 Matthew chapter 21. We're going to be looking today at verses 1 through 11 at an amazing prophecy. And you see that fulfilled here in this particular portion of Scripture. It's a passage that deals with what has been referred to as Palm Sunday, also referred to as the triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem. And that's what we're looking at. The triumphal entry, Palm Sunday. And again, it is one of those portions of Scripture that gives to us such an insight into the prophetic element of Scripture. The Bible is the only religious book that's capable of giving prophecy. No other book that is called a quote unquote, holy book contains prophecy because Satan cannot predict the future. But God obviously knows all things and therefore is capable of inspiring writers to write concerning events that take place years, centuries, sometimes later than the writer lived. You know, it's called pre-written history prophecy. And what we're looking at today is a prophetic element of Scripture, a portion of Scripture found in the book of Zechariah that Jesus literally fulfilled in this triumphal entry. So let's begin reading at verse one, Matthew 21. I'll read to verse 11 and we'll get into our study, the triumphal entry, Palm Sunday. Beginning at verse one, Matthew chapter 21. Matthew writes, now when they drew near to Jerusalem and came near to Beth Vagé at the Mount of Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples saying to them, go into the village opposite you and immediately you will find a donkey tied and a colt with her. Loose them and bring them to me. And if anyone says anything to you, you shall say the Lord has need of them and immediately he will send them. All this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet saying, tell the daughter of Zion, behold your king is coming to you lowly and sitting on a donkey, a colt, the foal of a donkey. So the disciples went and did as Jesus commanded them. They brought the donkey and the colt, laid their clothes on them and set him on them. And a very great multitude spread their garments on the road. Others cut down branches from the trees and spread them on the road. Then the multitudes who went before and those who followed cried out, saying, Hosanna to the son of David, blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, Hosanna in the highest. And when he had come into Jerusalem, all the city was moved saying, who is this? So the multitude said, this is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth of Galilee. Amazing prophecy fulfilled right before us. Now remember as I developed this, remember how Jesus had spoke it on many occasions concerning the fact that he was the object of prophecy. And he spoke concerning the word of God how it pointed to him. In Luke chapter 24, for example, verse 44, he had said, all things must be fulfilled which were written in the law of Moses and in the prophets and in the Psalms concerning me. In John 5.46 he said, had you believed Moses you would have believed me for he wrote of me. When the apostle Peter was preaching in the book of Acts in chapter 10 verse 43, speaking of Jesus he said to him, give all the prophets witness. So Jesus Christ fulfilled prophecy. Jesus in fulfilling prophecy was demonstrating that he is Messiah. Now when you look at the prophecies and all what is the chance of Jesus fulfilling this prophecy or any prophecies at all? According to one of my sources that I use in my studies there were approximately 353 prophecies fulfilled in Jesus Christ. 353 prophecies fulfilled in Jesus Christ. The possibility of one man fulfilling each of these prophecies is beyond calculation. There's a professor emeritus his name was Peter Stoner. And he was a professor there at Westmont College. And what he did is he had his students and himself involved in conducting a test. And what they did is they calculated the mathematical possibility of Jesus fulfilling not all 353 of these prophecies but the possibility of Jesus fulfilling only eight of the prophecies. So the mathematical possibility of the fulfillment of these eight prophecies was one in 10 to the 17th power. That simply speaks of a figure with 17 zeros. So that's really beyond comprehension. I can't get my mind around that. But he tried to give an illustration to help us to understand what that possibility actually represented. And so if you mark one of 10 tickets and place all the tickets in a hat and thoroughly stir them and then ask a blindfolded man to draw one his chance of getting the right ticket is one in 10. Suppose that we take 10 to the 17th power in silver dollars and lay them on the face of Texas. They will cover all the state two feet deep. Now mark one of these silver dollars and stir the whole mass thoroughly all over the state. Blindfold a man. Tell him that he can travel as far as he wishes but he must pick up one silver dollar and say that this is the right one. What chance would he have in getting the right one? Just the same chance that the prophets would have had of writing these eight prophecies and having them all come true in any one man from their day to the present time providing they wrote them in their own wisdom. The entire state of Texas, two feet deep silver dollars, one marked blindfold man, turn them loose. He reaches down, picks up and that would be the probability of Jesus fulfilling eight of them. In another calculation, Stoner used 48 prophecies and arrived at the extremely conservative estimate that the probability of 48 prophecies being fulfilled in one person is the incredible number