Palm Sunday marks the beginning of a beautiful culmination of promises (Prophecies) set by God to His people, the Israelites and to the rest of the world.
Imagine being a captured Jewish teenager, living in Babylon, and serving the King who destroyed and enslaved your people.
Now imagine being older and becoming an important political figure in the same kingdom and for the same king who destroyed and took most of your countrymen and women captive into his service.
- Daniel is such a man. He is found to be highly beloved by God. There have only been a few people loved by God who are mentioned in the Bible, and Daniel is one of them.
Now here’s where the story gets to be incredibly and magnificently miraculous.
Daniel is seen in chapter 9 of his book, praying and asking for God’s guidance on when the Jews would be returned to Israel and to their city Jerusalem. As he is praying the most remarkable of prayers, Gabriel the Archangel comes to deliver a heartwarming message for Daniel and his people.
Gabriel gives Daniel the hope he has been praying for. You see 3 things we can learn from Daniel:
—Daniel is a serious student of the Word. He knows scripture. He knows the time is drawing close for God to restore His people.
— Daniel discerend the time of the Jews to be delivered was coming upon them; since the 70 years of captivity were closing in. Jeremiah the prophet wrote about their captivity and explained how many years they would be gone from Israel and for what reason in Jeremiah 29:10-11.
— He is a prayer warrior. I don’t care if people think I can write, teach and preach the word. What I want them to remember that none of those things are any good without being a fervent prayer warrior. This is where all of us gain in strength, courage, patience and endurance.
Without Daniel’s fervent and faithful prayers, he would never have found favor with Nebuchadnezzar and more imperative, would never have had such a favorable position with God.
In Daniel 9:20, Daniel prays, God answers. He sends Gabriel to explain what will happen:
—Comes to give Daniel insight & understanding vv 22
—70 weeks are decreed or commanded for Daniel and the Jews.
a. To stop the sins of Israel vv 24— Through Jesus The Messiah or Savior
b. Put an end to sin vv 24—Through Jesus The Messiah or Savior
c. To make atonement for their evil sins— Through Jesus sacrificing Himself on the cross for all our sins
d. To bring in everlasting Righteousness— The King of righteousness Jesus
e. To seal up vision and prophecy— Jesus came to fulfill and complete prophecy. More prophecies still to be fulfilled in His Second Coming
f. To anoint the Most Holy Place.— Still to come on Second Coming
— From the command to rebuild Jerusalem— King Artaxerxes in Nehemiah 2:1-8, gave approval to rebuild Jerusalem and thus, the whole country.
—Until Messiah the Prince, there will be 7 weeks and 62 weeks. A total of 69 weeks.
Now keep in mind that a week here would be like us saying 5 decades. To the Jews 7 weeks could mean 49 years. I will not bore you with the days and numbers. If you want to look at the different formulas, check JV MaGee’s commentary on Daniel and Sir Robert Anderson’s work in his Book—The Coming Prince.
Of course there are always skeptics within the church and I will cover this in a different post. But, I give you these numbers because if we believe that God is omnipotent, and outside of time and space, then He could bring about timelines to the exact day and time for His Son to stroll into the Gates on a donkey and be proclaimed King of the Jews.
Again I will stop on the day today roughly almost 2,000 years ago. When a humble Servant King allowed the people of Israel to shout Hosanna! Hosanna! While using Palm branches to make a royal procession for Jesus, while riding on a donkey and thus fulfilling the 69th Week of Daniel’s Prophecy in chapter 9. And also fulfilling Zechariah’s prophecy.
All this to the exact time and day Jesus was fulfilled to come in riding on a foal of a donkey…to the day!
Here is the shortcut version of this post:
Our Messiah King came in in the exact time as people were singing Psalm 118 for Him. I give you an excerpt but please click on the link below for all of this beautiful and prophetic Psalm.
Last Part of Psalm 118:
19Open to me the gates of righteousness;
I will enter and give thanks to the LORD.
20This is the gate of the LORD;
the righteous shall enter through it.
21I will give You thanks, for You have answered me,
and You have become my salvation.
22The stone the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone.
23This is from the LORD,
and it is marvelous in our eyes.
24This is the day that the LORD has made;
we will rejoice and be glad in it.
25O LORD, save us (hosanna), we pray.
We beseech You, O LORD, cause us to prosper!
26Blessed is he who comes in the name of the LORD.
From the house of the LORD we bless you.
27The LORD is God
and has made His light shine upon us.
Bind the festival sacrifice with cords
to the horns of the altar.
28You are my God, and I will give You thanks.
You are my God, and I will exalt You.
29Give thanks to the LORD, for He is good;
His loving devotion endures forever.
- Next up, the Passover-Last Supper of Jesus.
External Links:
JV MaGee free material resources
Sir Robert Anderson–The Coming Prince
