Welcome again to all of you, and we have a message today that shares some wonderful passages of scripture for this event known as Palm Sunday.

The reason for Palm Sunday separates into four sections, and we will consider all four. Shortly, we will consider the donkey’s part.

[1]. PROPHECY FULFILLED

Palm Sunday was not a separate event, but it was one incident along the continuum for the preparation of Calvary. Every Old Testament prophecy concerning Israel’s King and Messiah that was connected with His ministry and death in Jerusalem was being fulfilled. Let us proceed to the four sections.

[A]. PROPHECY FULFILLED FOR PALM SUNDAY

(a). QUOTES FROM PSALM 118.

What a significant Psalm this one is with some well-known verses. There is quite a correlation between this Psalm and Palm Sunday. I want to look at three small passages and then at verse 26.THE FIRST – Psalm 118:19-20 “Open to me THE GATES OF RIGHTEOUSNESS. I shall enter through them. I shall give thanks to the LORD. This is the gate of the LORD. The righteous will enter through it.”

Jesus entered in on the donkey through a gate into Jerusalem, but the Psalm calls it “gates of righteousness.” This verse does not specifically say it was the Lord Jesus but it certainly would apply to Him as He rode into the city on a donkey’s colt. The one entering into Jerusalem through the gates gave thanks as the Lord always did to the Father, and no doubt Jesus did so as He entered in with the throng of people.

In verse 20, this gate is called “the gate of the LORD,” that is, “The LORD’s Gate.

I am sure this is speaking of the triumphal entry through the gate into Jerusalem. It says the righteous will enter through it, and the righteous One did just that along with the hosannas.

THE SECOND – Psalm 118:22-23 “The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief corner stone. THIS IS THE LORD’S DOING. It is marvelous in our eyes.”

Many know this verse. Jesus is the Stone of Rejection, and Israel is the builders who rejected the Stone. The nation HAD rejected its Messiah BEFORE Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey’s colt. The Stone rejected by men has been installed as the Cornerstone in the Church, the Building of the living God, as we have confirmed in Matthew, Mark, Luke, and Acts.

Matthew 21:42 “Jesus said to them, ‘Did you never read in the Scriptures, “The stone which the builders rejected, this became the chief cornerstone. This came about from the Lord, and it is marvelous in our eyes”?

AND this verse – Ephesians 2:20 “having been built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, CHRIST JESUS Himself being THE CORNERSTONE.”

The Chief Cornerstone entered Jerusalem as a humble Servant on a donkey’s colt, but only a few genuine believers recognized who He really was among the crowd hysteria.

Psalm 118:22 ends with two lovely facts. The first is that “this is the LORD’s doing.” The whole of Palm Sunday and the redemption of Calvary are from the LORD. Nothing whatever is from man. The second fact is that “it is marvelous in our eyes.” Everything the Lord does is marvelous in our eyes. It is extra-marvelous that the Lord is the Cornerstone of His Church.

On Palm Sunday, the Lord was mounted on His way to form His Church, and after five days, His death would bring the Church into being. Pentecost played a part as well.

THE THIRD – Psalm 118:24 “THIS IS THE DAY WHICH THE LORD HAS MADE. Let us rejoice and be glad in it.” I don’t want to take this verse out of context, but the day the LORD has made can have many applications, but in our thoughts today, I want to apply it to Palm Sunday. It is the day God has made (assigned) for the presentation of the Son, the Messiah, THE King of the Jews. Jesus rode through the streets, and there was rejoicing and gladness from those who knew the Person of Jesus.

THE FOURTH – VERSE 26. Psalm 118:26 “BLESSED IS THE ONE WHO COMES IN THE NAME OF THE LORD. We have blessed you from the house of the LORD.” That is the verse that is directly connected with Palm Sunday, and it states what the crowd would say when Jesus rode into Jerusalem in their midst.

Jesus came in the name of the LORD, but the nation rejected that; they rejected Him and crucified Him. God, though, in fulfillment of the prophecy, saw to it that all was executed as prophetically described.

(b). QUOTE FROM ZECHARIAH. This verse is the best known of all the Palm Sunday quotes from the Old Testament.

Zechariah 9:9 “Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout in triumph, O daughter of Jerusalem! BEHOLD, YOUR KING IS COMING TO YOU; He is just and endowed with salvation, humble, and MOUNTED ON A DONKEY, EVEN ON A COLT, THE FOAL OF A DONKEY.” This verse was fulfilled the day Jesus entered Jerusalem.