of 10 to the 157th power. So when we look at this particular prophecy we need to understand that Jesus Christ fulfilled not just eight but in his ministry and life there are some 353 or so that are connected to him. He fulfilled over 300 prophecies. And so what we're looking at is one of those prophecies that he fulfilled that was written earlier in the book of Zechariah in chapter nine verse nine where it says here in verse five, tell the daughter of Zion, behold your king is coming to you lowly sitting on a donkey, a colt the full of a donkey. And so as we begin to look at this let's begin by looking at verse one and we'll see this prophecy as it's fulfilled before us. And then I'm gonna conclude with something else that will highlight that element. Beginning at verse one, reading one and two. When they drew near to Jerusalem and came to Bethphage at the Mount of Olives then Jesus sent two disciples saying to them, go into the village opposite you immediately you will find a donkey tied in a colt with her. Loose them and bring them to me. And so as I mentioned this portion of scripture shares what is called the triumphal entry into the city of Jerusalem. Now this is Jesus's last major public appearance before his crucifixion. This event is recorded in all four gospels. Not only here in chapter 21 of Matthew but also in Mark chapter 11, Luke chapter 19 as well as John chapter 12. This event occurs during Jesus's last week of ministry and is actually finishing a journey that he had begun earlier. You see when Luke was writing he had said in Luke chapter nine verse 51 it came to pass when the time had come for him to be received up that he steadfastly set his face to go to Jerusalem. And so Jesus had made a decision that it was time for him to go into Jerusalem. So this is connecting that event with that decision. Now as he was entering into Jerusalem he first had to go through the city of Jericho. And so when he was in Jericho the Bible tells us he continued his ministry by healing two blind men. You see that in Matthew 20 verses 29 through 34. But Luke records another event that occurred when he passed through the city of Jericho. Luke tells us that he entered into the city and as he did so there was a tax collector. And his name was Zacchaeus. And Zacchaeus had sought to see Jesus. He was very wealthy and he wanted to see Jesus but he was very short. The Bible calls him El Chapo but he was very short, shorty. I don't know, see that comes to me that's not inspired by the spirit but it makes me laugh, I'm sorry. Anyway, he was very short. And he was of short stature and he was unable to see him because he was too short and so he climbs a tree. And as he climbs up the tree he begins to peer and he sees Jesus as Jesus is entering and passing by. And Luke chapter 19 tells us that as Jesus was coming through it tells us that Jesus knew where he was because he looks up into the tree. He knew his name because he spoke to him as Zacchaeus and he knew his need. So that tells me something about the Lord. He knows where I am, he knows my name and he knows my need. And as Jesus was entering in and passing through there is Zacchaeus up in the tree and he's looking down and Jesus is looking up and says I need to go to your house today. And so he went to his house and as he went to Zacchaeus's house people became upset because Jesus was now at Zacchaeus's house and according to verse seven it said they murmured that Jesus had gone to be a guest with a man who was a sinner. They had a problem with that that Jesus actually had come and spent time with a man named Zacchaeus who was ripping off the people there in the city of Jericho because he was a tax gatherer. And so in response to what the people were saying Jesus made clear what his mission was. In Luke 19 verse 10 he spoke to and said to Zacchaeus the son of man came to seek and to save what was lost. Why Jesus were you in the home of Zacchaeus a man who was unpopular and very much hated by the people there in the city and all. Why did you do that? Well he tells Zacchaeus because I've come to seek and I've come to save. That's still his mission to this day. Now Jesus is entering Bethphage. Bethphage was a city that was directly opposite if you will, the city of Bethany. And John 11.8 tells us that Bethany was located about two miles outside of Jerusalem. They're in an area that is called the Mount of Olives. And Jesus is about to descend the Mount of Olives as he's gonna enter in to the city of Jerusalem and it's interesting even as I think about this that I was just there. I was just there a few days ago, several days ago and we took that walk from the Mount of Olives up there and we took the walk down into the area going towards the city of Jerusalem. Ended up in the Garden of Gethsemane and had a Bible study there. And so that's where Jesus is now. He's coming down, he's descending from the Mount of Olives and he's moving towards the city of Jerusalem. And he's there to finish the work that he had been sent to do. He has come in order to lay down his life. He has come in order to yield up his life so that in the pain of the debt that man owes God because of our sin, Jesus taken upon himself my sin paid my debt and that's what he came to do. And he did it because two reasons. One is because God is just and God requires this kind of action because he is just and he can't close his eyes to sin. He needs to deal with it. And two, it reveals to us the love of God in that God took upon himself my sin. The Bible says to us, God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that