees and all of the different sects of the Jews. This was a man that was different than any other they had ever known. And when you read the Gospel of John, it is an amazing entry. It says that in verse nine, where we left off last night, now a great many of the Jews knew that he was there, and they came out not for Jesus' sake only, but that they might also see Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead. But the chief priest plotted to put Lazarus to death also, because on account of him many of the Jews went away and believed. Now that's the context. The foment is growing. The jealousy is growing, the hatred is growing, not only for Jesus, but anyone who had a real influence in bringing people to Jesus. And so when we come to verse twelve, it says the next day a great multitude that had come to the feast. Josephus, and sometimes he exaggerates numbers, but he said that there were over two hundred and fifty thousand lambs that were slain that day. And there were not just sixty, seventy, eighty thousand as normally in Jerusalem, but now he says that in the virons of Jerusalem, within the environs there were a million people that came from all over the earth, from all over Israel, and they were making their pilgrimage that began with Passover, and then Shabu, the feast of Pentecost, as it's called in the New Testament, and then Sukot, the Feast of Tabernacles in the fall. And many times, if they came from faraway lands, they would stay the entire six to seven months or an entire year, and then they'd go back never to return again. And so that's what it talks about the next day. A great multitude had come to the feast, and when they heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem, they took palm branches, signs of victory, and they went out to meet him and cried, Hossianna, Hossianna, Hosanna, blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, the King of Israel. Now don't you know that that set off the priest, and they thought, now we can get him. If he doesn't rebuke them, then we know that he is truly in rebellion and we can turn him into the authorities. And so it's building. So Jesus is coming down the way to uh Jerusalem. He's coming down the Mount of Olives from Bethany. He's making his way by the what would be the place of his agony, the Garden of Gethsemane, crossing the Kedron Valley. And most believe that he went in the eastern gate, and I understand why, but I do not believe he entered there. I personally believe, and I have reasons behind my belief that I don't have time to go into right now, but I'd be happy to talk with any of you as time permits. But I believe he went in at the sheep gate. Why? Because that was the place where the lambs were chosen. That's the place where people would come from countries far and wide, nations far and wide, Jews, they would come there, they couldn't bring their lambs with them, and if they had brought them, they would have been in bad condition when they got there. And the lambs for the Passover had to be without blemish, they had to be without spot. And so all of the Levitical shepherds and all of the priestly tribe would make their way to Bethlehem, where they had been raised in the environs and the pastures of Bethlehem, just like David had raised the sheep and shepherded his flocks a thousand years earlier. And now they have brought them to Jerusalem so they could be sold, so that the priests and the Levites could live from the sails, and they would come and they would bring only the best. I believe that Jesus came in that northeastern gate, and that he would have entered in from the north. Why? Because that is where the lambs would have been bought, they would have been brought in that way, and it is on the northern side of the altar that ultimately the atonement and the death of the lambs would take place as they cut their throats and bled their blood into a basin, and then they would allow the people to take those lambs and to go somewhere in Jerusalem and do exactly what they said and have the Passover feast. Now it's interesting that these lambs would have been slain beginning at three o'clock on Passover Day. Actually, that is the beginning of twilight from three o'clock in the afternoon. The sun had already begun to go down. It was no longer high in the sky. As a matter of fact, the word that describes that is between the evenings. That's the English translation of the Hebrew phrase, between the evenings. The evening started twilight at three o'clock, and that is exactly the hour in which the Passover lamb was slain, and that is exactly the hour that the Bible says the Lord Jesus was slain. Why? Because he was the Lamb of God that would ultimately take away the sin of the world. That's what John said when he was four thousand feet below him, below where that temple area was, baptizing in the river Jordan near the Dead Sea at Jericho. And he was in a place called Bet Arba Bet Arba. And so he made his way, Jesus did, up from that place, and now he was presenting