[B]. THE PRESENTATION OF THE KING ON PALM SUNDAY

(a). THE COLT AND THE DONKEY. On Palm Sunday, Jesus rode the colt accompanied by the mother donkey. The donkey is recognized as a stubborn animal, but when the Lord rode the beast, it was obedient and mild, even though no man had ever ridden it. It knew its Lord. I am reminded of an Old Testament verse that I think could apply even here – Isaiah 1:3: “AN OX KNOWS ITS OWNER AND A DONKEY ITS MASTER’S MANGER, but Israel does not know. My people do not understand.” Isaiah is writing of sinful Judah that would not acknowledge its LORD, and that was in contrast to a donkey that knew its master; even a donkey knew its owner.

Therefore, I think the Palm Sunday donkey knew who was gracefully mounted on it.

The ride into Jerusalem was very much about humility, for an animal – a beast of burden, a working animal – was chosen by the Lord as His carriage. The kings and potentates of the world would have plastered the place with expensive carpets and lights and ceremony. God is not about showmanship or insincerity or deception.

[C]. THE DONKEY LEADING TO SACRIFICE – THE ENTRY TO CALVARY

Jesus, on the donkey, entered Jerusalem as the proclaimed King of the Jews and Messiah, but He truly entered as the Lamb of God. We must not forget that Palm Sunday was leading to Calvary. It was on the continuum mentioned earlier.

WAS THE FACT THAT THE LORD RODE THE DONKEY SIGNIFICANT IN ANY WAY? IT MOST DEFINITELY WAS. I want to take you to a well-known incident in Genesis. Let us read from chapter 22.

(a). Genesis 22:1 “Now it came about after these things that God tested Abraham and said to him, ‘Abraham!’ and he said, “Here I am.” He said, ‘Take now your son, YOUR ONLY SON, WHOM YOU LOVE, Isaac, and go to the land of MORIAH and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I will tell you.'”

Abraham was severely tested in the offering up of his son for sacrifice – the father surrendering the son.

To emphasize the relationship between them, God said this about Isaac: “whom you love.” There is a very precious type here. It speaks of the Father in heaven offering up His Son to sacrifice as the Lamb of God, the Saviour of the world. The Father loves the Son. You may have heard of the parallel here between Abraham and Isaac, and the Father and the Son.

Abraham’s testing was made more difficult by God saying to him, “your only son,” and he was the son of promise.

(Jesus was the only begotten Son of the Father, loved by the Father, offered up for sacrifice.)

(b). Genesis 22:3 “So Abraham rose early in the morning AND SADDLED HIS DONKEY, and took two of his young men with him and Isaac his son, and he split wood for the burnt offering and arose and went to the place of which God had told him.”

We are told Abraham saddled the donkey, so he therefore rode on it, and we would expect the others rode donkeys as well, so Isaac was riding a donkey to his own sacrifice. Do not miss the point that the donkey(s) were carrying the riders toward the sacrifice.

The donkey that carried Jesus was carrying Him toward the sacrifice.

The father, Abraham, was to offer up his son; God the Father offered up God the Son to the death of the cross. Abraham’s donkey/s carried them to Mt Moriah (the land/region of Moriah), which is Jerusalem, though the city was not yet built in Abraham’s time. The last part of the journey to the place of sacrifice was on foot, as it was with Jesus also.

(c). Genesis 22:5 “And Abraham said to his young men, ‘Stay here with the donkey, and I and the lad will go yonder and WE WILL WORSHIP AND RETURN TO YOU.” Genesis 22:6 “Abraham took THE WOOD of the burnt offering and LAID IT ON ISAAC his son, and he took in his hand the fire and the knife, so the two of them walked on together.”

Verse 5 is one of the greatest verses of faith in the Bible. Abraham was going to a place of sacrifice and death, but he said, “I and the lad will go yonder and WE WILL WORSHIP AND RETURN.” What faith! Abraham would receive his son again through resurrection. He believed that! We see how the Holy Spirit explained it through Paul in Hebrews – Hebrews 11:17-19 “BY FAITH Abraham, when he was tested, OFFERED UP ISAAC, and he who had received the promises was offering up his only begotten son. It was he to whom it was said, “In Isaac your descendants shall be called.” HE CONSIDERED THAT GOD IS ABLE TO RAISE MEN EVEN FROM THE DEAD, from which he also received him back as a type.”