whosoever believes in him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God sent on his son into the world to condemn the world. But that the world through him might be saved. And Jesus came for that reason. He spoke in Matthew chapter 20 verse 28. And he said, the son of man did not come to be served but to serve and to give his life a ransom for many. In John chapter 10 verses 14 and 15, he said, I am the good shepherd. I know my sheep, my sheep know me. Just as the father knows me and I know the father and I lay down my life for the sheep. So the Lord Jesus Christ is coming to perform the mission that he has been sent on and that is to bring salvation by dying on a cross. For us, somebody once wrote, the great saving truth is the doctrine of atonement by substitution. Without it, ministers will keep souls in bondage year after year because they do not proclaim the finished redemption nor let men know that sin was laid on Jesus, that it might be forever removed from the believer. You know, we do a great dishonor to the church when we don't preach the gospel. We do a great dishonor to the church and to the Lord when we don't preach the full counsel of God. Why did Jesus come to die on the cross for us? And he's gonna lay down his life for his sheep. So, before entering into Jerusalem, he stops in a small village of Bethphage. It says again in verse one, when they drew near to Jerusalem and came to Bethphage at the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples, saying to them, go into the village opposite you, immediately you will find a donkey tied and a colt with her, loose them and bring them to me. And if anyone says anything to you, you shall say the Lord has need of them and immediately you will send them. And so, I want you to notice that Jesus initiated the events that led to his triumphal procession into Jerusalem. In verse one, it says Jesus sent two disciples. In verse two, saying to them, go into the village opposite you. And so, Jesus initiated these particular events. He initiates the events that led to his triumphal procession into Jerusalem. And notice with me, he gives a simple command. He says, go into the village opposite you. When he says, go into the village opposite you, he's speaking of Bethany. And he says in verse two, you will find a donkey tied and a colt with her, loose them and bring them to me. Now, interestingly enough, up to this point in the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus has discouraged public honor. When you look in chapter eight, for example, in verse four, an incident that's recorded where he cleansed a leper, he said to him, the one who had been cleansed, see that you tell no one. In Matthew 16, verse 20, he warned his disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Christ. In Matthew 17, verse nine, it says as they came down from the mountain, Jesus commanded them saying, tell the vision to no one until the Son of Man has risen from the dead. So up to this point, he has been discouraging public honor. You see, Jesus was a marked man. He was a marked man for several reasons, but especially because he had healed a paralyzed man and had done so on what is called the Sabbath. So the religious establishment of his day was extremely upset, and they began to question him concerning this particular healing. And it is recorded in John's Gospel in John 5, 17 and 18, that Jesus in response said to them, my father is always at his work to this very day, and I too am working. For this reason, the Jews tried all the harder to kill him. Not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was even calling God his own father, making himself equal, equal to God. Now it was common knowledge that the religious authorities were bent on executing him. In John 7, verse one, it says that Jesus stayed in Galilee going from village to village. He wanted to stay out of Judea where the Jewish leaders were plotting his death. So it was common knowledge. As a matter of fact, in John 7, 25, it says at that point, some of the people of Jerusalem began to ask, isn't this the man they are trying to kill? And so he had been discouraging them from speaking openly and giving public honor to him. But now in spite of their death plot, Jesus is going to enter into Jerusalem. Why? Because it's time to complete the mission he'd been sent on. He knew that there was an appointed time for his death and it's time to finish his mission. So what does he do? Well, verse two tells us he gave two of his disciples an order. He said, go into the village opposite you. Immediately you'll find a donkey tied and coat with her and bring him to me. Now, this keeps him from being accosted by any of the enemies because it was well known again that they wanted to take him. John records in John 11, 57, both the chief priests and the Pharisees had given a commandment that if any man knew where he was, he should show it that they might take him. And so he's doing this to keep from being accosted. He's going to finish his task. Now I want to give you a very basic application here as we look at this and I want you to see this with me for just a moment. It's interesting that this is a very simple order to follow. It's uncomplicated. It doesn't require any planning on their part. They simply need to follow his orders. So their obedience to a simple command really is a principle for us to see as an evidence of spiritual maturity. The ability to follow a simple command is an evidence of spiritual maturity. The immature have a tendency of coming up with ideas that they think are