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Palm Sunday
All scripture is from the King James Version unless otherwise noted. Before beginning this study, I suggest you pray and ask God to guide you through this study. I also suggest that you do you own study of this material in order to ensure its accuracy.
(John 12:12-13) On the next day much people that were come to the feast, when they heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem, {13} Took branches of palm trees, and went forth to meet him, and cried, Hosanna: Blessed is the King of Israel that cometh in the name of the Lord.
The entry of Jesus into Jerusalem on this day took place shortly after the resurrection of Lazarus. For a more in-depth look at this story let's go to Matthew.
(Mat 21:1-7) And when they drew nigh unto Jerusalem, and were come to Bethphage, unto the mount of Olives, then sent Jesus two disciples, {2} 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. {3} And if any man say ought unto you, ye shall say, The Lord hath need of them; and straightway he will send them. {4} All this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying, {5} Tell ye the daughter of Sion, Behold, thy King cometh unto thee, meek, and sitting upon an ass, and a colt the foal of an ass. {6} And the disciples went, and did as Jesus commanded them, {7} And brought the ass, and the colt, and put on them their clothes, and they set him thereon.Jesus had evidently prepared for this event in advance. Verse five is a quote from Zechariah 9.9:
(Zec 9:9) 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.
Pretty simply, verse nine prophesies the first coming of Christ. The next verse speaks of His Second Coming:
(Zec 9:10) And I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim, and the horse from Jerusalem, and the battle bow shall be cut off: and he shall speak peace unto the heathen: and his dominion shall be from sea even to sea, and from the river even to the ends of the earth.
The people of Jerusalem understood this prophecy to mean that King David (a reference to Messiah, the conquering king) would return. He would enter Jerusalem meekly in order to fool the Romans. Then he would free Judah from Roman rule and establish world peace by conquering his enemies just like King David did. When Jesus did not throw out the Romans and conquer the enemies of Judah as expected, the people forsook Him.
Of course the dominion that would be from sea to sea and from the river to the ends of the earth was the land God promised them in Exodus. The land given to the Israelites was to stretch from the Red Sea to the Mediterranean (then the Philistine) Sea, and from the Euphrates to the end of the desert of Shur or the Sinai. This is a very large area including portions of modern day Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Syria, and Egypt. Let's read the verses:
(Exo 23:31) And I will set thy bounds from the Red sea even unto the sea of the Philistines, and from the desert unto the river: for I will deliver the inhabitants of the land into your hand; and thou shalt drive them out before thee.
The sea of the Philistines is the Mediterranean. The river is the Euphrates, which means "the river." The desert is the desert of Shur or the Sinai peninsula. The ends of the earth would be the end of the Sinai. The word used for earth is 'erets, which can mean land, area, country, etc.
(John 12:14-15) And Jesus, when he had found a young ass, sat thereon; as it is written, {15} Fear not, daughter of Sion: behold, thy King cometh, sitting on an ass's colt.
Again, this is from Zech 9.9. The daughter of Sion (or Zion) is Jerusalem.
(John 12:16) These things understood not his disciples at the first: but when Jesus was glorified, then remembered they that these things were written of him, and that they had done these things unto him.
The Spirit brought these things to the remembrance of the disciples. They realized Jesus had fulfilled scripture. Let us skip back to verses 12 & 13.
(John 12:12-13) On the next day much people that were come to the feast, when they heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem, {13} Took branches of palm trees, and went forth to meet him, and cried, Hosanna: Blessed is the King of Israel that cometh in the name of the Lord.
We get Palm Sunday from this verse. The other Gospels tell us that they laid down branches of oak, palm, and other trees and garments in the path of Jesus. They were welcoming the King into His City.
Hosanna is the combination of two Hebrew words: hoshea and na. Hoshea means save, and na means "now" or "I pray" or "oh!" So Hosanna means "save now" or "Oh! Save!"
What was going on here is that the people who witnessed the resurrection of Lazarus learned that Jesus would enter Jerusalem shortly thereafter riding on a donkey. The people of Jerusalem interpreted this to mean that Jesus was the Messiah. But their conception of the Messiah was that He was King David come to conquer the world and bring peace. They expected Him to destroy their enemies by might. So he rode in just like the prophet Zechariah said He would. But he did not fulfil the next verse, Zech 9:10, where He establishes world peace. He will fulfill that verse when He returns. The people expected him to fulfill it then.
The reason that they proclaimed Him king this day and turned on him a few days later shouting "Crucify!" is because He did not do what they expected. They thought he was an impostor. The traditions of men led them to believe that the Christ would come and conquer. They did not realize that the scripture also said he must first suffer (e.g., Psalm 22 and Isaiah 36).
This was another attempt of Satan to foil God's plan of salvation. He failed utterly because it was God's plan that Jesus should suffer and die.
Jesus entered Jerusalem through the Eastern Gate. Through that gate you could see into the Temple, into the Holy of Holies. You know it was the Eastern Gate because Jesus came in from the Mount of Olives, which is to the east of the city. When He came in, he came right into the temple. The Eastern Gate would have afforded that. That gate is shut now. It will not open again until Messiah returns and enters through that gate. Then His enemies will be a footstool at His feet.
Don't be fooled by men's traditions. Don't be like those in Jerusalem who expected Jesus to be the conquering King David returned. Learn what God's Word says.
Did you know that many believe that Jesus will return, fly away the believers, then return again seven years later to destroy His enemies? This is a tradition of men. Just as the people of Jerusalem around 30 BC were looking for the wrong Messiah, the people who believe the rapture theory are also looking for the wrong messiah. In Jerusalem, they were looking for the conquering Messiah. The rapture adherents are looking for the false messiah.
The Bible plainly states that ONLY AFTER the antichrist appears will Jesus return, and not before. A couple of verses to corroborate this:
(2 Th 2:1-4) Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him, {2} That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand. {3}
Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; {4} Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God.The man of sin is he who sits in the temple proclaiming that he is God. That is antichrist (which means, by the way, "in the place of Christ"). See also Daniel 9.27.
(Rev 6:1-2) And I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals, and I heard, as it were the noise of thunder, one of the four beasts saying, Come and see. {2} And I saw, and behold a white horse: and he that sat on him had a bow; and a crown was given unto him: and he went forth conquering, and to conquer.
(Rev 19:11) And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war.
In the first verse we have a rider on a white horse. He is imitating the Christ. This rider is antichrist. He appears when the first seal is opened.
In the second verse, the actual Christ is pictured. He will enter on a white horse and will subdue His enemies with the sword of His mouth, the Word of God. Jesus the Christ comes after the seventh and final seal is opened.
Don't fall for the first messiah. He is the false messiah. He will tell people that he has come to rapture them away. Many who have believed the false rapture tradition will follow him. They, like the Jerusalemites have listened to traditions instead of God's Word and are expecting the wrong messiah.
Don't be like them. Study the Word of God and learn the truth.
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