There is another beautiful parallel in Genesis 22:6. Abraham took the wood needed for the sacrifice (the burnt offering) and laid it on the back of his son Isaac to walk to the place of sacrifice.

After having ridden to that same place (Jerusalem), not many days later, Jesus carried the wooden cross on His own back to the place of Golgotha for His sacrifice.

It is no accident these parallels exist. Calvary was foreshadowed 2,000 years before it happened, and from the time of Abraham, we are 4,000 years distant and so close now to the Lord entering Jerusalem again for the second time at the Second Coming.

[D]. THE CANDLE OF THE SECOND COMING

Jesus rode into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday for His last entry into that city.

That entry is the candle to a much greater majestic entry into the Holy City. We need to look at some verses to see the fact of that future glorious entry. We know that as The Second Coming, and so many of the Old Testament prophets deal with that Coming. We must not dismiss the link of these two entries to Jerusalem.

(a). Acts 1:9-12 “After He had said these things, He was lifted up while they were looking on, and a cloud received Him out of their sight, and as they were gazing intently into the sky while He was departing, behold, two men in white clothing stood beside them, and they also said, ‘Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into the sky? This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, WILL COME IN JUST THE SAME WAY as you have watched Him go into heaven.’ Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mount called OLIVET which is near Jerusalem, a Sabbath day’s journey away.”

The ascension of Christ took place at the absolute conclusion of His physical ministry on earth. He left the earth ascending from the Mount of Olives, but when He returns, He will come back to that very place. We are now in the absent years, but they are really not absent because the Holy Spirit has been sent to us.

(b). Zechariah 14:2-4 “For I will GATHER ALL THE NATIONS against Jerusalem to battle, and the city will be captured, the houses plundered, the women ravished, and half of the city exiled, but the rest of the people will not be cut off from the city. THEN THE LORD WILL GO FORTH AND FIGHT against those nations, as when He fights on a day of battle. And IN THAT DAY HIS FEET WILL STAND ON THE MOUNT OF OLIVES, which is in front of Jerusalem on the east; and the Mount of Olives will be split in its middle from east to west by a very large valley, so that half of the mountain will move toward the north and the other half toward the south.”

This is the remarkable prophecy to which the angels at the ascension were referring. It speaks of that great Battle of Armageddon when the Lord/Messiah returns to His own people Israel, and He will destroy all those forces of Antichrist and the False Prophet gathered from all over the world. At that time, He descends to the Mount of Olives, which will split in two.

That is the Second Coming.

(c). Revelation 19:11-16 “I saw heaven opened and behold, A WHITE HORSE, and He who sat upon it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness HE JUDGES AND WAGES WAR. His eyes are a flame of fire, and upon His head are many diadems and He has a name written upon Him which no one knows except Himself. He is clothed with a robe dipped in blood and His name is called The Word of God. The armies which are in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, were following Him on white horses. From His mouth comes a sharp sword so that with it He may smite the nations, and He will rule them with a rod of iron, and He treads the wine press of the fierce wrath of God, the Almighty. On His robe and on His thigh He has a name written, ‘KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.'”

The first time the Lord came to Jerusalem as King, He was mounted on a donkey in humiliation. The second time He comes as King of Kings, He will be mounted on a white horse of victory and exalted glory. AND THEN Here He comes, the Lord victorious! This is the same battle – Armageddon, and Jesus comes with the armies of heaven and with His Bride, the Church. The armies will be exterminated, and under this is another reference in Revelation 19. But before that, let us understand that all those who dare lift up their hand against God’s people, the Jews, will be judged by God. Armageddon happens in the valley of Jezreel (all the references are in the Bible), and then immediately after, the Lord descends to Olivet.

On Palm Sunday, Jesus was mounted on a young colt in a humble entry, but when He returns the second time, He will be mounted on a white horse of battle and victory, majestic and all- powerful.

Did you notice the special name the Lord Jesus has at the Second Coming?