superior to the command or order that was given to them. If somebody gives them an order, they want to improve on it. That's a very human thing to do. But not in the spiritual realm when Jesus is given the direct order. When Jesus is given a direct order, it's best for us to follow the direct order. We may not understand at the moment, but later on we will. You see that in John 13, when Jesus was there washing the feet of his disciples and as he washed the feet of his disciples, the apostle Peter resisted him and said, no, no, you're never going to wash my feet. And Jesus responded to him and said, if I don't wash your feet, then you have no part with me. And Peter says, then give me an entire bath. I want to have a relationship with you. And Jesus went on to say, what I am doing, you do not understand now, but you will later. And in many spiritual lessons, we may not understand now at that moment that we're doing the simple thing, but later on we'll see how God tied all of that together to produce what he wanted done because we simply followed a basic order and did what we were supposed to do. So he gives them an order. It didn't require any planning. They simply need to follow. You see, again, their obedience reveals wisdom and maturity. In Luke 16, verse 10, it says, he who is faithful in what is least is faithful also in much, and he who is unjust in what is least is unjust also in much. Somebody once said, only in obedience can we discover the great joy of the will of God. And that's what's taking place here. You see, a simple principle is if you want to be a great leader, learn to be a great learner. And so this is more than likely prearranged to keep anything from occurring. But I want you to see something here in verse three. If anyone says anything to you, you shall say, notice this, the Lord has need of them. The Lord has need of them. In what way would Jesus have need of these animals? Well, the animals were needed to enable him to enter into Jerusalem in a manner that is conformable to prophetic requirement and worthy of a messianic king. They were needed, in other words, to fulfill the plan God had for the people. The Lord has need of them. Have you ever thought that you might have something that the Lord might have need of? That you might have something under your control that he can use to further his plan? Have you ever thought about that? You know, there are men who are married, whose wives God wants to use in a wonderful way, but the man doesn't want the wife to do too much. There are women who are married, who want their husbands to follow the Lord, but don't want him to be over committed. And so it may be that the Lord has need of that woman or that man to do something he has planned. Or we may have as parents, we may have children that the Lord has need of because he wants to use them in the mission field or to do something for him. But we're restricting them. We don't want them to do anything because we're afraid that should they go somewhere or do something that may even be dangerous, that we might lose them. And so we're hesitating to let them go. I know that feeling my son Joseph at one point was considering what the Lord might want for him and was given an opportunity to go to another state, to Missouri. And to participate in and to teach at a youth retreat and all for a Calvary Ministry in that state and Joseph was speaking to me and it was prior to him meeting and getting married, meeting his girl and getting married and all. But he was speaking to me and he said, you know, dad, he said, you know, the Lord may be opening a door for me to go to Missouri and they're interested in me possibly being their youth pastor there. And I remember in my heart how I felt about that. I said, go my son, go. No, I thought, and I answered, I thought, no. You know, there's a reason it's called misery. But you have to let go. You have to let the Lord do what God wants to do. You know, and even though he is the son of my heart, though my son David and my others are equally important to me and I love every one of my babies, I would say in an equal way. But Joseph, you know, we have the 20 minute rule. You know that rule. You cannot move 20 minutes, more than 20 minutes for me. You can't do that. I'll hunt you down. You can't do that. And the idea that he would be sent someplace else and that he was even thinking and praying about it was difficult. So I understand that. I understand that sense. There's a man who is what is called one of the early church fathers if you will. His name was Augustine. And they call him St. Augustine now, but it's Augustine. And Augustine was a little heathen. I mean, he was a partier, you know, in his day. And his mama was praying constantly for him, constantly praying that God would save her son because he was such a carouser, such a partier and all. And she was praying that God would save Augustine. And then one day he comes up to her and speaks to her and says to her, mama, I'm going to Rome. And she said, any place but Rome, any place but Rome. I don't know if there's a city in your mind where your kid says to you, I'm gonna go and live there that might cause you to say, oh, I don't want you to go to New York City or oh, I don't want you to go to San Francisco or whatever, there may be a city in your heart that you just associate with evil. Well, Rome was that city. Rome was that city. It was known for its heathenism. It was known for its paganism. And here's this party kid who's telling mama, I'm going to go to the party capital of the world. And so mama's on her face, God, any