Palm Sunday and Prophecy

 

One of the wondrous qualities of scripture is the giving of the prophetic promise, and the subsequent miraculous fulfillment of it. Only the LORD can prophesy, for the testimony (martyria) of Jesus IS the Spirit of prophesy (Rev. 19:10), and only the LORD can fulfill prophecy.
The same holds true of the prophecies and fulfillment regarding the important events that occurred on what we call "Palm Sunday". Everything that occurred that day was prophesied many centuries before. Let us see the fulfillment unfold before our eyes:

"And when they drew nigh unto Jerusalem, and were come to Bethphage, unto the mount of Olives, then sent Jesus two disciples, saying unto them, Go into the village over against you, and straightway ye shall find an ass tied, and a colt with her: loose them, and bring them unto Me. And if any man say ought unto you, ye shall say, The Lord hath need of them; and straightway, he will send them. All this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet..."   Mt. 21:1-4 (fulfilling the prophecy below):

"Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold, thy King cometh unto thee: He is just, and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt, the foal of an ass."  Zech. 9:9 (Isa. 62:11)

"And a very great multitude spread their garments in the way; others cut down branches from the trees, and strawed them in the way."  Mt. 21:8 (2 Ki. 9:13, Lev. 23:40)

"And the multitudes that went before, and that followed, cried, saying, Hosanna ("Save now") to the Son of David: Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord; Hosanna in the highest."  Mt. 21:9 (fulfilling the prophecy below):

"This is the day which the LORD hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it. Save now, I beseech Thee, O LORD, I beseech Thee, send now prosperity. Blessed be he that cometh in the name of the LORD: we have blessed you out of the house of the LORD."  Ps. 118:24-26 (A Psalm of Passover)

"And Jesus went into the temple of God, and cast out all them that sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the moneychangers, and the seats of them that sold doves, and said to the, It is written, My house shall be called the house of prayer; but ye have made it a den of thieves."  Mt. 21:12-13 (Fulfilling the prophecy below):

"Even them I will bring to My holy mountain, and make them joyful in My house of prayer...For My house shall be called a house of prayer for all nations."   Isa. 56:7

 

After this, Jesus healed the blind and the lame that were brought to Him in the temple that day. However, not everyone was pleased, not everyone was rejoicing that day, the day that Salvation entered into Jerusalem, and into the house of God. Even though the prophetic promises were well known, and even though these prophecies were fulfilled in their sight, in their hearts they thought otherwise:

And when the chief priests and scribes saw the wonderful things that He did, and the children crying in the temple, saying, Hosanna to the Son of David, they were sore displeased..."   Mt. 21:!5

Jesus reminded them that even the cries of the children that were so displeasing to these men, were a fulfillment of prophecy:

"Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings hast Thou ordained strength..."  Ps. 8:2

As we can see, Christ's entry into Jerusalem that day fulfilled prophecy. His death a few days later, including the manner of His death, and His resurrection were also prophesied. Prophesies of His second coming, and the establishing of His millennial kingdom reign here on earth are also recorded in scripture, and we are living in the days when we could very well see their fulfillment. This makes our understanding of the written prophecies very important. We will discuss much more next week, but the following are some of the prophecies that were either fulfilled by the death and resurrection of Jesus, or pertain to His soon return:
"In that day, there shall be a fountain (spring of life, flow of blood) opened (let loose, to free, to open oneself) to the house of David and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem for sin and for uncleanness."  Zech. 13:1
"As for thee also, by the blood of thy covenant, I have sent forth thy prisoners out of the pit wherein is no water."  Zech. 9:11

After Jesus was crucified, the centurion opened a wound in His side with a spear, water and blood flowed out fulfilling this prophecy. Witnessing this and other things at the site, this soldier declared that this truly was the Son of God (Mt. 27:54). As prophesied above, Jesus' blood is the only provision to wash sin away, and make us clean. The blood of His covenant freed the captives of Sheol, as He descended to them after His death (1 Pet. 3:18-19, 4:6 , Ps. 68:18). It also frees us from the pit that would have been our destination without His blood.
"And one shall say unto him, What are these wounds in thine hands? Then he shall answer, Those with which I was wounded in the house of my friends".  Zech. 13:6
"And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace, and of supplications: and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him,, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn."  Zech. 12:10
Not only do these two verses from Zechariah prophesy about the nature of the Son's wounds, but the people shall see the evidence of them, after the fact. There is physical evidence that we all can see right now, which we will discuss next week, that bears witness to His wounds, and there is a second coming at which His wounds will be evident, even as they were evident to His disciples after His resurrection (Jn. 20:20, 25-27). His wounds bear witness to exactly who He is.
"Sing and rejoice, O daughter of Zion: for lo, I come, and I will dwell in the midst of thee, saith the LORD. And many nations shall be joined to the LORD in that day, and shall be My people, and I will dwell in the midst of thee, and thou shalt know that the LORD of hosts hast sent Me unto thee."   Zech. 2:10-11
While this prophecy reminds us of Jesus' joyous entrance into Jerusalem on "Palm Sunday" before the Passover, the scope of its promise to us goes beyond that event, and brings us the promise of His return. He doesn't just return but He will dwell with us here. Also many nations will be joined to Him at that time. This describes His millennial reign (Rev. 22:7, 12,  Isa. 62:11).
As we can see, every part of Jesus' life and ministry fulfilled, and will fulfill, all that has been prophesied regarding Him, including the events of Palm Sunday.
The prophecies and their sure fulfillment fill us with hope in God, and with the assurance that He will keep His Word. Search the scriptures for yourself, pray to accept Him, and enter into that hope, truth and assurance that the LORD has provided so miraculously for us.