When he comes and enters Jerusalem, he will be KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS, but when He entered on Palm Sunday, He was declared as King of the Jews but not believed on as meaning that the people really did not follow Him. Most people that Palm Sunday day were insincere. Now here is some extra on what happens on that momentous day of the Second Coming (Armageddon):

Revelation 19:19-21 “I saw the beast and the kings of the earth and their armies, assembled to make war against Him who sat upon the horse, and against His army, and THE BEAST WAS SEIZED, AND WITH HIM THE FALSE PROPHET who performed the signs in his presence, by which he deceived those who had received the mark of the beast and those who worshipped his image. THESE TWO WERE THROWN ALIVE INTO THE LAKE OF FIRE which burns with brimstone, and the rest were killed with the sword which came from the mouth of Him who sat upon the horse, and all the birds were filled with their flesh.”

On the day of the Lord’s return, He will consign Antichrist (the beast) and the False Prophet to the lake of fire, the very first ones who were thrown into it.

The Devil is next to be thrown in, then all his angels (the vile demons), then all the unbelieving dead.

Once Jesus returns and sets up His Millennial Kingdom, then this verse will come to fulfilment – Zechariah 14:9 “And THE LORD WILL BE KING OVER ALL THE EARTH; in that day the LORD will be the only one, and His name the only one.”

[E]. CONCLUSION FOR THE MESSAGE

We looked at the fulfilment of Old Testament prophecy, then at Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem, and the significant part the donkey played as in a type going back to Abraham. That was His last earthly entry, but then He comes again at the Second Coming, and Palm Sunday was but a part along the continuum.

On the occasion of Palm Sunday, Jesus came humbly with the purpose of being the sacrifice for sins. On the second occasion of His coming, He will be King of Kings coming to claim the fruit of His sacrifice – the great company of redeemed Jews. The entry into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday was so important on the way to Calvary, but it stands merely as a candle against the greater power of the next coming to the Mount of Olives.

May the Lord bless you all this Easter period.

ronaldf@aapt.net.au

Bible prophecy is under siege today; it’s become the target of abuse from both believers and those outside of Christ. Jan Markell’s article on the Harbinger’s Dailly website, We Are Under Siege Like Never Before, aptly sums up the increasing intensity of attacks on our belief in the pre-Tribulation Rapture, which often overflow to the disparaging of us who cherish this hope.

Over the past few years, I have noticed an underlying current in teachings that deny biblical teaching regarding the Rapture, the seven-year Tribulation, and Jesus’ thousand-year reign. They greatly diminish the magnificence of Jesus’ role in end-time events.

I believe that today’s assault on Bible prophecy tarnishes Jesus’ future glory by:

Focusing Our Hope on an End of Days Event Rather Than Jesus

Pastors who say there’s no such thing as the Rapture of the church or thousand-year reign of Jesus dishonor Him by shifting the hope of the saints away from Jesus to an event that’s remarkably sterile compared with how Scripture describes Christ’s return to earth. Most often than not, it’s a perfunctory wrap-up of history just before the eternal state that may or may not include the Second Coming.

The 1833 New Hampshire Confession of Faith perfectly sums up this no Rapture view of future things. Yes, it includes Jesus’ Second Coming, but His return becomes anticlimactic against the backdrop, a far-distant occurrence during which time God simultaneously raises both saints and sinners, after which He separates and judges them. Many in this camp say Jesus returned to earth in AD 70 and tell us that the culmination of our hope occurs either with the inauguration of the eternal state or the appearance of the New Jerusalem, which one such pastor stated was “the completion of our redemption.”

Such teaching, which often includes sermons stating that all believers will die someday, contradicts Paul’s emphasis on Jesus’ appearing as central to the Gospel. In 1 Corinthians 15:1-19, the apostle connects our future resurrection with that of Jesus making them both essential to the Gospel message he sums up in verses 3-11. These two themes run together for the rest of the chapter culminating with our receipt of immortal resurrected bodies when Jesus appears (vv. 47-55). Our future receipt of immortal bodies is the hope of the Gospel proclaimed in the New Testament.

Yes, the Rapture is an event, but it focuses our hope solely upon Jesus alone and exalts Him as our Savior. Our focus thus becomes that of eagerly awaiting “a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body…” (Philippians 3:20-21).

Biblically sound teaching makes Jesus and His appearing the focal point of our hope of glory.

Making the Church Our Hope Rather Than Jesus

In several of my conversations with those who make the church the recipient of God’s kingdom promises in place of Israel, I have often heard words exalting the church rather than the Lord Jesus. At first, I did not attribute any particular significance to these statements, but now I see them as symptomatic of an undue exaltation of the church.