place, any place but Rome, any place but Rome, please stop him from going to Rome. But it was in Rome that Augustine got saved. So we don't know what God's work is. We don't know what God wants to do. I wonder if he has need of something that I have. I wonder if he has need of anything that I might possess. And we say, well, when has God ever had need of anything? Well, right here it says he had need of this donkey and the foal. I suspect that we still have things that he has allowed us to have that really belonged to him. I'll tell you one thing. Jim Elliott once said, he is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose. And when you yield whatever it is that you have in your control to the Lord, he has a way of doing wonderful things without what you yielded to him. So by their simple obedience, Zechariah chapter nine, verse nine, Zechariah's prophecy was fulfilled. In his entrance to Jerusalem, he was literally fulfilling that prophecy. We need to remember that Jesus' life and ministry were earmarked by at least two purposes. One, he told us that he had come to do his Father's will. In John 4.34, my food is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work. So he came to do his Father's will. And secondly, he came that he might fulfill Old Testament prophecies concerning Messiah's first coming. Remember in Matthew 5.17, how he had said, do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets, I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. And so Jesus is fulfilling the prophecy given by Zechariah so long before. Now it says, tell the daughter of Zion. When it says, tell the daughter of Zion, Zion is Jerusalem. Zion is called Zion, Jerusalem is called Zion in Scripture. In Psalm 48, one and two, it reads, great is the Lord, greatly to be praised in the city of our God, in the mountain of his holiness. Beautiful for situation, the joy of the whole earth is Mount Zion on the sides of the north, the city of the great king. And so when it says, tell the daughter of Zion, Zion is Jerusalem. Now it says, tell the daughter of Zion, behold, your king is coming to you, lowly sitting on a donkey, a colt, the fall of a donkey. Now why would he be coming on a donkey? Well that represents humility, it represents the essence of his rulership, he's gentle. Remember in Matthew 12, 19 through 21, how it spoke of Messiah and said, he will not quarrel nor cry out, nor will anyone hear his voice in the streets, a bruised reed, he will not break smoking flax, he will not quench till he sends forth justice to victory and in his name Gentiles will trust. The earmark of the ministry that is saturated with Jesus Christ will always be gentleness and humility, keep that in mind. Keep that in mind. And as a pastor of many years now, I would say that this is a passage that I need to keep in mind as a pastor. That leadership in the body of Christ isn't through bullying, it isn't through self exaltation, it's not in the quest to be known or be important. Leadership in the body of Christ is always earmarked by humility and gentleness with Jesus Christ coming first. Now Isaiah 9 verse 6 refers to Messiah as the Prince of Peace because he brings peace to human hearts. But again, why a donkey? Well, at this time a king riding a donkey was symbolic of a king who was coming in peace. But if he were riding on a horse, well a horse was associated with a king coming in war. So there was a reason that Jesus came on the donkey because when kings entered into a city riding a donkey they were symbolizing that they were coming with humility, gentleness, and they were coming in peace. But if that king were to enter into the city on a horse, it would symbolize that he came to make war. How do we know that? Well, one, you see that in the Old Testament. And two, you see it in Revelation chapter 19 verse 11. Because in that verse, John said, I saw heaven opened, behold, a white horse. And he who sat on him was called faithful and true. And in righteousness he judges and makes war. Jesus came on a donkey symbolizing that he came in peace. The next time you see him entering he comes on a horse bringing war. Now this donkey is reserved for sacred use. It's interesting how it says in Mark 11 verse two that he said, going to the village opposite you as soon as you have entered it, you will find a cult tied on which no one has sat. Loose it and bring it. On which no one has sat. So that's reserved for sacred use. That demonstrates his lordship. This is an unbroken animal. So this unbroken animal yields to the Lord without resistance. When you read your Bible, it's interesting that Jesus Christ ministers with such authority that demons, when Jesus ministers and speaks to demons that they yield to him and his authority. Demons do that. You'll see that even favors, even physical conditions yield to his authority. Blindness and leprosy, paralysis. Even death yielded to his command. Nature itself yields to his command. Remember that time when Jesus calmed the storm? His men had crossed over the Sea of Galilee and they thought because of storm conditions that they were perishing. But you see that Jesus rebukes the sea and the winds and when he does so, when he speaks to them, even the storms just calm down. The Bible says the result of that was in Matthew 8.27 that the men marveled, saying, who can this be that even the winds in the sea obey him? Now I find it interesting to note, demons and illness and nature itself yields to him but man refuses to. Think about that. Demons, illness and nature itself yields to the authority of Jesus Christ but men refuse to. We have a will that results in rebellion because rebellion is tied up in the heart of man. And so the Bible tells us in verse 6 that they went and did as Jesus commanded them. Again, simple obedience to a simple command. In verse 7, they brought the donkey and the colt, laid their clothes on them and set him on them. They simply were making it more comfortable for Jesus to ride on this animal. And then verse 8, and a very great multitude spread their garments on the road. Others cut down branches. That's the palms that we speak about on Palm Sunday. They cut down branches from the trees, spread them on the road. The multitudes who went before and those who followed cried out saying, Hosanna, the word Hosanna means save now. Hosanna to the Son of David. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. Hosanna in the highest. And you can see these crowds as they're starting to merge. You see John tells us that there are some who are coming out of the city of Jerusalem and there are others who are coming down into the city and these two crowds are now converging, making one crowd. And they're all crying out, blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, the King of Israel. Now, Luke records what happened just before Jesus enters into the city. It's found in Luke 19, verses 41 through 44. As he drew near, he saw the city and he wept over it saying, if you had known even you, especially in this your day, the things that make for your peace, but now they are hidden from your eyes. For days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment around you, surround you and close you in on every side and level you and your children within you to the ground. And they will not leave in you one stone upon another because you did not know the time of your visitation. I want to develop that for a minute and then move into it. You junior the city. Now you have to see this if there were only a way that we could envision this that we could understand it. It's very difficult for me to get a grasp of this but the streets were narrow. They're not broad as, they were narrow streets. They would be filled with people coming out of the city of Jerusalem, people who are following Jesus down this road. Before you know it, it's very tight and there are people throwing these palm branches and Jesus riding on this full of the donkey and they're crying out loudly. And you could almost, you can almost, you can almost hear that. That it would have been a roar. It would have been very loud. It would have been very loud. I was at a Dodger Stadium when the Dodgers last time, it turns out, won a World Series and I was there when one of our players, Kirk Gibson, hit a home run and won the game. We were playing against Oakland and I was there and the bleachers there and on the right field side when Gibson came up and he hit the ball and I saw that the ball as it continued to go up past us and dropped into the stands and the place was pandemonium. It was so loud. They were screaming with such fanaticism and they continued that loud sound 45 minutes later when I left the stadium, got in the car, you could still hear the shouts and the loudness and I can imagine that when Jesus was coming down these narrow streets that were lined with these pilgrims who were throwing down the palm branches and they were saying, save now. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord and you could see them as they're just raising their hands and Hosanna, Hosanna. And as this is taking place, the Lord Jesus in the midst of all of this stops and he looks at the city of Jerusalem and the drama of the moment must have been incredible and I'm certain that the people who were there watching this take place didn't get it because he began to weep. He didn't stand up and raise his hands like a victorious champion of some sort. He wept over the city. He wept over the city. When you look at Jesus, it's interesting to note nowhere in the Bible does it ever say that he laughed but it shows us that he wept. He wept at the grave of a dear friend by the name of Lazarus and he wept over a city that rejected its Messiah. This is not to say that he didn't have a sense of humor. All you need to do is look at the 12 that he chose and you can see he had a sense of humor. There's no doubt about it. And some of the things that you read concerning his words are actually what are called Jewish idioms or they are humorous things to say. It's easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle would have been something that would have been humorous that the people listening to because it was so ridiculous, they would have smiled within. So he had a sense of humor. There's no doubt about it but when the Bible speaks concerning him weeping, he wept. Shortest New Testament verse found in the book of John is just that when he saw the tomb where his friend Lazarus was, it just simply says Jesus wept. And then when you see him at the city of Jerusalem in the midst of all the celebration, the triumphal entry of Messiah, fulfilling Zechariah 9 verse 9, instead of Jesus raising his hands up in self-congratulatory fashion, he just stops and he begins to weep. And it was so obvious that the writer was inspired to record. He saw the city and he wept over it. And he said, if you had known even you, especially in this your day, the things that make for your peace. But now they are hidden from your eyes. The days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment around you, surround you, close you in on every side and level you and your children