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Lord Jesus, in Your name I believe, pray, and receive all of these things. Amen.

 

 



Feast of Atonement-Yeshua IS Our Atonement

 

The Feast of Atonement, Yom Kippur, is the second fall feast of the LORD. One day a year, the high priest entered into the Holy of Holies of the Tabernacle or Temple, and sprinkled the blood of the sacrifice upon the Mercy Seat, which was atop the Ark of the Covenant. This blood offering cleansed the sins of the people for one year. It was not a permanent atonement for sin, and had to be renewed yearly. The days leading up to this feast were marked by self-examination, and deep repentance. This feast was a prophetic type and shadow that would be perfectly, and eternally, fulfilled by the Messiah.

Under the New Covenant, Jesus Christ became both our High Priest who enters, and the  blood of sprinkling. He brought  into the heavenly Holy of Holies the sacrifice of blood that He provided from His own body, to sprinkle upon the Mercy Seat of God:
"Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by His own blood He entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us. For if the blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of a heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh: How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God? And for this cause, He is the mediator of the new testament, that by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions that were under the first testament, they which are called might receive the promise of eternal inheritance."   Heb. 9:12-15
                                                                     And:
"Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ...To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you..."  1 Pet. 1:2, 4
No longer for just a year, but now, as Christ has fulfilled the Feast of Atonement with the sprinkling of His blood, the redemption and the inheritance are eternal.
The Jewish blessing and prayer for the Feast of Atonement is "May you be inscribed in the Book of Life". Now, through Christ, the Messiah, that prayer is fulfilled.
We should also know that not only did Jesus enter the Holy of Holies with His blood, but in so doing, He made the way possible for us to enter this holiest place as well:
"Having therefore, brethren , boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way, which He hath consecrated for us, through the vail, that is to say, His flesh; and having a High Priest over the house of God; let us draw near with a true heart, in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed in pure water. Let us hold fast the profession of our hope without wavering (for He is faithful that promised)."   Heb. 10:19-23
Following into the Holy of Holies, after the way that Jesus established with His blood, we follow Him in priesthood, and we have priestly responsibilities, and obligations. We cannot hold our priesthood in just any manner. It requires consecration, setting ourselves apart from the ways and spirit of the world. Through the Prophet Malachi, God exhorted the priesthood:
"For from the rising of the sun even unto the going down of the same, My name shall be great among the Gentiles; and in every place incense shall be offered unto My name, and a pure offering: for My name shall be great among the heathen, saith the LORD of hosts."
                                                                                            Mal. 1:11
Incense offered to God is the form of our prayers before Him (Rev. 8:3-4), and also in the verse above, God says He requires a pure offering. We are that pure offering ("I beseech you therefore brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service."  Rom. 12:1). As we perform these priestly duties, God's name becomes great in all the nations, and among the heathen who do not know Him. We see this principle again in Malachi:
"My covenant was with him (that is Levi, the tribe of priests) of life and peace,,,he feared (reverenced, awed by) Me, and was afraid (amazed, broken, prostrate) before My name. The law of truth was in his mouth, and iniquity was not found in his lips: he walked with Me in peace and equity, and did turn many away from iniquity. For the priest's lips should keep knowledge, and they should seek the law at his mouth: for he is the messenger of the LORD of hosts."  Mal. 2:5-7
The LORD teaches through Malachi above, that the priest who fulfills his responsibilities as he should, brings the covenant of life and peace with him. His reverent ministry before God has the effect of turning many others from iniquity. People will seek the knowledge and truth found in the priest's mouth, and the priest becomes the messenger of the LORD. All of this is accomplished as a result of the total reverence and deference to God in the priest's own heart. His own heart must be sprinkled with that atoning blood.
All of this great work of the Messiah's atoning blood and the Spirit is a fulfillment of the prophetic promise of God:
"And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications: and they shall look upon Me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for Him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for Him, as one who is in bitterness for his first born...In that day, there shall be a fountain opened to the house of David and to the inhbitnts of Jerusalem for sin and for uncleanness. And it shall come to pass in that day, saith the LORD of hosts, that I will cut off the names of idols out of the land, and they shall no more be remembered: and also I will cause the (false) prophets and the unclean spirit to pass out of the land....And one shall say unto Him, "What are these wounds in Thine hands? Then He shall answer, "Those with which I was wounded in the house of My friends."  Zech. 12:10, 13:1-2, 6
The eternal promise and inheritance have been accomplished in us and through us in the fulfillment by Jesus of the Feast of Atonement. Others, even whole nations, are to be impacted by that atonement work in us. However, as we have seen, our resulting priesthood in Christ also requires something of us.

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