Those who say the church is now God’s kingdom in fulfillment of prophetic passages such as Psalm 2 or Revelation 20:1-10 make a remarkably similar error as do those who say the church alone will rule over the world before Jesus returns to it. They diminish Jesus’ importance in the culmination of human history and thus shift the focus away from Him to the church.

The Bible says that when Jesus rules over planet Earth, things such as wars, ethnic strife, extreme wickedness, deception, lawlessness, and widespread corruption will not exist. The prevalence of these things in our day signifies that Jesus’ reign over the nations, including a restored Israel, awaits a future day. Is it not demeaning to Jesus to say He now fulfills the words of Psalm 2 when these things characterize our world? Yes, it is.

Only Jesus can initiate this future time of righteousness and peace on planet Earth. This is not our current experience, nor is it something a woefully divided and worldly church could ever accomplish in the future.

Those who make the church the replacement kingdom for Israel, either now or in the future, exchange the glorious wonders of how the Bible describes this coming realm for the decay we now experience today in our world.

Elevating Human Wisdom Over the Words Jesus Inspired

This leads me to a third reason why I say that the current siege of Bible prophecy tarnishes Jesus’ glory.

Those who say the church is now God’s kingdom, or an outpost of it, contradict the words that Paul wrote to the Corinthians. There, he identifies “the kingdom of God” as our future inheritance rather than our current possession (1 Corinthians 15:50).

Yes, of course, God transfers us to His spiritual domain at the moment of our redemption (Colossians 1:13-14). However, the Bible tells us that we are also heirs to a yet future and physical manifestation of it (compare Ephesians 1:11-14 with 1 Corinthians 15:50). James 2:5 confirms that, as believers, we are heirs to a kingdom:

Listen, my beloved brothers, has not God chosen those who are poor in the world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom, which he has promised to those who love him?

The Apostle Paul wrote that we are “joint-heirs with Christ” (Romans 8:17). The New Testament never identifies the church as God’s kingdom, nor does it say that we are “co-possessors” of Jesus’ realm at this present time. Words matter!

The words of 1 Corinthians 15:50 provide additional insight regarding our inheritance of the kingdom:

“I tell you this, brothers: flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable.”

In this verse, Paul says it’s impossible for us to receive our inheritance of the “kingdom of God” in our current state. The apostle’s words negate all teachings that claim the church is God’s kingdom either in its current or future state. Such things cannot happen while we exist in “flesh and blood” bodies.

The good news is that Jesus will make us fit for His kingdom when he appears, raises the dead “in Christ” with “imperishable bodies,” and also gives those of us who are alive at the time immortality (1 Corinthians 15:51-55; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-17; Philippians 3:20-21). The Rapture is most definitely not a tertiary matter but one of utmost biblical importance because it’s when Jesus will make us fit for ruling with Him in the glorious kingdom that’s coming.

After responding to His disciples’ questions about the end of the age and His return, Jesus said, “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away” (Matthew 24:35). Those who disparage Bible prophecy should take careful note that after teaching His disciples about the signs of the end times, the antichrist’s future defilement of a Jewish temple, His spectacular return to earth after the Tribulation period, and the “fig tree” as an illustration of Israel’s rebirth, Jesus asserted the absolute permanence of His “words.”

My chief complaint with teachings that either claim there is no such thing as a Rapture and assert that the church is now God’s kingdom rather than Israel is this: Either willfully or perhaps unwittingly, those that teach such things tarnish the glorious name of our Lord by pushing our expectation of meeting Jesus in the air to a spectacularly dull wrap-up of human history that disregards all that the book of Revelation teaches until the last couple of chapters (although some claim that its words have reached fulfillment).

The words of Bible prophecy, taken at face value, exalt the Lord Jesus as they focus our hope solely on Him (not the church) and affirm the spectacular nature of His Second Coming and wonders of His future kingdom, which will exceed our most fanciful thoughts of what it might be.

In Hereafter, It’s Far Better Than You Can Imagine, Terry James and I describe the future glory that awaits us as believers, beginning with Jesus’ appearing to take us home. From beginning to end, we emphasize the jubilant joy that awaits us in Heaven.

The way in which the Bible exalts Jesus in its portrayal of future events radically differs from what’s taught in many churches. In addition, the silence regarding Heaven deprives believers from anticipating the wonders that lie ahead for us, which are truly far better than we can imagine in our most fanciful thoughts.

***

Note: Please consider signing up for my newsletter on the home page of my website at https://www.jonathanbrentner.com/. Thanks!