within you to the ground. And they will not leave in you one stone upon another because you, now here it is, you did not know the time of your visitation. Now what are you speaking about? Well, the word visitation speaks of investigation. It speaks of inspection. I was in the military, I have military vets or active duty individuals perhaps here right now. And we used to have what were called surprise inspections. You'd be inside your cubicle, there'd be a knock on the door. And you'd open it up and the sergeant would walk in. And he'd do a surprise inspection. He'd make sure that the beds were made right. He'd look into your wall locker and look and see that it was straight and everything was okay. And it was a surprise inspection. The whole thing is it's a surprise. You don't know when it's gonna take place. It just doesn't. And therefore you're supposed to be ready at any given moment. And that's what Lord is saying. He's saying you didn't know the day of your visitation. You didn't know when the surprise inspection came. You didn't know that I actually informed you, but you didn't know when the investigation was gonna happen. Now how could they have known about this inspection? Well the fact is they should have been prepared because the word of God had already forewarned them in the book of Daniel, in chapter nine in the Old Testament verses 24 through 27. Because in that passage, this is an amazing prophecy fulfilled by Christ, in that passage in Daniel nine 24 through 27 we have what is called the 70 week prophecy. You see in Daniel nine 24 through 27, Daniel was inspired to write, 70 weeks are determined for your people and for your holy city, that would be the Jews in Jerusalem, to finish the transgression, to make an end of sin, to make reconciliation for iniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy, to anoint the most holy. Know therefore and understand that from the going forth of the command to restore and build Jerusalem, until Messiah the Prince, there shall be seven weeks and 62 weeks, which added together a 69 week. The street shall be built again and the wall even in troublesome times. And after the 62 weeks, Messiah shall be cut off, but not for himself. And the people of the Prince who is to come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary. The end of it shall be with a flood until the end of the war desolations are determined. Then he shall confirm a covenant with many for one week, that's the 70th week, but in the middle of the week he shall bring an end to sacrifice and offering. And on the wing of abomination shall be one who makes desolate, even until the consummation which is determined is poured out on the desolate. And so Daniel prophesied that 490 years were determined to accomplish six specific things, amazing prophecy. First, to end Jewish apostasy for Jews to receive Messiah, in other words. Second, to make an end of sin or to completely deal with it. Third, to make reconciliation which is accomplished in Christ. Fourth, to bring in everlasting righteousness which occurs at the second coming. Fifth, seal up vision and prophecy because they'll no longer be necessary when all is complete. And sixth, to anoint the most holy, referring to Jesus and His reign as Messiah. So in Daniel 9, 24 through 27 you find what is called the 70 week prophecy. Now what does that mean? Well, Sir Robert Anderson wrote a book called The Coming Prince. And in this book, The Coming Prince, Sir Robert Anderson pointed out something that helps us to understand. He wrote concerning the 70 week prophecy of Daniel and he treated these weeks as years and not 24 hour days because nothing happened 490 days later after the announcement to go and rebuild or build a wall. You see, Israel had a system of what would be called weeks of years. And so, what he did is he treated it as weeks of years. In Daniel 9, 25, the command to restore and build came through Art Xerxes. That's recorded in Nehemiah chapter two. And that date is recorded in history. The date is March 14th, 445 BC. Daniel's prophecy speaks of 69 weeks of years. And then another year that makes it 70 weeks. So he took 69 weeks, multiplied it by seven days for the days of the week, multiplied that by 360 which were the days equaling a year, took into consideration what we call leap years and all. And he ended up with 173,880 days. He then counted from March 14th, 445 BC because that is when the command from Art Xerxes was given. Counting 173,880 days, he arrived at April 6th, AD 32, Palm Sunday. And that's why Jesus wept and said, you didn't know the day of your visitation. If you'd have been in the Word, you were forewarned. But you didn't know that day. You didn't recognize your day and Jesus wept because of it. You didn't recognize your Messiah, though God's Word had prepared them to receive him. And because they rejected him, AD 70 under Titus of Rome, Jerusalem was leveled to the ground. We were there just recently and we went into a place called the burnt house, a house that is filled with evidence that it had been burned to the ground. It was the high priest's house. It was located right there close to the western wall where the temple would have been. And by the priest's house, they found idols. And these idols that they found, they're called the shurah. These idols that they found were fertility goddesses that some of the people who lived in the shadow of the temple were worshiping nature gods. And they refused the day of Messiah because they had yielded themselves to idolatry. The result of rejecting Christ was the