himself as the Lamb of God that would take away the sin of the world to the people of that day. Well, as you know, they rejected him. And he turned and went back up the hill eventually, and as he did, he stopped, I believe, about halfway up, and he looked back over the great gathering of the people, and the busyness around the temple complex, people buying and getting ready for the day that was coming, and in just four days there was going to be a great, great slaughter on that temple mount. And Jesus on that first day of the week turned and wept over the city. So let's look at the scene. Now remember, this was a sacred gate that he went in. I don't want you to forget that because if you think that I'm just saying this to try to be, you know, somehow make it more spiritual, all you have to do is go back to the book of Nehemiah chapter three. Again, I'm not going to go into all the details, but in Nehemiah chapter three, the very first gate that was built and restored was the sheep gate. And it was not just any tribe that was doing it, it was the priest. Not only that, but it is the only gate where it says that they not only built it, but they dedicated it. They consecrate it, they set it apart, they anointed it for sacred service. And so this is the gate that Jesus would have walked in on that great palm Sunday day. And so it says that Jesus, when he had found a young donkey, set on it as it is written, Fear not, daughter of Zion. Behold your king is coming sitting on a donkey. That's the prophet Zechariah's words. And his disciples did not understand these things at first, but when Jesus was glorified, that is after the resurrection, as he began to unfold the scriptures to them, see Luke twenty-four. Then they remembered that these things were written about him and that he had done these things. Now, the reason I'm saying that is because you remember later in the Gospel of John, chapter 14, Jesus said the Holy Spirit that is coming, that's right now with you, but he's going to be in you, he's going to bring all of these things that I've told you to your remembrance. Isn't that amazing? He pre-authenticated the scriptures and validated the scriptures even before they were written. And so you know the story of how they came, and Jesus said it's a truth. You can read about this in verses twenty through twenty-six. He said, I'm going to die. A grain of wheat, unless it goes into the ground and dies, it's not going to produce fruit. And then in verse twenty-seven he said, Now my soul is troubled, and what shall I say? Father, save me from this hour? But for this purpose I came. I came to this hour, Father, honor, glorify your name. Then a voice came from heaven saying, I have both glorified it and will glorify it. Therefore the people who stood by and heard it said that it had thundered, others said, A messenger from God, an angel has spoken to him. And Jesus answered and said, This voice did not come because of me, but for your sake. Now is the judgment of this world come, and now the ruler of this world will be cast out, and I, if I be lifted up from the earth, I will draw all peoples to myself. This is what he said, signifying by what death he would die. You see, Mary had gotten it right a couple of days earlier as she anointed him for his burial. And the people answered, We have heard from the law that the Christ remains, the Messiah remains forever, and how can it be that you must be lifted up? Who is the Son of Man? Now you see, they testified and gave testimony at that moment that they understood that Jesus was talking about he himself dying, because he said, If I be lifted up, and they knew what that meant. Then Jesus said unto them, A little longer the light is with you. Walk in the light while you have it, lest darkness overtake you. He who walks in darkness does not know where he is going. While you have the light, believe in the light, that you may become the sons of light. These things Jesus spoke and departed and was hidden from them. What an amazing story of the day that Jesus came to Jerusalem, the day of the lambs, the day of the presentation of the lambs. We call it Palm Sunday. I pray that God will take this and help you to understand that the Father was in control from the beginning. He knows the end from the beginning, and he has a plan just like he did for Jesus. Oh different, no one had a mission like Jesus, but you and I have a mission. Let's make sure that we follow in the footsteps of Jesus so that we too can hear the Father say one day, Well done, good and faithful servant. For on the way, this is Tony Crisp.

SPEAKER_01 14:40

Thanks for listening to On the Way with Tony Crisp. Tune in every weekday for information on biblical passages, people, places, and prophecies. Fridays are for your questions. Email your questions to questions at TonyCrisp.org, then just listen for your question to be answered on Friday's podcast. That's questions at TonyC R I S P dot org. Thanks for listening and have a blessed day on the way.