destruction of Jerusalem. It's interesting how it says in verse 10 when he had come into Jerusalem, all the city was moved saying, who is this? So the multitude said, this is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth of Galilee. This is Jesus, who? The prophet. We were up in Caesarea, Philippi. If you look at a map of Israel and you go to the north, going towards the Dan, what is called the Dan Nature Reserve, going to the north, there's a place there called Caesarea of Philippi. And Caesarea of Philippi is a place where the Lord Jesus Christ had a conversation with his men. And as you're there in Caesarea of Philippi, you're given a Bible study, and I was given a Bible study, and when you look past me, directly past me, you look up onto a hillside, and in the hillside there's a grotto. And this grotto is called the gates of hell. And the Greeks believe that that pan, the nature god, sprang into existence in that location. And around Caesarea of Philippi, there are remains or ruins of temples that were dedicated to all the nature god. There was a temple that had been built for the worship of Caesar. And there Jesus is. And he's speaking to his men, and he's taking some time to instruct them, and he says to them, Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am? And as he asks that question, he's doing that because he knows that they have an opinion concerning Messiah. They have an opinion concerning Jesus Christ. And he knows that his men are influenced by what the world says about him. So he asks the question, Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am? And so they say, Well, Jeremiah, Elijah, John the Baptist, one of the prophets. And he, knowing that they are being influenced by these different ideas concerning him, John the Baptist was a preacher of repentance. So was Jesus. Elijah was a miracle worker. So was Jesus. Jeremiah was known for his great compassion and love for the city. So was Jesus. One of the prophets, at least he's a spokesman for God. So was Jesus. And so he says, Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am? Now, in the question, he supplied the answer. Who do men say that I, the Son of Man? Son of Man is a messianic title. Daniel 7.13 tells us that that's the name of Messiah. That's a title for Messiah. He supplied the answer in the question. And so the response comes quickly. They say these men, John, Elijah, Jeremiah, one of the prophets, they give a rundown. And then he does this. He says to them, But who do you say that I am? It's not enough that you can repeat what somebody else says about me. What do you say about me? And Simon Peter, thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. Blessed are you, Simon, by Jonah. Flesh and blood is not reveal this to you, but my Father in heaven. This was not something that you came up with out of your own intellect or your own ability to scrutinize my actions and my words and come up with, no, God by his spirit is giving you the ability to see who I am. And these people are saying this is Jesus when the question is asked, who is this? This is Jesus, the prophet. He's a prophet, but he's more than a prophet. He's a good man, but he's more than a good man. He's a great teacher, but he's more than a great teacher. You didn't know the day of your visitation. He's the Savior. He's Messiah. He's the King. He's the one who forgives sins. He's the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. After first service today, I was speaking to a brother who came up and he said to me that he was on the job years ago now working on his job site. And he said I had a joint and it was lunchtime, so I was going to smoke the joint. It's a proper thing to do at lunch, I guess, huh? And he said I was hunting for some music to play so I could smoke my joint, relax and listen to the music. He said as I was going through the radio, he says I stopped at this one program because the guy on the program was speaking and he said, can you imagine? I used to drink and get drunk. I used to smoke dope and get loaded. And here I am, preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ. He said that grabbed me. And I thought, he has something that I don't have. And he said and I remember, he was an unbeliever. He says I remember hearing that and I thought whatever he has, I really need that. I wish I knew. He said so somebody invited me to go to church to go to a place to help me with my drug problem. And he said so I went to this place to hear about how to be set free from my drug problem. He said and so they said you ought to come to church on Sunday. He says and I came walking in, he sat down. He said and then the guy came up and began to speak. He said and I recognized that voice because the guy speaking was you. He said and I heard you on the radio. He said and I gave my heart to Jesus Christ that day because you made a promise that God is fulfilled. He can set you free. That's Jesus Christ. That's what God does. He is prophecy. He is more than a prophet. He is the object of prophecy. Zechariah said this is he and that's why Jesus wept over Jerusalem and that's why he said you didn't know the time of your visitation and you're lost and the city is going to be destroyed because you rejected your Messiah. The result, the destruction of Jerusalem under Titus and AD 70. It was their day of visitation. It was their day and they missed out. God help us. Today not to miss out but Jesus is here saying I can set you free because I am your Messiah. Not only a prophet but the object of prophecy. That's our Jesus and that's our Savior.